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When it comes to entertainment, Metacritic has become the go-to source for those looking to stay in-the-know on the best games.
Metacritic has been generating Metascores™ for games since its launch in January 2001, and of all entertainment consumers, gamers have most enthusiastically embraced Metacritic and the guidance we offer. Gamers look to Metacritic before making final purchasing or rental decisions.
Whether this is due to the high price of games in relation to movies or albums, or the serious time commitment that gamers anticipate when contemplating a game purchase, Metacritic users are unique in their voracious appetite for insight and education about the quality of products they consume.
The Metascore™ – The Definitive Entertainment Scorecard
The heart of what we offer – the Metascore™ – is a critical consensus of the top games critics in the world surrounding each game released. The Metascore™ consists of a proprietary formula that curates the opinions of the most respected critics, distilling them down to a single, easy-to-understand number. Our team spends countless hours annually making sure that we track the critics who are the most esteemed in the gaming community, have strong reputations for scoring integrity, and have displayed excellence in critical analysis.
Beyond gamers, Metacritic has, in recent years, been strongly embraced by the gaming press, industry analysts, and gaming publishers as a tool to assess the relative quality of each new game release. Rather than relying solely on sales figures, verifiable game quality has become part of the conversation when assessing the success of a given game.
While the games industry has adopted the Metascore™ as an indispensible tool, it is important to reiterate that Metacritic’s target audience has always been the consumer (the gamer) contemplating and investigating the best use of his or her hard-earned entertainment cash. Metacritic remains focused on the gamer and discovering those critics who can offer the best collective advice on which games to play.
Recognising Innovation
In recent months, Metacritic has added an iOS section to our games offerings to better serve those iPhone and iPad owners who have come to view their mobile devices as legitimate gaming platforms that can compete with dedicated portable gaming systems. Many smaller iOS developers are recognised for their outstanding achievements in the following pages alongside many of the well-established giants of the industry. Hopefully this will inspire more creative people, who might not have tremendous financial backing, to pursue their development dreams in this or other burgeoning markets.
Marc Doyle
Metacritic Co-Founder & Games Editor
www.metacritic.com
The Develop 100, produced in association with Metacritic and sponsored by gamecity:Hamburg is published today, June 3rd, with Develop magazine’s June edition and MCV’s June 3rd edition.
Click here for a microsite with a list of the 100 and embedded digital edition of the book
Click here for a directory of all the content develop-online.net is posting from the book, including analysis commentary and much more
