AppStore Rating system favors negative reviews

Discussion in 'General Game Discussion and Questions' started by redbotsoftware, Jul 24, 2009.

  1. redbotsoftware

    redbotsoftware Well-Known Member

    Jun 2, 2009
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    iPhone App Developer
    SF Bay Area
    Hello,

    This discussion started on my Distant Assassin game thread, so I moved it here instead.

    The current system that apple has in the appstore, is set up so that you get a lot of one star reviews. If you've ever gone through and deleted apps from your phone, it asks you to rate them. So, of course, your deleting them if you don't like them, you give them one star,:confused: the keepers you never delete, and so they never get the 5 stars.

    It seems the only people leaving reviews are people who couldn't figure something out, and instead of looking for a solution, they just post a 1 star review, and then it stays there forever, even after whatever issue is resolved. (There's even a 1 star review that I've seen that says "good game"?!,:eek: did they not know that 1 is bad?)

    Anyone have any thoughts on this?
     
  2. AaronAMV

    AaronAMV Well-Known Member

    Mar 23, 2009
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    WHO KNOWS
    Umm... If you delete an app, it gives you the option to rate or not rate; most of the time I won't, unless it's absoultely horrendous.
     
  3. ImNoSuperMan

    ImNoSuperMan Well-Known Member

    Jun 28, 2009
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    #3 ImNoSuperMan, Jul 25, 2009
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2009
    Here`s the recap


    Now the updates...
     
  4. ImNoSuperMan

    ImNoSuperMan Well-Known Member

    Jun 28, 2009
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    #4 ImNoSuperMan, Jul 25, 2009
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2009
    No no. Taking it away will not help IMO. You want to break the leg of the fit person running next to you just coz yours is already broken and you want a fair competition:eek:(Ok bad examples. But you got the point :eek:)

    So find a way which encourages people to rate the apps which they like instead of making it hard to rate the bad apps too. May be something like this. After using the app for a considerable time (say after 5 hours of app running in total, or after it was used on 10 different occasions, or after keeping the app in you iDevice for more than 2 weeks without deleting or whatever) the next time you open the app, it asks you if you`d like to rate the app before you start using it this time. Make the ratings as simple as we have while deleting the app. Also add an option to rate it later which resets the counter to zero and starts over.
    After 2 denials, the rating dialog box adds another option which allows the user not to be bothered with rating of that particular app. Something like that will work better than taking away the "rate when you delete the app" facility IMO. And I m sure if you devs and Apple put their minds to it, you`ll come up with something a hell lot better than my suggestion.

    Dont you guys have a devs association already:D. Time to organize one if you dont yet.
     
  5. I've been saying this since the start of the App Store. I thought the whole idea of being able to rate on the iPhone when the app is deleted was a monumentally stupid idea. What they should have done was come up with a ratings pane in the App Store app on the device that lets you review the apps you have installed that you haven't yet rated and rate them, much like you do with songs in your iTunes library. Then you rate them when you want to, and not just when you're deleting them when, more often than not, you're doing so because you didn't like it for one reason or another.

    Whoever thought rating on deletion was a good idea needs a solid slap upside the head.
     
  6. ImNoSuperMan

    ImNoSuperMan Well-Known Member

    Jun 28, 2009
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    #6 ImNoSuperMan, Jul 25, 2009
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2009
    That should also work. Atleast both the good and bad apps will get equal opportunity here. Also add the option to update the ratings you voted earlier and it`ll be perfect. :)
     
  7. Yes, but a mandatory alert that bugs people to rate apps is going to annoy everyone. I have no trouble rating apps, but do not be all up in my face about it. I'll ignore it, and some may rate it low out of spite because the pestering pisses them off, even though it's not the developer's fault.

    Far better to have an uintrusive reminder in the App Store app on the device that flags the number of apps you haven't yet rated when you enter it. Then you can tap on the ratings pane and rate apps, or if you want clear apps from the ratings pane if you don't want to be bothered by it.

    Ratings should be completely voluntary and at the full discretion of the user in a manner that doesn't annoy the user. You can't make people rate, and putting it in their face at any time will certainly annoy some. If it's tucked away somewhere that's easily accessible and lets the user choose when and where they want to rate, then it gives control back to the user and they're likely to be far more considered in their ratings than just spur-of-the-moment ratings at a time when they just want to get the damn dialog out of their face so they can continue doing what they wanted to do.

    Yes, it will likely result in fewer people rating, but what would you prefer: Lots of spontaneous ratings many of which won't reflect what the user actually feels about it or reflects premature impressions, or fewer reviews from users who have elected to rate apps on their own good time and therefore whose ratings will likely be much more accurate to how they actually feel about it?
     
  8. You keep responding when I'm writing my response. :)

    Anyway, yes, updating your personal ratings should also be an option. I see so damn many reviews that are like "couldn't figure it out" or "crashed" or other things that are not necessarily the fault of the developer, but often are because the user didn't bother to read instructions, or misread them, or just isn't using it the way it's intended to be used. If those users, upon figuring out the problem, then has a chance to give it a proper going-over, they should be allowed to update their rating.
     
  9. mrWalrus

    mrWalrus Well-Known Member

    Dec 20, 2008
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    designing games
    Venice, CA
    Easily the best idea I've heard on the topic yet.

    Kudos!

     
  10. redbotsoftware

    redbotsoftware Well-Known Member

    Jun 2, 2009
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    iPhone App Developer
    SF Bay Area
    Of course! Just let you rate your own games like they let you rate your own songs. That way they could even give you suggestions on similar games based on the ratings! Simple and easy.

    Is anyone from apple in the TouchArcade forums? I hope someone reads this idea.:D
     
  11. goldglover411

    goldglover411 Well-Known Member

    Apr 11, 2009
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    ipod touch game reviewer
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    I realize the fault so unless the app is truly terrible i always rate 5 and if it is bad than i dont rate it
     
  12. sf49lu

    sf49lu Well-Known Member

    Apr 16, 2009
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    Sylvania, OH
    I think (at least for me) that the appstore encourages positive ratings/reviews. If a game is bad, then I'll just delete it and not waste any more time on it. If it is good, I'll most likely give it a five.
     
  13. redbotsoftware

    redbotsoftware Well-Known Member

    Jun 2, 2009
    138
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    iPhone App Developer
    SF Bay Area
    So you don't rate it when you delete it? (When it asks you to rate?)

    And the games you like, you go back to the appstore, enter in the search for the game again, find it, then rate it?

    That's nice of you!:D

    But wouldn't it be easier if you could rate it in a faster way?

    There are so many good apps on my phone that I would rate 5 stars, but will I go to the appstore, search it out just to rate it? Sometimes, but not most times.
     

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