70°

Should Value For Money Be Mentioned In Reviews?

NowGamer: "MGS 5: Ground Zeroes is just one example of a game that sparked debates around value for money. But does the issue of value for money have any place in videogame reviews?"

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nowgamer.com
RumbleFish3671d ago

Yes and the value for money is superb with MGS GZ.

diesoft3671d ago

How? I haven't played it but I am hearing how quickly people are completing it (not including speed runs of 8 minutes or so?). I enjoy MGS but $30 for a sampler? Even at $10 I'd be upset. So how is the value there?

Lord_Sloth3671d ago (Edited 3671d ago )

^ The how is quite simple. It's very fun. I've plugged over 20 hours into the game and I'm still playing it. If reviews start mentioning price value than I am very curious as to how they will justify the MMO fees of $120 pet year required AFTER THE GAME PURCHASE. You wanna complain about price? There you go.

Ratty3671d ago

Just like Lord_Sloth said. Anyway, doing all missions only once should take you 3 hours minimum on the first try and that's if you're on some sort of rush. It's true that you can complete the first mission and most of them under ten minutes each but that's only if you're already a pro, know exactly where to go and know enemy placement and routes well. It may not be for everyone but hardcore fans definitely.

Also, deja-vu and jamais-vu missions are now (or soon will be?)on both platforms, adding an extra mission to the game. It may still not justify the 30$ tag for some but it already did for me.

If you really just want to see the story and play once you're better off waiting for a major price drop or watch the cutscenes on youtube.

RumbleFish3671d ago

MGS games are for the fans of the series. If You are a fan, buy it, you will have lots of fun with it because you will do what fans of the series do: play the game in every thinkable or unthinkable way.
The game has a main mission and 5 side missions. When you look at the percentages of the trophies, you will see how few people have seen the whole game.
There is a good amount of content for the money in that game.

Mankey3671d ago

I would beg to differ.

randomass1713671d ago

A game that can be beaten in an hour or less can be very fun. Binding of Isaac is such a game. And that's $5.

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colonel1793671d ago (Edited 3671d ago )

mmm I thought reviews were actually INVENTED for that exact reason?? The sole reason to view/read a review is to know if you want to spend money on the product being reviewed, so that you know more of the product and evaluate if it's of value to you. The first thing to know if a product is of value is the value of money.

EDIT: With that said, the value of games is relative to the player. For example, I am very satisfied with 8-10 hours single player games. I almost never play Multiplayer. Other player would only be satisfied with 30-50 single player games like RPGs, and other would only be satisfied if the game comes with MP. However, there is a standard for each of those genres. You expect a movie to be at least 1:30 hrs long, the same with games. If an RPG is 8 hours it is a very very short RPG, and therefore might not be of value. A single player game, should be at least 8 hours or else, won't be valuable either. Fighters might be expected to have 20 characters at least, and that's the reason KI was difficult to convince as a good value.

So there are some minimum standards for each genre that have been stablished. Like movies, there are going to be movies which are 3 hours long, and other that might even be just 1 hour, but those are exceptions, and because of that they NEED to PROVE their value.

MGS V: Ground Zeroes does NOT prove its value. (for most people)

ginsunuva3671d ago

But not everyone buys games at the same price.

xBigxBossx3671d ago

No. Because that's a personal opinion. Since you are all on N4G, the average gamer doesn't get on here to check reviews, they buy off hype. Any hardcore gamer knew about it's length so if you bought and were disappointed you should have already know about this. IMO this game is amazing. Is it short? Yes. But the replay ability is unreal. I'm over 50 hrs (yes I'm an addict) but I've played this game more than any next gen game. So IMO it's the best game to date

randomass1713671d ago

"No. Because that's a personal opinion."

You mean what a review is? :/

TitanUp3671d ago

agree with your yes, if a demo is priced tell us in the reviews of why you shouldnt pay for it.

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BlackOni3672d ago (Edited 3672d ago )

Yes, games are competing for gamers' time and money. If the game isn't worthy of the price it asks, then it should be mentioned in the review. It's one of the biggest reasons I don't use a traditional number scale for my reviews.

*edit* Take The Elder Scrolls Online for example. I didn't play the game, so I can't speak on personal experience, but most people feel that the game is fairly generic in it's offering as an MMO, and as an Elder Scrolls game, it doesn't really feel like an Elder Scrolls game. It's $60 for the game upfront, and $15 per month after that. That literally directly influences how long you can play the game, especially if you have other responsibilities that take priority over paying that monthly fee. That factor alone warrants mentioning it in the review.

I agree with what this article is saying in regards to how we shouldn't have a checklist of features to refer to when evaluating whether a game is good or not, but to answer the question "Should you buy this game or not?" It kinda has to be a part of the discussion.

Lord_Sloth3671d ago

Their job is to tell you the pros and cons. Your job is to decide it's value based on that.

BlackOni3671d ago

Part of the pros and cons is evaluating what the end user gets out of the experience. That is in relation to the cost of said product, vs perceived value.

Lord_Sloth3670d ago

Yes but the perceived value comes down to the individual making the purchase. Ground Zeros is a prime example of this. Everybody is complaining and calling it a top off but I must say that I've gotten more fun and time out of it than most $60 games.

BlackOni3670d ago

Right. But when considering reviews, the review is only a reflection of what that one person perceives. A review, in it's very nature, is one's opinion of a game. If the reviewer, who sometimes goes out of pocket for the game, feels that there isn't enough value proposition, that's still a part of the process in evaluating the game.

WizzroSupreme3671d ago

Why Kotaku's reviews are designed like they are.

Einhert3671d ago

ummmm of course....This is why I like Angry Joes reviews.

