Edge is Tougher on PS3 Exclusives than 360 Exclusives

In an earlier post on the article comments section for Edge's Halo ODST review, I showed that Edge has given 0 PS3 exclusives a score of 9 out of 10, and 9 Xbox 360 exclusives a score of 9 out of 10. If you count 10's, then they gave 1 PS3 exclusive a score of 9 or higher (LittleBigPlanet got a 10), and 10 Xbox 360 exclusives got a score of 9 or higher (Halo 3 got a 10). That's 10 times as many Xbox 360 exclusives that they gave a 9 out of 10 to. For that listing, I counted Left 4 Dead as a console exclusive for Xbox 360. If you only count games that were fully exclusive to the Xbox 360 upon their release, then remove 1 from those numbers, and you still have them giving nine games over a 90%, and still 9 times the number of PS3 exclusives they've rated that highly.

I thought it would be nice to look at all of the opportunities they have had to score PS3 exclusives at 9 or higher that they didn't take. Obvious examples that jumped out at me were Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, which both have meta scores over 90%. But I figured an effective way to look at it would be to analyze all of the exclusives on both consoles in depth and determine all of the exclusive games on both PS3 and 360 that have a MAJORITY of their scores over 90%. So this doesn't just include games with over a 90% meta average, but games that received a 90 or more from more than half of the critics who reviewed them. These games were obviously well-received by the majority of the critics, and stand out to me as examples of games that Edge could have given a 9 or more to. Here's the list:

Only counting games that Edge reviewed. Data retrieved from GameRankings.com @ between 10:00am and 11:00am on September 21, 2009.

Key:
# of 90+ scores / Total # scores = % of 90+ scores ... Edge score - Avg. score = Edge's over/under

PS3
1. Little Big Planet … 72 / 75 = 98.6% … 100 - 94.50 = +5.50
2. Metal Gear Solid 4 … 66 / 83 = 79.5% … 80 – 93.14 = - 13.14
3. Killzone 2 … 57 / 77 = 74% … 70 - 90.38 = -20.38
4. Uncharted … 53 / 80 = 66.3% … 80 - 89.64 = -9.64
5. Ratchet & Clank F: ToD … 47 / 77 = 61% … 80 - 88.60 = -8.60
6. WipeOut HD … 31 / 47 = 66% … 80 – 87.47 = -7.47
7. Flower … 30 / 48 = 62.5% … 70 – 87.31 = -17.31
8. Resistance 2 … 34 / 63 = 54% … 60 – 86.78 = -26.78
9. Ninja Gaiden Sigma … 31 / 58 = 53.4% … 80 – 86.72 = -6.72
10. inFamous … 38 / 75 = 50.7% … 70 - 86.33 = -17.33
11. Resistance: FoM … 41 / 78 = 52.6% … 70 – 86.29 = -16.29
12. Super Stardust HD … 13 / 24 = 54.2% … 80 – 85.62 = -5.62

Exclusive games with a majority of scores 90+ = 12
Exclusive games scored 90+ by Edge = 1
Percentage of majority 90+ games scored 90+ by Edge = 1 / 12 = 8.3%
Total under average = -143.78
Average under = -12
Percentage of games rated under = 11 / 12 = 91.7%

Xbox 360
1. Gears of War … 100 / 110 = 91% … 80 – 93.88 = -13.88
2. Halo 3 … 78 / 91 = 85.7% … 100 – 93.37 = +6.63
3. Gears of War 2 … 74 / 81 = 93.4% … 90 – 93.4 = -3.4
4. Braid … 45 / 53 = 85% … 90 – 92.43 = -2.43
5. Mass Effect … 62 / 86 = 72.1% … 70 – 90.71 = -20.71
6. Geometry Wars 2 … 36 / 48 = 75% … 90 – 89.98 = +0.02
7. Forza Motorsport 2 … 58 / 80 = 72.5% … 90 – 89.61 = +0.39
8. Shadow Complex … 40 / 54 = 74.1% … 70 – 89.48 = -19.48
9. Project Gotham Racing 3 … 55 / 94 = 58.5% … 90 – 88.77 = +1.33
10. Fable II … 53 / 84 = 63.1% … 90 – 88.35 = +1.65
11. Halo 3: ODST … 11 / 17 = 64.7% … 90 – 87.69 = +2.31
Project Gotham Racing 4 … 32 / 71 = 45% … 90 – 86.47 = +3.53

Exclusive games with a majority of scores 90+ = 11
Exclusive games scored 90+ by Edge = 9
Percentage of majority 90+ games scored 90+ by Edge = 8 / 11 = 72.7%
Total under = -44.4
Average under = -3.7
Percentage of games rated under = 5 / 12 = 41.7%

(Mass Effect, Gears of War, and Braid are no longer exclusives, but were exclusive at the time of their reviews. Project Gotham Racing 4 had less than a majority of its scores at 90% or higher, but Edge gave it a 9 out of 10.)

