Suda51 Thinks Gamers Pay Too Much Attention to Metacritic Scores

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Suda51 Thinks Gamers Pay Too Much Attention to Metacritic Scores

Key Takeaways

  • Suda51 criticizes gaming industry’s reliance on Metacritic scores, leading to formulaic games.
  • Grasshopper Manufacture focuses on originality over chasing trends for game development.

As a seasoned gamer with decades of gaming under my belt, I wholeheartedly agree with Goichi Suda, also known as Suda51. The reliance on Metacritic scores in the gaming industry has led to a homogenization of games, with developers churning out formulaic titles to secure good reviews and commercial success. This is unfortunate, as it makes it difficult for unique and original games to thrive.

Metacritic is an important site for many gamers looking to gauge their interest in a game, but No More Heroes creator Goichi Suda, who goes by the nickname Suda51, thinks putting too much investment in the site is harmful to the industry. As Suda works on the upcoming remaster for his PS3-era title Shadows of the Damned with his studio Grasshopper Manufacture, he took the time to call out the gaming industry for leaning too heavily on formulas to avoid bad critical scores.

Goichi Suda serves as both president and founder of Grasshopper Manufacture, a notable Japanese game development company renowned for its hack-and-slash action-adventure series titled No More Heroes. He has collaborated with Shinji Mikami, the co-creator of Resident Evil, on the unconventional spy shooter game Killer7, and later reunited with Mikami for the upcoming remastered version of their joint work, Shadows of the Damned.

In a recent conversation with GamesIndustry, Suda criticized the gaming sector for excessively relying on Metacritic ratings, which frequently influence a game’s market performance. Alongside his long-term partner Shinji Mikami, Suda argued that the pursuit of positive reviews on platforms like Metacritic leads to a standardized approach, making it challenging for unconventional games to thrive.

Suda51 Explains Grasshopper Manufacture’s Focus on Originality

Goichi Suda shares that he values his own satisfaction and pride in the games he creates more than relying on review scores. Instead, he concentrates on making games that he feels will resonate with players, rather than following trends or trying to appeal to a wider audience. Remarkably, this perspective appears to be echoed by Shinji Mikami, who established Tango Gameworks, the studio behind the highly acclaimed game “Hi-Fi Rush”.

Although Tango Gameworks, known for the survival-horror series The Evil Within, has recently enjoyed success, it encountered difficulties post-acquisition by Microsoft, allegedly because it didn’t meet their high expectations. However, a silver lining emerged when South Korean publisher Krafton took over the studio. Yet, it’s important to note that Microsoft still holds the rights to many of Tango Gameworks’ intellectual properties.

Regarding Suda, he’s been in charge of the latest launch of “Lollipop Chainsaw RePop”, a highly anticipated title that brings one of Grasshopper’s classic games onto contemporary equipment and a fresh engine. At present, he’s also engaged in the development of an upcoming remaster for “Shadows of the Damned”, teaming up with Mikami. Both are reportedly thrilled about the opportunity to reintroduce the game to a broader audience.

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2024-09-14 19:53