Is Gamespot biased?

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Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
Xbox titles? From reading some of their reviews, and esp. those
presented on the front page of a particular review, I'm left with the
feeling that Gamespot, for whatever reason, carries somewhat of an
anti-Xbox bias. If you check the rating given to Xbox titles by
Gamespot, and then check IGN, and other reviewers, for instance, what
other explanation can be given? When you factor in that, with the fact
that the console magazine (EGM) released by their parent company has
featured no more than three Xbox titles on their cover since the Xbox
first came out (Nov. of 2002), I think the argument is fairly strong
that a bias does exist.

For a quick example, check the ratings given for "MX vs. ATV
Unleashed".

03-21-2005 Gamespy 4 / 5
03-14-2005 IGN 9.3 / 10
04-01-2005 Game Informer 8 / 10
03-31-2005 GameDaily 4 / 5
EGM ---> 04-01-2005 Electronic Gaming Monthly 7.17 / 10

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/mxvsatvunleashed/index.html
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112309795.781731.269760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles? From reading some of their reviews, and esp. those
> presented on the front page of a particular review, I'm left with the
> feeling that Gamespot, for whatever reason, carries somewhat of an
> anti-Xbox bias. If you check the rating given to Xbox titles by
> Gamespot, and then check IGN, and other reviewers, for instance, what
> other explanation can be given? When you factor in that, with the fact
> that the console magazine (EGM) released by their parent company has
> featured no more than three Xbox titles on their cover since the Xbox
> first came out (Nov. of 2002), I think the argument is fairly strong
> that a bias does exist.
>
> For a quick example, check the ratings given for "MX vs. ATV
> Unleashed".
>
> 03-21-2005 Gamespy 4 / 5
> 03-14-2005 IGN 9.3 / 10
> 04-01-2005 Game Informer 8 / 10
> 03-31-2005 GameDaily 4 / 5
> EGM ---> 04-01-2005 Electronic Gaming Monthly 7.17 / 10
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/mxvsatvunleashed/index.html

I use them and other sites to help determine what games to get and haven't
really noticed any particular bias

- Cryo
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

aether wrote:
> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles?

I crunched the numbers a while back and found (if anything) a slight
bias in favor of Nintendo games.

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/alt.games.video.xbox/browse_frm/thread/de537a34af9141a6/d114d379b8467bae?q=insubject:Gamespot+author:lundj@earthlink.net&rnum=40#d114d379b8467bae

Jordan Lund Jan 21 2002, 3:46 pm
Newsgroups: alt.games.video.xbox
From: Jordan Lund <l...@earthlink.net>
Date: Mon, 21 Jan 2002 23:46:40 GMT
Local: Mon, Jan 21 2002 3:46 pm
Subject: Gamespot Review Analysis:

Interesting... I had a little too much time on the day off today (thank
you
MLK!) so I ran some numbers based on the reviews at Game Spot. Here's
what I
was able to discern:

As of 1/21/2002 they have reviewed 218 PS2 games, 36 Xbox games and 20
Game
Cube games.

The average score for each machine is 6.97 for PS2 games, 7.12 for Xbox
games and 7.64 for Game Cube games.

In order to qualify as a "Good" game you have to have a score of 7 or
higher. 41.28% of PS2 games fail to meet this qualification. Followed
by
33.33% of Xbox games and oly 30% of Game Cube games. I'm amused that
the
average PS2 score of 7.0 would barely qualify it as a "Good" system and
even
then it's only due to rounding. :^)

The good (and better) games break down as follows:

PS2
Perfect (10/10) .46% (1/218)
Superb (9+/10) 8.26% (18/218)
Great (8+/10) 22.94% (50/218)
Good (7+/10) 27.06% (59/218)
All Else (0-6+) 41.28% (90/218)

Xbox
Perfect (10/10) 0% (0/36)
Superb (9+/10) 8.33% (3/36)
Great (8+/10) 19.44% (7/36)
Good (7+/10) 38.89% (14/36)
All Else (0-6+) 33.33% (12/36)

GameCube
Perfect (10/10) 0% (0/20)
Superb (9+/10) 10% (2/20)
Great (8+/10) 40% (8/80)
Good (7+/10) 20% (4/20)
All Else (0-6+) 30% (6/20)

- Jordan
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

This is patently absurd. Off the top of my head, I can think of ten
Xbox titles released over the past few months that could be described
as 'superb'. Now, any objective viewer could tell you that, over the
last two years, the Xbox has had the superior games. There's simply no
arguing it. The Playstation's games are simply dull and the poor
graphics are almost a distraction to the quality of the gameplay. The
quality of the average Xbox game, on the other hand, is head and
shoulders above that of the PS and Gamecube. This is coming from
someone who's owned all three systems essentially from their launch
dates.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Ever since I got an Xbox 2.5yrs ago, I've always used Gamespot to check out
their game reviews. I don't really know if they are biased or not however, I
find that their reviews and marks given accurately reflect the quality of a
game. However, that's just my opinion. As always, YMMV.

