The topic of gaming publication bias is all the rage right now. From one forum board or comment section to the next, it’s easy to point out gamers claiming that a site is biased against a particular console/game all because nice things weren’t said in a review, or the author reported on news findings that rendered unfavorable results. But is this really true?
Gaming Front recently tackled the subject of why gamers may be mistaken in thinking that a particular site marries adverse bias with a certain console or game. The author argues that the sites owned by conglomerates are only interested in a positive bias for the sake of sales and maintaining advertising. In a way, the whole debacle over Jeff Gertsmann's getting fired over a bad review of Kane & Lynch seems to attest to that line of thinking, for which the author postulates in the article.
An example of Halo Wars receiving ameliorable preview treatment over KillZone 2 is also used in the article to benefit the hypothesis that Halo's brand and name recognition sells more than the hype generated around a game like KZ2. It would be tough to measure exactly how effective the marketing reach is for both games until survey data is released. But it would make sense for previews to harvest more favoritism toward a game because it does boost gamer anticipation and the possibility of a purchase. Lair, Vampire Rain and Haze are proof that there are greater forms of favorable [preview] bias towards any game on any platform for the sake of maintaining marketing revenue.
It’s an article that touches on an interesting subject, nonetheless. You can check it out on GamingFront.Net. For more news, info, insight and updates on all things gaming, be sure to stay tuned in with Blend Games.
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The topic of gaming publication bias is all the rage right now. From one forum board or comment section to the next, it’s easy to point out gamers claiming that a site is biased against a particular console/game all because nice things weren’t said in a review, or the author reported on news findings that rendered unfavorable results. But is this really true?
