hmm, didn't see this thread the 1st time it went around. As a small dev it does get infuriating to see other devs pull these tricks, but ultimately it is so irrelevant. As many have said already, this type of meshegas has been going around in all manner of business and pretty widespread a that, for many years now. Building up the numbers is a very useful tactic "a crowd draws a crowd" and all of that. This can be done honestly or dishonestly, of course, but it amounts to the same thing at the end of the day I suppose. Anyway not worth losing sleep over. I'll never say that shilling is good of course, but it's not going to go away.. ever.. and if you are a truly thoughtful and cautious consumer, you are going to disregard such simplistic reviews anyway.
So true, I don't think it's hurt my sales anyways. Daredevil Dave has done me well for over 9 months. I'll let y'all know if I get a reply to the email I sent though. Not holding my breath
I guess a side-effect of being somewhat interested in the business behind making games is that I want to like the people who make them. It's such a fantastic thing to be able to create this stuff it just pains me that people would be dishonest about it. I know it's always gonna happen and if they're shilling out of desperation then I do feel sorry for them to an extent, but shilling is like giving in. There are more noble ways to go about it, it's not impossible to get a few honest reviews up there.
not impossible, but fairly useless. those who do consider reviews will generally consider volume above all else. 1000 three star reviews that say "cool game luv it" are worth WAYYYYY, WAYYY more than only 30 thoughtfully-written 5 star reviews (no one wants to read that paragraph anyway!) I put our game up on fatwallet when it was free and people said stuff like "who cares it only has 60 reviews, pass"
So many apps start off with 5 five star reviews almost from the moment they hit the store shelf. No reviews attached just five stars. So automatically they make the unexperienced reviewer scared to post a 2 star review. So a positive trend is set for the next batch of reviews. In the non-gaming categories it looks like Apple is using the reviews to determine who get s New and Noteworthy listing above the category. So the five fake reviews have instant impact and set the stage.
scared to post a 2-star review? I wouldn't think that at all. Plenty of people who actually do write reviews seem to have no qualms about saying whatever they please, be it good, bad, or otherwise - as in all cases they are anonymous, and no way for a developer to discover their identity unless they've said something.
Yeah I don't think people are scared to post their thoughts in reviews. Case in point I'll post an excerpt from someone who reviewed our game. "Even though I got it for free I want a refund." I don't think it gets any worse than that...
Well yeah, which makes shilling even more ridiculous and desperate considering it doesn't even work that well.
I'm gonna have to agree with OneEye, everyone. Sure reviewing your own application isn't honest, but it works. Which is exactly what companies want - something that will help them sell their product. Business is business. Their whole goal of creating a game is to make some money, and if reviewing their own game means making a few extra bucks, then they will. We may not like it, but it gets people to buy their game. We would all do it. Companies' number one goal is to make money off of consumers.
I don't understand why so many people are affected by this. Why do you even care? Me, I'm too busy working on my next game than beeing sleepless because some devs/publishers posted fake reviews. To be honest, I think all the big companies are posting fake reviews. Some are better at it than others. They would be stupid not to do so. This isn't that far from marketing or advertising. Are marketing and advertising evil? This is business as usual. JC
I think there's just a feeling around here, particularly around a forum like this, that there's still a "smallness" to the development scene, considering so many developers will post and promote right in this forum, we all recognize many of each other's names and apps, etc. When stuff like this happens (fake reviews, other controversies of late *cough doodle jump cough*), it shatters that little cozy illusion of "we are all in this together and we can all coexist happily" It's a driving thing, especially when you're in the thick of development, and you are feeling connected to a scene and watching what your brothers are all up to, rooting for one another, and so forth - so it does get a little bit of a passionate response. Ultimately, in spite of how some folks feel about things, it's becoming more and more evident that this is not a small scene, it is just another business as usual. There is a good community here, but it is really dwarfed by all the regular stuff (big companies, payola, shady tactics, etc) and I think we will sadly see more and more of that as time goes on. The good ol' days are over!
I'm not a developer. However, the crummy part of AppStore reviews lies in being able to see if there's inherent deception in the those reviews, or what a game actually is. That's why I actually prefer a YouTube video of a game in motion. Being a veteran gamer for over 20 years, seeing how a game plays will tell me far more then any review or screenshot ever will. More often than not a video, might actually sell me on a game I wasn't interested in, or was on the fence about purchasing. It pains me to know developers post in the guise of consumers. It's not an unbiased snapshot of a games value. It's like having only state/government news and seeing only, what and how they want you to see. My BIGGEST peeve, in the AppStore, above all, are the way (at least from my iPad) seems to be app updates. When an app is updated it seems to wash away ALL prior reviews. So if I'd taken time to really review an app, that review is no longer there. I won't go review it a second time. What happens when the next update occurs? Review it a third? Fourth? It's good an app is updated and can draw in users and make enhancements, but bad for the developers because they may have had glowing reviews. Now there might be none and people might be turned off thinking it's an unpopular or bad app.
True, it is business. I certainly don't lose sleep over it, but if a company is going to be that obvious about it then they deserve to be called on it. I guess you could call this "business" as well...me pointing out publically that a game competing directly with mine is using these tactics. Right? I definitely am coming from a business perspective. It's dog eat dog. This isn't to say that I haven't helped several devs with their games or marketing. I have, just as others have helped me. However, since I am relying on this as a source of income now, I don't usually participate anymore in forum threads such as "What is the best way to market my app?", or "How do I get my game reviewed on xyz website?". I'm very community minded and help out in dev forums, and even give advice to random devs when I download their game and feel I can help out, but I'll be damned if I'm giving away all of my secrets in a public forum. Anyways, me pointing out the fake reviews of Com2Us is as much "business" as them posting the reviews. Daredevil Dave has been out for over 9 months and is still around #30 in Racing. If this company/game wants to overtake me...well I'm not just going to roll over and let them Whether or not posting here or reviewing their game myself makes a difference probably won't matter. Dave has proven to have staying power in the App Store and is doing just fine on his own. For that I am grateful, and I give back to the gaming and dev community when I can.
with the amount of stupid reviewers on the store, I don't see a problem with putting a review of your own product. Although buying reviews is a different issue. Stupid reviewers as in people who think the game isn't really free because it has IAP, or who doesn't read that their old iPod Touch isn't supported, or gives a bad rating because a game requires a Facebook account, or even the people who hold that last star for ransom until you implement their feature.
I hate the people that do that because i always dont know if the game is actually worth my money or not. I never do that i always research a little before i buy it and i leave a review if i truly enjoyed my gaming expierence.
Just don't bother with em. You have this most excellent site right here, and with pretty much every app having a lite version you can review it yourself too, and that's the most relevant review of all...
As some others have pointed out, companies have been buying video game reviews for such a long time it's basically standard practice when you are a big-name publisher. It's dishonest but there's not really anything you can do about it.
Sorry guys, but making your friends test and rank your game, is also morally wrong... They are not independant customers. Paying advertising is also a way to manipulate customers... But who doesn't do this The only morally acceptable way of selling your game would be by using only "mouth to mouth" advertising. But everybody know that in the real world it doesn't work on the apple store. Using fake review is dishonest like most advertising tools. It's just "more" dishonest.
