50%, 5/10, Grade C. These rankings fill out the middle of the reviewing spectrum, and yet the universally accepted benchmark for a game is a 7. This fact gets on a fair few people's nerves, after all what is the point in having all those numbers that never get used?
Of course opinions vary on whether or not a game is good, no review will ever been seen as perfect in everyone's eyes, and even a site that tallies up all the results can be accused of bias. If a review was perfect, would a 5/10 signify that 50% of all games where better than the reviewed title? It seems like a logical conclusion, and yet I doubt that a reviewer can possible be comparing a game to every other game, past or present.
Perhaps that middle score means that the game is a perfect balance of bad and good, and that for every minute of enjoyment you have you will in turn suffer a minute of bordom or frustration. Yet again it's hard to believe that any game would be so finely balanced, and even if it was, if there was a game that was bad 1/2 the time, I doubt it would recieve a rating as high as 50%.
If a reviewer is trying to provide help and advice as to whether a game is worth playing or purchasing, is a 5/10 more likely to imply "not good" or "not bad"? Of course the numbers will most likely be accompanied by some sort of description of the game, and it is here that the real merit of a review is to be found.
The numbers are necessary and yet very imprecise, good reviewers strive to be objective and yet they will never fully succeed. 5/10 should mean average, but average almost always means bad, why settle for average when there are good games out there, even the cliches that surround a 50% review reveal the truth. For example "it's worth a rent if you like the genre" means it's not worth buying.
This then in turn affects the scores and reviews found higher up, a game might be above average in total, but average in a lot of respects, this happens a lot with FPSs, the 7/10 almost seems too generous, but if you score it lower you are effectively saying it's not really worth a person's time. This means the difference between average but fun, and perfection is a mere 3 points, 30% or a couple of grades. In turn, a slight difference in the personal taste of a review can lead to a few dropped marks, essentailly meaning that great games are marked at a 7 or an 8 (both Halo 3 and Killzone 2 have received 7/10 ratings)
When a game costs $60, the recommendation needs to be firmer, average is never going to be good enough, that is why we find ourselves stuck at the 7/10 benchmark, and i doubt we will see a move from this anytime soon.
Dear team,
Xbox has always been different.
We started with a simple idea. Games should bring people together through shared experiences. That led to the first Xbox in 2001, Xbox Live in 2002, and new ways to connect, from friends lists and achievements to parties and play across devices. Today, Xbox reaches over 500 million players around the world, with some of the most important franchises in entertainment.
re-evaluating exclusivity 💀
PS players will need to go back to pretending to dislike Xbox games
Or meaning since it’s doing so good they might just do everything day 1.
They didnt say re-evaluating their multiplatform approach.
🤣🤣🤣 Xbox is so dead. I know you scared🤣🫵ӿ 97;
Even when the topic is strictly Xbox he can't stop talking about PlayStation. Xbox has basically become the hate of PlayStation... and not much else.
Hurt over video games 🤣🤣
Lmao we all grew and got jobs but apparently you stayed home broke 🤣🤣.
Man I love loyal dogs like you. MS kicked Spit and slapped you around but you still come back on all 4s.
Good little boy 🤣🤣
My only question is what games are PlayStation gamers gonna play now? They don’t really come out with new games anymore. I’m looking forward to wolverine, but after that then what?
Lmao
There’s no way after everything it’s going back, the damage is done
What you are seeing now is the new management telling what the core fanbase (aka…you) want to hear so they are pumped full of hope and are more likely to invest in the next Xbox console
When Phil took over after the awful Xbox One reveal he did the same thing, he told people what they wanted to hear for damage control.
It’s crazy people are getting suckered into this again.
FWIW..... wasn't the new management speaking to the other staff.... not so much us (regular folk)?
And you'll now go back to again thinking exclusives suddenly matter, that multiplatform is no longer the future, or that revenue from multiplatforms doesn't matter, like all you flop flopping xbox grifters lol.
The whole post just sounds like the previous phil corpo slop talk to me, whole thing reads like a nothing burger lol.
“re-evaluating exclusivity”
She also said this.
