EA concerned with low review scores of its games
- February 21, 2008 08:46 AM PST
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The average review score of all EA-published games dropped from 77 to 72 on Metacritic over the last year, and that has the publishing giant worried given the influential power that the aggregate review site wields.
EA chief John Riccitiello unhappy
"There is nothing acceptable about that," said EA CEO John Riccitiello to a group of investors on Thursday. "Our core game titles are accurately measured and summarized by these assessments, and that is a very big deal."
The concern highlights just how powerful Metacritic has become in recent years in the video game industry.
"For a movie it's going to cost you $10 to $12 bucks, and it's a two-hour investment of your time -- whether critics like it is not a huge deal," says Marc Doyle, who launched the site in 2001 to compile movie reviews. Video games now account for the most traffic.
"But a game costs $60 and 20 to 30 hours of your life, so you want to know ahead of time whether a game is good," Doyle adds.
According to Reuters, Metacritic awards added weight to reputable publications when averaging combined scores, something many game makers take issue with, says Doyle. The aggregate site also translates a letter rating of C to 50 in number, this despite recent score inflation where 70 is normally considered average.
But even though Riccitiello is concerned with his company's lowish Metacritic scores, he says he won't chase numbers.
"The process often gets in the way more than it helps," he said. "That sort of circus has unfortunately sort of defined our company for too long. You don't cash Metacritic, you cash checks."