---------------------------

So as you can see, Edge had ample opportunities to review some PS3 exclusives a 9 out of 10. In fact, there is one more exclusive that is categorized as receiving a majority of 90+ scores on the PS3 than there is on the 360. And yet, they have given 9 times as many 360 exclusives a score of 9+. More than half of the 360 titles were rated over the average score, while only 1 of the PS3 titles was. The facts are pretty telling.

[Sarcasm]

And people wonder why people think Edge is an xbox fan site. If that isn't proof, I don't know what is.

[Snake Raiser]

I'm not normally one to scream bias. But what really did it for me was ODST got a 9. Basically the only problem was that it didn't do much new. Then they gave Killzone 2 a 7 for basically the same problem. So ya, something about that seems wrong to me.

[gamesR4fun]

facts that prove what we've said all along edge has one standard for the 360 and another for ps3.
Just the thought that odst was rated higher kz2 makes me ill. And ya ive played both rented odst last night and let me tell u its nothing but garbage not even fit to be in the same generation as kz2...

[TheColbertinator]

So?

[pixelsword]

just point me in the direction of who I have to hate on and I'll hate them.

[omni_atlas]

You should start a website and put this info down.

Edge is bias, yes.

[chrisulloa]

and N4G = PS3 Fansite

[Statix]

The difference is, N4G doesn't write reviews that are counted in the Metacritic averages.

[SiteNblog Defender]

LMFAO! Oh man..

[onanie]

Nervous laughter

[The Master Chief]

Why would he be nervous last place droid? It's become extremely obvious over the past 2-3 years, which side of fanboys are truly rattled and scared for their little Sony PS3's life.

[gamerzBEreal17]

u wana talk about tuff? ODST got a 9 out of 10 had 6 flaws in the video review (the score card only shows 2) but i promise you the guy mentioned 6 flaws and 2 positives and the uncharted2 review got a 9.5 even tho it only had 1 flaw and its not even worth menton and so many positives and it got a 9.5? atleast a 9.8 AND to top it off ninja gaiden 2 got a 8.9 i think and ninja gaiden sigma2 got a 8.4 but sigma has new charecters PLUS better graphics PLUS new boss PLUS man i feel like that energy bar commercail bottom line IGN are money hungry u don't pay them they give it a bad review u do pay them they hype it up a point are to

[callahan09]

I agree with your spirit, IGN are definitely a load of crap these days as well.

[chrisulloa]

Obviously you're a fanboy, Ninja Gaiden was only a bit touched up compared to the original. I saw articles raving that it was going to be a million times better, but it only disappointed the reviewers. It's still the same game. Xbox owners aren't missing out on anything big, also 9.5 is a really good score for a game especially from IGN. They gave Halo ODST a 9.0 because it's a completely different game than Halo 3, it has it's flaws but it carries its own weight.

[Statix]

Haven't you seen the comparison pics? HUGE difference in graphical polish and detail, with much better textures, lighting/HDR effects, higher polygonal detail, and depth of field effects. And, it runs at full 720p, unlike the sub-HD 360 version.

This isn't even mentioning the new characters, new enemies, new weapons, and the new cooperative online mode.

[mastiffchild]

Chris-I don't see your point. You say it's the same game and you trust IGN reviews-why? If they score the "same" game lower on one platform than the other?

Add to that the fact that NG2's worst issue(that sticky camera) has been sorted out(and should be patched for NG2 as well really), the game looks better, has lots more content and even the OTT gore that never had anything to do with NG games previously(and was frankly off putting for me)and the lower than the first game scores seem a little odd to me. Can you explain it? REviewers are tired of the game? That's not their job here-no, it's to inform PS£ owners just how good the game is and there's no logical reason to score it lower is there? Well, maybe if you're a blood fetishist but otherwise...

Honestly though I really think the IGN review for NGS2 is a bit daft and when you look at it you have to say I've got a little bit of a point, don't you?

