(Topic ID: 325331)

Aliens LV ratings drop?

By Kabball

1 year ago


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  • 124 posts
  • 55 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 1 year ago by alveolus
  • Topic is favorited by 4 Pinsiders

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There are 124 posts in this topic. You are on page 1 of 3.
#1 1 year ago

I have been tempted to put a deposit on the new Pinball Brothers Alien for weeks and then I see that the LV version takes over number 1 spot on the pinside 100. I thought well that is enough to tip the scales and I put the deposit down on the LV. Then like a few days later I see it has dropped down to #50?

So what happened here did mods remove a bunch of reviews because it was being boosted? I do not regret my preorder as the theme is next level for me and it seems like still a very good game but I wonder why the drop to 250 cc

41
#2 1 year ago

why would you use pinside ratings to determine if a game is worth purchasing. they're just for fun

37
#3 1 year ago

Stop using pinside top 100 as a buying guide.

19
#4 1 year ago

Lamberger got banned which instantly made the game drop 50 spots.

Without his constant shilling they may never sell another one.

#5 1 year ago

#6 1 year ago

I stated very clearly, I was more than happy with my purchase to try and avoid the comment that almost every one of you have written so far.

Sounds like one of you may have actually answered me though, a super fan got banned and took out all his positive reviews? lol if that is true it is kind of what I was expecting happened.

#7 1 year ago

The ratings comments section is hilarious! It's a bloodbath of green and red below every comment. "X pinsiders starred this comment" slogging it out, trench warfare style, against "Y pinsiders flagged this comment."

I imagine it's the same 20 people with nothing better to do, but I'd love to be able to see the tipping point where the rating becomes too low for the boosters and they abandon their stars for flags. And vice versa, where's the point for the naysayers, where the rating drops low enough, and they change their rabid flags for approving stars.

As Armistice Day approaches, friends, I ask you to cease the carnage. Let the ratings be what they are. Live and let live. It's what Jonesy would have wanted.

#8 1 year ago
Quoted from Kabball:

Sounds like one of you may have actually answered me though, a super fan got banned and took out all his positive reviews? lol if that is true it is kind of what I was expecting happened.

Levi wasn't being serious. Each member can only submit one rating per game.

I don't know why the rating suddenly jumped up to #1, then dove back down to #50. But, that phenomenon sometimes happens with a new game release and a bunch of people all review it. Or, when a bunch of people see it at a large event and review it. And based on what's happening on the reviews page, it is highly contested with fans of the game offering their input, and people who aren't fans of the game offering theirs.

https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/pinball-brothers-alien-limited/ratings

All the way at the bottom of the ratings page, there is a history chart for the game's rankings.
pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png

In any case, it seems that it was some sort of fluke that it temporarily jumped up to #1.

#9 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Levi wasn't being serious. Each member can only submit one rating per game.

I don't know why the rating suddenly jumped up to #1, then dove back down to #50. But, that phenomenon sometimes happens with a new game release and a bunch of people all review it. Or, when a bunch of people see it at a large event and review it. And based on what's happening on the reviews page, it is highly contested with fans of the game offering their input, and people who aren't fans of the game offering theirs.

https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/pinball-brothers-alien-limited/ratings

All the way at the bottom of the ratings page, there is a history chart for the game's rankings.
[quoted image]

In any case, it seems that it was some sort of fluke that it temporarily jumped up to #1.

The 10/10 ratings are comedy gold!

The same people who are proclaiming "X" is the finest game in the history of pinball will inevitably have it for sale 3 months later with 48 plays.

#10 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Levi wasn't being serious. Each member can only submit one rating per game.
I don't know why the rating suddenly jumped up to #1, then dove back down to #50. But, that phenomenon sometimes happens with a new game release and a bunch of people all review it. Or, when a bunch of people see it at a large event and review it. And based on what's happening on the reviews page, it is highly contested with fans of the game offering their input, and people who aren't fans of the game offering theirs.
https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/pinball-brothers-alien-limited/ratings
All the way at the bottom of the ratings page, there is a history chart for the game's rankings.
[quoted image]
In any case, it seems that it was some sort of fluke that it temporarily jumped up to #1.

If you get banned do your reviews disappear?

18
#11 1 year ago

Op, are you new here?

* Looks at join date *

Oh wait, you ARE new here. When a game gets released, everyone that bought one ranks it as if it is the greatest game ever made. It goes to number one. Then weeks later it chills out. Happens literally every single time.

#12 1 year ago
Quoted from Doctor6:

Op, are you new here?
* Looks at join date *
Oh wait, you ARE new here. When a game gets released, everyone that bought one ranks it as if it is the greatest game ever made. It goes to number one. Then weeks later it chills out. Happens literally every single time.

