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Uncharted 4 - A Thief's |Reviews Thread| Nateness Awaits

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F

Futaba

Member
I don't get it, metacritic say they don't count AP's review because they aren't Washington post staff, neither is the troll review guy, he's just a freelance writer.

If the review stays it's going to forever be a testament to just how poor the metacritic system is.
And their Twitter seem to just be doubling down in face of the public outcry rather than investigating it.
 
O

Omnistalgic

Member
Gurish said:
Yea he doesn't deserve to be taken seriously, he wrote a joke review, any troll can do that, the problem starts when the joke review affects a serious thing like MC (like it or not, MC is extremely important for publishers and the industry), they are the guys that need to answer for it, not the troll.
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Yeah...don't click that guys Twitter. Someone posted the email we can send to meta traffic...honestly, they shouldn't have counted it in context of the review ImO. The review itself doesn't seem to be taking itself seriously, why should it be In the same breath of review like IGN or Gamespot. They are wordy, well explained and often accompanied by videos. This is just no where near as much effort or dignity.
 
G

Gurish

Member
Muntu said:
Extremely important? Please elaborate
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There is a good correlation between MC score and sales in videogames, publishers give bonuses to developers for surpassing a certain MC, lots of consumers also check it and decide if a game is good based on it, important enough?
 
O

Omnistalgic

Member
Futaba said:
I don't get it, metacritic say they don't count AP's review because they aren't Washington post staff, neither is the troll review guy, he's just a freelance writer.

If the review stays it's going to forever be a testament to just how poor the metacritic system is.
And their Twitter seem to just be doubling down in face of the public outcry rather than investigating it.
Click to expand...
Are freelance writers considered staff though ?
 
A

aravuus

Member
Gurish said:
There is a good correlation between MC score and sales in videogames, publishers give bonuses to developers for surpassing a certain MC, lots of consumers also check it and decide if a game is good based on it, important enough?
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I've only heard of one case with the bonus bullshit, and unless you've got something to support the other statements, I'm gonna just go ahead and say nah.
 
G

Gurish

Member
Muntu said:
I've only heard of one case with the bonus bullshit, and unless you've got something to support the other statements, I'm gonna just go ahead and say nah.
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It's not only one, it's a known practice.

This practice didn't come out of thin air, it's because there is a good correlation between reviews and sales so a good MC worth good money for the publisher, I'm on mobile, look it up if you want.

You know what, I made a little effort:

http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Destiny-Poor-Metacritic-Score-Could-Cost-Bungie-Millions-67350.html

http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/15/obsidian-missed-fallout-new-vegas-metacritic-bonus-by-one-point/

Only 1 example? and those are the things that leaked out, obviously it hapoens in many games.
 
A

aravuus

Member
Gurish said:
It's not only one, it's a known practice.

This practice didn't come out of thin air, it's because there is a good correlation between reviews and sales so a good MC worth good money for the publisher, I'm on mobile, look it up if you want.
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Yeah, the practice came from publishers being fucking cunts. Just because they do doesn't prove anything.

I don't see it. Even with movies dozens of rotten movies keep topping the box office all the time, I can't see why things would be different with video games.

e: Okay, you posted another example, cool. The links only prove, yet again, that Activision (and Bethesda, to some extent) are cunts. Nothing on correlation between score and sales or anything like that.
 
G

Gurish

Member
Muntu said:
Yeah, the practice came from publishers being fucking cunts. Just because they do doesn't prove anything.

I don't see it. Even with movies dozens of rotten movies keep topping the box office all the time, I can't see why things would be different with video games.
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Publishers aren't cunts, they want money, their research showed a good correlation between MC and good sales, why would they just abuse the developers? you think they emotionally care about reviews? they don't give a flying fuck, all they want is money, if reviews weren't important for their money making they wouldn't care even if a game gets a 1/10 scores as long as it sells amazing.
 
