Do Reviews Matter? Yes, Sales Study Shows

Ps3Fanboy777 - 843 days 20 hours ago

Great job!

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XxZxX - 843 days 19 hours ago

O RLY?

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jcgamer - 843 days 19 hours ago

I thought that was interesting...

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PimpHandHappy - 843 days 19 hours ago

anything i see get under a 7 on most reviews i wont buy but i will rent it.

anything that gets 8 and over on gameinformer or gamespot i will think of buying.

Its when ppl start saying it got a 8 and its not worth my money is when ppl have lost the whole thing about games. U choose your world and u play what u think you will like.

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PC Gaming Refugee - 843 days 19 hours ago

So it'll appear on the front page and get the message across.

So, next time, when a fanboy tells you: "those darn review scores do not matter!" You will be able to give them a link and talk back: "...haven't you read the study?"

Click on the source and alternate links to turn up the heat, baby.

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Sven Benoit - 843 days 19 hours ago

yes we cavemen agree that reviews definitely matter..... unless of course if you are a sony fanboy where if that a game that supposedly is good gets bad reviews then they dont matter at all.....

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Charlie2688 - 843 days 19 hours ago

I actually read reviews not to look if the game is good or bad but to understand what type of game I am facing, its strength and its weaknesses, if it has bugs I should worry about, if the controls are difficult, how long is it etc. that is why for me sometimes the final score is the last thing that matters

because at the end a game review is just an opinion that could come in conflict with the reviewers own likes and dislikes that are obviously not universal

possibly the ONLY reviewer I have EVER respected and truly trusted was Greg K former GS editor in chief (now working with EA) cuz he avoided giving reviews based on if he liked or disliked the game (a thing many reviewers do) but he actually presented the game exactly how it was regardless if he thought that was good or bad...(almost like a computer O.o)

sadly he no longer works as a reviewer and I am yet o find a reviewer whose reviews are not moved only by personal preference

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toughNAME - 843 days 18 hours ago

bad news for lair

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BoneMagnus - 843 days 18 hours ago

Notice I said "reviewS" not "review". I also check the forums...

Reading a few reviews gives me a concensus of the gameplay, game length, and whether I will enjoy it or not.

I've never regretted buying a game that I purchased after reading a few reviews.

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sidar - 843 days 17 hours ago

Because person X thinks game A sucks and thinks game B is awsome, doesnt mean i will agree on that.
so my personal answer to that question = No they dont matter.
not everyone likes the games that get a high rating.
nor does everyone hate the games thats getting low ratings.

the only thing that would matter in a review is that you can understand what the game is about.

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edonus - 843 days 17 hours ago

Reviews are good because when used correctly they address issues you might be having with purchasing a game and if you read a review that praises or tears down a something in the game you had concerns about it helps you make an informed decision. For instance if not for mediocre reviews I would have bought a Wii just for Red Steel, if not for decent reviews I wouldnt have bought DeadRising, if not for great reviews I wouldnt have bought Bioshock. I didnt take reviews in mind last Gen and I bought True Crime L.A. I think that you should use the review its self more than the score. I saw the O.K. reviews scores for Perfect Dark Zero but what I read in the reviews told me that the game could hold me down for the FPS fix I needed at the time,( my opinion campaign was alright, but the multiplayer deathmatches were fun as he11).

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Shaka2K6 - 843 days 15 hours ago

Same goes for sales.

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Genki - 843 days 13 hours ago

to that of sheep. I guess I can't blame most of them, as the vast majority of the market is now consumed by casuals. I'd like to say that doesn't necessarily reflect upon the hardcore and enthusiast crowd, but the childish rantings of fanatics around the internet suggest otherwise.

The levelheaded gamer is an endangered species.

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immortal_cries - 843 days 12 hours ago

Wow, some people really dont have their own opinion. Thats just sad.

Obviously its clear that if a game gets high reviews itll be seen as a 'must have', resulting in higher sales of that game. a 10 will always sell more than a 7. Does this mean 'definate'? One of my favorite games has a low score and yet an even lower fan base, but yet its an awsome game. You people dont know what you are missing, playing only what the media tells you too. Sad. And here I was, thinking we bought games that appealed to us... maybe im the sad one for believing that.

That said, i love reviews for what information they provide. Just finally preordered HS, not because of any score but what was said about the game, all the work put into it realy shows and thats all I needed to hear. A con to one isnt to all. Just as a pro. Its all too complicated but yet too simple. All thats left to say is im glad I was raised to think for myself.

