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

[vivster]

Veknoid_Outcast said:

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.

Why though? When reviewers give numbers they have things to compare it to. Why shouldn't they start at 5 when that baseline quality point is reached? They're using the full scale, thing is that the majority of reviewed games easily reach the 5 point mark and then go beyond. What you're basically asking for is a complete recalibration of quality. That's not necessary though. You can just use a 100 point scale and put more emphasis on singular points.

If you look at other games and not just AAA you will see that the whole scale is well used.

We're talking about arbitrary numbers of extremely complex products. No range will ever be precise enough to give a full picture. That's why reviews usually come with words to explain exactly what that number means. Crazy, I know, right?