Today's subject is about written reviews and how they influence the videogame market as we know it.
Most of us are the type who read the magazines, blogs, message boards, and other venues in order to get information
about something that might be our next purchase. Let's face it, there's TOO many games out there to choose from anymore, and
its hard to sift out the good from the bad.
My beef, however, is how many gamers take magazine or major site (IGN, gamespot, etc.) reviews as gospel. Game got a 7? Its not
good enough for me! Part of it is the mentality that these guys are professionals (relative when you're talking of criticism), and also
due to the fact that only the best/worst games are the ones that get the most exposure. The result is that many sleepers and other
great games go unnoticed, especially those from smaller companies.
American gamers are all about major franchises, the best selling games you'll see are almost always the tried and true ones such as
Madden, Grand Theft Auto, Mario, Halo, etc. Occasionally, you'll see other humble properties gain mainstream acceptance such as Katamari
Damacy and Final Fantasy (though it took seven games). In keeping our eyes away from the other stuff we don't see in magazines, we
only feed the major companies even more cash they can use to put pressure on the competition. The result is that smaller companies
lose money on games they see as a risk in the first place, and then go under or drop the properties. Even major companies
are plagued by this with lesser known franchises.
Namco Bandai comes to mind in the American RPG market. We all know and love our Final Fantasy, but how many of you are fans of the
Tales series like myself? Made by a big company, but the sales almost always end up lackluster due to overshadowing from the bigger
boys. A good small company that puts out great RPG/SRPG games that fall under the radar constantly is Nippon Ichi Systems America
(NIS America). You'll soon see many reviews of their games on this site, almost all with ratings that reflect the unnoticed quality.
Perhaps we use these numbers so much because we're casual gamers, looking for something we know is good, but don't have the time/money
to try something new. The "Safe Adventurer" group, to use marketing terms. However, these numbers are not infallible, as the latest
affair regarding Gerstmanngate
and the revelation that game companies pay editorials to buff a game's ratings. Some companies have even stooped as low as creating
reviews that were written by gamepro, gamestop, and others. Said reviews were written by company cronies who extol the virtues of the
game, even if its a steaming pile of dung. Who is Jeff Gerstmann you ask? The dude who had the balls to give Zelda: TP an 8.8, and
Halo 3 (Captain King) a 9.5. Honesty is a good thing.
Let's get away from the corporate greed aspect and talk about something that's equally as important: deciding for yourself.
Pictured above: Tales of the Abyss (Namco-Bandai), another game that was overshadowed by a big franchise (FF12)
Deciding for yourself is all about becoming someone willing to try new things and break out of the Safe Adventurer shell. Previews are a great place to start when looking for information about new games on their way here. For major properties, a major review on a mag or site is a good judge of character as well, for the most part. Things get into a gray area once you start looking at something that isn't Madden, Halo, Final Fantasy, Gran Turismo, etc.
The next step is to get out and look at some user reviews. Sites such as Gamefaqs, Gamespot, IGN, and others have sections devoted to user reviews. Remember that the pro critic is just one opinion, and he's not gonna like everything. See what other people who got the game thought of it. Once you've read some or all of their words, then make your informed decision. By then you should know if its a buy, rent, or blah.
If you've played games for a long time like myself and my brother, you'll know what you like in terms of genre, graphics, sound, etc. If that's the case, go out on a limb and give something a shot if it sounds like something that appeals to you. You just might find a new favorite. Sure, you'll have a miss every so often, but you'll be hitting far more often than missing. And that's good for that small company whose optimistic sales outlook is breaking even.
When confronted between buying a major game and a minor, get the minor. By the time you decide to get around to it otherwise, it will be rare or quite expensive. That major game is always gonna be there on the shelf of Gamestop or on ebay for a discounted price down the road.
Think for yourself, decide for yourself, but most importantly, have fun and be happy knowing you made a good choice.
-Joel
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