Btw, I hear crack is all the rage now kids... Have fun

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Bullseye - 843 days 11 hours ago

also listen to others.We don't gain anything by listening to just ourselves, well, unless you are speaking spiritually, that is.Reviewers,in the main are intelligent educated and experienced professionals within their industry.As such they are at least worth considering wouldn't you say? The final word as always,is yours, but reviews as a guide i think, give useful information.Of course, with most current developers offering demos, before you commit your hard earned cash,reviews are starting to appear less crucial than of old.

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The Round Peg - 843 days 10 hours ago

How are most people going to find the time to check out and try out all the games being released and judge for themselves?

Nowadays we have *so many* games coming out that people can't possibly "check out" and "try out" every single release. So how do people decide what games they should "check out" and "try out the demo for themselves"?

By reading reviews. If reviews after reviews say a game is good, then it's worth checking out and trying out the demo. If people say it's horrible, then don't even waste your time -- because if you have a life, you don't have the time to check out and try out every game and demo for yourselves.

Reviews help to narrow down which games and demos you should spend you time on. If the reviews say a game, then I'll at least spend some time to check it out. if all the reviews say a game is horrible (i.e., Lair,) then the game is not even worth my time -- do you know how many bad games are out there? You can't possibly check out all of the bad games if you have a life and job.

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Nicosia - 843 days 10 hours ago

Actually for gamers it will not matter, some will just buy it to see what all the fuss was about. But normal gamers, who tend NOT to go overboard with buying game, mosly buy games praised by others. Have you never recommended a game? or play a game recommended by someone else?.People with too much time will spend all that money for games, how medicure they are just ''because''. The reason ''crap'' games sell (mosly movie,spinoff and sequels) sell good is because of the name. I myself want a game worth my money. Games like The Darkness, Bioshock and God of War 1 and 2 are worth every penny.

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MC_KOOL_K - 843 days 9 hours ago

WHATS NEXT:

sony has recently said that graphics and gameplay do not matter

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paracardium - 843 days 9 hours ago

I'm not as easily influenced as 85% of this site seems to be by reviewers.. I like to live by DTA ( Don't trust anyone).

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ceedubya9 - 843 days 9 hours ago

Unless I just really have to have a game, a few descent reviews can make a decision for me to buy a game a lot easier by knowing a little bit more about it. Lots of times, bullet point info at the beginning or end of a review can make a world of difference If you don't want to read the whole thing. For instance, most all reviews say that Heavenly Sword is a good game but short. That's definitely somthing I want to know about before spending 60 dollars on a game. Reviews are really helpful in most cases.

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The Round Peg - 843 days 8 hours ago

Maybe they do not matter to YOU, but they do for MANY, MANY other people.

And those many, many other people determine if a game sells or flops.

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Gamer luv - 843 days 7 hours ago

I believe reviews matter.

If a company who reviews a game and gives it a low score, then its pretty obvious that game is going to be under par.
Therefore, i will not buy it, i wont even consider wasting my money just so some developer can cash in on cheap goods.

If a game gets and deserves the good review it gets, then i will most probably get the game.

But for some people it is different, for instance, Lair got bad reviews i believe, not to sure?? But people still continue to say its a great game, even though, reviews have said otherwise. And i think that despite this, they will go out and buy the game any way. Not just with Ps3 games, but all consoles, i think "fanboyism" to some extent sort of "blinds" you from the truth, and just because you favour one console or developer to another, you will sort of prefer it if you understand what i mean?

For example, i think its fair for me to say that i prefer the Xbox 360 over my Ps3, I dont know why this is the case, because my 360 is an ugly, loud cheaply made console, as opposed to my PS3 which is, how can you put it, " Beautifuly" manufactured and enginered, its quiet, reliable, looks stunning, but still, it doesnt get as much care and effection as my loud 360. And it is because of this, if a Multi platform game comes out, next to identical on either platform, there is more chance that ill buy it for my 360.

Anyone get what im sayin?

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Spinitus - 843 days 7 hours ago

i sure don't trust them any more with all the low scores on some of the recent released games. a.k.a WARHAWK

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weazle - 843 days 7 hours ago

I always check reviews. In most cases it keeps me from wasting my money. Games don't come cheap now days and I read reviews on them just like I do on any other expensive product before I buy. I don't just rely on one review though, I look at the overall review by many different sites. They are usually pretty accurate if you average them all out.

