**Author’s Disclaimer - I did not perform the survey myself. I found the information and I am sharing it with our viewers. The survey results do not reflect my own views and opinions. With that said, please read with an open mind.**
Before our site change, I posted two articles explaining how the Xbox360 and the PS3 had a low percentage of Metacritic-rated good games. The survey was performed by Edge Magazine and the research group, EEDAR. Results for the Nintendo Wii were just released so I figured I’d revisit the Xbox360 and PS3, then adding the Wii to the end.
Xbox360 - the longest next-gen console out on the market currently. Has a large game library with some very popular exclusives but how did the reports respond? Out of all games reviewed, only 13% received a rating of 85 or higher, earning the “good game” title. 49% of games were rated in the 66-84 range and the remaining 38% were rated 65 or lower.
PS3 - shorter shelf life than it’s 360 competitor, smaller library as well but momentum is picking up greatly. How did Sony’s powerhouse do? Out of all reviewed games, 17% of games were listed as “good games”. Once again, scores that are listed as 85 or higher. A big 53% of games were rated in the 66-84 range and the final 30% of games listed in the 65 or lower range.
Wii - Launched around the same time the PS3, massive library at this point. Nintendo may be the king of sales currently but we know it’s about the games. The results; 4% of Wii games were rated with a 85 or higher score. Wow. 42% of games were listed in the 66-84 range and a huge 54% of games were in the 65 or lower score range.
Does this surprise anyone? Personally speaking, I would have thought the “good game” ratings would have been a little higher. I knew the Wii would have the lowest scores but 4% is a lot lower than I thought. If you’re curious to know where your games are listed, head over to Metacritic and check their scores. Share your opinions in the comments below, let us know how you feel and if you agree/disagree with the reports.
Links to the original articles from Edge Magazine:
Xbox360
PS3
Wii
#1 by Admin on April 8th, 2009
I definitely feel like consoles have a low % of good games these days. Part of this is probably due to the fact that everyone is rushed to get titles out the door. I hate to bash the Wii, but it’s the system with the most terrible games. The funny thing is that game ratings are often inflated (because sites are trying to impress publishers), so we may be looking at worse games than we think. Were consoles from the past any different? I definitely think so. The NES, Genesis, N64, Dreamcast and a few other consoles had a fairly high percentage of good games in my opinion. Fortunately, we live in an information age where you can find out quite a bit about a title before paying for it.
#2 by Anonymous on April 8th, 2009
PS3: 318 games, 44 (14%) @ 85+, 175 (55%) @ 84-66, 100 (31%) @ 65-
X360: 603 games, 60 (10%) @ 85+, 302 (50%) @ 84-66, 241 (40%) @ 65-
Wii: 388 games, 18 (5%) @ 85+, 167 (43%) @ 84-66, 203 (52%) @ 65-
PC: 874 games released 2005 and after, 81 (9%) @ 85+, 487 (56%) @ 84-66, 306 (35%) @ 66-
All percentages rounded to nearest integer.
I was curious and bored, and it always bugs me when people give percentages without also giving the absolute numbers, so I ran the numbers straight from metacritic. Here’s what I got:
PS3
318 games, 44 (14%) @ 85+, 175 (55%) @ 84-66, 100 (31%) @ 65-
X360:
603 games, 60 (10%) @ 85+, 302 (50%) @ 84-66, 241 (40%) @ 65-
Wii:
388 games, 18 (5%) @ 85+, 167 (43%) @ 84-66, 203 (52%) @ 65-
PC: 874 games released 2005 and after, 81 (9%) @ 85+, 487 (56%) @ 84-66, 306 (35%) @ 66-
(All percentages rounded to nearest integer.) I didn’t filter out similar games like the Edge site did, but wouldn’t have expected that to affect the numbers as much as it seems to have.
In terms of absolute numbers, the PC has most crap titles, but also by far the most good titles (and the 2005 release dates exclude some games like Half-Life 2 and WoW that are still being played due to expansions not available with consoles), so although the percentage of good PC titles is less than that of the 360 and PS3, if you’re looking for the most choice in games, that’s the clear winner.
Otherwise, again although the percentages are lower on the 360 than the PS3, if you want choices in games, the 360 would seem to be the way to go. That’s why percentages without absolute numbers bugs me.
#3 by Anonymous on April 8th, 2009
gahh, no editing and the formatting is messed up. The numbers I gave were meant to come after my intro paragraph, and not be repeated…
#4 by Will Snizek on April 8th, 2009
I agree that the 360 has the best overall library, but that seems to be changing. I think 2009 will definitely be a huge improvement for the PS3 offerings.
#5 by Will Snizek on April 8th, 2009
sorry about the editing. I need to add that to the site
#6 by Aaron Mazza on April 9th, 2009
Wow Anonymous, perhaps you should work for Edge Magazine or EEDAR =P