Mankey3671d ago

Complete honesty and he truly seems sincere. Best reviews out there.

randomass1713671d ago

Eh, Angry Joe is too eccentric for my taste. I really like ProJared. He seems genuine as well and his review of GZ was actually really fair. He gave the game an 8/10 for its gameplay but insisted that people don't buy it because of its short length.

king_george3671d ago

Probably my favorite reviewer because of how straight forward he is.

That guy needs more success he has certainly earned it

LAWSON723671d ago (Edited 3671d ago )

No everybody has a different idea on money's value. Sure mention content and longevity, but IMO if a reviewer cannot get the point across on what a game lacks and they need to say "this game is to expensive" they are lazy and should not be a reviewer.

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100°

Why Xbox believes it must cut costs and close studios

Companies, particularly public companies like Microsoft, need to grow.

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eurogamer.net
gold_drake4h ago

i mean its pretty simple, they spent close to 30 billion in acquiring activision, they thought they'd make it bk no problem, and that didnt happen.

its just shit that because of MS's miscalculation alot of people lost their jobs.

Jingsing29m ago

This is exactly what many people said would happen including the CMA and FTC. Lies lies and more lies and they allowed a $69 billion buy out to happen.

gold_drake21m ago

oh yeh it was 70 billion. that was my bad haha even worse.

thesoftware73019m ago(Edited 14m ago)

gold,

You can't be serious, right?

Do you think that MS thought they would make 80bill in a year & Half? They haven't even released titles under MS yet, lol.

But in fact, that A/B revenue is already paying off, look at the last earnings call. That $80 billion is long-term money, my guy, no sane person/company would think they would make that back in any short-term situation, it's a long-term investment.

Let's play silly then. If MS's reason for laying off staff and closing studios was due(which it really was not) to the A/B deal, tell me what Sony's reason was for past studio closures, the recent 900-person layoffs, closing Sony London, shutting down Dreams, and closing Japan Studio? Zipper? Psygnosis? cuts at all their internal studios.

Keep in mind, you are claiming MS's reason is because of the A/B deal; please explain Sony's reason.

Hofstaderman10m ago

You actually still defending them? Sheesh.....

gold_drake8m ago

this is not a sony vs MS debate. dont make it something it isnt.

and of course not, but im pretty sure they thought they'd make more money after the deal. they didnt, and closed off some studios.

its pretty insane to think there is any other reason for the closure of studios in this case.

romulus231m ago(Edited 1m ago)

(It really was) due to the Activision Blizzard deal and the loss of physical sales due to gamepass. You keep bringing up Sony in all your posts about this, stop deflecting and trying to change the topic, this is about MS and what they are doing.

anast30m ago

They are going to use AI for a large portion of the game development process. Upper management need bonuses and the shareholders need more money. So, people will lose their jobs.

Skuletor20m ago

Maybe they were already using AI to make business decisions, which would explain why they closed Hi-Fi Rush's studio, then said they need more games like Hi-Fi Rush not long after that announcement.

100°

Former Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider pours scorn on EA's AI dreams.

"They want you to believe the devs under them are super stoked to work generative AI into their processes," continued Gaider, "but I assure you what they took as excitement was really a veiled wail of despair not unlike the time that team was informed of their new 'really cool' live service mandate.".

LordoftheCritics2d ago

Publishers see gaming as another stock market.

isarai2d ago

I think anyone with some common sense knew this, im glad i don't support their games anymore, what a sh!t company.

Psychonaut852d ago

Friends don’t let friends buy EA or Ubisoft.

Chocoburger2d ago

I said this yesterday. AI isn't what we want when it comes to crafting artistry. Alas, these soulless corporate morons don't care about their work, only about cutting corners as much as possible.

120°

Phil Spencer and the Battle for Xbox’s Soul

Has the rapid growth of Xbox made the ship too heavy? Following the closures of Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, and Roundhouse, we explore what the future of Xbox could look like.

LG_Fox_Brazil2d ago

This ship was never meant to sail, this ship was made from the get go to sink as fast as possible. It almost feels that they want to lower the standards of quality in the industry so that they can fit in

rlow12d ago

I disagree, Xbox from the get go innovated and changed the industry. They did a lot of firsts and standardized a lot of others. It wasn’t till the beginning of the Xbox1 era that things started to go south.

Stevonidas2d ago

Yep, although I’d argue it started going to shit when they tried to hock Kinect on their audience instead of continuing to invest in their studios and IPs. 2001-2010 Xbox was peak gaming, though.

rlow11d 22h ago

@Stevonidas
I agree they never should have focused on it after the 360 era. But you do have to remember they were faked out by the huge volumes of Kinects sold. To quote info on Wikipedia, “Project Natal, It was first released on November 4, 2010, and would go on to sell eight million units in its first 60 days of availability.” So if your Xbox and see these huge sales on a peripheral where are you going to put some money? Criticism in hindsight is worthless…..if only we could all see our future. In other wards they had no way of knowing. Plus they had engagement numbers and a lot of signs pointed to people wanting it.

Their biggest mistake wasn’t the Kinect, but unlike Sony after the PS3 debacle. They didn’t double on down on exclusive good games. The other huge mistake was letting Call of Duty go to Sony.

Hedstrom2d ago

Phil wants Xbox to be as soulless as him!

Tacoboto2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Xbox has no soul and Phil has no confidence, and it's impossible to say either do when they killed Tango and Arkane Austin.

Everything they've said since has only made them look worse to a point that they're actually less competent than Embracer.

Markdn2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

Whe you release something like the series S and expect it not to hurt your business model, and developers have to have parity with games. Then you know Microsoft don't care. Series s is the final nail that broke developers,

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