[iChaos Amongus]

Man you PS3 fanatics got it all figured out. Bravo!

[The Shining]

There is no opinion involved, it's all a big conspiracy! XD

That's the reason PS3 is losing, right guys? EVERYONE is out to get Sony! :S

[TheBand1t]

Protip: A console only loses when the parent company ceases to support it too early.

See: Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox 1.

True story: 360 is in 2nd, therefore it loses to the the Wii. Or did you forget that? Only winner this gen is the Wii.

Get back to me when ANY Xbox console gets out of 2nd place.

[The Shining]

...or when the next generation starts, and this one ends, in 2011/2012 and PS3 is still in dead last.

[onanie]

"or when the next generation starts, and this one ends, in 2011/2012"

Or when it doesn't.

[TheBand1t]

Look at the disagrees. Truth hurts when it turns out the Wii is making the PS360 look foolish.

[Statix]

There's a difference between conspiracy and general BIAS in the media. For example, it's no big conspiracy or mystery that Fox News is conservatively biased, while MSNBC is liberal-biased. Media bias does in fact exist; this much is indisputable.

You people dismissing any form of media as far-fetched conspiracy are simply ignorant and naive.

[mastiffchild]

Yes, we forget that ALL media has a market to pander to and as such is NOT really ever anything other than local in some way. Like a national UK tabloid is locally biased towards the England football team the MEN is the same way towards Citeh and Man Utd.

The way I see it, having worked on local and national press in the UK for years, EVERY paper, mag and website has some "home team" or "local boy" bias-they're all softer on , for example, the sports teams their readership is likely to care about and/or support. They reflect the import and power of their teams to their circulation directly-they pi55 off the readers they go out of business.

This need not be a spoken thing, just a tacit understanding from the style of years of previous reports on the subject at hand in their publication-but it's undeniably there. I feel , this gen, with MS being the western(and as the games media for English speakers is largely US and UK based where the 360 is king)"local boy" in the console war allied to this being the first time they've done that well in said conflict does mean a larger part of the readership of western mags/sites are 360 gamers.

Magazines and sites would, therefore be silly to be too hard on the 360 and it's games in comparison to the other platforms wouldn't they? They rubbish their own markets choice and they lose readers and we know what that means. I'm not saying this is a massive bias, I'm not saying it ALWAYS happens but I do feel it makes the scores for 360 games liable to be higher than if they were on a Sony console-not by a lot as credibility is fleeting if you go OTT with anything but just as the local paper won't be as harsh on dodgy performance from their footy side we see the same in MS case in the western media for gaming.

Also there are sites partially owned by MS, sites that are partners with MS and so on. MS is also the biggest advertiser for most of these sites-the unspoken temptation to give them a few breaks mounts up, doesn't it? The flip side is that Sony look like they get harsher treatment than they actually do because MS just get a very slightly, in general, ride over their shortcomings. Look at the Watchdog YLOD report the other day-if they're going to pull up Sony for what they did they really need to pull up the whole electronic industry whose standards Sony fall into with ease. Fair enough they also did MS for RROD but the fact is Sony didn't deserve it and MS should have been on a lot more.If Sony had the same fail rate both the US and UK watchdog would have ensured a mass recall imo and the way the BBC made a similar noise about YLOD when it's never been in the same league as the 360's woes with RROD/E74 etc is evidence of this slight leaning toward the western company from western media.

I'm not even saying it's wrong or right just that it's a little thing which is unavoidable when you have a local entity competing with a distant challenger and that people are probably wrong with conspiracy theories as it's more than likely this very issue they see happening.

Sadly, the games industry is younger than most and as such it's expert media is less full of trained writers and reporters-it's also full of gamers who are likely to be fans. Fans of series, games and , yes, even consoles. How likely is it that a US site reviewing Halo hasn't got a queue of Halo fans on staff wanting to do it's review? Again I don't see that as bias but do see it as unavoidable-it HAS to happen and how many fans of a series like that(and remember how people either LOVE Halo or hate it)are likely to hammer it for a slightly duff entry?

See, I feel 95% of the reviews and bad press people moan about falls into this category which is neither scary MS deliberately buying reviewers nor some inbuilt hatred of Sony. I suspect the Japanese media if Google translate was better or our Japanese was, would show similar leanings towards Sony/Ninty but this gen with Sony falling from grace sales wise and MS taking up a little of the slack the west has strengthened it's gaming position AND voice and as the western media is largely the voice of MS in many ways it's no surprise we have "incidents" that upset fanboys and fans alike.

