Tim brought up an interesting point regarding Bit-tech's value scores - they are based on UK prices and availability. As a UK oriented publication, it is a fully justified benchmark for value, and it shouldn't be disputed. But, is there a better way of judging relative value with other readers in mind? Is it even worth the effort? I honestly have no idea. Price/performance graphs for different nations and markets might be an interesting feature to ponder, but again, I can't say if it would be worth the effort. Still, it's food for thought.
Hey Roto, Thanks for bringing this to a separate discussion because a think it's a valid one like you say. However, it's a difficult one to put into practice - we can't really give a product many different scores based on region as I feel it would impact the definitiveness of the review. That maybe sounds strange, but if we start to devalue the overall score we give by giving many overall scores, it's unlikely to have a positive effect - manufacturers will start to just use the highest score in their marketing material and what happens if a product scores an 8/10 in the UK and a 9/10 in the US? Do we give it a recommended, or do we opt against it? How do we define a recommended award on a regional basis without manufacturers abusing it? They're just a few of the difficult questions we'd have to answer without adding complications, which is why we're sticking to the one region when it comes to scoring in reviews. However, the beauty is that our monthly buyer's guides potentially carry more weight than the reviews themselves, because they are the best products to buy in any given month - and we focus on both the UK and US in that situation. Prices change over time and, in the case of graphics cards, drivers get more mature so a product can become much more attractive when it hits that inflection point where performance and price equal awesome value for money. I hope this helps to explain why we don't really go into as much detail on US pricing in the actual reviews themselves. The other reason is that our contacts at US retailers aren't quite as deep, so it's more difficult to get a heads up on pricing ahead of a launch.
