240°

Valve: Positive "Review Bombs"

Valve writes: "In our recent post on User Reviews Revisited we covered our process for identifying off-topic review bombs on games, and how you can decide for yourself whether or not you'd like to see them included in Review Scores throughout the store. Back in 2017, we defined a review bomb as an event where players post a large number of reviews in a very compressed time frame, aimed at lowering the Review Score of a game. At the time, we wondered if there'd be "positive review bombs", but there were no examples of one. We decided to wait and see."

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steamcommunity.com
killswitch802224d ago

This is why I am going to fully support Epic Store whenever I can from now on. At least Epic Store people are not so negative and toxic

chrono12052224d ago

Don't know what's going on,do you. So negative and toxic.

2224d ago
JackBNimble2224d ago

So you would support anti consumer tactics from Epic?
I wouldn't so much as give them a click

meep3162224d ago

What anti consumer tactics are they using exactly? Are you that mad you have to install another competing client?

Wolffenblitz2224d ago

@meep316 ... Seriously? Are people STILL spouting that same line after all that's been going on? Fucking read it up.

Unless you're a console player without a PC then you can't say anything.

jeki2223d ago

What anti-consumer tactics?

Do you think Valve's exclusives on Steam are anti-consumer?

SegaGamer2224d ago (Edited 2224d ago )

"At least Epic Store people are not so negative and toxic"

Well, we wouldn't know, because Epic doesn't allow it's consumers to have a voice. No forums, no reviews, it's the perfect place for publishers to get away with releasing poor quality games without receiving any criticism.

Also, what was so negative and toxic about this piece of news by Steam?

meep3162224d ago

I’m sure they will, but it’s not that big a deal really. It’s not like you can’t just hop on reddit if you need other opinions.

Wolffenblitz2224d ago

@meep316

You're not contributing at all to any of this. Your attitude is all "But why" and yet it seems you still haven't used your brain and looked up the information yourself.

Elwenil2224d ago

@Wolffenblitz,

That is all it has to say because it is nothing but a paid shill account, newly created just for this particular controversy, and will only spout off pro-EGS nonsense that only makes sense to marketing executives, politicians and people who dwell in Sweeney's underwear.

spektical2223d ago

@meep316
you just want a marketplace where you willingly want to be swindled and pimped.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2223d ago
Zeref2224d ago

Didn't read the article either but isnt it being POSITIVE review bombed because of the Notre Dame almost being destroyed and AC Unity is like the only game where it had been so faithfully recreated that they are using it to rebuild the Notre Dame?

porkChop2224d ago

They're not actually using it to rebuild Notre Dame. Ubisoft confirmed they're not involved at all, though they would love to help if asked. But their recreation is supposed to be very good.

UltimateOwnage2224d ago

You should really read article before jumping to that conclusion in Epic’s defense. Especially when they don’t deserve any extra support in this regard since users don’t really have a “Community” in their store at all.

Synopsis for those who haven’t read the article (and I hope you do): Valve is staying out of it because a massive uptick in reviews (mostly positive) since Ubi made AC: Unity free in response to the Notre Dame fire, also in part because the game features one of the most detailed 3D recreations of the building and its interior.

They couldn’t determine it was a “classic” case of a Review Bomb and decided to let the Valve Community determine how best to label this type of event from now on since up to this point Review Bomb was a term coined by the community only with negative implications.

Lionsguard2224d ago (Edited 2224d ago )

You're hilariously naive if you think one sect of gamers on another store is all of a sudden different. You know why they're not so "negative and toxic"? Because they don't have a platform to voice it.Guess who the "Epic Store people" consists of, Fortnite kids. Yea, definitely no negativity and toxicity here.

Also, you apparently did not even read the article considering this is about Unity's POSITIVE review bombing. And they're not going to do anything about it because there's an uptick of players and changing it won't do much of anything. I think I'll stick to supporting Steam at least we're not a bunch of morons.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 2223d ago
2223d ago
rob-GP2223d ago

Although I agree with the people who did the positive votes due to Ubisoft's payment to help after the disaster, I don't agree with Valve doing this. They seem to need better management, people who can actually make a decision and stick with it. It's clear the positive reviews were a 'bomb' so they too should have been removed. Otherwise, it's sending out a message that anything negative will be removed but positive for the site, valve and the publishers are fine, even if it's been done with the same process as the negative reviews.

