A call to action for Gamespot staff regarding Wii reviews

Out of respect for the Wii owners on this board, I feel it is Gamespot's obligation to address this post, and I would like to hear back from a Gamespot staff member at your convenience so that we may further discuss this.

At the advice of my peers, I have edited out the emotionally driven aspects of my post and am choosing to focus soley on the facts.

My beef with Gamespot is two fold:

1. Since the Wii's release, Gamespot review scores for Wii titles have been consistently lower than the collective average of Wii game review scores at Gamerankings. The same has not held true for the other platforms on this site.

2. Wii reviews in particular are often coming significantly later than the reviews on other consoles, and many reviews are even missed altogether.

As Wii owners, we should not have to accept the fact that our console is of a lesser priority than the others - and through your actions, that is exactly the point you seem to be making. I understand that you're severely understaffed and working hard to give us the content that we want, but I can only do my part as the reader and make a complaint. Your employers should be treating you better, and their publication with more dignity than pass off the bulk of the workload on four full time workers.

There are good games not being reviewed in some cases, not just shoveware crap. I find it's a great injustice to the hard work devs have put into these games.

Sincerely,

the undersigned

I really don't think the lack of blood in a port of a game that stopped being relevant in any fashion whasoever many years ago has caused anyone to bear a life long grudge against Nintendo. Also, Nintendo seems to have as much of a derogatory attitude towards gamers, as gamers have towards them, these days. But that's because Nintendo found out gamers are irrelevant to their ability to make money. I'm not their target audience anymore, my mom is. Fine by me, gaming is a business for them, and a hobby for me. No hard feelings.RandolphScott

2. I find it funny that this past E3 Nintendo announced 1) Metroid Another M 2) Monado 3) NSMB 4) Zelda (well post E3) 5) Galaxy 2 and yet they are still accused of selling out even after niether MS and Sony showed any games at E3 we didn't already know about, and had their ultra casual demonstrations of copy motion control technology. Are you kidding me?

Well overlooking the fact that you seem incapable of giving a Wii game anything over the score of 8.5redfordo

I sort of agree, but I don't feel as strongly as the OP does.

But that havign been said, I think GS needs to stop using the term "Mario Factory" in their articles. It just looks unprofessional and I feel that it does show a bias against nintendo.

I find it funny that this past E3 Nintendo announced 1) Metroid Another M 2) Monado 3) NSMB 4) Zelda (well post E3) 5) Galaxy 2 and yet they are still accused of selling out even after niether MS and Sony showed any games at E3 we didn't already know about, and had their ultra casual demonstrations of copy motion control technology. Are you kidding me?redfordo

Just understand that gamespot is geared toward the ps3/xbox 360 gamer. You don't need to try and change it, just accept it. You can always go to a different site if you want something geared to the hardcore.

...but they still make it pretty obvious who their prime target is. It's not us.RandolphScott

[QUOTE="redfordo"]Well overlooking the fact that you seem incapable of giving a Wii game anything over the score of 8.5Caddy06_88

Just understand that gamespot is geared toward the ps3/xbox 360 gamer. You don't need to try and change it, just accept it. You can always go to a different site if you want something geared to the hardcore.

DaBrainz

gamespot was always bias agiasnt the wii man, i just acepted it and move on to other website. Gamespot is like a joke to me now, when i want a good laugh i would just go to system war and read some threads bashing the wii and read some review gamespot give to wii games. The lastest i read was mad world, now that was hialrious.

I really don't think the lack of blood in a port of a game that stopped being relevant in any fashion whasoever many years ago has caused anyone to bear a life long grudge against Nintendo. Also, Nintendo seems to have as much of a derogatory attitude towards gamers, as gamers have towards them, these days. But that's because Nintendo found out gamers are irrelevant to their ability to make money. I'm not their target audience anymore, my mom is. Fine by me, gaming is a business for them, and a hobby for me. No hard feelings.RandolphScott

If there really are no hard feelings, why do you use a response based on emotional rhetoric as opposed to facts?

Anyways, I would at least like to know how far the Gamespot staff is progressing on their Wii reviews, holding Rune Factory Frontier up if you wish to have a specific example, or even though it's on the DS, Kirby Super Star Ultra, which hasn't been reviewed even after 10 months after release.