That still leaves the odd few with no explanation , though, does it not? Until seeing the total scores here I was of the opinion that Edge were still on their wilfully "clever" and contrary kick-reviewing games low, and mainly big exclusives like ME or KZ2, for the hits they get from the controversy. Sadly, these figures worry me. As a trained journo I'd hate them to be properly bent, some of them are good writers btw, but must admit that a litany of unexplainable goalpost shifting for PS3 exclusives like this is very shady. They don't apply the same yardsticks for 360 games as PS3 ones with PS3 games having to innovate while those only on 360 seem not to need this so much.

There are a few others who look a little suspect and some of those have partnerships and huge advertising with MS-maybe the temptation to pander to both their market AND their partial paymaster is too strong for their objectivity? IDK, but fact is the western media isn't largely bent or knowingly biased in any direction. Yes, they will lean, as all media does, to that which represents them and their readership but that is slight and unavoidable and not, in any way, sinister. To do otherwise would also be foolish for business in most cases-believe me if the PS3 was way ahead in the west we wouldn't see half as much.

Bottom line is there aren't many suspect sites and our media will only get better over time but to expect complete fairness is daft and impossible to do and we should, in the main, calm down a little. Edge might be a bit suspect but that doesn't make anyone else that way unless they show it with similar scores over time and not many do. There might be a few fanboys at Edge, yes, but MS isn't going to "buy" them, they understand their power in the media and the nature of media itself so why would they? Honestly there's very little to see in most cases, trust me it's just natural.

Sorry for any typos and for the waffling on here but I'm very tired AND concussed tonight(knocked myself out by walking into a fire escape!)which is a real issue! Long posts FTW! Sorry, again, to anyone foolhardy enough to wade through it. You really deserve a present!

[madpuppy]

Is that like one of those Leapfrog learning game machines for children?

[DelbertGrady]

Now where did I put my tin foil hat?

[The Master Chief]

Made me LOL hard.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Instead of hurling insults, add something intelligent to the discussion by looking for flaws in his methodology or data. The information here seems pretty solid to me, but maybe you could look at a larger data set to see what happens. Maybe you could do a similar analysis of a different website that does the opposite.

Whatever the case, you don't need to worry about this. This isn't saying that PS3 is better than 360 (or even that 360 ISN'T better than PS3), it's not saying that all the media is biased against PS3, it's just saying that this ONE website rates the TOP PS3 exclusives significantly lower than their peers do, while they rate the top 360 exclusives similarly to their peers.

[callahan09]

Thank you, Qui-Gon. You added a very well-reasoned comment, as well as doing a good job summing up what I was trying to show with this piece.

[DelbertGrady]

Perhaps they think the games available on the 360 are better? After all, reviews only reflect that certain writers personal opinion of the game. And it seems you can't accept that.

[solar]

i still dont understand why you ppl get sooooo butthurt over an imaginary number some journalist gives a game, which is their opinion, and cry about it on the internet.

play the damn game and make your own decision if its good or not. ive played plenty of games that were rated "OMFG BEST GAME EVER!!" and i thought it was completely "overrated" with imaginary numbers. see KZ2, GTAIV, SMG. get over stupid review scores.

[Statix]

Typical Xbots with their ignorant and naive dismissal of media bias as "conspiracy theories." The fact of the matter is, media bias does exist, in every form of media out there. In the news media, Fox News is conservative-biased, while MSNBC is liberal-biased; yet no IDIOTS would start dismissing these claims of bias as "conspiracy theories," would they?

Yet that's exactly what you ignoramus Xbox fanboys who can't ARGUE WITH THE FACTS do... because you can never win the argument via logic or reasoning alone. You're just generally not intelligent enough to do so, I guess.

P.S., I'd rather have a tinfoil hat on than a dunce cap.

[ReviewsArePolitics]

This is statistical proof, as you retards say "teh numbers don't lie".

[onanie]

@callahan - That does look like insurmountable evidence, comparing edge against the collective average. From now on, it would be difficult to say that edge is unbiased, with a straight face.

@soda - i guess that's the best you can do.

[DelbertGrady]

Your nickname translates to "masturbation" in swedish.

[Digitaldude]

Then ignore edge.
I hate bias review sites.

