3 ms·

This "article" is BS. The average rating for Dream Heights on iTunes (at the time of my writing this) is above 4.5/5 stars. Hardly the overwhelming negative r

This "article" is BS. The average rating for Dream Heights on iTunes (at the time of my writing this) is above 4.5/5 stars. Hardly the overwhelming negative response this article claims.

MrFoof 15y ago
I agree with the headline being sensationalized. However, the default iTunes sort method will still manage to do some damage. If I recall correctly, iTunes sorts reviews mostly by how many people found it helpful. Additionally, this is as an absolute value, not a percentage (so 8 of 65 finding helpful will be above one that 7 of 7 found helpful). The result is if you go to the App Store page, the reviews you are shown by default -- overall rating aside -- are all heavily-upvoted one-star reviews. The question that's left is how much of a material effect the one-star reviews being shown by default are having on the game's sales. However, even if there is no material effect, that's probably not a black mark Zynga wants visible even if it's not affecting sales much (or at all). The "Whose Expression is it Anyways?" article on Gamasutra (link: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyWu/20120216/9455/Whose_Expression_Is_It_Anyway.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyWu/20120216/9455/Whose_E...) I think is a good discussion on the topic. Using that article's terms, Dream Heights may only be the "legal distance" from Tiny Tower's design, instead of the "classy distance".
palish 15y ago
The game pops up a messagebox that says "If you give us 5 stars, we'll give you more features!" Proof: http://db.tt/whiVaG0t http://db.tt/whiVaG0t
- abk 15y ago
  Not a fan of zynga, but tiny tower and others do that too. It seems pretty standard for games to prompt users for reviews.
  - palish 15y ago
    They're offering additional game features in exchange for 5 stars, not merely prompting users for reviews. Do other apps do this?
- joejohnson 15y ago
  What are you quoting? The picture you post says "Give us a FIVE-STAR rating! Higher ratings mean more features!" I take this to mean they will develop their higher-rated games more than their lower-rated ones. Where does it say you can have more features in exchange for a high rating?
tzs 15y ago
You've confused ratings and reviews.

This "article" is BS. The average rating for Dream Heights on iTunes (at the time of my writing this) is above 4.5/5 stars. Hardly the overwhelming negative response this article claims.

MrFoof 15y ago

I agree with the headline being sensationalized. However, the default iTunes sort method will still manage to do some damage. If I recall correctly, iTunes sorts reviews mostly by how many people found it helpful. Additionally, this is as an absolute value, not a percentage (so 8 of 65 finding helpful will be above one that 7 of 7 found helpful). The result is if you go to the App Store page, the reviews you are shown by default -- overall rating aside -- are all heavily-upvoted one-star reviews. The question that's left is how much of a material effect the one-star reviews being shown by default are having on the game's sales. However, even if there is no material effect, that's probably not a black mark Zynga wants visible even if it's not affecting sales much (or at all). The "Whose Expression is it Anyways?" article on Gamasutra (link: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyWu/20120216/9455/Whose_Expression_Is_It_Anyway.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TommyWu/20120216/9455/Whose_E...) I think is a good discussion on the topic. Using that article's terms, Dream Heights may only be the "legal distance" from Tiny Tower's design, instead of the "classy distance".

palish 15y ago

The game pops up a messagebox that says "If you give us 5 stars, we'll give you more features!" Proof: http://db.tt/whiVaG0t http://db.tt/whiVaG0t

abk 15y ago
Not a fan of zynga, but tiny tower and others do that too. It seems pretty standard for games to prompt users for reviews.
- palish 15y ago
  They're offering additional game features in exchange for 5 stars, not merely prompting users for reviews. Do other apps do this?
joejohnson 15y ago
What are you quoting? The picture you post says "Give us a FIVE-STAR rating! Higher ratings mean more features!" I take this to mean they will develop their higher-rated games more than their lower-rated ones. Where does it say you can have more features in exchange for a high rating?

tzs 15y ago

You've confused ratings and reviews.