“The model that got us here won’t be the one that takes us forward.”
I don't know if they have a model anymore it's flipped so many times since the xbox one reveal
There's a bunch just like him but that's what happens when some rely on dreams, hope and wishful thinking. lol
"pretending"? Bro gears hasnt broke 1mil on ps5, and starfield hasn't passed 200k, Hellblade 2 was even stated to be a financial disappointment in sales on its own console, let alone ps5. Im not saying people don't like them, but they certainly aren't setting the community on fire, Forza may be different tho
Xbawx is ''re-evaluating exclusivity''... Translation: After throwing all sort of crap to the wall to see if something sticks but clearly nothing worked, we, including our lord ''in charge'' Phil came to the conclusion that exclusives indeed do matter so please forget if we ever said otherwise.
Yup, I feel it in my gut, next gen belongs to xbox, PS6 is cooked...
Someone can’t sleep after those 5 million forza games PURCHASED by PlayStation owners🤣 🧌 💥
Well with the decreased price of gamespass even with cod off it there is no way it is profitable given the cost of making their 1st party games (not if you actually include that cost in gamespass costs which they typically dont but should) they will just make a loss without the sales on
If they go back to exclusive games it at least shows that they are finally getting it. They would be turning down immediate money for something that will potentially workout in the long term.
Only issue is they've already opened Pandora's box. A lot of their base has moved to PC or jumped to PS. So will be a long road to get back on track.
We have been saying this from day one exclusives are a must if you are going to be selling hardware look at Nintendo and Sony before Jim Ryan. That's the proven formula. You had some that were deluded and blinded by loyalty accepting that multiplat was the future and that MS was merely getting ahead of where the industry was headed, but at least they can finally see the light and agree with what everyone has been saying for a decade+
True, blame it on the rabid fanboys. MS can do no wrong and spinner this multiplatform move. While the actual fans moved on.
I feel like with the new Xbox coming they are hoping to bring back those old fans and then if it goes well. Bring back exclusives.
If the new console is performing like series x and one. Naw they staying multiplatform.
Funny world where Sony is pro consumer and Xbox is not? At least according to what you loyalists have been saying all this time 🤭
@itveds For how many years have you been doing this sad stuff? For how many years have you been creating fake accounts to troll? For how many years have you always been cl vnn
Pathetic incels with nothing better to do than argue over a box... Because they don't have any good games to play on theirs, obviously. If your precious box is so special, why don't you shut the fuck up and go play it?
I think it's too late, xbox sales were diving even before ABK, they got even worse since then even long before the full multiplatform push. I'd be surprised if they even went back to timed exclusivity at this point, Helix is basically a PC and is going to be expensive, they already struggle to sell cheaper xbox consoles, it will be low volume and they'll have a very small 'console' base to sell to, which has already been conditioned to just play via gamepass anyway.
I don't see them removing PC from the equation. Considering MS has a heavy enough investment in the PC market, it would be foolish to abandon them. I could see them taking away games from PlayStation or ensuring they are timed exclusives at the very least. Say what you will but if Call of Duty ends up becoming a timed exclusive to Xbox machines, that would hurt PlayStation, don't pretend like those games don't sell millions.
They would lose out on a lot of CoD sales tho. Doesn't PS make up most of the sales?
Their lifeline of solely the Xbox consoles is dry. Good-Great games on a 1st party scale can't be made at a loss so willingly - sent to the Xbox to only sell limited copies.
They invested billions scooping up studios and need to start making returns.
Sucks that nearly every company is publicly traded and have to be so shareholder biased but that's how it is.
Their words are strong but it'll take time to see what their actions accomplish. Lowering the cost of Game Pass and taking CoD off of it was a good clear start.
More like, allot of their base just played game pass. So now they need to encourage them to start buying again.
Despite all of that, it's clear that Microsoft's Xbox division is broken beyond repair.
PlayStation is currently draining money on flop after flop. It's Sony that needs to re-evaluate their strategy
Wonder how much money was lost on perfect dark, hellbalde 2, 300 million lost revenue
by putting cod on gamepass. The recent Jason schrier news that Xbox has cancelled dozens of projects, spent 70 billion just to see Xbox sales further collapse and gamepass see little growth.
