Evaluate bombing has turn out to be a typical observe within the fashionable leisure panorama. Gamers and audiences use it as a software 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 overview score performs an enormous position in how seen it’s on the digital storefront.
This 12 months kicked off with a large backwards and forwards of gamers overview 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 12 months that Helldivers 2 gamers particularly have used overview bombing as a software to attempt to stomp out points they’ve.
Nonetheless a brand new FTC ruling that simply went into impact may’ve taken the tooth out of overview bombing’s chew. The ruling is particularly attacking pretend 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 pretend critiques may face critical fines if came upon, so the times of overview bombing having any affect might be accomplished. Say should you’re overview bombing a sport on Steam due to a current change to their monetization mannequin.
Nicely, it might be the case now that to keep away from fines, Steam decides to take away these unfavourable critiques which solely criticize the current change, and don’t in reality mirror a overview of the general product. As a result of beneath this new submitting, its doable 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]
