There are some who contest that arbitrary review scores don’t really matter, and that it’s the meat of the review that counts. I’m one of those people. Apparently, I’m pretty damned wrong because it looks like they do. A lot.
The game has been receiving a mixed bag of good to mediocre reviews – and it’s directly affected EA’s share prices.
EA stock has been rising pretty sharply over the past few weeks, a result of strong Medal of Honor pre-orders – but once negative reviews started rolling in, shares fell nearly six percent. The game currently holds a metacritic rating of about 75% across the three platforms it’s available for, much lower than the company had expected – and lower than its most notable competitor, Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 which scored in the mid 90’s.
EA though, are downplaying the impact quite spectacularly. A statement made by the company reads :
“The game had the highest pre-orders in the 11-year history of the Medal of Honor franchise,” the company said. “This is an essentially big achievement considering Medal of Honor has been dormant for several years. This is the first year in rebooting the franchise.”
“Medal of Honor is part of a larger EA strategy to take share in the shooter category,” the statement continues. “This is a marathon not a sprint — today’s Medal of Honor launch represents a step forward in that race.”
EA have been pretty bullish n insisting that they’re “reclaim the shooter crown†from Activision. Considering how fantastic Black Ops, the next in the Call of Duty games is looking, they’re going to have to try substantially harder.
Source : Gamasutra
Last Updated: October 13, 2010
Uberutang
October 13, 2010 at 15:12
Better luck next time EA, I am rooting for you~!
easy
October 13, 2010 at 15:39
6% based on one games review? i call nonsense.
there is no way a company of ea’s size, and it’s massive catalog of past, present and future titles can be effected to the tune of 6% based on one games review scores. something else must’ve have contributed to the drop
Bobby Kotick for Dummies
October 13, 2010 at 15:51
Agreed! Causal relationships do exist between share price and game reviews, but that would be especially true for small indie game developers who are banking everything on their first release.
As for the same happening for a large company like EA? I don’t buy it. Something else is a foot.
Geoffrey Tim
October 13, 2010 at 15:59
This is a foot.
http://tinyurl.com/236dsps
Bobby Kotick for Dummies
October 13, 2010 at 16:06
HAHAHAHAHH! edit: “something else is afoot”.
Sigh! typos…