But it's got to be good hype ... otherwise, it could be your life. Or worse.
How do you sort out the good hype from the bad hype? Up until now, we would have said that your best bet would have been a forked stick and a good sherpa, but now, there is a better way. GameStats.com is the live internet directory to gaming information from across the globe that sorts out the facts from the publisher-spewed fiction on what's going on in the world of games. It's free, it's already full of stuff to check out, and it is live starting today.
The way the site works is simple to explain, and it's all based on that gauge up there to the right -- GameStats combines everything to know about a game, and tosses it up on a meter called the GPM, or Game Popularity Metric. That gauge is a combination of factors that add up to how much heat a game has earned and kept over the past days. When people flock to check it out on message boards or on the web, the gauge goes up; if nobody is buying it even though people seem to be interested, the gauge goes down. Even if a game is splashed all across billboards and magazines, you will know with one look whether all that attention is because of the game's goodness or the big-breasted hottie on the cover.
Need more? GameStats also compiles previews and reviews from across the web to let you know what the pros are thinking -- including everything on IGN as well as stuff from over 120 sites and magazines, with more added every day -- and also includes Reader Reviews to let you know what the people think. The Press Score and the Gamer Score is also combined into an Overall Reviews Score, so you can either buy on the faith of everybody's word of mouth, or else check out the individual ratings to see who you can trust.
GameStats is now active and live, and grows every day by your contributions. You can easily do your part to build up the site through the Automatic Submissions Box -- site operators can add their own work to put themselves on the board, while readers can post reviews from new magazines or obscure websites to keep everybody informed.
IGN is a big part of the new site: we contribute user wishlist and collection info as well as other activity trends to arrive at the best popularity data possible. We're also part of those tens of thousands of articles already up on GameStats, so we're betting that it all makes an impact in how you get into your games. The GameStats GPM will rise and fall all day long, so you're welcome to just stare at it when you don't feel like being informed. Otherwise, browse the site, make a contribution, and let us know what you think. Just don't deny the gauge -- like we said before, it could mean your life.
...Or worse.
Check out GameStats.com NOW!