Should the Price of a Game Affect it's Score?

[Legend]

I think that's the problem here. Gamers often don't use common sense, which is why reviews need to be so carefully made like this. There's a lot of problems with reviews, which don't really have a fix. For people that can use common sense and think about reviews, I think they're fine as they are. If you start to factor in price and such then it may start to over-complicate things as different reviewers will judge quite differently and may confuse people, so they don't know how good the game actually is.

I also think reviews should be updated as games are updated, Driveclub - as you said - has improved so much but the reviews don't reflect that. That's just one example

Almost all reviews already factor in price, so changing it would confuse the most people.

Updating reviews though, now that'd be nice. Factor in new price, updates, how the game has aged, etc.

[Ludicrous Speed]

I think they should.

I mind if a $60 release is light on content, or shoves DLC/microtransactions in your face. There are exceptions, based on quality/genre.

I mind a lot less if I buy a $10 game and there's DLC, or if I am playing a F2P game like Smite and there are microtransactions.

It's the main reason I have skipped on awesome Forza games this gen just out of principle. That battleship does not belong in $60 retail titles imho, and I welcome any reviewer that calls devs out on it.

Destiny, for example, was a joke of a game at $60 imho. Two "expansions" at $20 a pop was even funnier. $40 is what they are asking for Taken King, imho that should have been the asking price for the original, if not lower. I think it would have helped its review score. heck, a year after release Bungie themselves are telling you vanilla Destiny and those two expansions that used to run you $100 (or we can be fair and say $95 with the season pass) are now only worth a whopping $20.

They deserve to be docked points for those types of shenanigans.

[Legend]

It's the main reason I have skipped on awesome Forza games this gen just out of principle. That battleship does not belong in $60 retail titles imho, and I welcome any reviewer that calls devs out on it.

Didn't Forza 6 remove the microtransactions?

[Xevross]

Almost all reviews already factor in price, so changing it would confuse the most people.

Updating reviews though, now that'd be nice. Factor in new price, updates, how the game has aged, etc.

Yeah and a lot of games launch with bugs and are reviewed harshly as a result. Once bugs are fixed they should be reviewed again so people know how good the game actually is, buying it later on.

[ethomaz]

The price says if the game is worthy or not for you.
But the score needs to be only a value for quality.

[Dr. Pezus]

The price says if the game is worthy or not for you.
But the score needs to be only a value for quality.

What if a game is great but costs $200?

[ethomaz]

What if a game is great but costs $200?

If it is great you will pay anything for it because it is worthy for you.
That is exactly my point.

I love my iPhone and even if and Android has more feature at lower price I will never buy one just because it is not worthy for me... it sucks and it is all complicated.
There is cheaper and better cars than Ferrari but people buy Ferrari.

BTW people already buy games at over $100... people buy these CE, LE, etc editions that are more expensive than the normal $60.

A game reviewed today by $60 is a 7/10 game.
So in few months if it is reviewed by $30 it will be a 9/10 game?
That is what you are doing here punting the price in the review.

All free bundled games are 10/10 games?

[Dr. Pezus]

If it is great you will pay anything for it because it is worthy for you.
That is exactly my point.

I love my iPhone and even if and Android has more feature at lower price I will never buy one just because it is not worthy for me... it sucks and it is all complicated.
There is cheaper and better cars than Ferrari but people buy Ferrari.

BTW people already buy games at over $100... people buy these CE, LE, etc editions that are more expensive than the normal $60.

A game reviewed today by $60 is a 7/10 game.
So in few months if it is reviewed by $30 it will be a 9/10 game?
That is what you are doing here punting the price in the review.

All free bundled games are 10/10 games?

Why would all free games be 10/10 games? We're not saying price is everything, but that it should affect the review in one way or another. Phone reviews most often take value/price into account, the same for TVs, computers etc. Why should games get a free pass?