[thor]

It's so obvious that they're biased.

In any case, they dislike pretty much every PS3 game and love loads of 360 games, so in that sense, I simply don't agree with them.

Both consoles have a great selection of exclusive games.

Even some of the 360 diehards on this site will admit that there are plenty of games on PS3 worth owning.

I'm sure that the 360 fans will burst in here saying that we're claiming it's a conspiracy - we're not saying that, we're simply saying that Edge are biased for whatever reason. Same reason anybody becomes a fanboy. They bought a 360 and were so insecure in their purchase that when the PS3 came out they had to hate, hate, hate.

Of course when a fantastic game comes out they may try to hate it but they're enjoying themselves so much they must admit that it's a great game. But any slight flaw in a game is enough to dig a wedge into their fanboy brain and they'll prise it open to a 2-3 point score gap.

Giving a PS3 game an 8, they feel as though "we're not giving into the PS3 fanboy hype of another wannabe great game for PS3" but that they're still being very positive.

Giving a 360 game a 9 or 10, they feel as though they're judging a game on its merits, and so long as it's fun, it deserves that score, despite any flaws or nitpicks.

[callahan09]

Thank you. The comments that my blog post has garnered are quite frankly disgusting. I've gotten about 15 comments from obvious 360 fans in here that are nothing but a joke. They are pretending like something is funny, like it is ridiculous to even analyze the trends of Edge's review scores. They're putting words in my mouth.

I never even said that Edge are biased, I never brought up any conspiracies. All I've done is analyze the data. There have been numerous opportunities where it would have been generally considered acceptable for them to heap some praises on to a PS3 game, and they've only taken the opportunity on ONE occasion: LittleBigPlanet. Whereas for the Xbox 360, in nearly every similar opportunity, they've taken it and ran, slapping 9's on 360 games almost any time the critical community seems to be doing the same (ever notice how their reviews are ALWAYS one of the last to come out?)

These are just simply the facts. I'm not going to make any assumptions or hypotheses from there, but it is factual that they have been very tough on PS3 exclusives and pretty lenient on most 360 exclusives. I'm perfectly willing to accept that it's all a big coincidence, that for whatever reason they just HAPPEN to not like those PS3 games as much as the average critic, and they just HAPPEN to really love a bunch of 360 games, and its all on the up and up and based purely on the merits of the games and the time they spent with those games. Sure. That could be the case. But also, maybe it isn't.

It's pretty god damn pathetic that around these parts, this kind of analysis just gets crapped on by 360 fans, like we're not allowed to look into it and see what the trends are. The ridicule that PS3 have to endure any time we want to bring to light the FACT that since the PS3 launched it has gotten extremely harsh criticism and been subjected to countless double standards from the gaming media... it's just insane. We're told there's no evidence and we're crazy. We go out and get evidence and they laugh at us like we're grasping at straws.

And P.S. -- When I say PS3 fan, I mean just that. I like the system and its games, and I think it has deserved better from the gaming media for quite some time now. I also like the 360. I'm a fan of all gaming platforms.

[taylork37]

Any review site that with those numbers clearly has some bias in its reviews, there is no doubt about As a multi console owner and a lover of both systems, I can see it.

But, can you say something about PSM giving Uncharted 2 a 21/20? I don't care how perfect a game is, to give a game a 21/20 is a joke. No game is flawless, or in their opinion, better than flawless.

I was worried ODST was going to be the game that all the PS3 fanboys were calling it, but it absolutely wasn't. I played it all day yesterday, and it is well worth the score that Edge gave it. I am happy I spent $60. The firefight alone will keep me busy for a while.

Overall, I just don't want to see certain review sites get trounced by PS3 fanboys, while the websites and magazines they go to for reviews can go around giving 21/20's.

[thor]

PSM gave Uncharted 2 a 21/20 because of review score inflation.

This is also the reason you see ODST, an expansion pack marketed as a full Halo game (Halo 4), achieve scores of 9/10. What would they have given it if it included
-Brand new competitive multiplayer
-Improved graphics, presentation
-Full-length campaign
-Matchmaking in Firefight
-More originality rather than giving us a new (yet pretty standard and cliche) health system
-Many more weapons
-Better story
-More involvement of the open-world nature of the hub world, rather than just to pad out the game length in between linear sections
-More enemy types & variety (especially compared to Halo 3)
-More than just one new game mode
-More multiplayer features (like Forge plus or something)

Review score inflation is the reason. It's fun, so it deserves 9/10. Wrong. There are so many more factors involved - think how much better it COULD have been, and you'll see why throwing a 9/10 at most games is silly. It's also the reason why they saw fit to give Uncharted 2 a 21/20. Because other games, lacking in content, lacking in features, with worse graphics get a 19/20 or a 20/20, just because they're fun, and Uncharted 2 comes along and it's fun AS WELL as being content-packed, feature-packed, with outstanding graphics.

