Has Sony made FromSoftware a well respected studio?

[Dr.Henry_Killinger]

S.T.A.G.E. said:

Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

Niche games generally have low metacritics, AC has a die hard fanbase and since I started with For Answer I've loved the series

 

OT: From was AA, then

Demon and Dark Souls its now AAA, low end AAA but AAA.

Not true. Niche games can have a small market. Niche applies to the smaller market the game is targeting, not the quality. Sony believed the series was going to be niche so only published it as such, but it blew up into something greater than Sony had thought possible.

Metacritic is only indicative of the aggregate of review scores not the games actual quality, which is subjective to each player. If the game is targetting a small market, then it stands to reason that 1) It will have fewer reviews relative to more well known games and 2) That their is less of a chance of said reviewers beings fans of the series, even if a reviewer is trying to be objective, which they can't fully be, if they aren't a fan its unlikely they would understand the incatracies of the series and rated it low to average.

Thus the phrase "Niche games generally have low metacritics" does not mean "Niche games are generally of low quality", it means their is less of a chance that it will have many reviews and more importantly, that its reviewers will be part of that Niche and enjoy the series.

If series A only appeals to 15-20 year olds in Japan and it gets reviewed by a 24 year old in America, then obviously at best he will rate it average and say "Some people like it". Lets say for sake of example he gives it a 50, 75+ or higher being reserved for games he actually somewhat enjoys.

Then let say a Japanese 28 year old who grew up with the series gives it an 85-90, cause the series was better to him as a child but still has some quality.

That game only has 2 reviews, an 87 and a 50, thats a metacritic of 68.5 rounded up to a 69. Sure since its has so few reviewers it could dramatically change for the postive or negative, but one of the reasons its has so few reviewers is BECAUSE its Niche. Not to mention its more likely that new reviewers would have negative opinions about it because they don't understand the series.