Why Game Reviews Are Important... In Aggregate
Kyle Orland continues to do an 'I can't tell you how much better' job of GameDaily's 'Media Coverage' column than its predecessor, following the retirement of the previous, lamely anonymous 'Mr. Media Coverage', presumably to yell at kids to get off his lawn - and his latest column looks at the importance of game reviews in today's media climate.
He starts out by noting: "In fact, the world of game reviews is so imperfect that even massive critical consensus on a title often has little to no impact on a game's popularity or cultural impact... It's enough to lead review writers to the brink of an existential crisis. Is anyone even listening to our advice? Does what we write have any effect on the market at large? What good are reviews, anyway?"
And then, some people have some opinions! Slashdot's Michael Zenke: "Game reviews are only useful in reinforcing a pre-existing decision to buy. They're useful to the publisher as a means of confirming a gamer's interest in a game. As far as swaying opinions, I don't really think so." Tips & Tricks Editor-in-Chief Bill Kunkel: "There are damned few reviewers whose opinion carry much weight... When a review is used to hype a game, the author of the review is rarely mentioned, just the magazine or site."
Some people, like Game Informer's Andy Reiner, seem to think that reviewers can still be a big deal, and that the reviewing Ebert will still come upon us. But as the piece points out elsewhere, the Penny Arcade-teers may, informally, be close to zeitgeist fingerers on game impressions and resulting sales already. And thanks to Metacritic and other sites, it's consensus that rules nowadays, not individuals.
[Oh, and random thing I found out while reading the article and checking the interviewee info - AmpedNews is now called Gamer 2.0, after splitting from parent company WiredLabs, and seems to mainly be offering feeds and video from other sites, but with original reviews and features, and more allegedly coming soon. On that name - we'll see what happens when Web 2.0 falls hideously out of fashion as a phrase in about 18 months on that one, mm?]
Comments
No, that's not right at all. Game reviewers actually determine how good or bad a game will by the very act of reviewing it. The worse their review the greater negative impact they have on the game and the worse it actually is when people come to play it.
I believe Daikatana is a good example of this phenomenon.
Posted by: Rossignol | June 10, 2007 6:23 AM
Actually, I would say that reviews, even when all they are attempting is guiding the consumer, do affect game making per se. They point out mistakes, great artwork and sometimes even go as far as offering ideas. Were i a game developer, I would consider them an invaluable source of feedback, critique and publicity...
Then again, many reviews are just sub-par. Not Eurogamer's though ;)
Posted by: gnome | June 10, 2007 6:53 AM
Who was it that said that there are hardly any real game critics, that most game journalists are just fans?
I don't remember. But there's a lot of truth to it. And it might be one of the reasons why their reviews don't have much impact. (if that is true)
Posted by: Michael Samyn | June 10, 2007 4:43 PM
How much impact do reviews actually have on movies, books, and other products?
Barring Ebert, or the glory days of Siskel & Ebert. (Since "Two Thumbs Up" tended to stand out amongst the tons of other quotes.)
Posted by: Baines | June 10, 2007 6:25 PM
"How much impact do reviews actually have on movies, books, and other products?"
I would argue that reviews in the New York Times and other high prestige outlets can do a lot for marginal mainstream pictures or indie flicks. And a shellacking can do in a star vehicle like Catwoman.
But most big blockbusters are critic proof.
But movie and book reviews are much more willing to go to the criticism well than game reviews are. They start from the premise that these media are of lasting importance so the reviews have value to readers in and of themselves, beyond the buy/rent/skip trichotomy.
Posted by: Troy Goodfellow | June 11, 2007 8:14 AM