
The companies I work for (non-gaming) don't have these on going kinds of product/ad revenue relationships. So even though they are not on the HR payroll, in a way they are. That Gamespot/Jeff Gertsman public debacle 10 years ago made it blatantly obvious.

Unless someone has a big following like Angry Joe who puts on a show with costumes and production values a week later by buying his own games, most web sites would die under that model.Īnd many get ad/banner revenue from companies, which makes it worse because there is now a financial relationship. And that comes with sucking up with glowing reviews or get blacklisted. If I want to know if I’ll like a game, am I gonna ask someone I know that likes similar games or am I gonna ask someone who hates them?Ĭlick to expand.Gaming sites are dependent on fast clicks, and that comes with early previews and free swag and gold copies for reviews. And before people go “hur dur you can’t just ignore negative opinions” we’re talking about Vidya, not a second medical opinion. You read the reviews and you make an informed decision on your own experiences with that genre/IP/dev etc alongside the opinions of people you know like the same things as you. My idea of a perfect review system is no scores, not even a liked/dislike. It’s like some weird knock-on effect from console wars. I’m not going to blindly buy it or play it because it’s getting mass praise. But I’ve heard enough from people/reviewers I trust to know this is not for me. Does that make all the fans/high-rating reviews wrong? Of course not. I personally have zero interest in TLOU2. People need to find a few reviewers they “align” with taste-wise and focus on that if they’re actually seeking an opinion or insight into the game.

If someone I generally disagree with IRL tells me they highly rate something, that’s likely to put me off said item/product as opposed to a trusted friend telling me so. To clarify: I think way, way too much emphasis by both reviewers and readers is put on scores or averages/totals.

Both reviews and readers of reviews need to rethink how they’re doing this.
