On Switching From Letter Grades to Five Stars

Now you can add user scores as well and show an average user score. I guess this could have been done before too but the stars made me think of it.

Bravo Nick, I've been waiting for this change for more than a decade.

Down here, we use a 20 point scale, and although I woudn't suggest you do that because you may be unfamiliar with it, I think using a 10 point/star scale could be better than a 5 stars.

Why?
A+,A,A-,B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,D,D-,F=12 degrees.

Although both systems would have 10 degree scales (putting half-stars in yours) having the system based on whole numbers may be more understandable and friendly for the ones who put the grade and the ones who read them. Also you wouldn't have to cut the nice GR star in half.

And for the "A+" matter, just imagine having it replaced by ten GR stars. I say "imagine" because, you know, A+ games don't exist.

I have absolutely no issue with this. Are you still going to do the list of plus and minuses at the end? I think that is a great way to end the reviews, as it sums everything just read quite nicely.

This is the best idea I have ever heard. I have always thought a 5 star scale works best for reviewing any medium, whether it's music, movies, video games, etc. It's nearly universally understood and simple. I think it should be the standard across the board so at a glance you can compare what other sites have rated a game so you don't have to figure out everyone's rating system to compare scores. And now you guys are leading the way. Fuck yeah.

Interesting. I'll miss the old Letter Grades but I won't be mad at the 5-Star scale. :)

First we lose Duke. Now we lose the Alphabet!!! What is next you gonna start reviewing Japanese game shows?

I don't have a major gripe about it. The only thing I would say is that 5 Stars to me means the same thing as an A+, not an A. I see 5 Stars, I think the claim being made is that it's the best it could possibly ever be. So in that sense, I still think letter grades allow for a much more detailed and expressive rating. But at the end of the day, I know the reviews will retain the same quality irregardless of what point system you're using.

an A already means it's the best since A+ is not given out

I do not like this, but I am unable to articulate why.

I think I figured it out. GR has never given a game the unattainable A+, and rightly so. I have never played a perfect game. I can see GR giving away 5 stars much easier, simply because a 4.5 doesn't sound as good as an A.

And a 5 star is going to be perceived as a perfect game, even though it's technically not.

Also lets think hypothetically, what is that perfect games does come out. Is this perfect game going to get a 5.5 or a 6 or a 5+?

I should really read the entire article before I rattle off. Most of complaints are addressed....but I still don't like it!

It will get 5 stars. There's nothing wrong with one 5 star game being a bit better or worse than another; two 5 star games don't have to be the EXACT same in quality. In fact, it eliminates some of the worthless nitpicking and whining over a game getting a 95 instead of a 96 that people seem to obsess over these days. Two amazing games should both get 5 stars indicating they are amazing and let that be the end of it.

Oh no, change in the beginning of a new year? Whoever thought such an atrocity would occur!

I too do not like it, but I am able to articulate why.

The reason why the letter grade system was so powerful was because it was something that everyone knows perfectly. An A was excellent, almost perfect. A B- is above average, but only barely. The problem with stars is that the interpretation of the meaning of the stars varies so damn much from person to person. 3 stars just feels so much worse than a B-. But that's not the worst part.

The reason you made the shift was because professional sites oft falsely interpret the meaning of the grades, right? A B is taken as an 80 and so on. Here's the thing, this will ONLY get worse. Lets say a game comes out and it's above average, deserves a B-. So thus you'd correlate it and give it a 3 star grade. What that will be taken as is not an 80, but a 60. On Metacritic, a 60 is considered BELOW average, not above average. This means you'll HAVE to start either inflating your grades or get an even lower average, neither of which would be good.

That's just what I figured from reading the little thing. Though I think I get your meaning. I'm curious to see how it'll go, either way.

And let the record show that the last letter review of the site was Fishing Resort... Should we do a gun salute?

I can't say I'm thrilled about this change. I feel you're gonna lose a part of what makes GR, well GR. A 5-star system makes me think Gamepro. A ten point scale makes me think IGN. Having said that I partially agree with Bras, a 10 point scale would be much better, but with half increments which, well, would just make it exactly like IGN's.
I think Longo_2_Guns is right on the money with his second paragraph expo. I just don't know, it doesn't sound that great, you are tampering with the essence of the site. A letter grade with the report card's pros and cons is what makes your grading system unique, although I can understand your reasoning on why it is the "right move for the site", specially the bit about you guys not getting titles to review because your grades are misunderstood. One last thing, the fact that D and D- must share a grade shows the system is flawed from the get-go.

I'll promise not to complain about the new rating format as long as you finally follow through with the promised black background.

Like all things new, it will just take time to adjust.

It might be good to put the numerical value under the stars. I have a colorblind friend who would have trouble telling the difference on other sites sometimes.

Also for the whole A+ thing. You good go lazy and just give it a *****+ rating o

Or just add a GR stamp as a 6th star. It will never come up but having a specific spot for that allusive A+ would give hope like it always has.

Shit! Now I have to go to my blogspot and change it from "Based on the GameRevolution.com grading scale" to "Based on the classic GameRevolution.com grading scale." I had a feeling the grading system would change eventually. Most of GR has changed hence the word "Revolution."

I think this change would have been a huge bother had you not explicitly stated that you'll keep the same meaning behind your grades. I've probably read literally hundreds of reviews, and I've become very attuned to the differences between each letter grade. The fact that you'll be keeping the same 'scale' means I don't need to re-learn anything--one set of symbols for another set is fine by me.

I give this move 4 1/2 stars.

It's good you're taking the time to blog about the change in advance and explaining it in your own words it makes perfect sense to me - bring on the star rating system! Maybe a new community rating system would open the door to more user reviews? Or single paragraph reviews/feedback like the recommendation system found on Steam.

but you were the only site that we cared about that gave letter grades

what a stupid move, those reports card reviews were the reason i came to this site almost 15 years ago