If you actually read all the reviews for the game you're interested in, you wouldn't hate Metacritic so much.
I read plenty of game reviews from sites that are affiliated with Metacritic and I still feel the same about it overall. That's the difference between you and I, though. Just because I read them and see that most of them are good or bad for a certain game doesn't determine at all whether or not I buy it. I'm just not that ignorant I guess. Aside from a few select gaming journalists who contribute to those sites, I mostly just read 'em out of curiosity or junkfood for the brain.
When something costs time and money, people will want to know if they should invest. Is this piece of entertainment it worth my time and money?
The same thing can easily be said for games on there that are completely overrated, causing people to waste their money.
Why would anybody buy anything full price at release if they know it will be much cheaper in only a few weeks?
It's called support for a series or a company that you're a fan of.
Also, I will gladly buy a FF game day one provided it obtains universal critical acclaim and I'm already interested in it. Doing so will ensure the game attains the great sales it deserves. I'm not going to buy an average or shitty FF game on day one when I know it will be cheaper in a few weeks.
That the thing, though. If you only go by Metacritic bullshit and numbers, you're going to miss out on good games and ones that are from developers you're a fan of that deserve the support.
I'm not that zealous a fan. If that's the type of person you are, you need to broaden your gaming horizons.
It has nothing to do with being a zealous fan. There are plenty of games, even from Square, many of 'em, in fact, that I don't buy at all. I firstly buy a game based upon whether or not it looks interesting to me personally, not if it'll appeal to the masses or not. After that it's a combination of select gaming critics who know the game or genre's audience well and who have gained my trust & respect and who I've determined I share the same taste with over the years. It's actually not even always critics who's opinions I go by. It's often times a podcaster, a YouTuber or an old school ex gaming journalist.
Heh, well yeah, duh, of course it's not always going to be absolute. Unlike yourself, I don't actually believe that Metacritic is ALWAYS unjust. But you definitely come off as if a game doesn't go over well on Metacritic then it's just not a good game or worth my money because the scores they reflect are always right.
It's that simple. As long as it obtains universal critical acclaim, the sales will follow. The success of The Last of Us is a testament to that. You don't need to be a FPS to rope in the Western mainstream. Just make a really, really good product.
I don't even know why you brought third and first-person shooters into this to be honest. I never said anything about them. I mentioned Skyrim because it's an RPG and we're basically discussing Japanese RPG's and Metacritc.
Anyway, I don't think we're really going anywhere with this. You seem like a dude who's stone-cold set in your ways of determining what a good game is and I'm honestly burnt out on discussing it. End of conversation on my part. Have fun.