Take-Two: Metacritic is key to success
"Good is the new bad."
A high rating on score aggregating site Metacritic is absolutely vital to the launch of a new franchise, according to Take-Two Interactive boss Steve Zelnick.
Gamasutra reported that Zelnick told an audience at a Wedbush Morgan media conference in New York today that review scores, more than in any other media sector, play a huge role in the success of a new videogame IP.
"Making good games just isn't good enough," he explained. "I believe good is the new bad... Games need to be great."
"Unlike many other entertainment businesses - there are just a few - ratings by Metacritic and others' reviews really can influence the success of a newly-released title.
"In fact, if your ratings go below a certain level, it can really hurt your ability to sell the title, and above a certain level can make a real difference in your success.
"Our ability to have high scores over and over and over again is a huge competitive advantage, and that advantage drives sales, it reduces risk and creates profits."
Zelnick added that strong review scores also reward games with a longer shelf life and boost back catalogue sales.
He should know what he's talking about here. Last year, Take-Two achieved the highest average Metacritic score of any game publisher, thanks to the likes of Red Dead Redemption, Sid Meier's Civilization V and BioShock 2.