Meme War Erupts Over Clair Obscur’s Metacritic Score
▼ Summary
– A meme-driven campaign on Reddit is attempting to make the 2008 Nintendo DS game *Cory in the House* the top user-rated game on Metacritic, challenging the current leader, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*.
– The campaign has led to a massive influx of user ratings for *Cory in the House*, with its count jumping from roughly 2,400 to over 4,600 in a short period.
– This online activity has caused the price of secondhand physical copies of *Cory in the House* to skyrocket, with reported increases of over 3000% and some auctions reaching hundreds of dollars.
– The effort appears to focus more on “reverse review-bombing” (positively rating *Cory in the House*) rather than negatively targeting the current top game.
– The situation remains fluid, with prices and Metacritic rankings continuing to change as the meme campaign progresses.
A bizarre online rivalry has captured the gaming community’s attention, pitting a recent Game of the Year contender against a cult-classic Nintendo DS title in a battle for supremacy on Metacritic’s user ratings. This digital contest has spilled over into the real world, creating a surprising and lucrative secondary market for a nearly two-decade-old Disney game.
What began as a seemingly spontaneous Reddit campaign has evolved into a full-blown internet phenomenon. The goal is straightforward: elevate the 2008 game Cory in the House to the number one spot on Metacritic’s user-rated list, toppling the current champion, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. When observers first noted the trend, the race was incredibly tight, with scores separated by mere tenths of a point. The meme appeared dangerously close to becoming a legitimate reality.
The current standings show a fascinating stalemate. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 maintains its 9.5 rating, while Cory in the House has settled back at 9.3. The real story, however, lies in the sheer volume of new engagement. The number of user ratings for the DS game has nearly doubled in a very short period, jumping from around 2,400 to over 4,700 ratings and climbing by the minute. This indicates the effort is less about attacking the leading game and more about an enthusiastic, coordinated push to inflate the score of the underdog.
This online frenzy has triggered a tangible economic effect. Sealed physical copies of Cory in the House for the Nintendo DS are experiencing unprecedented demand, with their market value increasing exponentially on platforms like eBay. Industry watchers reported price surges exceeding 3000% over a two-week span. Recent sales have closed at several hundred dollars, a staggering sum for a game that was once a common bargain-bin find. While some speculative listings ask for over a thousand dollars, the active bidding on other copies demonstrates a very real, meme-driven market.
The situation remains fluid. All eyes are on the Metacritic leaderboard to see if the grassroots campaign will ultimately succeed in its royal coup. Should Cory in the House clinch the top position, it could potentially drive the collectible’s market price even higher. For now, the duel continues, proving once again that internet culture can have unpredictable and far-reaching consequences, even in the niche world of game collecting.
(Source: Kotaku)