The fact is this has been PlayStation's most profitable generation and they are making loads of money and selling plenty of consoles and games. While MS won't give you any sales figures or profit numbers for Xbox, says it all really.
It isnt. But I dont think they mean in 'games', rather, footprint.
They own the OS but as far as gaming is concerned, Steam dominate. I imagine the VAST majority of people who use the Xbox app/launcher are PC gamepass subs. No ones buying their 3rd party PC games through Xbox PC.
Insider Gaming writes: "Marathon was one of the best-selling video games in March 2026 in the United States. On Wednesday, Circna released the best-selling games of the month, and it featured six new releases along with two games returning to the top 20 after previously falling out."
Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
well it's not on Switch / Switch 2.. so their number would be zero.
The game had a decent launch however the userbase numbers are dwindling on Steam.
“ Is it April fools day again?
The game is dead.
EDIT: the numbers are fudged. “digital sales on Nintendo and Xbox weren’t included in the data”
Does it hurt you to hear a SONY game was BEST selling ?
You gotta let go of those OBCURED feelings 🤷🏿
I mean the only reason MLB was the best selling title was because it was multi-platform. Likewise with Marathon. Will ring true for MS games. Only Nintendo titles are truly flexing their muscles when they chart as they are only to be found there.
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
It's kinda funny how this Obscure guy lives rent-free in your head. lol
Does Phil also live there?
I’m sorry did you wrote something smart ?
Or are you trying to to be funny because you failed at both
Now kid run to mommy legs the grown ups are talking.
Don’t bother writing anything I will not respond to a bratty child like you
Yeah sure, yet the player count is no where near what they want for a AAA game with so much money behind it
Why people are trying to spin this game like it’s done overly amazing is baffling to me.
It won’t even be a blip on peoples radars by the end of the year .
You must me typically wrong cuz those Steam chart numbers (AKA where the game sold the MOST) is less than what Hunt has, and Hunt didn't cost $500 million to make lol
The release on Steam of the anime-style gacha-less open-world RPG DragonSword: Awakening is facing a legal challenge from its gacha publisher.
Yeah 7/10 is still a decent score. I thought your 5/10 description was funny and right all at once :)
I have said it before. If I were to have a review site I would rate every game on a $ scale. If Street fighter 4 cost 65$ I would judge it based on if it is worth the money. Then I accomplish 2 things.
1. Everyone that cries about 10/10 being "Nothing is perfect, No game is 100%, wah wah wah" then I could say "Street Fighter 4 is worth 100/65$" meaning that if the game cost 100$ I would buy it. and technically thats much more then 10/10 and yet still not saying it's perfect. just saying it's worth more then it costs which is a deal =D
2. I would show value. Maybe taking into account DLC lost and the damned or Flower and rating it on a 10 or 20 dollar scale. Is it worth it yes or no =D Depending on what a gamer thinks.
hows that for an idea?
I don't like the that reviews are all top heavy nowadays because if a game get's say 6.9 out of 10 the reviewer may have thought thought it was good but not grade A but people see that as a "buy if it's on sale" indicator. Many games have suffered for this.
Taking cost into account is difficult. Most games come out at around the same sort of price level, and with DLC do you take into account the cost of the original game?
A while back, I proposed a variable, curved star system. You are required to give scores in whole stars, which leaves room for interpretation and personal preference. But if you give it a 5, you are saying there is very little room for discussion and 90% of gamers would agree with it. If you give it a 3, there is a wider gulf for people to disagree up and down, and thereby give you a little more credit for your opinion.
5 stars - top 5%
4 stars - next lower 10%
3 stars - next lower 15%
2 stars - next lower 20%
1 star - nextlower 25%
No stars - Bottom 25%
(High)54433322221111100000(Lo w)
Alternately:
5 stars - top 10%
4 stars - next 15%
3 stars - next 20%
2 stars - next 25%
1 star - bottom 30%
(High)55444333322222111111(Lo w)