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Thugbot187 - 843 days 6 hours ago

It truthfully depends on the person. I read the reviews on games, and they have helped me avoid some tragic games. Last Gen I didn’t and let me tell you I had some horrible games that I paid full price for and they just collected dust. My rule of thumb is if it gets a bad review and you still really want it rent it, if you like it after that then buy it; at least you save yourself 60 bucks.
For all those people upset about the reviews the PS3 games like Warhawk and Heavenly Sword got, chill out they weren’t 4’s. Reviewers generally look at similar games they have played on all current systems and it get’s ranked. 9’s are normally reserved for games that go above and beyond. 7’s and 8’s are still good scores and worth playing.

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Kholinar - 843 days 6 hours ago

Same data as referenced in this story yesterday:

http://www.n4g.com/industry...

Anyway, I think most people find a source or two that has similar taste to themselves and those are the only ones they give much credence.

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DeltaP42 - 843 days 5 hours ago

I'm sorry but this is just plain not right. There are 100 other factors you have to consider when measuring these. Advertising budget, franchise games, etc. Let me lay out a scenario for you, Madden 09 scores an average of 60% between all media outlets. Do you think that any less people will be buying the game? NO, plain and simple, it would still gross higher than last years.

Hyped up games get bigger advertising budgets and therefore more purchases, regardless of whether or not it's a quality game. Spiderman 3 got RAPED by the reviewers and still sold a massive amount of copies.

In addition, alot of games that get higher sales are sequels to previous games. The quality may be better or worse, but they tend to do better in sales because the franshise has had time to settle in and get into gamer's libraries. So you have to separate the sales based on quality of the game and sales because the franchise has gained popularity since it's initial release.

Take out all the franchise games, movie games, overhyped games, and go with completely original IPs and THEN do the study, it'll look alot different. You'll be seeing alot fewer "BioShock"s and alot more "Lair"s.

Now, I'm not saying that the reviews arent mostly right, because I always check metacritic before purchasing a game or thinking about purchasing it. All I'm trying to say is you have to look at a certain range of games for this comparison, I mean seriously, all Sony had to do in the late PS1, early PS2 days was take a steaming pile of sh*t, slap SOCOM on the cover and it would sell like crazy.

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streeks1984 - 843 days 5 hours ago

I will never allow others to dictate what game I want to play or dont want to play, I believe that is my decision because its my money that I am using to purchase it anyway, come on do you really think reviewers care about what games you buy or dont buy unless they are have an ulterior motive. I say buy what you want to buy and make decsions that best fits for you the gamer forget the reviewers.

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caffman - 843 days 5 hours ago

unless you are a troll in which case reviews don't matter and the reviewers are 1. too young, 2. too fat, 3. too ginger or 4. just not saying what you want to hear.
In which case you send the reviewer a guide AFTER the review to put them in their place and tell them how wrong they MUST be cause the only valid opinion is the one that agrees with you

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Xi - 843 days 5 hours ago

because if the majority of reviews are good then it will likely be better received by more of the public.

Reviews offer a glimpse as to what are some of the positives and negative of a game, not necessarily whether or not the game is good or bad but what in the game is good or bad and how big an issue it is. For example the controls in Lair was a major issue in lair and so the game suffered.

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GMR_PR - 843 days 5 hours ago

the problem now days is that anybody can open a website and start reviewing games and people would read them. To many reviewers and only too few are reliable. To many of them are bais reviews.

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kornbeaner - 843 days 4 hours ago

and even that is still up to choice. A game like Halo 3 or Killzone will sell millions based on hype alone. But games like Okami and Psychonauts get great reviews from every website and magazine and don't sell anything. High hyped game + good reviews =$$$$$$$$$
High reviews + no hype = no sales or sleeper hit. High hype + low reviews = (this hurts as a sony fan) you get Lair

Fanboys are the #1 buyers.

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The True Gamer - 843 days 3 hours ago

I know reviews are opionated, but there are factual also. For example, If a reviewer says the game is short, it freezes, no online play, gliches, etc. These are facts. Reviews always have facts about a game. Also, you got to know the type of reviews or magazine you are reading, because different magazines and online sites have a different style of rating games. For example PSM, base their reviews on, if you pay $60.00 dollars, will you get your money worth with the game, Game Pro has a fun factor ( how fun the game is determines its score). So by looking at all the different reviews you can determine if it worth you money. I base my purchase on reviews, plus it also determine by what type of gamer you are also. For me I am a hardcore gamer, I played games since pong. So, a game has to be really good for me to pay $60.00. The games I like may be different from a casual gamer. But you need reviews to determine what type of game it is, or their would be a lot upset people buying stupid games.

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