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Lost Winds Developer: Reviewers are a cause for low Wii Game scores

David Braben the lead developer at Frontier Developments, the studio behind Lost Winds, believes that Wii Game Reviewers are one of the causes of the low review scores of many 'casual' Wii games. EA's Peter Moore last week pointed out that low scores of casual games on Metacritic were not having an effect on sales.

Braben told Eurogamer ""The main problem he [Peter Moore] is alluding to is that family games tend to get reviewed poorly, if at all, by many mainstream review sites, typically dropping 10 or more percentage points as a result. Anecdotally, this is because most reviewers are what are often called 'core gamers' - and these family-focused games tend to appeal less to them."

"It throws up a difficult dilemma for those reviewers ... are they reviewing the game for those people likely to play it, or for those people who form the bulk of their readership?"

"It is not really the Wii that Peter Moore is complaining about but reviews of family games in general. 'Core gamer' games on Wii still track forecasts based on Metacritic scores just fine," said Braben.

It's certainly an interesting point, it's no secret that the Wii has more games than ever before not aimed at the traditional gamer, yet these are the people employed to review them. Do they try to review them for the target market or the bulk of their readership?

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ICC_06 21/06/2009
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Maelstrom
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reviewers r suppose to hav a non bias perspective, n mostly u can tell within the review

its mostly likely coz most casual games r crap. "family" games r repetitive, monotonous, n lack depth of ne kind to provide easy gameplay.

+ casual gamers dont go lookin for reviews hence the "EA's Peter Moore last week pointed out that low scores of casual games on Metacritic were not having an effect on sales."
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
TheDarkBJ
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If a game is poor a game is poor, reviewing it differently doesn't change the fact that the Wii gets a ton of crappy shovelware. Games, casual or not, should all have the same review standards.
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greenbob
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TheDarkBJ said: If a game is poor a game is poor, reviewing it differently doesn't change the fact that the Wii gets a ton of crappy shovelware. Games, casual or not, should all have the same review standards.



Exactly. Shovelware is shovelware.
Mario Kart Wii
KK1387
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Wow, what a silly statement.. Of couse it's the reviwers fault that games receive low review scores - they'rer the ones giving them!
Metroid Prime Trilogy
sjt333
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shut up and finish lost winds 2 already
Super Mario Galaxy
Kamon62
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sjt333 said: shut up and finish lost winds 2 already



I want lost winds 2 really bad as well. The first was great, short and sweet. Just like it's bretheren; Portal.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
IceManPJN
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A game should be reviewed on its merits, of what it is versus what it could have been. No matter the audience, whether core or casual, if a game's graphics are half of what the system is capable of, the game should be penalized for falling so short. If the game's soundtrack is limited to three or four generic, forgettable, underwhelming tunes, it deserves to be docked points. If the game's play controls are wonky, the game's review score should suffer for it, regardless of the audience. No matter what audience a game is developed for, there's no excuse for being poorly-built, and a bad game should still be scored accordingly even if it's meant for grandma.
MX_Marge
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I'm neither a hardcore gamer or casual but when i review a game, it is on what the game offers me . . Most family games just repeat the same ideas over and dont give any new things. So if it doesn't offer a unique experience or most importantly something i can enjoy . .how can i give it a good review!

aka. make better and original games or don't make them at all
Scarface: The World is Yours
GKANG
Kudos: 315
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This sounds like BAWWWWWWW because their game didn't do as well as they'd like. It would have been fine if they released 4 of them or something at least one per month, but they haven't. I mean, especially with the obvious ending.
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