I was glancing through the "new and noteworthy" and came across some app called "skydiver Mach 2.". It only took 2 seconds of looking at the reviews to know they are grossly exaggerated. And some of the reciews are by people from the developer or publisher's online community. Two thirds of the reviews are multiple paragraph novels, whose praise of the game is laughable. These overexaggerated reviews have given the app a nice overall score. BS like this should not be acceptable on the app store. If u get a chance, look up this app, read some of the reviews and file a complaint. I'd hate for people to get conned into buying an app based on dishonest information.
Sadly it's not limited to the app store. Take a look at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Borders; any online retailer that allows reviews, and you'll see the same thing. I know scores of writers who have friends load their amazon offerings up with reviews from friends and family. Most get called out on it though within the industry, and makes it harder for them to be taken seriously. I can only hope that will happen with devs who practice this as well.
I don't know. One reviewer just said that his review was his entry for the mini contest by the developer.
I found it here: http://gamejolt.com/profile/frederick/blog/news/skydiver-mach-ii-ios-release/5014/ It says: YOYO MINI COMPETITION We have a mini competition running in conjunction with Skydiver as you are our avid users and players. We know how passionate you are about games and really appreciate your active feedback on YY games. We are offering a prize of the latest 32GB iPod Touch and $50 worth of iTunes vouchers for the best review left on iTunes. Not bad eh? We are looking for an inspired write up of Skydiver; one that shows a witty, captivating description with a constructive and positive vibe that puts a glow in our little hearts. You need to buy the game first to be able to write a review (only $0.99). The higher the score, the better You need to use your YoYo username so we can identify you. We’ll give you to the end of this week and let you know by Monday, so you’ll need to get your skates on! ...YoYo depend on your continuing community support. Our aim is to publish the best of YOUR games on iPad, iPhone, Android, PSP, PC and Mac. Your input is so incredibly valuable to us that in return for your on-going loyalty to promoting Game Store, we promise funds will go toward improvements on Game Maker, the website and the forums. So please help to spread the word! Unbelievable...basically, they have have a contest to raise faux hype for their game in an attempt to make it on the "New and Noteworthy" (Mission Accomplished) and obtain sales from people gullible enough to read phony reviews by people who are attempting to win a prize. Pathetic!
Well as sad as this is, it seems to be common practice these days. There have been many devs on these forums even that give out a promo code to the best lite reviews on the appstore. Or gift cards for the best reviews posted within a certain time frame. It's a dog eat dog world out there in the appstore. By no means am I condoning any misleading tactics, but it does beat some of the other "bought" reviews I have seen. Just all the more reason to ignore the reviews and trust your fellow TA members.
I've seen this happen before but sometimes I wonder if some of the reviews are by the the competition since these reviews make the developer look bad and decrease their sales