Btw, lumping all Androids together by saying "it sucks and it is all complicated" is so so wrong lol. I remember maybe 2-3 years back when all the Apple fanboys were laughing at the big Android phones that nobody could use with a single hand. Now those same Apple fanboys gobble up Apple's huge phones and (soon) Apple's huge tablets. Says it all, really.

[ethomaz]

Why would all free games be 10/10 games? We're not saying price is everything, but that it should affect the review in one way or another. Phone reviews most often take value/price into account, the same for TVs, computers etc. Why should games get a free pass?

Btw, lumping all Androids together by saying "it sucks and it is all complicated" is so so wrong lol. I remember maybe 2-3 years back when all the Apple fanboys were laughing at the big Android phones that nobody could use with a single hand. Now those same Apple fanboys gobble up Apple's huge phones and (soon) Apple's huge tablets. Says it all, really.

That is why my iPhone is the 5S.
I don't like these Plus.

We will agree to disagree

[kitler53]

If it is great you will pay anything for it because it is worthy for you.
That is exactly my point.

I love my iPhone and even if and Android has more feature at lower price I will never buy one just because it is not worthy for me... it sucks and it is all complicated.
There is cheaper and better cars than Ferrari but people buy Ferrari.

BTW people already buy games at over $100... people buy these CE, LE, etc editions that are more expensive than the normal $60.

A game reviewed today by $60 is a 7/10 game.
So in few months if it is reviewed by $30 it will be a 9/10 game?
That is what you are doing here punting the price in the review.

All free bundled games are 10/10 games?

it seems like you completely miss the point of reviews.  reviews are for people to make purchase decisions and the main factors are quality, quantity, and price.  oh sure price changes over time but you know what,..  so does quality.  

zelda:OTT is the highest rated game ever but it is marred with a shaming resolution, terrible camera controls, boring over world,...  by today's standards.  so what do you say,.. since the game quality is subject to change over time should we not factor in quality into a review???

well day 1 reviews are for day 1 buyers to make informed decision on a product as it releases day 1.  price is a major factor on someone's purchase intent.  if you don't get that than you are hopeless. 

[Max King of the Wild]

No it shouldn't. They should just review it, completely independently of price so that readers/ watchers can decide what value they think the game has. Everyone perceives price differently.

So much this

If evolve was f2p would it be a 10/10 game? No. If it were mandatory to purchase game and all dlc to play would it be a 1/10? No.

it seems like you completely miss the point of reviews.  reviews are for people to make purchase decisions and the main factors are quality, quantity, and price.  oh sure price changes over time but you know what,..  so does quality.  

zelda:OTT is the highest rated game ever but it is marred with a shaming resolution, terrible camera controls, boring over world,...  by today's standards.  so what do you say,.. since the game quality is subject to change over time should we not factor in quality into a review???

well day 1 reviews are for day 1 buyers to make informed decision on a product as it releases day 1.  price is a major factor on someone's purchase intent.  if you don't get that than you are hopeless.  

That's a weak argument. By the time the quality has changed the game shouldn't be sold at retail anymore and reviews would be largely irrelevant for individual titles

[kitler53]

So much this

If evolve was f2p would it be a 10/10 game? No. If it were mandatory to purchase game and all dlc to play would it be a 1/10? No.
That's a weak argument. By the time the quality has changed the game shouldn't be sold at retail anymore and reviews would be largely irrelevant for individual titles

you're a weak argument.

and you're wrong.  quality and quantity is such a changing mark these days as framerate issues get patched, free dlc gets released, online communities get plagued by disastrous launches.  if you aren't going to review the product for what it is the day the review is written you might as well just advocate that all reviews become illegal.

..but i'm grateful no one in the world agrees with you because understanding the value proposition is hugely helpful in the current review system.  i just wish i would have listened to the warnings before i bought the piece of shame that is called destiny.

[Dr. Pezus]

If evolve was f2p would it be a 10/10 game? No. If it were mandatory to purchase game and all dlc to play would it be a 1/10? No.

Wait, why do both you and ethomaz think we mean price is the *sole* factor to base a review score on lol??