Last week I posted some numbers on the Xbox Live Indie Game ratings scandal. Since then little has changed. Microsoft has only issued a tweet that "top men" are on the case with no follow up as of yet, and the ratings continue to show signs of manipulation. If you want the drama, I recommend reading the Armless Octopus article on Crosse Studio considering legal action against Zeboyd Games. Yes gents, we've gone plaid. While the claims of legal action are entertaining, I'm more curious by what story the numbers tell.
Because news sties like Joystiq and IGN Bloggers cannot manage to research before posting, (hat tip to The Consumerist for updating their story after I emailed them) here are the key points:
This mess started after A "How to Vote" video was posted for Lacrosse Facebook fans that didn't have an Xbox
A mass of votes came into the XBLIG channel that not only boosted Lacrosse games, but down voted other games
There is no security on Xbox.com ratings by Microsoft - this is over looked in the gaming "press" covering the story. You do not need to download the game, own an Xbox, or even create an Xbox Live account with a valid email to rate games. You can simply go to xbox.com, make up a fake account, and rate.
The rating of a game isn't as important as it's position on the Top Rated list. Falling down or gaining a few spots in the top 20 best rated games has a significant impact on sales. It will take far less ratings to manipulate the Top Rated list order than it will to change the visible game rating.
The only thing to prevent a rating bot is one captcha - the same one Microsoft uses for sites like Hotmail.com. If you can fool the captcha, automating a ratings bot is simple. I'll leave it up to others to judge how strong this captcha is.
Nice job M$
Sabre (Julian) 92.5% Stock 04 STI
Good choice putting $4,000 rims on your 1990 Honda Civic. That's like Betty White going out and getting her tits done.
