Why Reviews Don't Matter

Ultimately they don't.

In the scheme of things, such as game sales, sure they're a big deal. People read them to help them decide whether a game is worthy of a purchase or not. Thousands of dollars are spent to hype a game and more recently we've gotten to a part where money and reviews are creating an unstable mix. People rely heavily on seeing the score and don't pay much attention to the content written. Is that because they don't care? Yeah, I could see that. But honestly, I think it's because they don't know the person. As much as we listen to podcasts, read news sites, or hear stories about a person...

A.) They are someone else with a unique opinion writing a review.

and

B.) Not you.

You can't ever trust anyone else's opinion because there is always that chance that yours will be different. Everyone may hate that new Golden Axe game and you can have your opinion swayed by hearing other people talk about it, but unless you try it yourself, you never really can say for sure.

So does that mean I think we should do away with game reviews all together? No, the system we have is not perfect, but it's what we got. I do feel inclined to trust the opinion of someone who with I live. Even though they are quite fond of rolling bears, I'd much rather see what his opinions of game are rather than that of a person writing a review for a magazine or website. And the same may go for you and your friends vs us or another video game website.

In a perfect world, there would be an army of reviewers. Each with their own unique personalities and characteristics. They would play/review each and every game and experience them in the same order or way you would. People then could match up their personalities with someone who's game playing habits and tendencies lined up with them perfectly. You could trust that person because they were basically you. Of course that will never happen, but I think that's the way it should be. You have to know who's review you're reading. If you like totally fucked up shit, read Nick's review about a game vs mine. If you love Japanese stuff, I'm your man. Brad like frustrating the shit out of himself and Travis, well he's quite unique. Oh yeah, there's also Juan, he likes Mech games.

So what's the moral of the story. Know who's review you're reading. Otherwise, you're just reading someone's opinion and then having to decide whether to believe it or not.

Thanks,
David

Any suggestions about the reviews process? How it could be better? Fixes or solutions? The fan submitted route has been popular but there's always the possibility of tampering or bias submissions.