Evaluate bombing has develop into a standard apply within the trendy leisure panorama. Gamers and audiences use it as a device to make their voices heard, and within the case of video games it may be extraordinarily efficient.
Particularly on platforms like Steam, the place a sport’s evaluation ranking performs an enormous function in how seen it’s on the digital storefront.
This yr kicked off with an enormous backwards and forwards of gamers evaluation bombing Helldivers 2 as a result of they didn’t like having to hyperlink their PSN accounts after which re-correcting these critiques when Arrowhead Video games gave in to these calls for. And that’s not the final time this yr that Helldivers 2 gamers particularly have used evaluation bombing as a device to try to stomp out points they’ve.
Nevertheless a brand new FTC ruling that simply went into impact would possibly’ve taken the tooth out of evaluation bombing’s chunk. The ruling is particularly attacking faux critiques, which means it intends to incentivize platforms internet hosting critiques to distill issues all the way down to solely actual critiques from actual folks.
Platforms that host faux critiques might face critical fines if discovered, so the times of evaluation bombing having any affect could possibly be performed. Say if you happen to’re evaluation bombing a sport on Steam due to a current change to their monetization mannequin.
Effectively, it could possibly be the case now that to keep away from fines, Steam decides to take away these adverse critiques which solely criticize the current change, and don’t in reality mirror a evaluation of the general product. As a result of beneath this new submitting, its potential these critiques fall beneath “critiques and testimonials…that misrepresent the expertise of the particular person giving it.”
It’ll be fascinating to see the affect this ruling has on the video games trade.
Supply – [FTC via CNET]
