"What's With Wii's Low Review Scores?"

[PirateThom]

What's With Wii's Low Review Scores? : Next Generation - Interactive Entertainment Today, Video Game and Industry News - Home of Edge Online

Good article highlighting review scores across the board. There's a couple of really damning graphs for all the consoles in there.

Interesting read.

[Juno]

The top 10 percent of the Wii averages over 85%? I don't think I can name 10 that have scored over that.

Oh and lol at the comments:

It's all the reviewer's fault. Magazines and game sites need to hire 4-year-olds, young tomboy women, housekeeping grandmas and asylum war veterans, to specifically review Wii games.
That would be better than the homogeneous group of spotty 20 year old living in their mum's basement.

[Romanc]

Interesting, indeed. I particularily loved "the 4th year peak" when all the systems average scores rise. This should be a good year for the 360, then. (Anyone with enough time on their hands to investigate whether this holds true for other consoles as well?)

Onto the Wii in particular; it's an interesting theory whether reviewers "understand" the Wii( and the question "what makes a good Wii game - as opposed to the competing consoles). Wii Sports in particular; I think this is a spectacular game, accessible and fun. Graphics are barely functional though, can this be why they detract massive points? Maybe reviewers (although most say they don't) do make a mathematical average where substandard graphical awesomeness will inevitably lead to a lower total score.

On a side note: Wii Play deserves its low scores, I think its high sales are solely down to the fact that it comes as "a free game with your extra controller"

[Red-Blue]

One word. Shovelware.

[Romanc]

Originally Posted by Red-Blue

One word. Shovelware.

Not so much shovelware that it even extends into the top 10% of the Wii's catalog? The Wii's top 10% are rated lower than the top 10% of both the 360 and the PS3.

[Red-Blue]

Ok, so I meant: "Let's all not forget the shovelware, as well."

[downphoenix]

Shovelware, but another reason is:

It's a new control scheme.

The wii mote and nunchuk are amazing, but developers (nintendo and 3rd party both) have largely been unable to take advantage of this control scheme as well as developers have on the existing standard of a dual analog controller. The analog controller was basically just the snes and/or sega controllers with some added functionality in the form of analog movement, so things didnt change quite as significantly as with the wii, where it can measure movement from accelometers, which can include tracking depth, a 1st for home video game systems.

[gdreaper]

Developers, developers, developers

[R3D D3V!L]

It's Shovelware, and the fact we've been "spoiled" by HD and uber awesome graphics. As a result, Wii gets lower graphics scores, some unfairly but games like Cruis'n definitely do deserve it.

[Li Cha]

Originally Posted by R3D D3V!L

It's Shovelware, and the fact we've been "spoiled" by HD and uber awesome graphics. As a result, Wii gets lower graphics scores, some unfairly but games like Cruis'n definitely do deserve it.

They rate the graphics based on "Wii potentia"l and how it works with the game. Games like Mario Galaxy, would get the same graphic rating as gears of war. Graphics isn't an excuse. Now, the 360 is in second place, because the RROD, destroys the game before they can get to the bad parts. Ps3 first? this is clearly due to Piratethom's influence, on the gaming market .


They all did bad