I said this in another forum on the same topic, so I'll just say it again:

The real problem is that GS seems to be ignoring the quality titles and only reviewing the poor titles. Would anyone have cared if they didn't review Up? Or Night at the Museam? Or Indiana Jones? No. But they ignore all the critically acclaimed titles, as if they want the Wii to look bad. GS's reviews are also highly minimalistic, and boring. They put almost no personality into their Wii reviews, as if they're affraid that showing any interest in a Wii game makes them less "hardcore". GS needs to get over themselves, and start acting like proper journalists. I have never seen a site that attracts so many immature system-hating fanboys. And it's not surprising--the site is run by them.

I'm starting to wonder why I joined this site in the first place...GS, if you need Wii reviewers, I'd be more than willing.

[QUOTE="DaBrainz"]

Just understand that gamespot is geared toward the ps3/xbox 360 gamer. You don't need to try and change it, just accept it. You can always go to a different site if you want something geared to the hardcore.

redfordo

I feel the same way. I'm a hardcore gamer, and all I own is a Wii.I used to love this site, but it's pretty clear to me now that GS isn't run by a group of professional journalists--it's a group of Sony/MS fanboys. And it's not because there's a lack of Wii support anymore. Wii has had a fantastic 2009 lineup.

I said this in another forum on the same topic, so I'll just say it again:

The real problem is that GS seems to be ignoring the quality titles and only reviewing the poor titles. Would anyone have cared if they didn't review Up? Or Night at the Museam? Or Indiana Jones? No. But they ignore all the critically acclaimed titles, as if they want the Wii to look bad. GS's reviews are also highly minimalistic, and boring. They put almost no personality into their Wii reviews, as if they're affraid that showing any interest in a Wii game makes them less "hardcore". GS needs to get over themselves, and start acting like proper journalists. I have never seen a site that attracts so many immature system-hating fanboys. And it's not surprising--the site is run by them.

I'm starting to wonder why I joined this site in the first place...GS, if you need Wii reviewers, I'd be more than willing.

blankshore

gamespot reviewers are neo gamers. just look at three out of the four negative points they gave GST...

Unforgiving controls with little assistance to improve

Steep learning curve

No Tutorial mode.

obviously he didnt grow up gaming in the 80s like i did. when games were brutally difficult. you lose three lives, you start game over lol.

and where is the review for PES 2009? ive played FIFA since FIFA 96, and PES 2009 and 2008 on the Wii blow the entire FIFA series out of the water. i guess that games was too hard for gamepot to play too lol.

Wow there seems to be a lot of people mad at GS for the lack of reviews. I do not think they are necessarily biased against the Wii but they seem to place a lower priority on Wii games and as people have said review games that really do not matter. If they are so selective on which Wii games to review then review the good ones not Indiana Jones.

Its no wonder that IGN has the biggest Nintendo readership of all the sites. They review ever game and put their honest opinion on the matter, they mention all the features, and what works and what doesn't.

I think both sites are great, IGN and GS, but not for the same reasons. GS is good for 360 and PS3 reviews while IGN is great for Wii, DS reviews.

Wow there seems to be a lot of people mad at GS for the lack of reviews. I do not think they are necessarily biased against the Wii but they seem to place a lower priority on Wii games and as people have said review games that really do not matter. If they are so selective on which Wii games to review then review the good ones not Indiana Jones.

Its no wonder that IGN has the biggest Nintendo readership of all the sites. They review ever game and put their honest opinion on the matter, they mention all the features, and what works and what doesn't.

I think both sites are great, IGN and GS, but not for the same reasons. GS is good for 360 and PS3 reviews while IGN is great for Wii, DS reviews.

kardine

[QUOTE="kardine"]

Wow there seems to be a lot of people mad at GS for the lack of reviews. I do not think they are necessarily biased against the Wii but they seem to place a lower priority on Wii games and as people have said review games that really do not matter. If they are so selective on which Wii games to review then review the good ones not Indiana Jones.

Its no wonder that IGN has the biggest Nintendo readership of all the sites. They review ever game and put their honest opinion on the matter, they mention all the features, and what works and what doesn't.

I think both sites are great, IGN and GS, but not for the same reasons. GS is good for 360 and PS3 reviews while IGN is great for Wii, DS reviews.

redfordo

[QUOTE="redfordo"]

[QUOTE="kardine"]

Wow there seems to be a lot of people mad at GS for the lack of reviews. I do not think they are necessarily biased against the Wii but they seem to place a lower priority on Wii games and as people have said review games that really do not matter. If they are so selective on which Wii games to review then review the good ones not Indiana Jones.

Its no wonder that IGN has the biggest Nintendo readership of all the sites. They review ever game and put their honest opinion on the matter, they mention all the features, and what works and what doesn't.

