On a ten point review scale, what number should represent an average game?

[Veknoid_Outcast]

vivster said:

"Average" isn't an attribute a number has. It's the result of a calculation. With today's games most reviewd are around a 7 so that's the average. A game doesn't get a 7 because the reviewer thinks it's average. It gets that number because it ticks certain check boxes for a certain quality.

If you reviewed every single game in existence, then the average score would most likely drop considerably, maybe even below 5. So "an average game" basically has only meaning in a certain context and is not a fixed number.

"Average" isn't an opinion, it's not what a game or a score "should" be. It's simply what it is in a certain context. To say that the average should be 7 or 5 is just plain stupid. I mean why would anyone want the average to be 5? Shouldn't we want the average to be much higher?

I can’t speak for everyone but when I say 5 should be the average, I’m not arguing for a precipitous drop in game quality. I’m urging reviewers, both lay and professional, to utilize a full 10-point scale. It appears that many start at 5 and go up from there, resulting in a dense concentration of reviews in the 7/8/9 range, where a 1-10 point scale allows for more nuance and gradation.

In other words, I’m not saying that we should prepare all reviews to balance out to a mean of 5.0. I’m saying the usage of the full scale would most likely drag the average down to around 5.0.