Metacritic Explained

Metacritic
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Type:Review aggregator
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Oclc:911795326
Parent:[1]

Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc Doyle, and Julie Doyle Roberts in 1999, and was acquired by Fandom, Inc. in 2022.

Metacritic's scoring converts each review into a percentage, either mathematically from the mark given, or what the site decides subjectively from a qualitative review. Before being averaged, the scores are weighted according to a critic's popularity, stature, and volume of reviews. The site provides an excerpt from each review and hyperlinks to its source where a color of green, yellow, or red summarizes the critics' reviews.

Metacritic won two Webby Awards for excellence as an aggregation website. It is regarded as the foremost online review aggregation site for the video game industry.[2] [3] Criticism of the site has focused on the assessment system, the assignment of scores to reviews that do not include ratings, third-party attempts to influence the scores, and the reported lack of staff oversight for user reviews.

History

Metacritic was launched in January 2001 by Marc Doyle, his sister Julie Doyle Roberts, and his University of Southern California law classmate Jason Dietz, after two years of developing the site.[4] Rotten Tomatoes was already compiling movie reviews, but Doyle, Roberts, and Dietz saw an opportunity to cover a broader range of media.

Metacritic was sold to CNET in 2005. CNET and Metacritic were later acquired by the CBS Corporation.[5] In 2020, Metacritic and other CNET titles were bought by Red Ventures.[6] In 2022, Red Ventures sold Metacritic and other entertainment websites to Fandom, Inc.[7]

Influence

Metacritic has been used by businesses to predict future sales. In 2007, Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote that Metacritic "influence[s] the sales of games and the stocks of video game publishers". He explains its influence as coming from the higher cost of buying video games than music or movie tickets. Many executives say that low scores "can hurt the long-term sales potential". Wingfield wrote that Wall Street pays attention to Metacritic and GameRankings because the sites typically post scores before sales data are publicly available, citing the respective rapid rise and fall in company values after BioShock and Spider-Man 3 were released. In an interview with The Guardian, Marc Doyle cited two major publishers that "conducted comprehensive statistical surveys through which they've been able to draw a correlation between high metascores and stronger sales" in certain genres. He claimed that an increasing number of businesses and financial analysts use Metacritic as "an early indicator of a game's potential sales and, by extension, the publisher's stock price".[8] However, a 2015 study analyzing over 88 Xbox 360 and 80 PS3 games from 2012 found that Metacritic scores did not impact actual sales.[9]

Controversially, the website has been used by game publishers as a means of determining whether a game's developer receives additional royalties. One notable example is the 2010 game , which received an average Metascore of 84, one short of the 85 points required by Bethesda Softworks, the game's publisher. As a result, its developer, Obsidian Entertainment, received no additional bonus. Columnists took issue with the company's use of Metacritic, with one suggesting that this makes game critics ultimately accountable for deciding the developer's profits and another pointing out that a Metascore of 84 is not significantly lower than 85. The latter also pointed out the impressive sales of five million sold units and US$300 million in revenue, and also noted a series of Obsidian's layoffs in 2011 and 2012.[10] [11]

The website has also been used by columnists and commentators as a general reference for critical reception,[12] and by publishers as a tool of improving their products. Along with other executives, in 2008, John Riccitiello, then CEO of Electronic Arts, showed Wall Street analysts a chart illustrating a downward trend in the average critical ratings of the company's games. He took the ratings seriously and stressed the need for the company to bounce back.[13] Also in 2008, Microsoft used Metacritic averages to delist underperforming Xbox Live Arcade games.[14] [15]

Metascores

Scores are weighted averages. Certain publications are given more significance "because of their stature". Metacritic has said that it will not reveal the relative weight assigned to each reviewer.[16]

Games Editor Marc Doyle was interviewed in 2008 by Keith Stuart of The Guardian to "get a look behind the metascoring process". Stuart wrote: "The Metascore phenomenon, namely Metacritic and GameRankings, have become an enormously important element of online games journalism over the past few years".[8] Doyle said that because video games lead to a greater investment of time and money, gamers are more informed about reviews than are fans of film or music; they want to know "whether that hotly anticipated title is going to deliver".[8]