This is pretty much it. If you think about how many games have been released that the top 100 could encapsulate, even #50 is pretty damn good! The Top 100 is still just people's opinions, it's a *general* idea of which games have stood the test of time

#13 1 year ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

If you get banned do your reviews disappear?

I'm not certain, but if they do, a single review wouldn't be enough to swing a game rating much.

[edit]: It looks like lamberger's reviews were set to private, so they wouldn't have been included in the top100 ratings anyway.

#14 1 year ago
Quoted from Doctor6:

Op, are you new here?
* Looks at join date *
Oh wait, you ARE new here. When a game gets released, everyone that bought one ranks it as if it is the greatest game ever made. It goes to number one. Then weeks later it chills out. Happens literally every single time.

Lol yes brand new and fresh into the hobby. Got an ALP vpin going with VPX and all that but stoked to get my first real Pin in 2023 with any luck. Then I can express how it is the best pin ever created.

#15 1 year ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Lamberger got banned which instantly made the game drop 50 spots.

Ahh did he? Thank god.

32
#16 1 year ago

For a brief, glorious moment in time I was the art director for the #1 pinball in the land.

alien-rating (resized).pngalien-rating (resized).png

Alas.

(Serious answer, people game the ratings. They shill a game up to the top, people get mad and give it crummy ratings to drive it back down. Or whatever, tbh I don't actually pay enough attention to understand the details. Please don't buy a game because it's X on the rating, it means literally nothing.)

#17 1 year ago

hate these posts ......

#18 1 year ago

Grown ass, fat middle age men arguing over who’s toy is better, priceless

Can’t hate it , you can’t buy entertainment like this in any pinball game

#19 1 year ago
Quoted from CrazyLevi:

Lamberger got banned which instantly made the game drop 50 spots.
Without his constant shilling they may never sell another one.

Who is this dude Hamburger?

#20 1 year ago
Quoted from Sako-TRG:

Who is this dude Hamburger?

Hmm....xenoburgers with acid sauce. Tasty!

#21 1 year ago
Quoted from LastCall420:

Grown ass, fat middle age men arguing over who’s toy is better, priceless
Can’t hate it , you can’t buy entertainment like this in any pinball game

Worth noting: the ratings are not real time, they update weekly. One more reason a big swing on a new game is unsurprising. I will say I think it's odd pinside bothers with this rating system but apparently doesn't factor in number of ratings, or anything other than raw scores. Alien limited had 32 ratings last week, by a bunch of people who were excited it showed up recently no doubt. Pretty much everything else had a few 5-10 times that many ratings, filled with plenty of people who played a game once and got mad because whatever, or thought it was awesome because they'd been drinking. Which, you know, is balanced as pinball opinions go.

#22 1 year ago

Also @Kaball, two LVs have popped up this week totally reasonably priced if you're in the Midwest and want one now.

That was the interesting thing to me - Alien gets it's day in the sun and two games pop up that AREN'T priced to take someone for a ride. Is this still pinside?

#23 1 year ago

Doesn’t matter. It’s a great game

#24 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Levi wasn't being serious

Said everyone all of the time.

#25 1 year ago
Quoted from Ollulanus:

Worth noting: the ratings are not real time, they update weekly. One more reason a big swing on a new game is unsurprising. I will say I think it's odd pinside bothers with this rating system but apparently doesn't factor in number of ratings, or anything other than raw scores. Alien limited had 32 ratings last week, by a bunch of people who were excited it showed up recently no doubt. Pretty much everything else had a few 5-10 times that many ratings, filled with plenty of people who played a game once and got mad because whatever, or thought it was awesome because they'd been drinking. Which, you know, is balanced as pinball opinions go.

Nah, aliens been out for long time, it finally had 30 ratings which qualifies it for the rating, zillafans lost their mind and gave it a bunch of $hitty ratings and it dropped lol, next up is toy story 4 CE lol, its 19 now and lots of high ratings haha, crush it now before it gets there all good never base what you like off of the heard, find what you enjoy and no need to convince others else wise, it’s just a game enjoy and play

#26 1 year ago

Yeah ratings on Pinside…lol
Couple of chaps from UK forum bought Alien LVs..
First few months saying it was best pin ever.
Both now quickly sold on…
No room at the Inn apparently for incomings pins …lol

-1
#27 1 year ago
Quoted from Kabball:

I have been tempted to put a deposit on the new Pinball Brothers Alien for weeks and then I see that the LV version takes over number 1 spot on the pinside 100. I thought well that is enough to tip the scales and I put the deposit down on the LV. Then like a few days later I see it has dropped down to #50?
So what happened here did mods remove a bunch of reviews because it was being boosted? I do not regret my preorder as the theme is next level for me and it seems like still a very good game but I wonder why the drop to 250 cc

If anyone thinks this is a real post.... well, I hate to break it to ya... but there are these things called trolls.