Y

YukihiraSouma

Neo Member
I really wouldn't mind the score if the reviewer had substantial points to back it up, but the content is straight up nonsense. At one point he literally complains the game is too pretty and too detailed for his liking, cause it 'distracts' him. I mean, I know lots of people who complained about the pacing or plot or gameplay, but no one complained about the graphics thus far. This is just ridiculous.
 
G

Gurish

Member
YukihiraSouma said:
I really wouldn't mind the score if the reviewer had substantial points to back it up, but the content is straight up nonsense. At one point he literally complains the game is too pretty and too detailed for his liking, cause it 'distracts' him. I mean, I know lots of people who complained about the pacing or plot or gameplay, but no one complained about the graphics thus far. This is just ridiculous.
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He really said it's too pretty? of course no one complained about the visuals, normal human beings like pretty graphics :/
 
A

aravuus

Member
Gurish said:
Publishers aren't cunts, they want money, their research showed a good correlation between MC and good sales, why would they just abuse the developers? you think they emotionally care about reviews? they don't give a flying fuck, all they want is money, if reviews weren't important for their money making they wouldn't care even if a game gets a 1/10 scores as long as it sells amazing.
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Okay, cunts was harsh (except with Activision lol), but they can have these idiotic bonus systems in place for a million different reasons other than there being a clear correlation between metascore and sales. It's not always logical, and it's definitely not always right by the developers.

Like I said, the second you show me at least a couple of legit studies, articles, whatever, that actually show that there is a major correlation between metascore and sales I'll concede. But as it is I just don't buy it. That stuff barely seems to matter with all other media, I can't see why video games would be any different.

e: googled "metacritic score sales" and this is the first thing that popped up
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/metacritic-scores-game-sales-gdc-2015/
They plotted out the data and found that Metacritic scores have no impact in determining actual sales.
Click to expand...
 
P

ProfessorMoran

Member
Crossing Eden said:
You people are straight up asking to form an internet mob over a video game review. There's an extreme lack of self awareness from you two.. FFS this is from the link you posted.
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The guy wrote a review and got called out on it on twitter, frankly he's entitled to expressing his opinion but so are the people who don't think highly of his review. I think we're getting so sensitive regarding the usage of social media that we can't even critize anyone anymore, as long as people stay away from personal attack, dissent is a healthy thing.
 
Y

YukihiraSouma

Neo Member
Gurish said:
He really said it's too pretty? of course no one complained about the visuals, normal human beings like pretty graphics :/
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A portion from the article:

The “Uncharted” games have never excelled at storytelling. Instead, they’ve used it an accompaniment to overwhelming visual technology. The games have always struck me as garish more than gorgeous, more interested in overwhelming the senses than communicating with them. “A Thief’s End” is overflowing with useless detail. It overwhelms the eye with so many different points of focus that one almost clings to the over-the-shoulder focal point at the center of the screen, where the gun reticle can at least hint at a potential ways of engaging with all of the simulated objects and effects that are otherwise impossible to identify, let alone differentiate.

Useless details? Really? Guess what, that's how real life works. There are loads of 'useless details' IRL that your brain chooses to ignore, in order to focus your attention on a single subject. ND just made their game more realistic but adding such 'useless details'. If you want to complain, then you must hate how the real world feels as well.
 
I

Introvese

Banned
i wrote the Post a strongly worded piece of writing for that piece of shit reviewer.


Now where the (expletive) is the NPD so i can cheer up!!!!!!!! lol
 
S

Scientist Supreme!

Banned
ProfessorMoran said:
The guy wrote a review and got called out on it on twitter, frankly he's entitled to expressing his opinion but so are the people who don't think highly of his review. I think we're getting so sensitive regarding the usage of social media that we can't even critize anyone anymore, as long as people stay away from personal attack, dissent is a healthy thing.
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Sure, but I'm not seeing any constructive criticism in his replies and it's also a review for a video game, it's not serious enough for this.
 
S

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
This thread...