Indication! Video games! Films/television/music
Universal acclaim90–10081–100
Generally favorable75–8961–80
Mixed or average50–7440–60
Generally unfavorable20–4920–39
Overwhelming dislike0–19

In June 2018, Metacritic established the "Must-See" label for a movie that "achieves a Metascore of 81 or higher and has been reviewed by a minimum of 15 professional critics".[17] In September 2018, it added the "Must-Play" certification for video games attaining a score of 90% or more, and a minimum number of 15 reviews from industry professionals.[18] [19]

The standalone highest-rated game of all time on the site is , with a 99. The three games with a 98 are Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and Soulcalibur. There are about two dozen 97-rated games with standouts including Red Dead Redemption 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.[20] There are fourteen movies that have received a 100: Tokyo Story; The Godfather; Citizen Kane; Rear Window; Casablanca; Boyhood; Three Colors: Red; Vertigo; Fanny and Alexander; Notorious; Lawrence of Arabia; Dekalog; The Leopard; and The Conformist. [21] There are five TV show seasons that have received a 99, including Season 4 of Rectify, Season 4 and Season 6 of The Larry Sanders Show, Season 1 of Murder One, and Season 5 of Breaking Bad.[22] The standalone highest-rated album of all time on the site is Ten Freedom Summers by American trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith, with a 99.[23]

The standalone lowest-rated game of all time is , with an 8.[24] There are eleven movies that have received a 1: Bio-Dome, 10 Rules for Sleeping Around, Chaos, Inappropriate Comedy, Not Cool, The Singing Forest, The Garbage Pail Kids Movie, Death of a Nation, Hardbodies, Mother's Day and United Passions.[25] The standalone lowest-rated TV show of all time is The 1/2 Hour News Hour, with a 13.[26] The standalone lowest-rated album of all time is Playing with Fire by Kevin Federline, with a 15.[27]

Reception

Metacritic has received mixed reviews from website critics, commentators, and columnists. Its efficacy has been analyzed, with conclusions finding it to be generally useful[28] or unreliable and biased.[29] The website won two annual Webby Awards for excellence in the "Guides/Ratings/Reviews" category, in 2010 and 2015.[30] [31]

Criticism

Metacritic has been criticized for converting all scoring systems into a single quantitative percentage-based scale. For example, an "A" score equates to the value of 100, an "F" the value of zero, and a "B−" the value of 67. Joe Dodson, former editor at Game Revolution, criticized Metacritic and similar sites for turning reviews into scores that he found to be too low. Doyle defended the grading system, believing that every scale should be converted directly to that of the website, with its lowest possible score being 0 and the highest 100. Further criticism was directed to the website's refusal to publicize how it aggregates scores.[9]

According to Doyle, publishers often try to persuade him to exclude reviews they feel are unfair, but he said that once a publication is included, he refuses to omit any of its reviews.[32] A Washington Post review of Uncharted 4 was assigned with a rating of 40/100 by Metacritic; this was the only negative review of the game.[33] Readers who disapproved of the review petitioned Metacritic to remove the Post as a trusted source.[34] As a result of its perceived negative influence on the industry, several reviewing sites, including Kotaku and Eurogamer, have dropped numerical reviews that would appear in Metacritic, instead favoring a qualitative assessment of a game.[35] [36] Kotaku also highlighted a practice alleged to be used by some publishers who use Metacritic scores as a way to leverage more favorable terms for the publisher or deny developers bonuses should they not reach a certain score. Doyle countered this by saying "Metacritic has absolutely nothing to do with how the industry uses our numbers... Metacritic has always been about educating the gamer. We're using product reviews as a tool to help them make the most of their time and money."[37]

