Gaming

Steam Responds to Review Bombing by Changing User Reviews

Published

7 years ago

September 20, 2017

It seems like the previous incident with Firewatch and Pewdiepie has caught the attention of Valve. Through a blog post the company underlines a few changes that are going to be done to user reviews. These changes are meant to stop the effectivity of what’s known as “Review bombing”, regardless of circumstance.

Why is this a big problem according to Steam? According to the blog post, “one thing we’ve noticed is that the issue players are concerned about can often be outside the game itself.” The problem comes by the fact that the reviews are meant to the product in general. And according to Steam developers, things such as something the developer has said online. Choices the developer has made in the Steam version of their game relative to other platforms. Or simple distaste towards their political conviction/stance aren’t relevant.

Remember when I completely skipped the DRM issue with Sonic Mania and proceeded to review the game as is? It wasn’t until the DRM was cracked that I talked about the issue because I believed that a DRM issue shouldn’t hold back what’s an otherwise good game. That’s the approach Steam is taking towards the issue of Review bombing.

“When it comes to the Review Score itself, however, it’s even less clear that these out-of-game reasons are relevant. When we look at what happens with the Review Score after a review bomb, we see that it generally recovers, in some cases fully back to where it was beforehand.” Then, the blog adds the following. “This implies that, while the review bombers were unhappy with a decision the developer made, the purchasers of the product afterwards were often as happy with the game as the players before them.”

This was something I wanted to talk about in a scrapped Op-ed regarding Pewdiepie and his fanbase. Because it seems like they thought that review bombing Firewatch’s Steam page would lower sales or something. While it did nothing but change the review score average from “Mostly positive” to “Mixed”.

Valve looked at many ways to solve the issue. One of them being locking off people from reviewing for a period of time. But this isn’t a solution they’d want to take. “We didn’t like the way this ultimately meant restricting the ability for players to voice their opinions. We don’t want to stop the community having a discussion about the issue they’re unhappy about, even though there are probably better places to have that conversation than in Steam User Reviews.”

So, the solution now is to implement graphs that are going to reflect how much the Steam reviews have changed over time. Each game page now contains a histogram of the positive to negative ratio of reviews over the entire lifetime of the game. This solution aims to make customers decide whether or not the reasoning for a review bombing of a game is their concern or not.

This doesn’t really fix much except giving the potential buyer a choice of whether or not they find reviews relevant. Which really is something a lot of people do by default (I know I do). Since User Reviews are really depending on the “Mood of the audience”, it’s not that hard to find that the review system isn’t really accurate to determine if a game is really good or not.

I’m sure there are better ways to address these issues. Ones that keep the discussion afloat without relying on a score given by the community. But the best we can do is wait and see what happens.

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Gaming

Helldivers 2 has quickly become one of Sony’s top-selling games in the US

Published

3 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Zach Riley

Helldivers 2 proved to be a surprising success, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the gaming industry. As per Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, it currently ranks as Sony’s seventh highest grossing game in the United States to date, trailing behind a trio of Spider-Man titles, a couple of God of War games, and Ghost of Tsushima. It’s only been on the market for less than three months and is not even being sold at full price.

According to Piscatella, a significant factor contributing to the game’s success is its release on PC. He mentioned that, based on Circana’s Player Engagement Tracker, the game has consistently ranked first in terms of active users on Steam in the US since its launch, including April. The release of Helldivers 2 on both PlayStation and PC has been an extraordinary triumph.

He stated that Helldivers 2 has already become the seventh highest-grossing Sony-published game in history. Without a PC, it would not currently be considered one of the top 20 games. While I’m emphasizing the success of the PC SKU, it’s important to note that I’m not disregarding the success of the PlayStation SKU. I just wanted to clarify that. This launch has proven to be incredibly successful.

Prior to the release of Helldivers 2, Sony made it clear that they would be launching their live service-style titles simultaneously on both the PS5 and PC. The success of this approach will undoubtedly strengthen their strategic vision. It will be intriguing to witness if the company reveals official sales figures in the near future, as the title appears to be one of the platform holder’s most successful sellers to date.

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Gaming

The developer of Stellar Blade for the PS5 Expressing gratitude to the fans for their unwavering support amidst a recent controversy surrounding censorship

Published

3 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Zach Riley

Shift Up, the Korean developer, seems to be reconsidering its contentious alterations to the Stellar Blade outfit. In a message to fans, they have urged everyone to stay tuned for updates and expressed gratitude for the passionate feedback from players. For those who may not be aware, a petition gained significant attention over the weekend when gamers discovered changes made to a few of the game’s costumes through a day-one patch.

The launch day update includes a fantastic New Game + mode, but some players were disappointed by the changes made to protagonist Eve’s outfit. These alterations sparked debates about censorship. Director Hyung-Tae Kim later clarified that this was the studio’s original vision, but he acknowledged that it may require further persuasion to win over users. Internal discussions were also underway to address any concerns.

Thanks to all our Stellar Blade fans for your passion & feedback. Stay tuned for updates🤍 pic.twitter.com/jCRzM4OQBS

— StellarBlade (@StellarBlade) May 1, 2024

There is no definitive confirmation regarding the reversal of the outfits, but considering the language used in the statement and the widespread controversy surrounding the alterations, it is highly likely that a future patch will restore the original costumes. If you want to get a sneak peek at all of Eve’s different outfits and learn how to unlock them, be sure to take a look at our comprehensive guide, All Outfits and How to Get Them.

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Gaming

Will Stellar Blade be available for PC?

Published

2 days ago

April 30, 2024

Zach Riley

It’s quite possible. Fans all over the world are interested in Shift Up’s highly anticipated action-adventure game, Stellar Blade. With its captivating post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of Nier and a compelling protagonist named Eve, it’s no wonder the game has generated such widespread attention.

The game consistently impresses with its stunning visuals and high-octane action, leaving players in awe with each new trailer.

Yet, just like other noteworthy second-party and third-party game releases, fans are pondering: Will Stellar Blade be available on PC?

In this article, we delve into the details to determine the platform availability of the highly anticipated title.

Will Stellar Blade be available on PC? Allow me to provide you with the answer.

Unfortunately, Stellar Blade will not be available on PC, at least not initially. Currently, the game is only available on PlayStation 5 starting on April 26, 2024.

Regrettably, it appears that there is no indication of a potential PC release for Stellar Blade in the future. In most cases, trailers for PlayStation timed-exclusive titles conclude with a disclaimer that specifies the duration of their exclusivity.

In the Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth launch trailer, it is explicitly stated that the game will only be accessible on other platforms starting on May 29, 2024.

Regrettably, when it comes to the stellar blade, there is no indication of such.

It’s important to note that Sony Entertainment Interactive published Stellar Blade, unlike Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth. This means that the chances of it being released on PC or other platforms in the near future are even slimmer.

However, it is worth noting that there is a chance the game might be released on PC in the future, given PlayStation’s track record of bringing their exclusive titles to the platform. However, it could be a while before this comes to fruition.

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