EDGE ranks the top 100 greatest games (2017 edition)

[pokoko]

Veknoid_Outcast said:

pokoko said:
Those saying, "opinions shouldn't be criticized," it's certainly not that simple. This list isn't titled "my favorite games" , it's supposedly "the greatest games of all-time." That's a substantial difference. We look for a meaningful degree of objectivity from professional publications. Completely subjective lists are only meaningful to the person who wrote them. Otherwise, all reviewers would be throwing out arbitrary scores like Jim Sterling and they would be useless.

This looks exactly like a "my favorite games" list. Taken as a "greatest games" list, it looks silly.

I half agree with you. I definitely think this whole cultural relativism line of thinking is silly. Of course we can applaud, criticize, or even rip to shreds a list such as this. The fact that all lists are subjective doesn't prevent us, as consumers, from applying our own subjective perspective to them.

But I disagree about a greatest games list requiring some degree of objectivity. You simply can't measure greatness in any objective, empirical way. You can measure sales, and scores, and influence, but not greatness. So I'm fine with EDGE embracing the subjective opinions of its writers. Those opinions just happen to be far removed from my own, which is why I'm down on the list.

We're just going to have to disagree.  If Time published a list of "The 100 Greatest People" and it was full of entries like "that old lady who used to give me snacks when I was a kid" I think consumers would have a legitimate complaint.  It might be true that the author thinks that old lady deserves a spot enough to kick George Washington off the list but a publication isn't just about the author.  I think there is some degree of obligation when using a word like "Greatest".

That's my opinion as a consumer and it's something I'm going to look for in situations like these.  It's also why I don't seek out EDGE, Jim Sterling, or the like.