"Product received for free" in reviews...

[loppantorkel]

It's obvious that you need to disclose this if a publisher/dev gave you a copy for review, but I'm not sure it's as clear if a friend, or your parents bought you the product.

I haven't given it much thought, but I saw a review where the reviewer disclosed that he indeed had received the product for free, by his parents. That's not what Valve is asking for, is it? Although it's not really indicated it's not the case.

Thoughts? In depth analysis of the legality... ? :)

[Cathulhu]

No, only for really free copies that were granted by the publisher.
So someone can disclose they were gifted the game and were maybe asked to review it.

[loppantorkel]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

No, only for really free copies that were granted by the publisher.
So someone can disclose they were gifted the game and were maybe asked to review it.

Have you found it stated anywhere, or do you (quite rationally, I agree) assume this?

[Cathulhu]

"Free Reviews: When leaving a review, customers may specify if they acquired a product for free. This is recommended for press or promotional copies."
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews

[Revenge]

Free Reviews: When leaving a review, customers may specify if they acquired a product for free. This is recommended for press or promotional copies."

[loppantorkel]

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

"Free Reviews: When leaving a review, customers may specify if they acquired a product for free. This is recommended for press or promotional copies."
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews

Interesting. Wouldn't be a bad thing if Valve specified this a bit more for the consumers. It just say 'Received for free' which of course includes a whole lot of players who really doesn't need to disclose 'a gifted product'.

Check this box if you received this product for free

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

Originally posted by Cathulhu:

"Free Reviews: When leaving a review, customers may specify if they acquired a product for free. This is recommended for press or promotional copies."
https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/reviews

Interesting. Wouldn't be a bad thing if Valve specified this a bit more for the consumers. It just say 'Received for free' which of course includes a whole lot of players who really doesn't need to disclose 'a gifted product'.

Check this box if you received this product for free

Keep in mind that the Steamworks docs says it's recommended that way from a developers point of view.

People who check that box when they get it gifted by a friend or through a promotion (like Despotism 3k that is currently free to keep) aren't doing anything wrong.

[loppantorkel]

Originally posted by Crazy Tiger:

Originally posted by loppantorkel:

Interesting. Wouldn't be a bad thing if Valve specified this a bit more for the consumers. It just say 'Received for free' which of course includes a whole lot of players who really doesn't need to disclose 'a gifted product'.

Keep in mind that the Steamworks docs says it's recommended that way from a developers point of view.

People who check that box when they get it gifted by a friend or through a promotion (like Despotism 3k that is currently free to keep) aren't doing anything wrong.

Yea, I get that. ...but the box is there for the purpose of flagging there might be a conflict in interest from being 100% objective (not that anyone ever is). People reading these reviews may take them with a grain of salt, while people writing these reviews likely just are unsure and wanting a clear conscience.

I just reacted to a kid checking that box because his parents gave him a game, and the only way I knew that is because he was thorough enough to write that too. His motivations for this review isn't supposed to be questioned.

Easy fix is for Valve to add a bit more text in that "?".