I think both sites are great, IGN and GS, but not for the same reasons. GS is good for 360 and PS3 reviews while IGN is great for Wii, DS reviews.

kardine

[QUOTE="kardine"]

[QUOTE="redfordo"]Thanks for your feedback. I agree with your post for the most part but note that the area bolded is a contradictary statement.

redfordo

Out of respect for the Wii owners on this board, I feel it is Gamespot's obligation to address this post, and I would like to hear back from a Gamespot staff member at your convenience so that we may further discuss this.

At the advice of my peers, I have edited out the emotionally driven aspects of my post and am choosing to focus soley on the facts.

My beef with Gamespot is two fold:

1. Since the Wii's release, Gamespot review scores for Wii titles have been consistently lower than the collective average of Wii game review scores at Gamerankings. The same has not held true for the other platforms on this site.

2. Wii reviews in particular are often coming significantly later than the reviews on other consoles, and many reviews are even missed altogether.

As Wii owners, we should not have to accept the fact that our console is of a lesser priority than the others - and through your actions, that is exactly the point you seem to be making. I understand that you're severely understaffed and working hard to give us the content that we want, but I can only do my part as the reader and make a complaint. Your employers should be treating you better, and their publication with more dignity than pass off the bulk of the workload on four full time workers.

There are good games not being reviewed in some cases, not just shoveware crap. I find it's a great injustice to the hard work devs have put into these games.

Sincerely,

the undersigned

redfordo

I think GameSpot should hire more reviewers. There have been PS3/360 games that have been also overlooked.

It seems to me that EVERY website out there has a bit of a bias toward the so called 'next gen' platforms. I've noticed in most of the wii reviews I've read that the reviewer mentions either difficulty with the controls or they are too simplistic. And now that the wii motion+ has arrived it seems like everybody is pissed that they actually have to get off of the couch. Difficulty and learning curves are a good thing for games, it shows that they are doing something others are not. And while it doesn't always work for the better I think Nintendo has finally turned the corner and overcome the motion control learning curve, as there have been some fantastic releases this month. Nintendo is on the forefront of the newest technology, technology that the other consoles are just talking about to this point (just as they always have been). I think they deserve some respect for that.michael646260

I agree. It seems to me that a lot of these websites, GS included, just want an excuse to hate on the Wii. Many Wii games, like MadWorld, were bashed for being too difficult, while many others are bashed for being too easy. GS's scores are very inconsistant, and it's clear that they just rate Wii games lower just for the heck of it. For example, their only complaint with Punch-Out was that the balance board support was lousy. But, it's entirely optional, and seeing as how that was their only complaint, don't you think it should get a higher score than an 8.5? They rated the GC version of Twilight Princess higher than the Wii one, but said in the review that the Wii version is better. What the hell?

[QUOTE="michael646260"]It seems to me that EVERY website out there has a bit of a bias toward the so called 'next gen' platforms. I've noticed in most of the wii reviews I've read that the reviewer mentions either difficulty with the controls or they are too simplistic. And now that the wii motion+ has arrived it seems like everybody is pissed that they actually have to get off of the couch. Difficulty and learning curves are a good thing for games, it shows that they are doing something others are not. And while it doesn't always work for the better I think Nintendo has finally turned the corner and overcome the motion control learning curve, as there have been some fantastic releases this month. Nintendo is on the forefront of the newest technology, technology that the other consoles are just talking about to this point (just as they always have been). I think they deserve some respect for that.blankshore

I agree. It seems to me that a lot of these websites, GS included, just want an excuse to hate on the Wii. Many Wii games, like MadWorld, were bashed for being too difficult, while many others are bashed for being too easy. GS's scores are very inconsistant, and it's clear that they just rate Wii games lower just for the heck of it. For example, their only complaint with Punch-Out was that the balance board support was lousy. But, it's entirely optional, and seeing as how that was their only complaint, don't you think it should get a higher score than an 8.5? They rated the GC version of Twilight Princess higher than the Wii one, but said in the review that the Wii version is better. What the hell?