GOODKylePS2223d ago

Hey look who it is! Speaking of negative, remember when you accused a guy of not finishing Rage 2's story before putting out a review and then proof was provided and in response you blocked all related parties? Good times.

rob-GP2223d ago

Old news... I blocked you lot because you’re all very aggressive and the other guy blocked me first. Also, fair enough about RAGE, it obv hadn’t synced when I looked, but what about observation? You played less than an hour of a 5 hour narrative game, then decided to review it.

Not gonna argue with you, because you’re not worth my time, just don’t think the publisher would be happy if they knew people were judging their game without playing it all first.

GOODKylePS2223d ago

Keep making excuses and lying. It's hilarious watching you dig your hole.

540°

Microsoft planning “major” Xbox layoffs next week

The cuts are expected to be announced next week.

Microsoft is also planning thousands of job cuts that will impact other parts of it businesses

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theverge.com
6h agoReplies(1)
6h agoReplies(1)
Obscure_Observer5h ago

MFs has been beating their chests over great quarterly results and big profits to shareholders while firing people by the thousands just like Sony.

I wonder if at the top of those rumored layoffs they´ll also cancel upcoming or unannounced games while shutting down more studios as well.

5h ago
pwnmaster30005h ago

Always got to throw shade at Sony smh.
Yes we get it,
MS good Sony bad
MS bad Sony is also bad lmao

5h ago
Obscure_Observer5h ago

F* them both!

Just for the record, I don´t care about your victim complex crap either. Find someone else who cares.

blacktiger4h ago

He was talking about both. Why you getting offended when he's using both names

pwnmaster30003h ago(Edited 3h ago)

@Blacktiger

Im not offended , that’s just his formula lol
He can’t help help himself, he needs to bring Sony down when the topic involves MS.
Whether is good news for MS or bad, it some how leads to Sony doing bad lmao.
It’s actually hilarious.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 3h ago
Tacoboto5h ago

"just like Sony"

Gosh you're insufferable, not everything needs to be both-sides'd. Sony's had layoffs, but nothing like what Microsoft has been doing and is continuing to do.

CrimsonWing695h ago(Edited 5h ago)

I mean, no offense, but this is why you’re not some corporate business person running a major corporation. Big profits don’t mean jobs are safe. Do you understand why things like this happen:

Cutting jobs to maintain or increase profitability, especially in underperforming divisions like parts of Xbox like other gaming divisions.

Corporate restructuring and relocating resources for strategic stability in ever changing markets and consumer behaviors.

Investor expectations and optimizing operations to maintain investor confidence. Whatever boosts stock prices and improves future margins.

And there’s many other factors at play. It’s never as simple as business doing well, everyone’s safe. That’s just you not understanding at all how corporations work and have been working since the beginning. This isn’t something that’s specific to Xbox, you can bet your ass Sony and Nintendo do this and if it’s not clear by now, game development is not a stable job nor has it ever been for many. A lot of developers are contractors and guess what happens when a project is done?

Ganif3h ago

Nintendo said they have no plans for layoffs, and you can't seriously claim that the scale of Sony's layoffs most of which involved Bungie which is self managed as even close to the same scale as what Microsoft has done since they purchased Zenimax. And that significantly less layoffs would have happened if those publishers had stayed independent. Keep in mind that much of these layoffs have been due to redundancies specifically related to these buyouts.

CrimsonWing693h ago(Edited 3h ago)

@Ganif

Nintendo:

https://gamerant.com/ninten...

Sony:

https://gamerant.com/playst...

https://techxplore.com/news...

I don’t think it’s realistic to treat Sony’s layoffs as somehow outside the norm for the industry right now. Even if Bungie is self-managed, Sony’s cuts went far beyond that like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, London Studio being shut down completely, and multiple teams across the globe took hits. These weren’t just minor adjustments.

Nintendo, I had to look up and you’re right. They seem to be an outlier, but rest assured at some point it happens. And even then there’s been layoffs, albeit a smaller amount and contractors.

Would fewer layoffs have happened if studios from acquisitions stayed independent? Maybe. But even independents have been hit hard and look at what’s happened with Embracer’s fallout, or smaller devs like Digic, Roll7, or Volition. This isn’t just a “Microsoft problem” or strictly tied to acquisitions; it’s a broader correction happening across the whole industry, and unfortunately, layoffs are a big part of that process right now.

Ganif2h ago

From your article:

"According to reports, Nintendo of America restructured its testing operations, leading to layoffs of about 120 contractors, part of a strategy for global integration.

