Decided to make another thread today #DealWithIt.
TLDR: video game scores are too high
The video game review system almost universally uses a 1-10 scale to rate their games. By this scale, 5, being the middle/median) number, means "average". This is how standard deviation works. Following this, anything above 5 is above average while anything below 5 is below average. However, if you look on Metacritic (in this instance I used PS3 games cos yolo) you will find that the vast majority of video games (92% found in my example) have a score of 50 or above. In fact the median score I found was a 72; which belongs to several games including: 50 Cent: Blood in the Sand. I'm going to link the game's Metacritic page here so you can read the description and tell me how it sounds (this is anecdotal evidence and completely subjective, but I do think 72 is much too high to be average. There are 6 numbers below and only 3 above on a 1-10 scale):
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/50-cent-blood-on-the-sand
I intentionally picked the first critic review on this gangsta's game, since it was the highest. PGNx Media writes: "(the game) is a fairly typical third person shooter". They then rate it an 85. Reading some of their other reviews, the lowest score they have ever given out is a 45 (just below average) and only 29 out of their 929 reviews are below 70.
I won't extrapolate any user scores, but we users are usually worse than critics are, including me (heck, just look at my game ratings if you feel like calling me a hypocrite. I have an average score of 9 over 60+ games :p) (although some do research and avoid bad games). The Witcher 3 has not even released, yet look at its page on the Marketplace (almsot 13000 ratings averaging to 4.5. Another whole new can of worms!):
Here's my biggest question: What does average even mean anymore, if 90% of games are supposedly above average? Why do so many criticize a game, and then give it an above average score? WHy are we seemingly so afraid to give out an average score for an average game?
Discuss.
*edit* An image posted by Mummelmann which illustrates my point quite well:
*edit* I have to go to bed soon as I have ball in the morning, but I'll try to get a good discussion going here b4 I leave. I'm quite tired but I hope I built an intriguing set piece
*edit* Stole this from my comment down below but I liked it so I'm adding it here:
In University, you mark by the bell curve based on Standard Deviation, much like a video game review should work IMO. In Uni, you are not marked based on the questions you got right; you are marked based on how you compare to other students. For example; if 60% of the class gets an 80% on a test (and 20% are both above and below them), they all (the 80 guys) get Cs because that is average. All the high review scores have oversaturated the market with "better than average" games. I'm calling for distribution of numbers to the true 1-10 scale so it accurately reflects how each game stands on that scale.
#1 Amb-ass-ador