[QUOTE="blankshore"]

[QUOTE="michael646260"]It seems to me that EVERY website out there has a bit of a bias toward the so called 'next gen' platforms. I've noticed in most of the wii reviews I've read that the reviewer mentions either difficulty with the controls or they are too simplistic. And now that the wii motion+ has arrived it seems like everybody is pissed that they actually have to get off of the couch. Difficulty and learning curves are a good thing for games, it shows that they are doing something others are not. And while it doesn't always work for the better I think Nintendo has finally turned the corner and overcome the motion control learning curve, as there have been some fantastic releases this month. Nintendo is on the forefront of the newest technology, technology that the other consoles are just talking about to this point (just as they always have been). I think they deserve some respect for that.vkr171

I agree. It seems to me that a lot of these websites, GS included, just want an excuse to hate on the Wii. Many Wii games, like MadWorld, were bashed for being too difficult, while many others are bashed for being too easy. GS's scores are very inconsistant, and it's clear that they just rate Wii games lower just for the heck of it. For example, their only complaint with Punch-Out was that the balance board support was lousy. But, it's entirely optional, and seeing as how that was their only complaint, don't you think it should get a higher score than an 8.5? They rated the GC version of Twilight Princess higher than the Wii one, but said in the review that the Wii version is better. What the hell?

Mii support and online is expected in a Fire Emblem game?

really?

We have yet to hear back from any Gamespot staff members on this subject.

Do the care? Or will this be swept under the rug like so many Wii reviews have?

Just post a review of the Conduit, because right now it is the only game that I am looking forward to.

We have yet to hear back from any Gamespot staff members on this subject.

Do the care? Or will this be swept under the rug like so many Wii reviews have?

redfordo

[QUOTE="redfordo"]

We have yet to hear back from any Gamespot staff members on this subject.

Do the care? Or will this be swept under the rug like so many Wii reviews have?

Caddy06_88

Given that this thread has been on the first page of this board for two days, and the amount of people complaining, it seems logical that a Gamespot staff member has seen this thread already. Why they have not responded I can only surmise...

though I remain confident that we will hear back from one eventually as I'm sure Gamespot wants to make it clear that they care about their readership, and that when this many people complain about all of the reviews they have missed, it is there obligation... at the very least to at least to provide an explanation.

Gamespot lacks patience with Wii games. There, I said it. Naturally, games with different and unique control schemes are going to have a higher learning curve as opposed to press single buttons on the PS3 and XBOX 360. Gamespot seems to not want to put the effort required to enjoy a game thoroughly.

In regards to a Gamespot employee not responding yet, keep in mind that asking a Gamespot employee to respond to a post is like trying to catch a tiny fish in a fish tank with two fingers.

I just want to know why Rune Factory hasnt been reviewed yet but UP and night at the musuem is.

I am inclined to agree. Maybe not about the scores, but they definitely put the Wii a lot lower than the PS3/360.

Gamespot has always given Nintendo less priority, since the N64 days. But the Wii is on a whole different level. The no mii support for Fire Emblem. This game is too hard. This one too easy. This one doesnt use the wii controller. This one uses it too much. And reviewing UP instead of many other games. If only IGN had better forums...TropicalGuy

We have yet to hear back from any Gamespot staff members on this subject.

Do the care? Or will this be swept under the rug like so many Wii reviews have?

redfordo

This makes me moreangry than anything. Not only are theyignoring our console of choice, but they're ignoring us! This site used to be my main spot for reviews, but now? Pft. They're just bad journalists. I wish they'd try to prove me wrong. I'm still waiting for my Rune Factory: Frontier review, and my Kirby: Superstar Ultra review. And my Legendary Starfy Review. And my Tiger Woods--okay you get it.

Gamespot is a funny place when it comes to the Wii these days. The reviews (and lack thereof) exhibit a significant amount of bias and fanboyism, while even a lot of the blockheads in the system wars have come to accept how much the console has picked up pace and greatness in 07.

In every other place on the internet, it is the other way around.

So yeah. With about 50 recommendable games and another 50 promising announcements, I certainly support this thread. :]

Gamespot staff members have been replying to other threads on this board while this one has stayed on the first page for the last three days without a single response from them. Thus far, I have counted 16 different members in this thread supporting its complaints. So far, it is Gamespot's position that the fact that they have missed important Wii reviews is not even worthy of their response.I can only surmise that they intend to wait it out for this thread to either lose steam and fall out of priority or be locked. Whether it be this thread or another, I will continue to pursue this issue.

Gamespot staff members have been replying to other threads on this board while this one has stayed on the first page for the last three days without a single response from them. Thus far, I have counted 16 different members in this thread supporting its complaints. So far, it is Gamespot's position that the fact that they have missed important Wii reviews is not even worthy of their response.I can only surmise that they intend to wait it out for this thread to either lose steam and fall out of priority or be locked. Whether it be this thread or another, I will continue to pursue this issue.

redfordo

If Gamespot doesn't do something about this, they're going to start losing members. I just made an account down at IGN...