EA comments on Dungeon Keeper's attempts to guide Google Play ratings

On top of the regular complaints and discussion about the allegedly overly greedy nature of the mobile F2P version of Dungeon Keeper's monetization methods, an apparently more subversive issue with the game has been spotted on the Android edition. When prompted to rate the game, it asks if you intend to give 5 stars or 1-4 stars; choosing the former takes you to the Google Play page, and choosing the latter takes you to a feedback form. EA has commented on today's outcry about this mechanic.

“We're always looking at new ways to gather player feedback so that we can continue to improve our games. The 'rate this app' feature in the Google Play version of Dungeon Keeper was designed to help us collect valuable feedback from players who don't feel the game is worth a top rating," a spokesperson told Eurogamer. "We wanted to make it easier for more players to send us feedback directly from the game if they weren't having the best experience. Players can always continue to leave any rating they want on the Google Play Store.”

That last bit is true, if still tricky. If you say you're going to give it five stars it takes you to the Play Store but still must actually rate it after getting there. And of course the game itself can't stop you from visiting its page in the Play Store whenever you want. Even so, it's likely a large number of mobile players only rate games when prompted, which is why you see those prompts early on in most mobile games. It's definitely a devilish tactic, but admittedly clever.