Most of us will consult a review of an item before we make a purchase. You wouldn’t, for example, purchase a new laptop or smartphone without some sort of consultation first. Sure, maybe you will just assume that the latest iPhone is up to scratch, but, by and large, we will look around for some kind of indication that the product we are buying or trying (in the case of some games) is worth money and time.
Yet, reviewers have been in the spotlight recently, and it has caused some debate on the ethics and responsibilities when providing tech reviews. Consider, for example, the outcry after Marques Brownlee’s review of Humane AI Pin. Brownlee is one of the most important tech reviewers on YouTube and the go-to guy for Apple products. But in this case, he gave a scathing review of the AI Pin (a wearable device that aims to replace the smartphone), and he faced a backlash from many in the tech sector.
Of course, the natural inclination is to say that Brownlee has an obligation to his viewers. If he thinks a device is terrible, he shouldn’t sugarcoat it. Yet, some took issue with his views on a new product, one that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop. His influence is huge, and the review really did some damage to the perception of the AI Pin. Humane may bounce back, but this was a big setback. Brownlee certainly wasn’t the only one to give the device a poor review, however.
Do Your Own Research Before Playing, Purchasing, Or Watching
When it comes to content like movies and games, though, things can get a bit more emotive. It’s always good to do your own research before playing, of course.
Choose games, tech, and gadgets after reading reviews and your own private research. When it comes to gaming, if you look at the About Us section on Hello Millions, for example, it provides a backdrop of the gaming platform’s ethos and operations, allowing prospective players to get a feel for the site before playing. But when it comes to playing individual games, we tend to rely on reviews. And that process has also been questioned in recent times.
Consider the case of Diablo Immortal, the mobile-orientated release from the ultra-popular Diablo series. Released in 2022, Diablo Immortal got fairly good reviews from reviewers and influencers, but the reviews from actual players were largely terrible. In fact, it set a record for the lowest score from players on Metacritic. Why was there this disconnect? It’s difficult to say, but we can make some guesses.
For a start, the players’ negative reviews were largely centered on the volume of in-game purchases. Ostensibly, Diablo Immortal is free-to-play, but the free access is incredibly basic. Moreover, to be successful, you need to pay. This led many players to term Diablo Immortal as a “pay-to-win” game, meaning dollars, not skill, were the deciding factors in winning. Reviewers, of course, will look more at the aesthetics and how the game looks and feels rather than the player’s journey.
We also have seen some disconnect between movie critics and viewers. Unlike gaming, this can be more delicate in terms of where the disconnect lies. There has been fan backlash against recent Star Wars and Marvel movies and television shows, particularly those with female-fronted casts. On Rotten Tomatoes, many of those films have positive reviews from critics and poor ones from users.
But it goes beyond taste – some users have left poor reviews simply because they have not agreed with the casting choice or perhaps a film’s overall message. Some of those leaving reviews will have never seen the film or television show in question.
The Ethics Of Evaluating Have Been Questioned
Much of this leaves the industry of reviewing in a state of limbo. The whole concept of reviewing any product is that it is supposed to provide an unbiased assessment of that product. But customers are questioning the intentions of reviewers more and more: Where did they pay for a positive review? Are they looking at the entirety of players’ experiences? Is their review skewed by biases? It’s not that reviewing was always an exact science: From the days of the great movie critic Roger Ebert to modern tech publications like the Verge, there has always been criticism of the process of reviewing itself.
But today, there are so many products and so much content vying for our attention that the process and ethics of reviewing can get overlooked. For consumers, the best way forward is to do as much reviewing yourself before you purchase. Use free trials and product warranties, compare the reviewers, and see what other users and players think before you buy.
