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Many of the highest grossing movies for the past few years appeal to the same collection of young men that most games are marketed towards, yet the ads seem to work far better for bad movies than they do for bad games. When looking at the 10 best-selling games in the US for 2010, 2011, and 2012, the lowest scoring was kid favorite Just Dance 3 with a 73. Excluding Just Dance titles, virtually no high ranking game in those three years got under an 80, and five scored over a 90. Clearly what the critics were saying mattered more to gamers.
Some in the gaming press want to diminish the importance of Metacritic because of some unfortunate consequences, but the genie is out of the bottle. If the site vanished this instant, publishers would just collect the data themselves. produce the exact same numbers, and use them in the same ways. As much as people want to end the influence of Metacritic, the most likely scenario for that would be if gamers gave reviews the same respect moviegoers give critiques.
Right now film lovers are in a scary place where studios profit off a public that cares less and less about critical opinion, where the masses follow the flashiest commercials straight to the theaters. If there comes a day when garbage video games sell as consistently due to powerful marketing, you’ll start seeing scores of 30s and 40s reaching the top of the yearly sales charts, negatively influencing the types of games developed in the years to come. If Metacritic loses its influence, expect to see Twilight's gaming equivalent choking store shelves every holiday season.
You know that kid at parties who talks too much? Drink in hand, way too enthusiastic, ponderously well-educated in topics no one in their right mind should know about? Loud? Well, that kid’s occasionally us. GR Editorials is a semi-regular feature where we share our informed insights on the news at hand. Sharp, funny, and finger-on-the-pulse, it’s the information you need to know even when you don’t know you need it.
