Long article from next-gen.biz but pretty interesting:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9066&Itemid=2
| The Wii is the hot item these days--so why are review scores for Wii games significantly lower than those of Xbox 360 and PlayStation titles? Matt Matthews investigates the numbers behind the phenomenon. |
The average of all Xbox 360 reviews cataloged on GameRankings turns out to be almost 70%. The same number for the PlayStation 3 is over 73% and for the Nintendo Wii ... a dismal 64%. A picture says it best:
Normally, I'd be inclined to dismiss discrepancies in review scores, but a 9-point gap between the PlayStation 3 and the Wii is hard to ignore. Even the Xbox 360 has a nearly 6-point advantage over the Wii. (The standard deviation for these data sets is around 12-14 points, for comparison. However, that alone doesn't tell the whole story. Rather, one should observe that a subset of data -- the roughly 150 Wii games in the whole data set -- has an aggregate review score 6 points below the mean for the entire data set. That is the anomaly.) |
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While doing some data trawling through 
Historical Context
Having seen what the current generation of systems looks like viewed through the prism of review scores, I thought it might be helpful to look back a generation. What are the average review scores for the Nintendo GameCube, Microsoft Xbox, and Sony PlayStation 2? A bit more data collection from GameRankings and I had my answer.
Adding data for those platforms – and keeping colors to identify platform companies – you can see that the Nintendo Wii is still very low.
Even after eight years at the top, the entire library of the PlayStation 2 (and its respective mountain of shovelware) still rates an average review score of 69%, five points ahead of the Nintendo Wii. The more I looked, the more it seemed that something really is different about how Wii games are reviewed.
Review Scores Over Time
Is there any chance the Wii's average review scores will improve significantly over time? If the last generation of hardware is any indication, then the answer appears to be a resounding “No”. Here are the annual averages for the Xbox, GameCube, and PlayStation 2, measured as functions of system age.
The GameCube came out of the blocks as strong as any platform ever has, then dropped down amongst the other systems around the 70% mark. The Xbox had a reasonably strong launch too. The PlayStation 2 has almost always been around the 70% mark and only began to drop below 68% in the last two years.
Incidentally, that little peak at year 4 is an amusing find. After four years on the market, each of last generation's hardware had their best year, measured by review scores (excepting the launch). That data corresponds to the PlayStation 2 in 2003 and the GameCube and Xbox in 2004.
Now, the same graph for the current generation is shown below. Remember, these systems haven't been out nearly as long, so we have less data to consider.
Just as the PlayStation 2 before it, the PlayStation 3 was the only system of its generation to improve its average review score in its second year of life, although by only a small amount. The year 2 drop for the Xbox 360 tracks well with a similar drop for the original Xbox. Nearly imperceptibly the Wii average review score dropped from about 65% for its first year to under 64% for its second year.
Incidentally, if there is a bump in review scores in a system's fourth year then the Xbox 360 is due for that bump in 2008. The Wii and the PlayStation 3 will have to wait until 2009 for their bump.
What is Going on with the Wii?
So what is the Wii's problem? In a nutshell, all the games suck.
Just kidding, Nintendo fans. You can put away the pitchforks.
More seriously, one argument I've heard is that we as an industry are still trying to understand the Wii. Developers are having to put aside graphics to approach the hardware and its controller with different perspectives. Reviewers, on the other hand, have spent years lauding technical achievements and ever more realistic gameplay. Now they have to answer a question for which their training is quite possibly ill-suited: “Are these games fun to play?”
The graphs of review scores above are one bit of evidence, but let's take it a step further. Which Wii games appeal to the hardcore gamers, to the people who have been writing reviews for the past decade? I'd venture games like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Resident Evil 4, Metroid Prime 3, Super Paper Mario, and Madden NFL.
Those titles comprise six of the Wii's top 10 reviewed games. The lowest score of that bunch is Madden NFL 07 with an average of 81%.
Now, how did the professional reviewers view games which utilize the Wii controller extensively and have sold well in the past year? Wii Sports, the pack-in game that everyone loves, has a lowly 76% rating. Wii Play, which sold nearly as many copies as Halo 3 last year, has a 61% review average. (Aside: Has there ever been a game that reviewed as poorly as Wii Play yet sold so well?) And Carnival Games eked out a miserable 59% from reviewers.
Maybe Wii games have lower review scores because we, as an industry, still don't know what makes a good Wii game.
This isn't proof mind you – we probably won't know for a long time, if ever, why Wii games rate so much below par – but a failure to understand the platform and its potential is one possibility. Even if you dismiss that explanation, the fundamental question still remains: Why have games for the Wii, darling console of the media and the public for well over a year, reviewed so poorly and sold so well?
