Review bombing is utterly stupid.

B l u e b e r r y P o p t a r t Apr 4, 2019 @ 3:16am

Valve has taken action to review bombers already.

I personally don't care ether way since I don't go by reviews and do my own research for a game I want, but there is a positive and negative side to review bombing, tho I don't agree to doing it to past games as they have nothing to do with the new games coming out and being exclusive to EPIC.

Last edited by B l u e b e r r y P o p t a r t; Apr 4, 2019 @ 3:18am

#1

Meneluma Apr 4, 2019 @ 9:27am

Review bombing for things like the sequel jumping ship or lack of chinese localiztion is not tolerable, however I'd fully approve of review bombs in regards to sketchy EULA changes and whatnot.
I still can't beleive Valve marks those as off topic when you have to consent to the EULA before even installing the game.

Last edited by Meneluma; Apr 4, 2019 @ 9:28am

#2

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 9:53am

Review bombs aren't some act of god. A company had to do something to trigger it. Reviews bombing was a way to stick it to these companies by hurting their sales for actions and couldn't just be deleted and ignored like forum posts.

#3

Crystal Sharrd Apr 4, 2019 @ 10:15am

Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
Review bombs aren't some act of god. A company had to do something to trigger it. Reviews bombing was a way to stick it to these companies by hurting their sales for actions and couldn't just be deleted and ignored like forum posts.

Review bombing is malicious abuse of the review system. You are supposed to be reviewing the game, not the people who made it.

#4

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 10:46am

Originally posted by sonic65101:
Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
Review bombs aren't some act of god. A company had to do something to trigger it. Reviews bombing was a way to stick it to these companies by hurting their sales for actions and couldn't just be deleted and ignored like forum posts.
Review bombing is malicious abuse of the review system. You are supposed to be reviewing the game, not the people who made it.

I see it as a way to warn others about companies doing shading things. Example, what Sega did with Sonic Mania. Another would be unwelcome changes in DRM schemes after you had bought the game. A third would be a game having a virus or something in it. All these things seem like fair game. The situation with Metro Exodus does as well as long as it's limited to only other entries in the same series. The who point of a sequel is to continue the story of its prequel, but if you can't buy it for a while, you're knowingly left on a cliff hanger until the exclusivity deal expires unless you install the spyware infested Epic Game store client.
A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not.

Last edited by Ness_and_Sonic; Apr 4, 2019 @ 11:13am

#5

captainwiseass Apr 4, 2019 @ 11:10am

I agree entirely, but I suspect even the eventual heat death of the universe won't stop whiny, entitled fanboys from making everything about them.

#6

Crystal Sharrd Apr 4, 2019 @ 11:49am

Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
Originally posted by sonic65101:
Review bombing is malicious abuse of the review system. You are supposed to be reviewing the game, not the people who made it.
I see it as a way to warn others about companies doing shading things. Example, what Sega did with Sonic Mania. Another would be unwelcome changes in DRM schemes after you had bought the game. A third would be a game having a virus or something in it. All these things seem like fair game. The situation with Metro Exodus does as well as long as it's limited to only other entries in the same series. The who point of a sequel is to continue the story of its prequel, but if you can't buy it for a while, you're knowingly left on a cliff hanger until the exclusivity deal expires unless you install the spyware infested Epic Game store client.
A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not.

I blame the pirates for Denuvo, not SEGA. They are the reason DRM exists.

#7

Start_Running Apr 4, 2019 @ 12:20pm

Originally posted by sonic65101:
Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
I see it as a way to warn others about companies doing shading things. Example, what Sega did with Sonic Mania. Another would be unwelcome changes in DRM schemes after you had bought the game. A third would be a game having a virus or something in it. All these things seem like fair game. The situation with Metro Exodus does as well as long as it's limited to only other entries in the same series. The who point of a sequel is to continue the story of its prequel, but if you can't buy it for a while, you're knowingly left on a cliff hanger until the exclusivity deal expires unless you install the spyware infested Epic Game store client.
A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not.
I blame the pirates for Denuvo, not SEGA. They are the reason DRM exists.

Bingo.

#8

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 12:24pm

Originally posted by sonic65101:
I blame the pirates for Denuvo, not SEGA. They are the reason DRM exists.

I was talking about violating consumer protection laws by not disclosing it during the preorder period, thus making Sega's actions a bait and swap.

#9

nullable Apr 4, 2019 @ 3:27pm

Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
Originally posted by sonic65101:
Review bombing is malicious abuse of the review system. You are supposed to be reviewing the game, not the people who made it.
I see it as a way to warn others about companies doing shading things. Example, what Sega did with Sonic Mania. Another would be unwelcome changes in DRM schemes after you had bought the game. A third would be a game having a virus or something in it. All these things seem like fair game. The situation with Metro Exodus does as well as long as it's limited to only other entries in the same series. The who point of a sequel is to continue the story of its prequel, but if you can't buy it for a while, you're knowingly left on a cliff hanger until the exclusivity deal expires unless you install the spyware infested Epic Game store client.
A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not.