#28 1 year ago

OP, since you are a newbie, I'll cut you some slack. Your question comes up on a regular basis. What you need to realize is that the Pinside Top 100 is a crowd sourced accumulation of rated games, that is stack ranked based on those ratings. The ratings are from all kinds of people, with all kinds of pinball experience, and both owners and non-owners of the games rank them.

IMO, the list is useful when you don't know much about pinball titles and need somewhere to start to see what's popular. From here, based on your interests you can pick a few games and start researching them (e.g. going to a game specific thread and reading the posts) and hunting them out in the wild to play (e.g. arcades, pinball events, etc.)

The list typically features new releases at the top, but there are also some great classics with staying power. If you like a game that's not high on the list, who gives a rip? If you like it then stop worrying about what others think. Conversely, if you only prefer games that are highly ranked, then you will find that others don't give a rip. Ultimately, the Top 100 is just a fun way to present popularity and likability of games in general.

#29 1 year ago

New mode coming: kick Jonesy up the arse

#30 1 year ago

I got the feeling from the Alien LV reviews that put it at #1 that they were legit. Folks were genuinely hyped about that game as they unboxed and played them. The TS4 CE reviews are mostly stealth ads from flippers who have NIBs to move at 15k, they all contain phrases nudging you to buy yours today, your family will love it, etc. Those reviews irritate the most, because the most obvious thing in the pinball world is that TS4 is way overpriced, considering its lazy anti-toy layout and its for-kids wizard mode.

Quoted from LastCall420:

...next up is toy story 4 CE lol, its 19 now and lots of high ratings haha, crush it now before it gets there

#31 1 year ago

Play before you pay or you might be left holding the bag, don’t buy off of a list, just cause something is rated high doesn’t mean it’s for everyone, look at if the theme if it connects to you, if you don’t connect with the theme highly unlikely you connect with the game, how does it shoot, if you like easy, look for simple shot pinball game, there are different levels of a game, if you suck at the game you probably won’t like it, maybe start off with an easy shooter, some pins are simple to progress others take time and more skill. Always remember it’s what you want from the game, not what someone else wants out of the game, it will create a whole different experience playing.

#32 1 year ago

omg, another Pinside 100 topic.

#33 1 year ago
Quoted from m00nmuppet:

I got the feeling from the Alien LV reviews that put it at #1 that they were legit. Folks were genuinely hyped about that game as they unboxed and played them. The TS4 CE reviews are mostly stealth ads from flippers who have NIBs to move at 15k, they all contain phrases nudging you to buy yours today, your family will love it, etc. Those reviews irritate the most, because the most obvious thing in the pinball world is that TS4 is way overpriced, considering its lazy anti-toy layout and its for-kids wizard mode.

Perhaps not fraudulent, but legit is debatable. A review written during the hype phase with a dash of “I have to convince myself that 9K spent on a toy is justified” bias and you have highly skewed results.

But thanks to the OP for the timely example of why the Top 100 is a joke.

#34 1 year ago

Lots of people posting here saying the Top 100 is a joke and not to pay attention to it, yet they themselves have rated a number of games

#35 1 year ago
Quoted from Mattyk:

Lots of people posting here saying the Top 100 is a joke and not to pay attention to it, yet they themselves have rated a number of games

Not me.
pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png

I mean, most people learned in their teens that top 100 lists were worthless.

#36 1 year ago
Quoted from Ollulanus:

Also @Kaball, two LVs have popped up this week totally reasonably priced if you're in the Midwest and want one now.
That was the interesting thing to me - Alien gets it's day in the sun and two games pop up that AREN'T priced to take someone for a ride. Is this still pinside?

I wish - North Vancouver BC - going through Nitro Pinball as the dealer

#37 1 year ago
Quoted from NC_Pin:

If anyone thinks this is a real post.... well, I hate to break it to ya... but there are these things called trolls.