Mx6kj.gif
 
X

xorx

Banned
You know, after reading the WP review, I just can't enjoy this game anymore. The game is ruined for me. And to think this could have been my GOTY.


jk
 
D

Deleted member 325805

Unconfirmed Member
I gave it a 9/10, loved it. A 4/10 just seems nasty, unless you really, really hate the series there's just no way that's a fair score and if you hate the series that much you shouldn't be reviewing it.
 
G

Gurish

Member
Muntu said:
Okay, cunts was harsh (except with Activision lol), but they can have these idiotic bonus systems in place for a million different reasons than a clear correlation between metascore and sales. It's not always logical, and it's definitely not always right by the developers.

Like I said, the second you show me at least a couple of legit studies, articles, whatever, that actually show that there is a major correlation between metascore and sales I'll concede. But as it is I just don't buy it. That stuff barely seems to matter with all other media, I can't see why video games would be any different.
Click to expand...

You might need to learn human psychology combined with the history of videogames in order for you to understand why reviews are such a big deal in videogames while in movies and music no one gives a fuck and there are more bad reviewed movies who made huge money than good reviewed ones, don't know why is that.

And seriously man, put some effort, here is a recent article about it

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articl...-in-and-your-review-score-still-matters-eedar

Talks about some things we noticed here on GAF as well, like people are more open toward an 80 score than they used to and that there is a decline with how seriously reviews affects sales, but again, it's a known correlation that still presents:

GI.biz said:
"while the correlation between review scores and sales is still "strong", the 8th generation has seen a decline in the strength of the relationship compared to the early 7th Generation"
Click to expand...
 
P

pixellated_man

Member
Oh, so it is a genuine review after all? Well in that case I take back some of what I said earlier. Horribly written review but end of the day it's one negative opinion in a sea of positive ones. Happens with almost every game on Metacritic these days, whatever their quality.
Not worth getting worked up over. Uncharted 4 is still tied with the best reviewed games of this generation - something I honestly didn't expect to happen. One point lower is not going to impact sales either. As an Nd fan I'm really pleased how everything has worked out for them. :)
 
S

SarusGray

Member
you reap what you sow, but death threats and stuff are definitely not what he should be receiving or is receiving. I think he's use to it by now, he'll be ok.
 
L

Loudninja

Member
pixellated_man said:
Oh, so it is a genuine review after all? Well in that case I take back some of what I said earlier. Horribly written review but end of the day it's one negative opinion in a sea of positive ones. Happens with almost every game on Metacritic these days, whatever their quality.
Not worth getting worked up over. Uncharted 4 is still tied with the best reviewed games of this generation - something I honestly didn't expect to happen. One point lower is not going to impact sales either. As an Nd fan I'm really pleased how everything has worked out for them. :)
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Agreed.
 
B

Blobbers

Member
gamerMan said:
Looks like this won't be changed. This guy has a history of reviewing games. He's also a former IGN editor: http://www.ign.com/articles/stars/michaelthomsen?startIndex=20

The Order 4.0/10
The Order: 1886 reviewed — A beautiful, boring disappointment

Mario Maker 5.0/10
“Super Mario Maker” is an engine for circulating horrible new “Mario” levels

Xenoblade Chronicles X 6/10
‘Xenoblade Chronicles X’ takes the pleasures of wasting time to a new extreme

Metal Gear Phantom Pain 8.0/10
‘Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’ review: The best ending Hideo Kojima’s ‘biggest failure’ could have had

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD 10/10
‘The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD:’ The best in the series
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So this guy is like the video game version of Armond White? I like him already.
 
S

Scientist Supreme!

Banned
sora87 said:
Well if it's true developers get bonus' based on how their game does critically.. this guy's joke of a review could do some harm and others like it.
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Why would a reviewer care about that? That's not his job.

SarusGray said:
you reap what you sow, but death threats and stuff are definitely not what he should be receiving or is receiving. I think he's use to it by now, he'll be ok.
Click to expand...
He shouldn't be as well as the rest of the gaming community with that type of behavior.
 
