For reference purposes, the new Metagame rules are being added to this thread, so users can refer to them whenever necessary:
The System Wars Metagame has been a mainstay of System Wars for over a decade, since the forum first came into being. It was a way to try and quantify each system's library, and to try and reach some consensus over what system has the best games. The metagame existed by:
- Using Gamespot reviews for games;
- Assigning a grade value to scores (A for scores in the 7 range, AA for the 8 range, AAA for the 9 range, and AAAA for the elusive 10);
- Keeping track of all of these scores;
- Comparing which system had the most number of A, AA, AAA, and AAAA games
As an aside, the metagame also placed emphasis on exclusives as the most important component to a system's library.
As of right now, however, the metagame is no more.
Q: Why was the metagame scrapped?
If you go through the metagame description above, it's not hard to see why, really. Things have greatly changed now from what they were just ten years ago. Exclusives are increasingly rare, and their importance has been de-emphasized from before. Gamespot's scoring system has changed- from .1 increments to just integer increments, 1 to 10, a system that does not lend itself to the metagame, as we used to have it, on System Wars. Metacritic culture, and the rise of other review sources and outlets, all of which form an ecosystem of game reviews, so to speak, has solidified in the last decade, so that limiting our discussion to only Gamespot's reviews when it comes to any game just creates an unrepresentative echo chamber, and doesn't really offer us a representative picture of the game or its reception. Moreover, it leads to derailments in discussion, as posters start debating the value of Metacritic versus just sticking to one outlet's scores, and really, the value of game reviews in the first place.
All of this, plus the fact that the official spreadsheets are dead- they have not been updated in over two years. No one is keeping track of scores any more, making the metagame more of an old entity we pay lip service to than anything that actually has any functional, meaningful use in the context of System Wars today.
Q: But there are still hype threads?
Yes, we're still going to keep hype threads. But the hype threads are now going to be more of pre-release information and discussion threads, as well as a place where, yes, users can predict what scores (Gamespot, Metacritic, elsewhere) a game may end up scoring. They will no longer determine whether a game has 'flopped' or 'met hype.'
Q: So how do we compare games?
You compare them any way you want- you can use Gamespot scores, if you want to, sure, but if the other person is using Metacritic scores, they are also equally right to do so. One is no longer given any official sanction or preference over the other. Simply put, someone who says that The Last of Us or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess were AAAE games rather than AAE ones on the basis of Metascores is no longer wrong. Metascores are now as valid in discussion as Gamespot scores.
Q: What if the other person and I can't see eye to eye on what metric to use?
Then it's your job to convince them, or theirs to convince you. A reminder: this is a discussion board. It's a discussion board where, by definition, differences of opinion are played up. It's a discussion board the very existence of which is predicated on people trying to convince the others that your opinions are right, and theirs, not necessarily so much. You think the other person is wrong by choosing Metacritic as their metric of choice, or Gamespot, maybe? Then you tell them why. Try and establish to them why your point of view may have validity. Discuss, and try to arrive at a consensus.
Q: This is anarchy!
Yeah, but isn't all of System Wars, really?
Q: So can we at least still try to track hype in hype threads?
Sure, if you want to try and track a game's hyped Gamespot score within its hype thread, you are free to do so. Just remember, it doesn't hold any 'official sanction' anymore- so if The Last of Us 2 scores an 8 after being hyped 10, it doesn't make that game a flop, I'm afraid.
Q: Has the definition of 'exclusive' changed?
Again, it depends.
Look, one of the reasons the metagame was scrapped was because of its rigidity and inflexibility in trying to apply one standard even where it may not fit. Absolute exclusivity, which the old metagame favored, is still the gold standard, of course. But it is no longer viable in the present day marketplace. Absolute exclusives really don' exist- even first party games are often shared with PCs and smartphones sometimes, now.
So what definition of exclusives are we using? That will depend on the context of the discussion, and that's the beauty of it. Calling Street Fighter V a PS4 exclusive in context of a PS4 vs Xbox One discussion is perfectly acceptable, as is calling ReCore an Xbox One exclusive. Discussing the value of soft exclusives like these in the context of the larger market is a discussion that is now welcomed, rather than before, where it was against the metagame, and therefore invalid.
Of course, an absolute exclusive is still the best, because no one can really argue against it- but soft exclusives are no longer grounds for derailed discussions or dismissal.
Q: So what changes?
Honestly? Not much. For all purposes, the metagame has been dead for a while now. We haven't been updating the spreadsheets for two years now, and discussions using Metascores have been a thing for a fair while now. Functionally, not much changes. All that has changed is that discussions that got derailed over the value of the metagame, or Gamespot reviews versus industry reviews represented by Metacritic at large, are now officially no longer off topic.
Also, games will no longer be officially determined as 'flops' on the basis of Gamespot scores. Their value as A(E), AA(E), AAA(E), and AAAA(E) is no longer tied to just Gamespot scores. You want to call Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze a AAE game on the basis of its Metascore? Go nuts!
Q: Are these changes retroactively applicable?
Yes. Rejoice, The Last of Us and Halo 5 are no longer flops.
Q: Will the metagame ever be back?
Maybe eventually, one day. We've been trying to overhaul it for the present day context for a while now, but the issue is we haven't been able to come up with anything. We got nothing. We've been drawing a blank, and it led us to the conclusion that the metagame, as it exists, may probably just be too steeped in the past to be properly translated to today.
We're going to continue to try and come up with ways to bring the metagame back, and if you want to join the conversation, you're free to message the mods with your ideas. We'll be sure to take them into account!
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