The Player

Videogame critics and players are often on the same page, writes JOE GRIFFIN

EVEN BEFORE I started writing about games, I noticed a strange trend in gaming that doesn’t exist in other art forms: the press and audience are frequently, if not usually in agreement.

Think it's the same elsewhere? Take a look at the review aggregator Metacritic.com: the new Pirates of the Caribbean(average Metacritic score of 45 per cent) is basking in the US box office's top 5, comfortably trampling over critical darling The Tree of Life(93 per cent).

In music, Thurston Moore's new album (80 per cent) will likely sell only a fraction of the copies shifted by the new Jennifer Lopez album (46 per cent). And, sad but true, many more people have seen Two and Half Menthan The Wire.

By contrast, right now two of the most critically lauded games are also among the bestselling – quirky sci-fi puzzler Portal 2 and dense, ambitious crime saga LA Noire. As Guardiancolumnist Charlie Brooker recently said, this would be like 2001: A Space Odysseyand The Maltese Falconbeing the two biggest films of the year.

This isn't an anomaly: Call of Duty: Black Opswas the biggest selling game of 2010 and critics adored it. Even in casual games, quality fare such as Dance Centralrises to the top.

Why is this? Are game critics listened to more than their counterparts? I wish. You should read our mailbag some time.

One major factor is that the differences in age between game journalists and players is not as acute as it is in other areas. Because gaming is such a new medium, commentators and their readers have discovered it at roughly the same time, so they’re not as diverse as, say, book, theatre, music or film critics.

Also, games haven’t reached a saturation point. When that happens, casual fans (not the original, hardcore market) comprise the majority and have a greater influence in what’s produced. The bigger a cultural phenomenon becomes, the bigger the danger that it will become homogenised. For example, the fact that more movie sequels will be released this year than any year in history suggests an industry that’s afraid to take expensive risks.

In all art forms, underrated titles will sometimes slip by unnoticed and other, more hyped ones will get too much attention. I doubt it will last forever, but for now, just as games are at the tipping point of becoming ubiquitous, it’s a golden age for mainstream gaming.