Boy this is a good introduction to pinside lol. I can assure you this is real attached image of the deposit I put down. Not sure how this would be a troll comment but more time on pinside might make that clear.

deposit (resized).jpgdeposit (resized).jpg
#38 1 year ago
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:

OP, since you are a newbie, I'll cut you some slack. Your question comes up on a regular basis. What you need to realize is that the Pinside Top 100 is a crowd sourced accumulation of rated games, that is stack ranked based on those ratings. The ratings are from all kinds of people, with all kinds of pinball experience, and both owners and non-owners of the games rank them.
IMO, the list is useful when you don't know much about pinball titles and need somewhere to start to see what's popular. From here, based on your interests you can pick a few games and start researching them (e.g. going to a game specific thread and reading the posts) and hunting them out in the wild to play (e.g. arcades, pinball events, etc.)
The list typically features new releases at the top, but there are also some great classics with staying power. If you like a game that's not high on the list, who gives a rip? If you like it then stop worrying about what others think. Conversely, if you only prefer games that are highly ranked, then you will find that others don't give a rip. Ultimately, the Top 100 is just a fun way to present popularity and likability of games in general.

Thanks - yah I am learning quickly.

#39 1 year ago
Quoted from Mattyk:

Lots of people posting here saying the Top 100 is a joke and not to pay attention to it, yet they themselves have rated a number of games

I enjoy reading the reviews and can get useful information while discarding disingenuous material.

It is the way the ratings and rankings are handled that I disagree with.

Also, FWIW, I recognize my own bias and for that reason I will not review a machine at the time that I own it.

#40 1 year ago

It previewed at #1 and that made some people angry, so they added their own negative reviews to "balance it out". If Alien previewed at #15-20 or so, I bet people would have ignored it and it wouldn't have taken such a nose dive. I own the game and love it. It definitely deserves praise. So many mechs, great sound, fun rules, gr.... meh, just read my review if you want to see what I think about it. lol

I can understand if people don't want it to be #1 considering the history of the company and all the problems and issues it used to have, but it's fantastic now. I think Godzilla is indeed better so with that logic alone Alien shouldn't be #1, but it's definitely higher than 50 imo.

If you like it, buy it. You won't regret it It's hard to get more in a pin for 8.6k than Alien!

#41 1 year ago
Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

It previewed at #1 and that made some people angry, so they added their own negative reviews to "balance it out". If Alien previewed at #15-20 or so, I bet people would have ignored it and it wouldn't have taken such a nose dive. I own the game and love it. It definitely deserves praise. So many mechs, great sound, fun rules, gr.... meh, just read my review if you want to see what I think about it. lol
I can understand if people don't want it to be #1 considering the history of the company and all the problems and issues it used to have, but it's fantastic now. I think Godzilla is indeed better so with that logic alone Alien shouldn't be #1, but it's definitely higher than 50 imo.
If you like it, buy it. You won't regret it It's hard to get more in a pin for 8.6k than Alien!

Yah makes the LV seem overpriced for sure. Full 2K USD more at 10,695 and unlike the Stern games there doesn't seem to be any different play aspects and more advanced toys? Just bling like open eggs and the side blades etc etc. Just bling for 2K more. I would be happy to be wrong and corrected on that.

#42 1 year ago
Quoted from Kabball:

I have been tempted to put a deposit on the new Pinball Brothers Alien for weeks and then I see that the LV version takes over number 1 spot on the pinside 100. I thought well that is enough to tip the scales and I put the deposit down on the LV. Then like a few days later I see it has dropped down to #50?
So what happened here did mods remove a bunch of reviews because it was being boosted? I do not regret my preorder as the theme is next level for me and it seems like still a very good game but I wonder why the drop to 250 cc

Because some petty Pinside Godzilla owners/Stern fanboys couldn't handle their game not being the top dog for one week and felt they had to take a crap on Alien by bombarding it with poor reviews to drag the rating back down. I say as this as an owner of both a Godzilla Premium and Alien SV.

You need to play Alien and decide if you like it or not. I personally love the theme and game. Godzilla is obviously a very good game as well but if one had to go, it would be Godzilla without a second thought.

I'm sure many will disagree which is fine. Everyone has their preferences and opinions. Within the top 50 or so, it really comes down to what you personally like and connect with.

#43 1 year ago
Quoted from NC_Pin:

If anyone thinks this is a real post.... well, I hate to break it to ya... but there are these things called trolls.

Quoted from Kabball:

Boy this is a good introduction to pinside lol. I can assure you this is real attached image of the deposit I put down. Not sure how this would be a troll comment but more time on pinside might make that clear.
[quoted image]

That comment wasn't aimed at you. It was referring to a couple other posts.

