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Editor's note: How much of an effect does Metacritic's aggregate scores have on games? I've always wondered about this, but I've never analyzed the data. Luckily, Rob has, and he's sharing his examination of Metacritic scores and sales for May 2009 with us. -Jason

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The September 2009 issue of Game Informer published a feature discussing the merits of review aggregator Metacritic through the lens of Glen Schofield, former general manager for Visceral Games, which developed and released Dead Space late last year.

Central to Schofield’s complaint is a lone score of 65 that caused the Xbox 360 version of Dead Space’s aggregate Metacritic score to drop one point from 90 to 89. Schofield states that “the difference between an 89 and a 90 is a big-ass deal.”

Games journalist Mitch Krpata criticized the article, claiming that Game Informer was calling for reviewers to inflate scores in order to keep the Metacritic aggregate high.  Whether or not Game Informer actually implied such is irrelevant to the observation that review score inflation would be at the detriment of the gaming public.

However, we all know that publishers use Metacritic scores to pressure developers by tying those scores to monetary compensation. Are publishers justified in using Metacritic in such a way? I decided to investigate the issue by tracking game sales and their accompanying Metacritic scores to find out the relationship between the two.

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Editor's note: Rob makes some interesting points about the things video game designers can learn from board games. A lot of developers do play board games -- they're gamers all around by nature. Wonder if they ever take any clues from them like Rob would like them to? -Shoe

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It’s official -- the board game Space Hulk is being re-released to the public.

I’ve previously written about my affection for one video game adaptation, Space Hulk: Vengeance of the Blood Angels, but this revelation got me thinking about what makes a board game so compelling and what their digital counterparts can learn from them.

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Editor's note: In the grand tradition of Folgers instant coffee commercials, I plan to switch out the innards of this multimillion dollar medical device with a Boong-Ga Boong-Ga arcade cabinet. Let's see if he notices the difference! -Demian

 

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Pilots are one thing -- you know, since they shoot the "enemy" -- but now doctors will benefit from video game playing, as well? I came across the above scan in a promotional flier at a local hospital in Redlands, CA earlier today. Personally, I don't know if I'd trust a doctor looking into the first iteration of Nintendo's Virtual Boy to cut me up...would you?

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Editor's Note: Get confused whenever you get ready to fire up one of your favorite multiplayer games or when you're trying to figure out if you have enough Xbox Live Points to buy the latest downloadable treat? Andrew Hiscock shares some of the things he feels are most confusing about games today. -Jason

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Videogame players have a remarkable ability to decipher complicated phenomena. Take your average videogame website. If you can navigate IGN.com, you deserve an honorary degree in geography. These skills are developed in dealing with our chosen hobby. User interfaces, hardware connectivity, and even the very games we play have developed a new tier of problem solving for humanity.

Should the world at large ever take these skills seriously, they would find a readily available segment of the population ready to be air-traffic controllers, IT consultants, and mediators for Middle East peace talks. If you can figure out any of the phenomena listed below, you'll be able to impress any old professor of quantum mechanics.

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Welcome to Bitmob.com, your resource for the hottest companies in [insert your city here]. Whether looking for a long-term relationship or something to spice things up on the side, you'll find a videogame company that offers deep connectivity and intuitive user interfaces, no matter who you are! Good luck, and happy merging, acquisitioning, and buy-outting!

Sega
Likes: What Nintendon't, Retro style, Pachinko
Dislikes: Console Manufacturing, Long dev times, New IPs
"Hi, all out there. A while ago I broke up with consoles, and now I'm playing the field. I'm happy where I am, and I'm not looking for commitment, just a night on the town and we'll see what happens. I'm a restless spirit, but don't call me whore, I'm just living my life!"

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Compared to outlandish ones like Final Fantasy or Xenosaga, Bethesda's RPGs are grounded in reality...relatively speaking. Vampirism, magic, mutants, and mini-nuke launchers aside, you can pretty much relate to the people and worlds in Oblivion and Fallout 3. Strangely enough, they're kinda normal.

