I take Riccitiello's remarks as a positive for EA, not a negative. As someone who is always careful about spending money on over-hyped, under-achieving games, I take reviews very seriously. Usually (GTA IV aside, which I pre-ordered months ago) I don't buy a game until I've put considerable thought into it, or played the demo (and was subsequently blown away).
However, I know better than to use a single source for a review, and that's what Metacritic does. Which is exactly what Doyle stated is its purpose, to educate the community. But of course it's going to dis/persuade people. If Madden 08 gets a 50%, only hardcore Madden fans are going to buy the game, but if it averages a 95%, then people like myself will be more likely to purchase it.
But that's not the reviewers fault, that's the fault of the people developing the game. Put some thought and effort into it, instead of rehashing the same old BS, and maybe you'll earna better score. How many games has EA taken over and ruined (Earth & Beyond comes to mind) and how many franchises are they simply floating by with (Most of their sports titles).
Now, the whole 'Kane and Lynch' fiasco is another thing altogether. If publishers/developers (or the sites themselves) are going to punish reviewers for being harsh, that's where I take great offense. When reviews stop being subjective, the scores stop being meaningful. If Kane and Lynch sucks, I want to know. I don't want some bobbley talking corporate mouth spewing of glowing reviews just because his job depends on it.
Of course, there are always going to be games that score a 70% which I think should have gotten a 95% (X3, for instance) and games that got a 95% (or better, and won game of the year awards) that I wouldn't pay a nickel for just to have 5 minutes of the same old FPS crap labeled 'new' and 'inventive' and 'original' blah blah blah (Bioshock, if you couldn't guess). And that's why subjectiveness is important. But in general, if a game is a 95%, it's usually pretty appealing to the masses, and a 70% more of a niche game (or a bit above average). And 60% or lower, and you're probably looking at only a hardcore fanboy purchase, or a coaster.
Educating the consumer is important. Just like crash tests on vehicles, game reviews stop us from investing our hard earned money into a piece of crap game that we otherwise could have avoided.
However, I know better than to use a single source for a review, and that's what Metacritic does. Which is exactly what Doyle stated is its purpose, to educate the community. But of course it's going to dis/persuade people. If Madden 08 gets a 50%, only hardcore Madden fans are going to buy the game, but if it averages a 95%, then people like myself will be more likely to purchase it.
But that's not the reviewers fault, that's the fault of the people developing the game. Put some thought and effort into it, instead of rehashing the same old BS, and maybe you'll earna better score. How many games has EA taken over and ruined (Earth & Beyond comes to mind) and how many franchises are they simply floating by with (Most of their sports titles).
Now, the whole 'Kane and Lynch' fiasco is another thing altogether. If publishers/developers (or the sites themselves) are going to punish reviewers for being harsh, that's where I take great offense. When reviews stop being subjective, the scores stop being meaningful. If Kane and Lynch sucks, I want to know. I don't want some bobbley talking corporate mouth spewing of glowing reviews just because his job depends on it.
Of course, there are always going to be games that score a 70% which I think should have gotten a 95% (X3, for instance) and games that got a 95% (or better, and won game of the year awards) that I wouldn't pay a nickel for just to have 5 minutes of the same old FPS crap labeled 'new' and 'inventive' and 'original' blah blah blah (Bioshock, if you couldn't guess). And that's why subjectiveness is important. But in general, if a game is a 95%, it's usually pretty appealing to the masses, and a 70% more of a niche game (or a bit above average). And 60% or lower, and you're probably looking at only a hardcore fanboy purchase, or a coaster.
Educating the consumer is important. Just like crash tests on vehicles, game reviews stop us from investing our hard earned money into a piece of crap game that we otherwise could have avoided.