B

Blobbers

Member
Guys, imagine if Edge also gives UC4 a 4/10 and it goes from being the highest rated next gen game to not even sharing the 1st place with the 93's
What a way to fall.
 
The Mad Draklor

The Mad Draklor

Member
pixellated_man said:
Oh, so it is a genuine review after all? Well in that case I take back some of what I said earlier. Horribly written review but end of the day it's one negative opinion in a sea of positive ones. Happens with almost every game on Metacritic these days, whatever their quality.
Not worth getting worked up over. Uncharted 4 is still tied with the best reviewed games of this generation - something I honestly didn't expect to happen. One point lower is not going to impact sales either. As an Nd fan I'm really pleased how everything has worked out for them. :)
Click to expand...

Yeah, and this review was published a few days after the game's release. At that point, whether buyers like the Uncharted 4 or not is way more important because word of mouth. Looking at the user average on Amazon, for instance, impressions are overwhelmingly positive, so there's nothing to worry about sales-wise.
 
G

Grim-Reality

Neo Member
I mean, it's quite obviously a satirical review. I understand the issue at hand is that it's being included on metacrtic but I don't see the point in being outraged at particluar quotes in the review when it's clearly been written as an (admittedly poor) attempt at humour.
 
Tfault

Tfault

Member
Blobbers said:
Guys, imagine if Edge also gives UC4 a 4/10 and it goes from being the highest rated next gen game to not even sharing the 1st place with the 93's
What a way to fall.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, given this guy has written for Edge also, it may just happen!

Michael Thomsen is a writer in New York. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Slate, The New Republic, The Daily Beast, The New Inquiry, Kill Screen, Edge, and Gamasutra.
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Lol
 
A

aravuus

Member
Gurish said:
You might need to learn human psychology combined with the history of videogames in order for you to understand why reviews are such a big deal in videogames while in movies and music no one gives a fuck and there are more bad reviewed movies who made huge money than good reviewed ones, don't know why is that.
Click to expand...

Sorry for only taking some courses on psychology in.. Whatever school. English names for Finnish schools are stupid. But anyway, I'm sure you'll shed some light on this matter for me. I have no idea why they matter so much in video games but not in other media, but I'm curious to find out. (edit: this sounds sarcastic but it's not lol)

Anywho, like I edited my earlier post, the first link I came across was this:
http://www.dailydot.com/geek/metacritic-scores-game-sales-gdc-2015/

They plotted out the data and found that Metacritic scores have no impact in determining actual sales.
Click to expand...
(No correlation)

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/04/steam-gauge-do-strong-reviews-lead-to-stronger-sales-on-steam/
Overall, our data shows that, all things being equal, a game with better review scores has a better chance of selling well than one with worse review scores. That's especially true at the extreme ends of the review scale, where games come out as almost guaranteed success or failures based on the critical consensus
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That said, for the vast majority of games in the middle, Metacritic is far from the final determinant of sales destiny. A game is still probably better off sales wise with a Metacritic score of 80 rather than a Metacritic score of 60, but there are so many outliers and so much variability to sales performance in that review range that other factors seem more important to a specific game's eventual success
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(Possible correlation in extreme ends (which, I admit, isn't actually surprising when you consider how terrible reviewers are at using the lower half scores), barely any correlation otherwise)

http://www.jeffcheng.org/kojak/
Specific observations aside however, their general conclusion is the same I have here: there is just too much variability for metascore alone to be a good predictor of game sales.
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(Leaning towards no correlation)

Even the article you posted talked about some correlation which mainly seems to manifest during the first years of a console generation and then more or less go away. Even more so in this generation and in the future. Certainly didn't sound like metascore is "extremely important", like you said.

Still, I'm actually curious about this, so I'm willing to continue discussing this tomorrow. I've gotta wake up to work in a bit over 6 hours though so I should be getting to bed.
 
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