Nintendo of America, publisher of iconic franchises like Mario and Zelda, is shifting some contractors to full-time roles for better development integration."

Contractors are not employees, and even if you want to count them as that, it's 120 people vs around 7500 since Microsoft purchased Zenimax.

In an era of game industry layoffs, Nintendo is hiring more people
https://automaton-media.com...

Nintendo Announces 10 Percent Pay Raise For Devs Despite Lower Profits
https://kotaku.com/nintendo...

Nintendo CEO’s refusal to layoff staff goes viral following industry-wide cuts
"Satoru Iwata took pay cuts to ensure staff didn’t have to be let go"
https://www.nme.com/news/ga...

And as for Sony you're comparing less than 1000 total jobs to an estimated7500

Has the industry faced layoffs, yes, but that still doesn't account for the mass layoffs due to redundancies that was easily predictable, or that fact that at least 1/3 of Microsoft's layoffs and studio closures happened before the industry downturn.

thorstein2h ago(Edited 2h ago)

Take the L, Crimson.

People hate Nintendo, but Ganif proved why they deserve support.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 2h ago
-Foxtrot4h ago

It's like banging your head off a wall, he just can't help himself.

Microsoft can do no wrong, Sony sucks at everything and Nintendo is bigged up because it's less hassle than trying to defend Microsoft all the time

What's going to happen when Microsoft finally turn completely third party, then what?

anast4h ago

I enjoy Obscure. Obscure does good work.

crazyCoconuts4h ago

Did you know that the first n4g was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program.

Tacoboto3h ago

I wouldn't be surprised at this point if anast and osbcure were both alts for the Admin.

We know how Obscure especially drums up additional comments and clicks with his spam-worthy remarks that somehow never get moderated

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 3h ago
Profchaos1h ago

Thats business present a strong front to your shareholders while your company burns around you.

Keep shareholders happy at all costs andnif not happy keep them numb to the reality of you organisation

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 1h ago
5h ago
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120°

Sony Faces Class Action in the Netherlands Over Allegedly Inflated PlayStation Store Prices

Mass Damage & Consumer Foundation in the Netherlands has filed a class action against Sony for inflating PlayStation Store prices.

dveio4h ago(Edited 4h ago)

My personal opinion:

Manufacturers and publishers have indeed inflated the industry.

From $700 million development costs for games like Call of Duty, to digital (store) prices for games and DLCs, online multiplayer fees on consoles (why can you play Helldivers 2 online for free on PC but not consoles?) or still preventing sell/lend digitally purchased games.

Sometime in the future, this bubble will collapse.

They should know better, but they just can't help themselves and suck even the last penny out of our wallets.

BeHunted2h ago

Because Sony knows people will be forced to pay those prices for single player and multiplayer games, not everyone prefers PC gaming. Sony also has a monopoly on PlayStation digital games. In 2019, they stopped allowing retailers and game key sellers to sell PlayStation digital games, making them available only through the official PlayStation Store

anast4h ago

The Dutch gov. wants a piece of the pie.

Eonjay3h ago

They should be suing the individual publishers increasing the prices to $80 instead of suing the store. There are plenty of publishers still selling game for like $50 with much success (like E33). But this proves that the publishers are the ones setting the prices.... so again nothing changes because they aren't even going after the main offender. How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD? Sony being the number one store in the market doesn't mean that publisher have to charge us an arm and a leg. Again the industry is laughing at us because consumers never get real representation. Just these fake platitudes that are meaningless.

BeHunted1h ago

"How is suing Sony going to make Microsoft not charge $80 for the next COD"

Because Microsoft doesn't have a monopoly, I can purchase Call of Duty at a huge discount from CDKeys or other gaming retailers. The only way to purchase digital PlayStation games is through the PlayStation Store.

djl348547m ago

Weird, I swore GoW, Stellar Blade, Horizon Zero Dawn, TLoU, etc. were on the steam store....uh.....

Killer2020UK2h ago

About time. There is zero fair reason why digitally distributed products that you cannot recoup any value when you want to dispose of them, should be priced higher than that of physical copies that entail all of the costs and the benefits of owning.

50°

Spook-A-Boo — Game Overview • VGMM

Spook-A-boo is a silly ghost-hunting game where you and up to 3 friends explore different levels, hunting down ghosts in a game of hide-and-seek.

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videogamesmademe.com