http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23926
For EA Sports' Wii titles, Metacritic is no longer the benchmark for quality, says label president Peter Moore. Now, it's user reviews.
Discussing EA Sports Active, which recently saw Electronic Arts' best launch to date on Wii with 600,000 units, Moore tells Gamasutra that "We're not going to Kotaku or Operation Sports on this one, we're going to Amazon."
"The thing is with the Wii, it seems to be for the gaming sites, it's the last platform they review," said Moore.
"It takes a time to get an actual review score. I would pretty much guarantee that just about every Wii game ships without a Metacritic rating because [reviewers] haven't got around, to it or they're not interested in reviewing it."
According to Moore, Wii titles seem to sell independently of their Metacritic rating -- some titles in the low 70s, for example, still sell multiples of millions. "So what truly is the value of a review on a Wii game?"
"Now, yes, you still want to get the best possible review score you can get but I think it's less critical to the success of a game on the Wii than it maybe is on Xbox360 or PS3," Moore concluded.
EA boss John Riccitiello recently said that the company would put 50 percent of its emphasis behind Wii titles in the coming year -- alongside the goal of raising the company's Metacritic ratings across the board.
But for Moore, Metacritic is not the perfect solution, especially on the Wii. "I absolutely guarantee you, the thing we're watching most closely now [with Wii titles] is things like Amazon - and I'll go look at women's magazines that have powerful websites, and then we look at what we call 'mommy bloggers'," he says.
"That's where those people go for their information. They are not going to Metacritic. They don't know Metacritic exists."
Listening to the customers' opinions rather than the critics? For shame, Sir Moore, for shame! Have you learned nothing from The Industry?
I also liked the line about Wii titles not seeming to be very high on the priority list for critics to review, even for high-quality ones. I know Rune Factory and LKS in particular were very slow burners...
Leatherhat on July 6th, 2012 3pm. Vita sales:"3 mil for COD 2 mil for AC. Maybe more. " thehusbo on July 6th, 2012 5pm. Vita sales:"5 mil for COD 2.2 mil for AC."