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112309795.781731.269760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles? From reading some of their reviews, and esp. those
> presented on the front page of a particular review, I'm left with the
> feeling that Gamespot, for whatever reason, carries somewhat of an
> anti-Xbox bias. If you check the rating given to Xbox titles by
> Gamespot, and then check IGN, and other reviewers, for instance, what
> other explanation can be given? When you factor in that, with the fact
> that the console magazine (EGM) released by their parent company has
> featured no more than three Xbox titles on their cover since the Xbox
> first came out (Nov. of 2002), I think the argument is fairly strong
> that a bias does exist.
>
> For a quick example, check the ratings given for "MX vs. ATV
> Unleashed".
>
> 03-21-2005 Gamespy 4 / 5
> 03-14-2005 IGN 9.3 / 10
> 04-01-2005 Game Informer 8 / 10
> 03-31-2005 GameDaily 4 / 5
> EGM ---> 04-01-2005 Electronic Gaming Monthly 7.17 / 10
>
> http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/driving/mxvsatvunleashed/index.html
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

I've yet to get an explanation as to the lack of Xbox related material
on the cover of EGM. I was told by an individual who subscribes to
basically every gaming magazine, that over the past three years there
have been three Xbox games on EGM's magazine. I said three, as in one,
two, three. I dare someone to justify such blatent bias.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Leon - Halo was never on the cover of EGM. (I was told) Two incredible
games (Halo and Halo 2), one cover. (Halo 2) There might not even have
been three. I can only recall two. (Halo 2 and Jade Empire) Think about
that.

Neither KOTOR 1 or 2 was featured on the cover of EGM. On the other
hand, GTA has been on the cover as much (or more) as all Xbox games
combined. Not even Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has been featured on the
cover. None of the previous versions of Splinter Cell were featured on
the cover. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30? Star Wars Republic
Commando? The evidence points in one direction.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112309795.781731.269760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles? From reading some of their reviews, and esp. those
> presented on the front page of a particular review, I'm left with the
> feeling that Gamespot, for whatever reason, carries somewhat of an
> anti-Xbox bias. If you check the rating given to Xbox titles by
> Gamespot, and then check IGN, and other reviewers, for instance, what
> other explanation can be given? When you factor in that, with the fact
> that the console magazine (EGM) released by their parent company has
> featured no more than three Xbox titles on their cover since the Xbox
> first came out (Nov. of 2002), I think the argument is fairly strong
> that a bias does exist.
>


Tough call really. I have a Gamespot Basic account and have downloaded and
archived a good chunk of video reviews and have found said reviews to be
pretty fair. They also gave the Grand Theft Auto Double Pack a very high
rating for the Xbox and said it was better than the Playstation 2 version.

Greg Kasavin rules, and he has decent hair to boot.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112309795.781731.269760@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...

> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles? From reading some of their reviews, and esp. those
> presented on the front page of a particular review, I'm left with the
> feeling that Gamespot, for whatever reason, carries somewhat of an
> anti-Xbox bias. If you check the rating given to Xbox titles by
> Gamespot, and then check IGN, and other reviewers, for instance, what
> other explanation can be given?

Gamespot's review score for just about any game is lower than most sites'
scores. Go to Gamerankings.com and click a few games, and see if that's not
the case. For example, ATV Offroad Fury 2 for PS2, from Sony (see below).
They're tougher to please, and good for them.

Games Domain 80.0%
GameSpot 67.0%
Gamespy 88.0%
IGN 87.0%
GMR Magazine 90.0%
GamePro 70.0%
PSM Magazine 80.0%
Game Informer 85.0%
Electronic Gaming Monthly 86.7%
Playstation Magazine 80.0%
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

> Leon Dexter wrote:
> "aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
KOTOR 2 got a cover, and so did Halo 2 and
> Splinter Cell. I couldn't find 3 years' history so far, but here's
what I
> did find:

I believe I said three. Both Gamespot and EGM are subjective in their
analysis of Xbox titles and their overall attitude towards the console
is one of overt negativity, in comparison to their enthusiasm for even
mediocre Playstation titles. They can't help but be more positive in
recent months, as the Playstation's games look increasingly outdated.
They risk becoming a target of ridicule by even the dumbest of readers.
Their practical hostility towards the Xbox in it's early days was
almost comical. There were repeated comparisons made with the Dreamcast
by both EGM and Gamespot.