#44 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

Levi wasn't being serious. Each member can only submit one rating per game.
I don't know why the rating suddenly jumped up to #1, then dove back down to #50. But, that phenomenon sometimes happens with a new game release and a bunch of people all review it. Or, when a bunch of people see it at a large event and review it. And based on what's happening on the reviews page, it is highly contested with fans of the game offering their input, and people who aren't fans of the game offering theirs.
https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/pinball-brothers-alien-limited/ratings
All the way at the bottom of the ratings page, there is a history chart for the game's rankings.
[quoted image]
In any case, it seems that it was some sort of fluke that it temporarily jumped up to #1.

The fluke was when it did jump to #1, a bunch of Godzilla owners, half of whom have likely never played it more than one time, jumped in with reviews to drive its rating back down. Heaven forbid a non Stern or JJP game ever reside in the all knowing Pinside top 10.

15
#45 1 year ago
Quoted from Kabball:

I see that the LV version takes over number 1 spot on the pinside 100. I thought well that is enough to tip the scales and I put the deposit down on the LV. Then like a few days later I see it has dropped down to #50?
So what happened here did mods remove a bunch of reviews because it was being boosted?

Summarizing all the comments:

1) Alien LV owners rated the game honestly (or as honestly as anything involving the rating system). Ratings accumulated slowly, because the machines are rolling out slowly, and only some people rate games.

2) Eventually it got 30 ratings, the minimum required to appear on the Top 100 list, and debuted at #1 last week.

3) Fans of other games got angry that Alien was #1, and suddenly remembered that they felt Alien was the worst game they had ever played (even if they never played it), and it was important to them to express that in a rating.

4) Alien dropped in the ratings the following week, so the fans of other games are happy again.

Fin.

#46 1 year ago
Quoted from Utesichiban:

The fluke was when it did jump to #1, a bunch of Godzilla owners, half of whom have likely never played it more than one time, jumped in with reviews to drive its rating back down. Heaven forbid a non Stern or JJP game ever reside in the all knowing Pinside top 10.

I played the standard version a few times last year. I don't think it's necessary an envy thing that it got knocked out of the #1 spot. I just don't think it beats out all the other titles that have ever been made. A spot lower down the list seems reasonable for what it is.

Like others have said, new releases always shoot up the rankings first because it's fans interested in the game that usually get their hands on it first. Then usually everyone else has a chance to play it later after it's been out a while and makes the rounds at shows and locations.

It was kind of fun to see the excitement over hitting #1 for a short time, though.

#47 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

I played the standard version a few times last year. I don't think it's necessary an envy thing that it got knocked out of the #1 spot. I just don't think it beats out all the other titles that have ever been made. A spot lower down the list seems reasonable for what it is.
Like others have said, new releases always shoot up the rankings first because it's fans interested in the game that usually get their hands on it first. Then usually everyone else has a chance to play it later after it's been out a while and makes the rounds at shows and locations.
It was kind of fun to see the excitement over hitting #1 for a short time, though.

Alien isn't a new release. You are entitled to your opinion but so are the rest of us.

Do I think Alien is the GOAT and #1? Probably not but that isn't the point. There are plenty of games like you said that enter highly ranked and settle in over time. No game should go from #1 to #50 in one week, though unless there is some significant BS and review manipulation taking place. That is exactly what occured and it is a bad look for Pinside and the current ratings system.

#48 1 year ago
Quoted from ForceFlow:

That comment wasn't aimed at you. It was referring to a couple other posts.

Actually… it was aimed at him!

I just find it at a stretch that anyone would base their purchasing decision based on a game popping up as #1 on pinside. It just seems like a tee’d up
Troll thread.

It looks like I could be legit- my apologies if that isn’t the case

#49 1 year ago
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:

If you like a game that's not high on the list, who gives a rip? If you like it then stop worrying about what others think. Conversely, if you only prefer games that are highly ranked, then you will find that others don't give a rip.

I play TF out of my Harlem Globetrotters, and it is like, what....#178? I play it more than my JP Pro which is #4 on the top 100!

Yeah, that's right, I said it!!!!

#50 1 year ago
Quoted from Utesichiban:

Alien isn't a new release.

Ok, not brand new, but still newish.

I haven't seen a limited version yet. Sometimes it takes a while for some titles/editions to get out into the world.

Quoted from Utesichiban:

No game should go from #1 to #50 in one week, though

Other titles have shifted positions fairly significantly before. The leap to #1 is just very unusual. I guess all we can do is speculate about what caused it.

Quoted from Utesichiban:

unless there is some significant BS and review manipulation taking place. That is exactly what occured and it is a bad look for Pinside and the current ratings system.

Eh, I don't think so. Ratings usually settle down in the end. The top100 list is a living list, after all. Things jump around. Jump up, jump up and get down.

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