Metacritic has also been criticized for how it handles banning users and their reviews, with no notice or formal process for appeal.[38] Critics and developers have pointed out that a product can suffer from rating manipulation by users, as by garnering low ratings that purposely damage its reputation or by receiving high ratings from throwaway accounts to make it appear more popular than it actually is.[39] [40] Signal Studios president and creative director Douglas Albright described the website as having no standards.[41] In July 2020, Metacritic added a 36-hour waiting period for user reviews to be posted for video games at launch in an effort to reduce user score review-bombing during that period by users that have not played or barely played the game during a period when most players will not have finished the game.[42]

Some have noted that Metacritic scores for modern video games may not be accurately reflective of a game's state in the future due to post-release updates and patches as well as most press reviews of games taking place around their launch. For example, the metascore for MediEvil (2019) was mixed mainly due to performance issues that existed around the time of the game's launch. These issues were fixed in post-release patches that made the game run smoothly, which would have led to a higher metascore in its patched state.[43] Another example is online games such as Final Fantasy XIV Online and Warframe, which received mixed scores initially but became more well-received following improvements made after launch.[44]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Weprin . Alex Deal With Red Ventures . TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot Acquired by Fandom in $55M Deal With Red Ventures . The Hollywood Reporter . October 3, 2022 . October 3, 2022 . December 7, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221207000619/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/tv-guide-metacritic-gamespot-acquisition-fandom-1235231819/ . live .
  2. Web site: Leack . Jonathan . September 25, 2015 . OpenCritic's Gamer-Centric Style Is Everything Metacritic Should Have Been . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927012222/http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/opencritics-gamercentric-style-is-everything-metacritic-should-have-been . September 27, 2015 . September 12, 2019 . Game Revolution.
  3. Web site: Rose . Mike . July 10, 2012 . Metacritic is here to stay, but can we fix it? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180915161414/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/173879/Metacritic_is_here_to_stay_but_can_we_fix_it.php . September 15, 2018 . September 12, 2019 . Gamasutra.
  4. Web site: Metacritic: The History . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180905084507/http://www.metacritic.com/about-metacritic . September 5, 2018 . September 5, 2018 . Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  5. Web site: Columbia Journalism Review - CJR's guide to what the major media companies own . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160417001749/https://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=cbs%2F . April 17, 2016 . November 28, 2011 . Columbia Journalism Review.
  6. Web site: Spangler . Todd . ViacomCBS Reaches Deal to Sell CNET for $500 Million to Marketing Firm Red Ventures . Variety . September 14, 2020 . November 13, 2020 . December 19, 2020 . https://archive.today/20201219232151/https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/cnet-viacomcbs-sells-red-ventures-1234768810/ . live .
  7. Web site: 2022-10-03 . Fandom Acquires Leading Entertainment & Gaming Brands Including GameSpot, TV Guide and Metacritic . 2022-10-03 . Fandom . en . October 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221004000107/https://about.fandom.com/news/fandom-acquires-leading-entertainment-gaming-brands-including-gamespot-tv-guide-and-metacritic . live .
  8. Marc . Doyle . Stuart . Keith . January 17, 2008 . Interview: the science and art of Metacritic . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006170012/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2008/jan/17/interviewtheartofmetacriti . October 6, 2014 . February 15, 2008 . The Guardian.
  9. Web site: Khan . Imad . December 11, 2015 . Do Metacritic scores affect game sales? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190412125048/https://www.dailydot.com/parsec/metacritic-scores-game-sales-gdc-2015/ . April 12, 2019 . September 12, 2019 . The Daily Dot.
  10. Web site: MacDonald . Keza . July 16, 2012 . Is Metacritic Ruining The Games Industry? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200211222552/https://www.ign.com/articles/2012/07/16/is-metacritic-ruining-the-games-industry . February 11, 2020 . September 8, 2019 . IGN.
  11. Web site: Orland . Kyle . March 15, 2012 . Why linking developer bonuses to Metacritic scores should come to an end . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191217104009/https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/03/why-linking-developer-bonuses-to-metacritic-scores-should-come-to-an-end/ . December 17, 2019 . September 12, 2019 . Ars Technica.
