As you might have already seen, Patrick posted an interesting story earlier today about Warhawk's price -- specially, that the game releases in a few weeks and doesn't yet have one (for the PSN download, at least). This story was rather important to me for two reasons: 1. because what Sony is doing with Warhawk by simultaneously releasing it on Blu-ray and PSN is rather unprecedented and I find this quite exciting, and 2. because I'm also reviewing the game for EGM, and price, especially for a PSN game, is absolutely a factor to consider.
Why? Because reviews are very much an indication of how much value something represents to a consumer. We take everything, from the experience to the replayability, into account when reviewing a game, but at the end of the day, we're saying whether something is worth your money. It's why Shadowrun, which released at $60, was largely panned. It's why I recently scored the PS2 game The Red Star a 7.5 because, at $20, I felt it was a good value. It's why every review of the iPhone answered the real question on everyone's minds: is it worth $600 (it absolutely is, btw).
It's also the reason why PSN games can even stand a chance with us. If we didn't take price into account, PSN and XBLA reviews would be impossible -- just about any of those games released as a $60 title would be universally dismissed. If Calling All Cars had been released at $40 instead of $10 as it was, would it have still gotten an 8.0 from most publications? I highly doubt it. Price, especially for downloadable games, is a factor.
Now, one question people asked after the story ran was why we didn't just review the game based on its $60 Blu-ray release. That was certainly an option, but considering that
there's a good possibility that a majority of people will obtain the game via a download, this wouldn't be entirely accurate or perhaps even fair to the game.
Warhawk director Dylan Jobe (who gave me some fantastic responses in an interview about the game earlier this year) has been incredibly honest with the press about the PSN version's pricing, stating that he believes Sony should, in the very least, price it $40 or below.
At the end of the day, though, Warhawk is going to be worth playing regardless of whether it's $30, $40, or even $60 with a headset, and my review will reflect that. As some of you already know, I've been enjoying the game quite a bit the last few months, and I can't wait for everyone else to get in on it soon. But not knowing exactly how much it's going to cost as a download has left me somewhat conflicted in terms of giving the game an actual score. This isn't a situation we've encountered before, and though this may seem petty to some, we take reviews very seriously. Because again, our reviews and scores aren't just telling you if a game is good; they're telling you if it's worth spending your hard earned money on. I truly value the trust readers have in our reviews -- I respected EGM's reviews long before I worked here -- and I want to make sure we always steer you in the right direction.
The good news is that we're now hearing that we'll likely find out the price for the PSN version before EGM goes to print, so our reviews will be entirely accurate and our scores completely appropriate. I look forward to you reading them.
In a sharp turnaround, the Republican candidates has opened a 5-point lead on his Democratic rival and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll.
AFP - Georgia's South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions planned rallies Thursday to ask Russia for recognition as independent states, two weeks after Russian troops occupied both provinces.
