We keep on looking for ways to improve GamingTrend (You may notice a few new things around the site right now, even!), and we've been working on this for quite a while! Introducing the new GamingTrend Editor's Choice Award:
GamingTrend’s Editor’s Choice Award is given to only what we consider to be the best of the best. This is the highest endorsement we give for a game, product, or service at GamingTrend, and while we still feel that our scoring system is sufficient in most cases, we wanted to recognize products and services that demanded more attention than a number or critique could afford alone.
What is GamingTrend’s Editor’s Choice Award?
The GamingTrend Editor’s Choice Award badge is the highest honor we can give a product or service, symbolizing over twenty years of thoughtful critique and the expertise and knowledge brought to bear by our staff and management team. When you see this badge, it means we think this is not only worth your time and money, we’d stake our reputation on it. Think of it as a sign of trust.
How can my product or service get a GamingTrend Editor’s Choice Award?
Qualification for an Editor’s Choice Award is not automatic. While many winners will likely be scored highly in our reviews, we will not be handing these out based on that number. When one of our editors nominates a product or service for the award, here’s what we look for:
- Availability- A reader/viewer must be able to purchase or subscribe to the product now, not some determined or undetermined date in the future. You will not find a product or service currently engaged in a crowdfunding campaign with this badge (at least not yet).
- Value- The product or service must exceed the performance or quality that is implied by its cost
- Ethics- The product or service must comply with our ethics & guidelines and not use exploitative technologies such as generative AI, or employ practices that take advantage of the user.
- Adoption- The product or service must be one that we actually use or play ourselves, one that we recommend to our friends and family. If it truly best in class it is something we would recommend regardless of any coverage we might have given it.
What kind of products and services are eligible for a GamingTrend Editor’s Choice Award?
Pretty much anything we review can be given this award, including but not limited to:
- Video Games
- Tabletop Games
- Television/Movies
- Hobby Minatures and Supplies
- Comics & Manga
- Tech & Gear
- Books, 3D Printers, Vinyl records,… you name it! If we review it, it can get this award.
Also, we feel we should note, companies or publishers can not campaign for their product or service to win this award, these are handed out strictly via senior editorial decision-making. Any attempt to influence that decision will be met harshly.
We reserve the right to award or rescind this badge as we see fit.
In the event that a product or service has changed, or if we discover that our evaluation missed something that would otherwise disqualify it from consideration, we reserve the right to rescind the award, based on a senior editorial vote (same as when we award it). Some examples of why we might rescind an award include:
- Discovery of unannounced use of generative AI or other exploitative technologies that were not readily apparent during our intitial evaluation.
- Agressive anti-consumer behavior from the publisher or company that relate to the product.
- Serious technical issues that were not readily apparent during our intitial evaluation.
Ultimately, we hope this never happens, but if it does, be assured that we will not only remove the badge, but publicly state our decision and reasoning on social media channels and the site itself.
Look for the badge.
Think of the GamingTrend Editor’s Choice Award as a symbol of how seriously we take the trust of our audience. This badge is a shortcut for you to cut through the hundreds of products and services we review every year and discover what has earned our highest recommendation, what we think is most worth your time and money.