  12. Web site: Gilbert . Ben . May 9, 2019 . The 10 best Pokémon games of all time, according to critics . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20190927084744/https://www.businessinsider.com/best-pokemon-games-of-all-time-2019-5 . September 27, 2019 . September 8, 2019 . Business Insider.
  13. Web site: Hillis . Scott . February 21, 2008 . Game scoring site wields industry clout . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200207175554/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-videogames-metacritic-life/game-scoring-site-wields-industry-clout-idUSN1930453120080221?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0 . February 7, 2020 . September 8, 2019 . Reuters.
  14. Web site: Remo . Chris . May 22, 2008 . Microsoft To Delist Low-Ranking XBLA Titles, Raise Size Limit . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20080525200501/http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18759 . May 25, 2008 . May 22, 2008 . Gamasutra.
  15. Web site: Keiser . Joe . May 22, 2008 . EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: MS to Delist XBLA Titles . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120820031319/http://www.edge-online.com/features/exclusive-interview-ms-delist-xbla-titles . 1 . August 20, 2012 . May 29, 2008 . Next Generation.
  16. Web site: Frequently Asked Questions . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150813223711/http://www.metacritic.com/faq#item19 . August 13, 2015 . July 29, 2015 . Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  17. Web site: June 11, 2018 . New on Metacritic: Must-See Movies . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20181018030135/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/metacritic-must-see-movies . October 18, 2018 . October 16, 2018 . Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  18. Web site: Leonard . Matt . September 12, 2018 . Metacritic Adds 'Must-Play' Label to Highly Reviewed Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200227110719/https://www.gamerevolution.com/news/431169-review-aggregator-metacritic-adds-must-play-label-to-games . February 27, 2020 . September 9, 2019 . Game Revolution.
  19. Web site: September 12, 2018 . New on Metacritic: Must-Play Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180914182901/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/metacritic-must-play-games . September 14, 2018 . April 24, 2020 . Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  20. Web site: Best Video Games of All Time. 2021-06-10. Metacritic. June 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210609213004/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/games/score/metascore/all/all/filtered. live.
  21. Web site: Best Movies of All Time. 2021-06-10. Metacritic. January 2, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190102032945/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered. live.
  22. Web site: Best TV Shows of All Time. 2021-10-16. Metacritic. February 2, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210202093852/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/tv/score/metascore/all/filtered. live.
  23. Web site: Best Music and Albums of All Time. 2022-05-15. Metacritic. April 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190406225640/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums/score/metascore/all/filtered. live.
  24. Web site: Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing Critic Reviews for PC . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200726212221/https://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/big-rigs-over-the-road-racing/critic-reviews . July 26, 2020 . April 11, 2022 . Metacritic.
  25. Web site: Best Movies of All Time . 2022-04-02 . Metacritic . June 18, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220618044246/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/movies/score/metascore/all/filtered?page=148 . live .
  26. Web site: Best TV Shows of all time. 2022-03-14. Metacritic. March 21, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220321011055/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/tv/score/metascore/all/filtered?page=30. live.
  27. Web site: Best Music and Albums of All Time . 2022-03-19 . Metacritic . March 19, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220319185430/https://www.metacritic.com/browse/albums/score/metascore/all/filtered?page=130 . live .
  28. Web site: Grubb . Jeff . August 7, 2013 . Metacritic works: Why the review-aggregation site is important for the average consumer . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200226055444/https://venturebeat.com/2013/08/07/metacritic-works-why-the-review-aggregation-site-is-important-for-the-average-consumer/view-all/ . February 26, 2020 . September 7, 2019 . VentureBeat.