Also, PSM have no bias towards or against PS3 games. Because that's all they review. Apparently, they also gave GTA: San Andreas a 21/20. Because when you give comparably mediocre games a 20/20, there's no place left to go to show that another game is better.

[Jinxstar]

I said this in another blog. if you took the word "Halo" off the box the game would have scored at least 1-2 points lower on every site.

[Major_Tom]

While I'm not touting conspiracy, Halo:ODST is just a run down of previous iterations of the Halo franchise and I think we're seeing the metacritic score a result of that.

[Captain Planet]

The Master Chief and The Shining looks like gigantic douchebags. Way to bring nothing to the conversation.

[Major_Tom]

Mucho laughs. +1

[jack_burt0n]

I know a few people who subscribe to edge magazine myself included and have been reading it from issue 1 yes i am OLD lol.

Most of the people who do subscribe are multi console owners and they have ALL cancelled their subscriptions, simply because the bias is so blatant and so childish its pointless to read you are so much better of getting different dedicated magazines. An xbox only magazine would be less bias reviewing ps3 exclusives.

In terms of industry info and job listings there are also better options.

[FlipMode]

I think its Funny the XDF just say were crazy instead of giving facts to counter his statement

Guess they know callahan09 is right :)

[Jinxstar]

Thats what they always do. They never have facts to back up arguments. Whenever I make a valid point all they do is say "Jinxstar is such a fanboy" then I say "Yes I am a huge fanboy. What of it? Are you gonna prove me wrong" then they leave. Or just mash the disagree button.

[artsaber]

Taylork37 and Kionic Warlord come to my mind. I actually enjoy reading many of their posts. There is nothing wrong with favoring your console of choice. I own all three, but prefer my PS3. That does not mean I don't get down with my 360. But I will step out on a ledge and say this.

Many 360 fans lack intelligence. If there is documented evidence of skewed scoring, upon the top class titles on both consoles... all it requires is casual reading.

All some of us ask is that you CONSIDER the idea that something may be amiss. Even better if you have counterintelligence to these claims. All discussions on the topic are welcome, but maybe SOMETIMES we can all try to be sensible and have an intelligent conversation that JUST MIGHT benefit gamers as a whole.

Excellent post callahan09... you put much work into discovering those facts. I appreciate it.

[callahan09]

Thanks for the kind words. Also, I don't know who Taylor is, but Kionic Warlord is a good guy, I enjoy his comments.

[RockmanII7]

I hate this whole 'Your either with me or against me' attitude thats been on N4G lately :(

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

LMAO. The excuses keep on coming...

[ReviewsArePolitics]

excuses = fact? add another 360 moron to the list...

[ReviewsArePolitics]

excuses = fact? another add another 360 moron to the list...

[rubixCubos]

EDGE giving ODST a 9/10 was the final straw.

Especially when you consider their scores to other FULL-GAME FPSs.

The publication has lost all credibility and is a load of high-browed garbage. The sad thing is that there are a few more biased publications like EDGE that need rumbling.

[UNCyrus]

lost my credibility when they ended up giving Killzone 2 a 7/10, yet for half of the review they said it was the best graphics they'd ever seen in a console game

[Grandreaper9999]

Well, it's obvious that reviews should not be done by one particular person when counting towards site scores people refer to for purchases. One fanboy reviewer from a high profile site can hurt the image for an otherwise great game. Regardless of the system the game belongs to, it should never be up to one person's flawed mind to dictate the quality of a game.. ESPECIALLY in this day and age, where videogames rake in TONS of money. It's by no means a small industry. It's a real shame that greasy fanboys have any say over these kinds of things.

Metacritic and other big sites NEED to have average review scores submitted by multiple people. that way perfect 10's won't be shelled out every time a new Halo game or GTA game comes around that is NOT the best thing since sliced bread. Scores that reflect multiple opinions is all I ask really. That's the only way to get a well rounded opinion of a game, and also irons out ludicrous claims such as Uncharted loading times, and KZ2 getting 7/10 because it did nothing new. Show the hater's scoring and reasoning, show the enthusiast's scoring and reasoning, and average them out... That can't be too difficult to do really.

