Cliff Bleszinski - or Cliffy B as the internet still refers to him despite his wishes- recently wrote a blog post about the damage that focus groups can do to games. Focus groups are a bunch of individuals within a targeted demographic chosen to try work-in-progress content and offer their criticism for the sake of polish and accessibility.
In Cliff's expletive-filled Tumblr post post entitled "Coming out of Focus", the former Epic Games developer called the use of focus groups "flawed".
"It was only after I've had the last year+ to reflect on the experience to realize that focus groups, when not used properly, are fundamentally a flawed way of looking at your game," Bleszinski said in regards to his experience with focus groups in the past, Microsoft's included.
"Put simply: The party performing the focus group has asked these folks to come in and play the game. They already feel special, like VIPs, almost, entitled. "They want MY opinion? Wow, well then, I must be pretty darned cool!" They then sit down and play the game. Here's the problem, though.
"They don't really play it," he wrote.
Bleszinski then talks about the Gears of War series and how focus groups had a negative effect on the games. He writes that criticism calling the latter Gears of War titles "too linear", "too easy", and "too hand holding with tutorials and puzzles" are valid. In reference to watching focus group members getting lost in "simple" maps, Bleszinski points the finger at the culture of focus group members and how they lack the drive and commitment to really work hard on a game, because they've not invested actual money into it.
"Their hearts aren't in it. The first sign of something being a little tricky or confusing and they stop and write it down or it's noted. It'd be as if someone who hadn't run much in their life suddenly decided to go for a jog and found out it was too hard and was then denied the satisfaction of a completed run.
People behave differently when they know they're being watched. And, while data is good to a point, when you play too much to the data the tail winds up wagging the dog and you get watered down mushiness," he said.
Cliff Bleszinski parted from Epic Games in October, 2012 after 20 years of employment at the company. Since his departure, he has not signed on with any new studios. His next game has been announced as an arena FPS.
I can agree with Bleszinski on his point that some games are just too easy. Someone chosen to critique a game under pressure or a lack of real investment to a product can most definitely lead to premature complaints, complaints that may be taken too seriously, ultimately watering down a game's difficulty. With an increased desire by publishers to appeal to as many people as possible, the watering down of games is a concern that many - myself included - share.