If a game has a virus? You expect that to be addressed via reviews and not Steam delisting it?

I get that some people feel the need to warn others about developer issues. Problem is that being mad at a developer maybe doesn't give users carte blanche to go on a rampage across the store. People engaging it certainly see it as activism and not vigilanteism.

There's plenty of avenues for bad PR when developers or publishers screw the pooch. And criticism in reviews is fine. But they're reviews not a stick with which to beat people who make yiu mad.

And finally, yeah

A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not

This sounds great. Except gamers aren't exactly a united cabal. And any time a few get mad they're going to fly off the handle and use the nuclear option. I don't know if you've worked in customer service, but customers can be awful at least as much as businesses can be awful. Review bombers already make up a minority. And no developer is going to make everyone happy. And most gamers probably don't have much sympathy for the review bombers plight.

#10

Start_Running Apr 4, 2019 @ 4:11pm

Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
Originally posted by sonic65101:
I blame the pirates for Denuvo, not SEGA. They are the reason DRM exists.
I was talking about violating consumer protection laws by not disclosing it during the preorder period, thus making Sega's actions a bait and swap.

There is no law that requires them to.

#11

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 4:55pm

Originally posted by Brockenstein:
If a game has a virus? You expect that to be addressed via reviews and not Steam delisting it?

I get that some people feel the need to warn others about developer issues. Problem is that being mad at a developer maybe doesn't give users carte blanche to go on a rampage across the store. People engaging it certainly see it as activism and not vigilanteism.

There's plenty of avenues for bad PR when developers or publishers screw the pooch. And criticism in reviews is fine. But they're reviews not a stick with which to beat people who make yiu mad.

And finally, yeah

A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not

This sounds great. Except gamers aren't exactly a united cabal. And any time a few get mad they're going to fly off the handle and use the nuclear option. I don't know if you've worked in customer service, but customers can be awful at least as much as businesses can be awful. Review bombers already make up a minority. And no developer is going to make everyone happy. And most gamers probably don't have much sympathy for the review bombers plight.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eM4wjgXsJI

No, they're actually "recommendations." If you can't recommend a game because of what a developer is doing, you can't recommend the game. Also, hitting their wallets with "not recommended" is a fair way to do it. At least they'd have a good reason to listen.

If it's not a major issue, why not place it at the top of the store page so everyone can see the common issue right up front. If it's a minority, they'll just scroll down and ignore it. Possibly even laugh at it. If it's a big issue, it may impact sales and get the developer to start fixing their mistakes.

#12

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 4:56pm

Originally posted by Start_Running:
Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
I was talking about violating consumer protection laws by not disclosing it during the preorder period, thus making Sega's actions a bait and swap.
There is no law that requires them to.

Bait and swaps are an illegal business practice.

#13

Crystal Sharrd Apr 4, 2019 @ 4:56pm

Originally posted by Brockenstein:
Originally posted by Ness_and_Sonic|Bye Reviews.:
I see it as a way to warn others about companies doing shading things. Example, what Sega did with Sonic Mania. Another would be unwelcome changes in DRM schemes after you had bought the game. A third would be a game having a virus or something in it. All these things seem like fair game. The situation with Metro Exodus does as well as long as it's limited to only other entries in the same series. The who point of a sequel is to continue the story of its prequel, but if you can't buy it for a while, you're knowingly left on a cliff hanger until the exclusivity deal expires unless you install the spyware infested Epic Game store client.
A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not.

If a game has a virus? You expect that to be addressed via reviews and not Steam delisting it?

I get that some people feel the need to warn others about developer issues. Problem is that being mad at a developer maybe doesn't give users carte blanche to go on a rampage across the store. People engaging it certainly see it as activism and not vigilanteism.

There's plenty of avenues for bad PR when developers or publishers screw the pooch. And criticism in reviews is fine. But they're reviews not a stick with which to beat people who make yiu mad.

And finally, yeah

A good way to avoid review bombs would be to consult gamers before actually doing questionable things to begin with so you can find out if it will cause one or not

This sounds great. Except gamers aren't exactly a united cabal. And any time a few get mad they're going to fly off the handle and use the nuclear option. I don't know if you've worked in customer service, but customers can be awful at least as much as businesses can be awful. Review bombers already make up a minority. And no developer is going to make everyone happy. And most gamers probably don't have much sympathy for the review bombers plight.

If a game has a virus, I don't see how that could be constituted as review bombing, given that any negative reviews about said virus would be about the game's content.

#14

Ness_and_Sonic Apr 4, 2019 @ 5:09pm

Originally posted by sonic65101:
If a game has a virus, I don't see how that could be constituted as review bombing, given that any negative reviews about said virus would be about the game's content.

They want you discussing the game, not it hacking your computer, having a virus or DRM that can lock you out of what you paid for. If you looked at the announcement, you'd see that they mention DRM and the EULA as two things they consider off-topic:
https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1808664240333155775

#15

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