  29. Web site: Spector . Warren . May 13, 2013 . Defining Success: Why Metacritic Should Be Irrelevant . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200130004127/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-13-defining-success-why-metacritic-should-be-irrelevant . January 30, 2020 . September 7, 2019 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  30. Web site: 2010 . 2010 Webby Award Winner . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200226073946/https://www.webbyawards.com/winners/2010/web/general-website-categories/guidesratingsreviews/metacritic/ . February 26, 2020 . September 6, 2019 . International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
  31. Web site: 2015 . 2015 Webby Award Winner . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200101220616/https://www.webbyawards.com/winners/2015/websites/general-website/guidesratingsreviews/metacritic/ . January 1, 2020 . September 6, 2019 . International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
  32. Web site: Wingfield . Nick . September 20, 2007 . High Scores Matter To Game Makers, Too . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150215151615/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB119024844874433247 . February 15, 2015 . February 15, 2008 . The Wall Street Journal.
  33. Web site: Uncharted 4: A Thief's End for Playstation 4 Reviews . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20180813005123/http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/uncharted-4-a-thiefs-end . August 13, 2018 . August 6, 2018 . Metacritic . CBS Interactive.
  34. Web site: Schreier . Jason . May 16, 2016 . Reviewer Targeted For Giving Uncharted 4 Negative Review . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20160516170758/http://kotaku.com/reviewer-targeted-for-giving-uncharted-4-negative-revie-1776854933 . May 16, 2016 . May 16, 2016 . Kotaku.
  35. Web site: Tolito . Stephan . January 30, 2012 . How We Will Review Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210214030/http://kotaku.com/5880486/how-we-will-review-games . February 10, 2015 . February 10, 2015 . Kotaku.
  36. Web site: Welsh . Oli . February 10, 2015 . Eurogamer has dropped review scores . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150210180517/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-02-10-eurogamer-has-dropped-review-scores . February 10, 2015 . February 10, 2015 . Eurogamer.
  37. Web site: Schreier . Jason . August 8, 2015 . Metacritic Matters: How Review Scores Hurt Video Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191118031546/https://kotaku.com/metacritic-matters-how-review-scores-hurt-video-games-472462218 . November 18, 2019 . November 27, 2019 . Kotaku.
  38. Web site: September 23, 2011 . Metacritic bans 'bombing' user reviewers . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110924034200/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/319976/metacritic-bans-bombing-user-reviewers/ . September 24, 2011 . September 23, 2011 . ComputerAndVideoGames.com.
  39. Web site: Glennon . Jen . June 24, 2020 . Metacritic has a review bombing problem. Here are 6 ways to fix it. . June 28, 2020 . . June 28, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200628171446/https://www.inverse.com/gaming/last-of-us-2-review-bombing-metacritic-open . live .
  40. Web site: Valentine . Rebekah . February 21, 2020 . Kunai becomes the latest title review bombed on Metacritic by a single person . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20200629224908/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-02-20-kunai-becomes-the-latest-title-review-bombed-on-metacritic-by-a-single-person . June 29, 2020 . June 28, 2020 . GamesIndustry.biz.
  41. Web site: Klepek . Patrick . September 22, 2011 . Metacritic Finds, Bans Group of Users Unfairly Scoring Games . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140308012934/https://www.giantbomb.com/articles/metacritic-finds-bans-group-of-users-unfairly-scor/1100-3688/ . March 8, 2014 . September 22, 2011 . Giant Bomb.
  42. Web site: Lyles . Taylor . 2020-07-17 . Metacritic stops letting you review games on the day they're released . 2022-04-05 . The Verge . en . April 5, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220405172218/https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/17/21328597/metacritic-user-reviews-delayed-review-bombing . live .
  43. Web site: 2022-02-04 . 10 Great Games With A Metacritic Score Lower Than 70 . 2022-04-05 . TheGamer . en-US . February 4, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220204191507/https://www.thegamer.com/great-games-metacritic-score-lower-than-70/ . live .
  44. Web site: Werner . Nicholas . 2017-11-29 . Games With Disappointing Metacritic Scores That Are Actually Awesome . 2022-04-05 . SVG.com . April 21, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210421101713/https://www.svg.com/98172/games-disappointing-metacritic-scores-actually-awesome/ . live .

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