Got that? No Halo cover. (Halo 2) That's two groundbreaking games, and
one cover. Don't bullshit me about seven Playstation covers. There's
been at least three GTA covers alone -- before they were ported to the
Xbox. At least as many Final Fantasy covers. Your data further off than
mine.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Check out Gamespot's review of Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, as compared
to other reviewers:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/splintercell3/index.html

It speaks for itself.

Look at how lame the anti-Xbox Kasavin's review of the game is:

"It's got to be the most fully featured stealth action game to date, so
if you like the idea of high-tech espionage, it's certainly going to
have plenty to offer you." - Greg Kasavin

On the other hand, Tekken 5, which they gave a 9.2 (better than Chaos
Theory? lol...)

"This fighting game is even more addictive and exciting than the
original Tekken was when it first exploded onto the PlayStation back in
1995." - Jeff Gerstmann

Reviewers ratings of Chaos Theory:

03-25-2005 Gamespy 5 / 5
03-23-2005 IGN 9.6 / 10
05-01-2005 GamePro 4.5 / 5
04-01-2005 Game Informer 9.75 / 10
03-28-2005 Worth Playing 9.6 / 10
03-28-2005 Yahoo! Games 9 / 10
03-25-2005 1UP 10 / 10
03-24-2005 TeamXBOX 9.8 / 10

Despite their high rating of Chaos Theory, EGM didn't put it on their
cover. (who's surprised?) Splinter Cell never graced their cover when
it was released. Not once, despite it being the third installment.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Jordan:

> I crunched the numbers a while back and found (if anything) a slight
> bias in favor of Nintendo games.

It isn't bias. Nintendo games consistantly score very high in reviews.
--
Mac Cool
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

aether:

> Anyone notice a tendency of Gamespot to be somewhat negative towards
> Xbox titles?

Gamespot is much tougher in their reviews than other sites which is why I
prefer their reviews to any other source. I also find that Gamespot
focuses on the same things that I do when evaluating a game.
--
Mac Cool
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112330014.814156.303810@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
> I've yet to get an explanation as to the lack of Xbox related material
> on the cover of EGM. I was told by an individual who subscribes to
> basically every gaming magazine, that over the past three years there
> have been three Xbox games on EGM's magazine. I said three, as in one,
> two, three. I dare someone to justify such blatent bias.


I assume you mean exclusive Xbox games. Are you counting cross-platform
games or not? I find it hard to believe they didn't run covers of games
like Prince of Persia, which were hits on all 3 systems. And we also need
to know how many PS2 and Gamecube covers they had in the same time period.
Then we can compare that to the number of exclusive games for each system in
that timeframe, etc. You would expect fewer Xbox covers than PS2 covers, of
course, but the Gamecube, because of Nintendo, has a lot of high-profile
exclusives as well, despite its smaller game library.
Out of 36 covers, after you remove the cross-platform games to get the
number of system-exclusive games, and then divide that up by the number of
exclusive games per system, 3 might not be far-fetched at all.
Not to mention we need proof of the claim in the first place. "I was told"
isn't very conclusive. Give us a list of what was on the covers for the
past 3 years, and we can really talk about it.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> Leon - Halo was never on the cover of EGM. (I was told) Two incredible
> games (Halo and Halo 2), one cover. (Halo 2) There might not even have
> been three. I can only recall two. (Halo 2 and Jade Empire) Think about
> that.
>
> Neither KOTOR 1 or 2 was featured on the cover of EGM. On the other
> hand, GTA has been on the cover as much (or more) as all Xbox games
> combined. Not even Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has been featured on the
> cover. None of the previous versions of Splinter Cell were featured on
> the cover. Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30? Star Wars Republic
> Commando? The evidence points in one direction.

Your information is WAY off. KOTOR 2 got a cover, and so did Halo 2 and
Splinter Cell. I couldn't find 3 years' history so far, but here's what I
did find:

In the past 27 issues, 3 have been Xbox-exclusive games: Halo 2, Jade
Empire, and Knights of the Old Republic 2. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow
also got a cover, and so did the Xbox's exclusive Soul Calibur 2 character,
Spawn (there were 3 covers that month).
In the same time period, there were 2 exclusive Gamecube games that got
covers: Zelda Wind Waker and Rogue Squadron 3, and the Link cover of SC3.
PS2 got the most covers, with 7. Castlevania: LoI, Socom II, Final Fantasy,
Getaway 2, Metal Gear 3 (twice), and GTA: San Andreas.
But the clear winner overall was the non-system-related cover. 14 of those.
Take a look at the list below, with a link to all the covers.
I think you owe EGM an apology. Their coverage is clearly not neglecting
the Xbox. I'd say it reflects the market pretty well.