Maybe that's because Todd Howard is kinda normal himself. Bethesda Game Studios' game director and executive producer is a big (make that huge) Bruce Springsteen fan. He watches Friday Night Lights. And he thinks he can become Batman someday. He's an everyday guy who just happens to make epic games for a living. Epic games that feel "normal," that is.

He's our latest subject in our 21 Random Qs interview, so let's get to know...Todd Howard.

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1. What is your favorite end-of-the-world movie?

Todd Howard: 12 Monkeys.

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Editor's Note: We're still trying to figure out how Brainiac here had the time to dissect the Big 3 press conferences from E3 2009 like this. Andrew's thorough, final conclusions are below (click "Read more" for the full report). And if you missed them, don't miss his individual studies, too -- very interesting info in each of them. -Shoe

Nintendo press conference report
Microsoft press conference report
Sony press conference report

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Click here to see the full size graph

First and foremost, you'll notice in the above graph that there are no "event landmarks." Due to the amount of landmarks across all press conferences, I've removed them from the graph, as it would be completely useless. If you would like to reference the landmarks in the above graph, please see the individual graphs below (click the image for full size):

Reaction to the Nintendo Conference

Reaction to the Sony Conference

Reaction to the Microsoft Conference

Abstract: After the totals of neogaf.com forum members' reactions for each one-minute interval were tallied and charted, we now have a basis on which to compare the reactions to each conference. We can also see patterns in the responses that can offer insight that will allow us to predict future responses to press conferences, or offer guidelines on how to develop press conferences that will impress NeoGAF, and perhaps by extension, hardcore gamers. If that's what you want to do (Nintendo probably doesn't, for one).

Comment Totals: "Who won E3," a consistent theme appearing in the threads studied, is beyond the scope of this informal study. Only the immediate reactions were tabulated, and plenty of discussion has occured in the week following the press conferences. But we can still take the sum total of comments for each press conference. The results are below:

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Editor's note: The penultimate article in Andrew's E3 2009 press conference series is here, with the real-time reactions to Sony's presentation. Stay tuned for the final installment, a comparative analysis of all three major press events. -Demian

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Click Here For Full Size Image

Abstract: The third and final press conference was witnessed, and commented upon, by neogaf.com members with aplomb. This particular thread provided extra obstacles to compiling data, due to the presentation style and the conference's position in the schedule.

Methodology: Please see the methodology found in the analysis of Nintendo's E3 press conference. For additonal results, please see the analysis of Microsoft's E3 analysis.

Additional Difficulties Encountered: This particular thread presented additional obstacles to data collection not found in the prior threads. First, and foremost, this thread was the final major press conference, and many of the comments referenced material in other conferences. Perhaps related to this, many more "conversations" were held within the thread, and to ascertain whether a particular comment was positive, negative, or unrelated, I had to refer back to the original comment (often quoted), which in turn referred to another comment.

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Abstract: The online community at NeoGAF.com focuses its attention almost exclusively on videogames. The conversations can be indecipherable to outsiders, even those familiar with videogames. This passionate group of fans is one of the most influential in the industry. During live events, specific threads provide insight into the reactions of the community. It is the intention of this study to reveal their real time reactions to such an event, Nintendo's E3 press conference held on June 2, 2009.

Methodology: In order to chart these reactions, I assigned a score to each comment. If a comment was optimistic or positive, it scored +1. If it was negative, it scored -1. NeoGAF time stamps each post to the minute, so for every minute interval during the press conference, the sum total of response scores were charted.

A Positive Remark: Any remark that was positive in nature, either optimistic for events that may happen within the conference or approving of events as they happened. These were restricted to the actual conference happenings.

A Negative Remark: Any remark that was negative in nature, either pessimistic of what was to come, or disapproving of events as they happened. These were restricted to the actual conference happenings.