[popup]

I feel sorry for the poeple who get payed to play some of these great games and don't enjoy them. I pay them to play and enjoyed them. I guess that it simply sucks to be them :)

Either way, if you have a history of disagreements with one site and their opinions then I would recommend not paying attention to their views and looking elsewhere to be sure of your purchase.

If it turned out that Edge really were biased then I pity them for enjoying the smell of their own farts.

[D81]

Does anyone want to point out some incontrovertable proof of any wrongdoing? Or suggest any reasons *why* Edge would be biased in any way? Edge is written by a huge number of journalists who also write for a number of different mags, both multiformat and exclusive to all different machines. Perhaps, just perhaps, they played a load of games and decided some were worthy of a 9 out of 10, and most weren't. That a few 9 out of 10s were for 360 games is completely arbitrary.

What motivation would Edge have for showing preference to the 360? And if anyone shouts "Microsoft pay them off!" I'll break their little face off in a fit of bemused rage. Really? Do they *really*? As in, they'd get away with that without anyone knowing about it? Including people who write for Future's magazines? Including people high up there? *Really*?

Christ. Games are games. Save up and buy all the consoles, then you won't have to worry about whether yours is as sexy as the next guy's.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

There is absolutely no proof. It's just crying from the sony fanboys. They make up these insane ideas that Microsoft owns almost every gaming magazine or website and it's the reason why ps3 games don't score perfect 10's. It's pathetic and funny at the same time.

[callahan09]

It's not about explaining why they're biased because I'm not saying that they are biased. I'm just showing how they've been reluctant to give high scores to perfectly worthy PS3 exclusives, and how they have shown no reluctance at all to give high scores to 360 exclusives. Pointing out the facts regarding their review history does not mean I'm accusing them of bias. But if you're a PS3 owner and want to know which games are the ones you should be playing, it could be useful to know that Edge is absolutely not a reliable source to go and get that information. Because they are blatantly neglecting to recommend the majority of the games that the PS3 owning crowd should be recommended to go out and buy. And that's basically just a disservice to PS3 owners. Therefore, I wrote this blog to point out their review tendencies so that people can see. And that's it. No accusations, assumptions, or made-up anything, just the facts.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

You're right. It is their opinions, and they are entitled to them. The point of this blog is that their opinions regularly rate the top PS3 exclusives lower than everybody else, while they rate the top 360 exclusives at the same level as everybody else.

As far as "incontrovertible proof of any wrongdoing," the numbers are pretty damning. I wouldn't say it is "wrongdoing" though, only that Edge should not be seen as a reliable source for reviews of PS3 exclusives.

[Figboy]

the fact that DEDICATED Xbox 360 magazines/sites give more credit to PS3 exclusives than "multi-console" magazines/sites, and DEDICATED PS3 magazines/sites give more credit to 360 exclusives.

i've read plenty of reviews from Xbox ONLY sites that praise games like MGS4, LBP, even Resistance 2.

i've read plenty of reviews from PS3 ONLY sites that praise games like Gears of War, Mass Effect, and Fable.

those people are who you'd call GAMERS. they don't have much of an agenda outside of letting people know what good games are out there.

i prefer my PS3, but i enjoy my 360 quite a bit, and am looking forward to games like Mass Effect 2, Alan Wake, and Fable 3.

Edge does NOT enjoy video games unless they are on the console of their choice. they grudgingly admit that 2, count them TWO, out of a sea of PS3 exclusives are worth owning and exhibit quality. that's ludicrous.

out of:

Resistance
Resistance 2
Motorstorm
Motorstorm 2
Heavenly Sword
Folklore
Ratchet and Clank Future
Warhawk
Uncharted 1
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1
Metal Gear Solid 4
Demon's Souls
Little Big Planet
Killzone 2
inFAMOUS
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Siren: Blood Curse

and PSN games like

Wipeout HD
Super Stardust HD
Flower
Flow
Pain
Pixel Junk Eden
Pixel Junk Monsters

etc,

ONLY Little Big Planet and Demon's Souls are worth anything?

