Recently, Steam added the option to display language-specific review scores – which means publishers and users alike now have much greater insight into how games are performing in different regions. It wasn’t long enough before this topic took to the Japanese side of X, where it snowballed into a larger discussion on the “negative review habit” of domestic users. But with multiple data researches supporting the theory that the Japanese are just far stricter compared to the rest of the world, domestic devs argue that the Japanese side should put more effort into bumping-up the number of positive reviews.
This comes amidst Japanese indie creators’ struggle to stand out during events like Steam Next Fes or make it past strict review thresholds. Many have been making efforts to encourage their players to write reviews and boost the visibility of their favorite indie titles. But what is the players’ point of view?
AUTOMATON took the opportunity to directly ask almost 5,000 of its Japanese readers about their reviewing habits. Specifically, we wanted to know how often users left positive reviews on games they enjoyed, and why (or, on the contrary, why not).
Out of a total of 4,772 participants, only 11.1% said they actively write reviews for the games they enjoy. 24.3% of respondents said that they occasionally leave positive reviews, while 39.7% said they leave reviews very rarely. Finally, 25% of the poll participants said they don’t leave Steam reviews at all.
Judging by these numbers – it seems like our Japanese reader base, despite being mostly composed of core PC/Steam gamers, isn’t that active when it comes to leaving Steam reviews. On the other hand, the reasons why they do decide to write reviews are interesting. Many seem to prefer to leave reviews on indie games, games that have few Japanese language reviews, or games they consider to be “unfairly” rated.
I saw a post the other day that said the Japanese game market is considered tough because people always leave negative reviews yet rarely leave positive ones. They encouraged players to leave positive reviews on the games they enjoyed, and it made me realize that I’d played over 100 games via Steam and hadn’t left a single positive review. So, from now on, I’ll try to do it more proactively.
I write positive reviews for games that are scored low because of insubstantial reviews and unfair ratings. And the same goes for opposite situations – I sometimes write negative reviews as well.
I sometimes write reviews for games that don’t have many Japanese reviews at launch. In cases when, for example, I like the game, but it had some parts that I wasn’t quite impressed with, I write reviews that I think would be helpful for future buyers.
Usually, I find that everything I’d praise a game for has already been covered by others, so I end up wondering if it’s even worth leaving a review that’s exactly the same. So, I usually don’t write them that much.
I try to proactively write both positive and negative reviews for actual indie games, however, I pretty much don’t write any reviews when it comes to games by big companies and majorly popular indie games. If I’m going to write a review, I want somebody to be able to read it, so I don’t have much motivation for games that are overflowing with reviews. It’s not like I’m getting paid for it or anything, but writing reviews can get pretty tiring.
On the other hand, many of our readers also pointed out that reviews sometimes feel like a mountain to climb. And let’s be honest, it does take some time and dedication to sit down and write a review or a comment, even if it’s just a sentence or two. Furthermore, there are even people who, despite liking the game, feel uncomfortable writing reviews because they will be seen by other players, or because they simply don’t think their opinion matters. Some users suggest that this problem could be resolved if Steam implemented a “like button option,” which could let you support your favorite games with just one click without having to worry about the quality of your review (or getting rebutted by people who don’t quite agree with your opinion).
The YouTube “Like” button is nice because it just requires one click (though I do forget about it often), but on Steam, you have to actually type your positive review, which can be a pain sometimes.
I believe the people who described their reasons [for leaving Steam reviews] in the replies here are the ones who won’t see writing reviews as a painful task in the first place… I wish like buttons were a standard feature on Steam…That way the feelings of people who liked the game but can’t write a review can also reach the developers…
Considering there are so many new games coming out now – especially among indie creators – it wouldn’t be surprising if Steam tightened its rules regarding review thresholds in the future to prevent low-quality games from oversaturating the market. That’s why raising awareness about leaving positive reviews from time to time might be crucial to helping your favorite games earn the success they deserve.
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