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Editor's Note: Andrew should start a new new website where he does game-industry coverage exclusively in limericks. Wait, forget we said that. Keep it on Bitmob! Don't miss his equally hilarious Microsoft recap and Nintendo recap. By the way, if you don't recognize the names/references below, they're probably 1UP.com editors. -Shoe

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Once a trail blazer, now following a trail
Sony's new console forms the market's tail
A leaked trailer here
A handheld rumor there
And now no news left to tell

Uncharted 2 features Nathan with gun
Locked into a Gears of War fun
How is the shirt?
Does he act really hurt?
Who cares? There's no roadie run

Zipper flips off Sony abusers
And made the doubters look like losers
So many on MAG
With no framerate lag
But does PSN have that many users?

Kratos returns in God of War 3
Matt Leone can't hold his pee
Red paint and knives
And demi-god strife
New? No, still has QTEs

Square Enix then startled the room
FF Eleven's death now looms
With FF-Fourteen
Mielke ruptured his spleen
Now his future child is doomed

Final Fantasy was still not even done
Number Seven joined in on the fun
No remake is here
Slash fiction fans shed a tear
No cell processing for Tifa's tight bum

Kojima delivered a special treat
For fanboys that fawn at his feat
MGS stays with Sony
Kojima's not phony
Although he still suckles at Microsoft's teat

The Last Guardian's trailer was a bust
Already inspired an art gamer's lust
Looks like Ico
With Colossus's Shadow
Their blue balls now ready to bust

Motion control was the theme of the week
And Sony showed plenty of cheek
They thought they did the trick
With their new waggle stick
But pundits say "That's not so l33t"

Did Kaz Hirai's new PSP come to save?
A road to DLC will it pave?
No more discs
A calculated risk
If dead, Shane will spin in his grave

Nursery Rhymes

Sony had a little plan
Little plan, little plan
Sony had a little plan
To offer motion control
And everywhere the market went
Market went, market went
And everywhere the market went
Sony was sure to go

Sony made Home, which was a "game"
So huge it incited laughter
Sony fell down and broke its crown
And Home came tumbling after

Hideo Kojima stabbed PS in the back
All Kojima's fans called him a hack
All the Metal Gears and PSPs
Can't negate Microsoft's exclusive fees

Trico, Trico, little star
How I wonder what you are!
A short trailer is all we know
Looks suspiciously like Ico

Sony, Sony, quite contrary,
How does your install base grow?
With Gran Turismo, and Resident Evil,
Yet another PSP, this one called Go

Author's Note:

I apologize. This must be stale,
But for the sake of symmetry,
I gritted my teeth and set to work
And now I've completed all three

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Editor's Note: More limerick awesomeness from Andrew We-Wonder-If-That's-His-Real-Last-Name. Also see his: Microsoft recap, Sony recap. -Shoe

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There once was a company from Japan
Who had the casual market in hand
They left the hardcore
Wii Fit is a bore
Now Girl, age 12, is the average fan

Four-player Mario is unveiled
"The next hardcore title" it's hailed
PR spokeswoman Cammie
Her delivery uncanny
But in the game she actually failed

Wii Fit Plus was on display
Housewives thought it was okay
But they don't know
That it's just all show
And their cellulite won't go away

DS RPGs were aplenty
Because grinding is very trendy
There was no shock
And no excited talk
Because we knew about them already

The DSi and popular Facebook
Are now in connected cahoots
Snap and upload
But what of friend codes?
Pedophiles will finally get a look

Super Mario Galaxy was quite the hit
It made the executives all shit
Another core title
From Nintendo's idol
But they ask "Can it be like Wii Fit?"

Then President Iwata ran amok
With his replacement for the nunchuck
The Vitality Sensor
Electronic relaxer
And everyone asked, "What the Fuck?"

But there was one last game to reveal
One with some hardcore appeal
Team Ninja's "Project M"
It's Metroid again
Third or first person, what's the deal?

Haikus

Cammie Dunaway
She's slick, PR spokeswoman
Needs Style Savvy

Reggie shoots the ball
Keeping it real for the peeps
No! White men can't jump

Third parties win
So claims Nintendo's research
Shovelware still reigns

C - O - P Recruit
New open world DS game
Generic, thy name

No Miyamoto
He's still very embarrassed
Wii Music nightmares

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