Policy Update: Review Copies for Multi-Platform Releases.

At Indie Gamer Chick, we pay for every game we review. Even when we take a review copy because the game is not on the market yet and the only way to access it is by accepting a token, we still pay for the game when it is released. This feature has been extremely well received by both indie developers and gamers. I truly feel it’s one of the main reasons why this blog is so popular. It makes us stand out in a crowded field. When I offered to wave the policy for Miko and Indie Family Man, they turned it down. Why? Because it’s what makes this site unique.

However, now that so many indies are being released on multiple platforms, it’s becoming expensive to cover some games. The policy needs to be updated in a more reasonable way. So, if developers wants a review to include details on every platform a game is on, we’re going to start accepting review copies. We will still purchase the game on the platform the game costs the most on, or whatever platform we intend to primarily use for our play-through. For all other platforms, we’ll ask for review copies.

In the past, we only accepted review copies if it was the only way to access a game before it’s release, or if the game had online multiplayer. For online games, the review copy was given to a friend so that we would have someone to play against. That person had little to no feedback in the review. Under our new policy, we might need more than one code for some platforms.

Because of this new policy, we can introduce two new features to Indie Gamer Chick.

Multi-Platform Comparison: If we strongly prefer one version over another, a sidebar will be placed in the review that will explain why. It might be because one version runs smoother, or because we thought a particular system’s controller made a game play better. We’ll also compare the different online experiences. If there’s not a significant difference between the platforms, it will be noted during the wrap-up, under the game’s price-line.

Review Updates: As of this writing, IndieGamerChick.com has reviews for 524 games. 488 from me and 36 from members of Indie Gamer Team. Most of those games are now available on multiple platforms. If developers would like, we can update those reviews to include thoughts on the game on other platforms. We will need review copies for this. If you want us to update the old review, hit us up on Twitter: Indie Gamer Chick, Miko (we really need a name for her), and Indie Family Man. We won’t turn away any requests for a multi-platform update, and this will not count as a game’s Second Chance.

We’re coming up on the third anniversary of Indie Gamer Chick. We’ll be celebrating in multiple ways. We’ll be introducing Miko’s Leaderboard. I’ll be updating my Top 25 Xbox Live Indie Games of All-Time feature. I’ll be bringing in more writers. And finally, there will be another Indie Gamer Chick Bundle at Indie Royale. It’s been our pleasure to serve indie game developers and indie game fans with our no-holds-barred approached to reviewing, and we look forward to many more. Much love to the entire community, and thank you for your continued support. Game on!