http://www.zinio.com/singles?issn=1058-918Xd

Zelda: Wind Waker Apr-03
Enter the Matrix May-03
Rogue Squadron 3 Jun-03
Castlevania: LoI Jul-03
Sonic Heroes Aug-03
Soul Calibur 2 Sep-03
Socom II Oct-03
Final Fantasy Nov-03
LOTR: Return of the King Dec-03
Ultimate Reviews Issue Jan-04
Top 15 Games of the Millenium Feb-04
Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow Mar-04
Getaway 2 Apr-04
Metal Gear Solid 3 May-04
Knights of the Old Republic 2 Jun-04
Driv3r Jul-04
PSP vs. DS Aug-04
LOTR: Third Age Sep-04
Scarface Oct-04
GTA San Andreas Nov-04
Halo 2 Dec-04
Metal Gear Solid 3 "Holiday 04"
Top Secrets Jan-05
Portable Systems Feb-05
The Godfather Mar-05
Jade Empire Apr-05
Phantasy Star Universe May-05
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Oh, by the way, I don't think EGM is affiliated with Gamespot. Their
website is 1UP.com.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Four out of 36 covers. You do realize there are but three major
consoles, don't you? That equates to roughly 12%. Where is the Chaos
Theory cover? Brothers in Arms? Republic Commando? The Gamecube has had
as many covers as the Xbox.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

Metal Gear Solid 3 had two covers dedicated in it's name. Chaos Theory?
Not even one, despite Chaos Theory being by far the superior game.
(that's simply indisputable) It speaks for itself. EGM and Gamespot
maintain a bias in favor of Sony.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

The coup de grace.

God of War (PS2) -
Gamespot: 9.3

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - (Avg Ratio: 94%)
Gamespot: 8.6

..3 points from being a whole point higher. Bless thee who attempts the
undertaking of rationalizing that. (even Apollo says Chaos Theory is
the superior game)
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message >


> Got that? No Halo cover. (Halo 2) That's two groundbreaking games, and
> one cover. Don't bullshit me about seven Playstation covers. There's
> been at least three GTA covers alone -- before they were ported to the
> Xbox. At least as many Final Fantasy covers. Your data further off than
> mine.

Yeah, right...my data's "off". I only provided a link to the actual covers!
There's no arguing with that--except that you did. I guess you didn't
bother looking at them.

There was ONE GTA cover in that bunch, but assuming they did a cover for the
other two, well, they are the three best-selling games of this console
generation. Certainly worthy of covers. There are plenty of games worth
putting on a cover that didn't get one. After all, they only get 12 covers
a year, and they do most of their covers non-system specific. You're the
one with the bias.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

aether wrote:
> The coup de grace.
>
> God of War (PS2) -
> Gamespot: 9.3
>
> Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory - (Avg Ratio: 94%)
> Gamespot: 8.6
>
> .3 points from being a whole point higher. Bless thee who attempts the
> undertaking of rationalizing that. (even Apollo says Chaos Theory is
> the superior game)
>

Being the superior game is a matter of opinion and preference. I for one
think that SC:CT is a good game but a lot of been there done that, more
of the same. God of War on the other hand is an incredible game, new
different and well done on all levels. I would easily put GoW over SC:CT.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

>>>Look, you were dead wrong. Be a man and admit it. You said there
was no
KOTOR (1 or 2) cover; you were wrong. You said there was no Splinter
Cell
cover (of any of them); you were wrong. <<<

It was second hand information. On the subject at hand I was correct.
EGM is loathe to devote a cover to anything Xbox related. You managed
to find four out of 36, and found nothing wrong with it. Not even the
original Halo making the cover.

Metal Gear Solid 3? Twice. Got that? One Playstation game (MGS 3)
graced the cover of EGM half as many times as anything Xbox.

The number of Playstation covers you gave is bogus. I need to see a
month by month listing of them so I can count them myself. I'd be
willing to bet there were at least ten covers devoted to the
Playstation, over the past three years. Did you include GTA? Or not,
because you consider that a 'multiplatform release'? Nevermind that at
the time of the cover it was a Playstation exclusive, and is a game
completely associated with the Playstation.
 
Archived from groups: alt.games.video.xbox (More info?)

"aether" <vercingetorix@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1112391933.669577.229670@l41g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> Four out of 36 covers. You do realize there are but three major
> consoles, don't you? That equates to roughly 12%. Where is the Chaos
> Theory cover? Brothers in Arms? Republic Commando? The Gamecube has had
> as many covers as the Xbox.


Where's the Resident Evil 4 cover? The Mario Kart cover? Where's the Devil
May Cry cover? The Gran Turismo 4 cover?
The Gamecube got 2 covers. The Xbox got 4. The PS2 got 7. The rest were
multiplatform covers. I think that's a pretty good representation of
marketshare, in the US at least. Otherwise, it's the Cube that got screwed,
not the Xbox.
 
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