and for the 360:

out of

Gears of War 1
Gears of War 2
Fable 2
Mass Effect
Halo 3
Halo: ODST
Lost Planet
Braid
Geometry Wars
Forza 2
Shadow Complex
PGR 3
PGR 4
Castle Crashers

and more, that ALL of those are worth owning except for Mass Effect and Shadow Complex (the two lowest scoring Xbox 360 exclusives Edge have scored)?

that's not only inconceivable, but IMPOSSIBLE.

so, either the 360 games are being OVERSCORED (which is unlikely, as the majority of the games above are an 8 at the VERY VERY least, and a 9 at the most), or the PS3 games are being UNDERSCORED (which is VERY likely, as practically ALL of the Edge scores for the PS3 exclusives go against what the majority of the media, and gamers settle on).

we're not saying there is this vast media conspiracy concerning the PS3, but some sites like Edge, Eurogamer, kotaku, GamesRadar, GamesDaily, and joystiq have a blatant bias against the PS3 and it's games. they can't report on a single thing related to Sony and the PS3 without an air of disdain. they think they are so clever that no one picks up on it, but it's there.

sites like G4, Gamespot, IGN, 1up, etc don't have a clear cut bias, but they DO have their preferences, and it tends to show, but it's not to such an egregious level that Edge.

i don't think even kotaku, joystiq, or GamesRadar have such a blatantly unbalanced grading curve towards PS3 exclusives as Edge.

[matnum]

I don't understand why you people need to start mini crusades against websites all they are doing is giving an opinion, and if there not and your aware of it then ignore it, just find a site that you do trust.

Why does every one seem to let a bad review get in the way of them enjoying a game.

[Spike47]

These are the same ignorant bunch who claim sales=quality.

[Another One]

It was a general statement about people that get uptight about a low review score. It's not directed at either side in particular (at least neither side was named). Reading comprehension fail for you.

Back on topic; Your blog shows that on average they score 360 exclusives higher than PS3. I'll give you that. I don't think it warrants all that you went through with looking up the numbers and all, but I commend you on the effort. Edge has an opinion of a game just like any other reviewer. They are also entitled to that opinion. I'll admit, I'm a 360 fan (one that wants a PS3)but I do realize that there are websites that are biased one way or the other. And that goes for both consoles (PSM's review of UC2 comes to mind. Game looks amazing, but 21/20 is laughable).

What I'm unsuccessfully trying to get at is that reviews don't hold the same weight that some of you want to believe. That average on Metacritic doesn't mean a damn thing to anybody except delusional fans. the only thing that matters is whether the people that bought the game think it's awesome.

[Ashriel]

PS3 Fanatics should stop playing the victim, it's becoming kinda pathetic, in my opinion.

And Metacritic scores don't mean sh1t, in the end, all that matters is the opinion of the player himself. A review is just a glorified opinion.

I've disagreed with the reviews scores quite a lot of times (Assassin's Creed, Mario Galaxy, FFXII, GTA4, Bionic Commando, Grand Turismo, and many more...).

[Spike47]

PS3 fans are not playing victims. We all know that if Uncharted 2 gets an 8/10 from IGN, tons of xbox360 fans will flame the game, and call it a flop. That, is pathetic. Why is it pathetic, that we are simply stating something that is true? Some of you think we take it too seriously, well, I think some of you take this too seriously. We are not pointing fingers at a site and saing "burn them", we are just calling it as it is. Why do some of you think you need to come here to act like the almighty neutral fools?

[Ashriel]

So, not being a console extremist fanatic makes me an "almighty neutral fool" XD it's called being a gamer :3

Yeah, the author totally didn't take it seriusly by calculating all that sh1t from a review score! haha

I did comprehend what I read, in fact, the main idea is in the title itself "Edge is tougher on PS3 exclusives" it's SO OBVIOUS what this guy is getting to, lol.

Why do you care so much about 360 fanboys saying "flop" and all that sh1t? If you like the game you shouldn't care about a brat's "opinion" about it.

[Halo3 MLG Pro]

Spike is your typical fanboy. Very insecure. I bet he goes through the whole day thinking about some stranger on here calling a ps3 game a flop.

[solidjun5]

Oh the irony. LOL

[Meryl]

its simple edge is on microsofts payroll why else would they be so biased, lol at all the doubters trying to make out edge are not biased, because they have ALWAYS been biased against anything that has the name sony on it, back in the earlier ps1-ps2 days thoit was always praised anything nintendo, now its just a huge microsoft slave