Shouldn't success be measured by the games?

[Bodhesatva]

naznatips said:

tarheel91 said:

@Naz: If everything opinion related was 100% subjective, how could we differentiate between the good and bad? How could we have masterpieces like those written by Homer and Shakespeare? Bod explained it very well. The idea of complete subjectivity makes any discussion entirely worthless. It is almost impossible to know the complete truth, and until you do, something is subjective.

This means that we must draw a line in terms of subjectivity. If something is generally agreed upon by those with experience in dealing with such things that it is good, then it is good. I dislike horror games, movies, and the like. For this reason, I can't stand Resident Evil 4. However, I think Resident Evil 4 is a great game. A masterpiece, even. Why? Because it is generally agreed upon by experts in the field of video gaming as very, very good. One opinion doesn't matter.

 

Edit: I realize I'm late to the party, but I had to put my two cents in.

If we go down that route, of Homer and Shakespeare and the classics of our time, then I think Frank had the right answer: Take the long route, and let history decide. The problem with that is a lot of amazing things are forgotten by history, and only those truly defining will stand out. Right now, in the present, we don't have the tools to objectively analyze the quality of video games. We can easily subjectively analyze them though.

But history is only another metric, Naz. Again, we're just drawing the line at different places.

You feel that a combination of critical reception, sales, and historical perspective give a reasonable and objective view of quality. If you take away the historical perspective, you feel that this objectivity is no longer valid.

I feel that sales, critical reception, and historical perception give an objective view of quality, as well. However, I feel that even without historical perspective, some form of objectivity is still possible.

Again, where something becomes "fact" and where it is still "opinion" is a line we draw in the sand, and people draw that line in different places. Is Evolution a fact? I think almost everyone would agree that it is, even though I've personally never observed it myself. Is Shakespeare a good writer? I think most would agree that he was. Is Halo a good game? Less people would agree that's fact, but some people would, and I'm included in that group. You draw that line in your place, and I draw it in mine. When you say "there are too many variables," it is your opinion that there are too many variables. It is my opinion that there are not too many variables.