Problem with Metacritic
Posted: February 3rd, 2017, 5:09 pm
I'm one of those people who hate Metacritic but often use them as a reference just to get a general idea of review trends and as links to other sites. Of course, it's also a reference for media other than video games. I've always felt their weighted metascore was not a good indication of true review averages with sometimes a single negative review bringing down an otherwise well-reviewed game (Uncharted 4, Quantum Break).
Even though it is a new movie, I think I may have the proof I need to convince myself this website is a joke. I wasn't even checking movies but on the sites homepage, Rings is shown with a metascore of 19. While I had no plans to see this movie I was certainly curious on the scores so I checked out all 11 reviews. Here are the scores:
40, 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 20, 20, 20, and 16 (The score of 16 being from Indiewire)
I'm not sure of their weighting formula but it would be hard to convince me that the metascore is 19 when only a single review is under 19 - and barely under 19. Again, I understand there is a formula used and I understand some reviews carry more weight than others but to me, this metascore should at least be in the low 20's. It certainly doesn't change the overwhelming negative average that much but to me it shows that things like this probably happen more often than not. And when these scores have an impact on sales and public opinion, I think there is a problem.
Even though it is a new movie, I think I may have the proof I need to convince myself this website is a joke. I wasn't even checking movies but on the sites homepage, Rings is shown with a metascore of 19. While I had no plans to see this movie I was certainly curious on the scores so I checked out all 11 reviews. Here are the scores:
40, 30, 30, 25, 25, 25, 25, 20, 20, 20, and 16 (The score of 16 being from Indiewire)
I'm not sure of their weighting formula but it would be hard to convince me that the metascore is 19 when only a single review is under 19 - and barely under 19. Again, I understand there is a formula used and I understand some reviews carry more weight than others but to me, this metascore should at least be in the low 20's. It certainly doesn't change the overwhelming negative average that much but to me it shows that things like this probably happen more often than not. And when these scores have an impact on sales and public opinion, I think there is a problem.