The logical fallacy of calling something overrated
When it comes to games, there is an argument to be made that they can be overrated because of Metacritic. It's a tenuous argument at best because games are subjective works of art and cannot be reduced to numbers.
When it comes to game-consoles like Wii U, however, there is no argument. Consoles cannot be overrated because they are not assessed empirical grades. The only way to grade a console would be at the end of its lifespan, and no one really does it. How can one say Wii U is overrated when there is no database of ratings for it? People who say such things are going by what they feel is the general consensus based upon their anecdotal scouring of the internet, but of course that is a highly undisciplined, limited, and biased way of collecting data.
The only empirical grade a console can have is its lifetime sales. Thus, Wii U, selling terribly, cannot be overrated, since it sold at a slower pace than the Dreamcast. The only thing one could argue is that its games are overrated, which is not true, either. Sure, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival was a terrible game, but no one gave it a high rating, so it wasn't overrated versus Animal Crossing: City Folk.
What are actual, logical examples of something being legitimately overrated? It's when actual numbers exist that are not subject to subjectivity. One example I can posit is benchmarks for video-cards. Let's say that someone ran some benchmarks and got some numbers. If he or she mistyped a number or two that made it higher than it actually was, then those initial benchmarks would have "overrated" the video-card.
When it comes to game-consoles like Wii U, however, there is no argument. Consoles cannot be overrated because they are not assessed empirical grades. The only way to grade a console would be at the end of its lifespan, and no one really does it. How can one say Wii U is overrated when there is no database of ratings for it? People who say such things are going by what they feel is the general consensus based upon their anecdotal scouring of the internet, but of course that is a highly undisciplined, limited, and biased way of collecting data.
The only empirical grade a console can have is its lifetime sales. Thus, Wii U, selling terribly, cannot be overrated, since it sold at a slower pace than the Dreamcast. The only thing one could argue is that its games are overrated, which is not true, either. Sure, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival was a terrible game, but no one gave it a high rating, so it wasn't overrated versus Animal Crossing: City Folk.
What are actual, logical examples of something being legitimately overrated? It's when actual numbers exist that are not subject to subjectivity. One example I can posit is benchmarks for video-cards. Let's say that someone ran some benchmarks and got some numbers. If he or she mistyped a number or two that made it higher than it actually was, then those initial benchmarks would have "overrated" the video-card.
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