Video Gamer - Changing Review Policy

Tom Orry has written an editorial announcing changes in their review policy.
The reason is this:

There's also an increasing likelihood that the game we review will have changed by the time it's in your hands on 'Day One'. It now seems more likely than not that a game will receive a patch between the time the disc is printed and it goes on sale. We need to account for this in our reviews.

Tom Orry announces that the changes in review policy will be these:

We will only award a game a score if we've been able to test all aspects to our satisfaction, offline and online.
We will award a game a score based on the experience at the time. Review conditions will be stated in the coverage.
Review text and scores may be updated once we've tested the game in consumer conditions, with the game released and online servers populated with real players.
Review text and scores may be updated if a title receives significant and game-changing updates post release. This does not include DLC unless offered for free to all.
If review text or score is changed the original text and score will be archived on the page.

More information.

1 step forward
but i would be ok just to give more grades.
Like Design, Tech, Usability etc

Sounds like sensible changes. I like VideoGamer, particularly their podcasts and videos. I enjoy a bit of irreverence and sarcasm when so much of the gaming media seems to eat up the PR drivel with a spoon. And I think Jim Trinca's scottish characters deserve a TV show.

Language NSFW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Bjx8roFPA

Keeping scores updated when there are so many games being released these days sounds like a pretty daunting task. More power to them if they can keep it up but I have my doubts.

terrible news

why pander to companies that flagrantly flout consumer laws by offering for sale a broken good.

thin end of the wedge

gaming developers/publishers need to be held to account for pushing out shite on release day

no excuses, it is unlawful simple as that.

clearly the doritos and mountain dew suits have visited video gamer and offered more blow and whores for this

Well step in the right direction I guess, although I think numeric scores or anything like that should go away anyways.
Too many people just look at the numbers not reading the actual reviews .

Originally Posted by Zloth
Keeping scores updated when there are so many games being released these days sounds like a pretty daunting task. More power to them if they can keep it up but I have my doubts.

That is simply impossible unless you have two times your actual team members. It's very hard to maintain an up to date review for games receiving patches and DLCs so often. I'm a fervent promoter to previews weeks before release and reviews weeks or even months after.

Originally Posted by Thorwyn99
Too many people just look at the numbers not reading the actual reviews .

As long as the score reflects the reviewer mindset, that's the most important and the goal's been attained. Why so much bashing on something that's so efficient and informative for the customer ? I don't get it even if not being read often hurts my pride

Originally Posted by Gloo
As long as the score reflects the reviewer mindset, that's the most important and the goal's been attained. Why so much bashing on something that's so efficient and informative for the customer ? I don't get it even if not being read often hurts my pride

Because you really don't know much about a game just looking at the score.
After all even if the reviewer is completely unbiased, the judgement in numbers could be tottaly different than what the person reading the review would get out of it.

Oddly enough I'm ok user scores like with Metacritic assuming the sample size is big enough.
I guess that's probably because they often reflect the score I would give the games, where as actually reviews seldomly do.

Reviewers have not yet taken the measure they are now obsolete with the uprising of players making money out of making videos.

Originally Posted by Gloo
As long as the score reflects the reviewer mindset, that's the most important and the goal's been attained. Why so much bashing on something that's so efficient and informative for the customer ? I don't get it even if not being read often hurts my pride

The reviewer mindset is to write to be read, leading them to try to second guess their readership, telling them what the reviewer think they would like to read.