It's been fixed. Game variants should now display the same rating as other variants of the same game.
I'm not so sure that's a good idea if I'm interpreting this right. So a Collector's edition that has say an extra disc worth of content plus bonuses etc etc, or a revised edition of a game with added content, levels, characters, gameplay etc etc automatically gets the same rating as a regular version or vice versa?
Mass Effect Limited Collector's Edition for example gets an extra 5% on my vote because it:
* Comes in a tin case with exterior artwork.
* Includes an artbook of concept art as well as a fictional handbook called "Galactic Codex: Essentials" which functions as a reference for the various alien species.
* Has a second DVD with gamerpics, dashboard themes, 10 songs from the Mass Effect soundtrack as well as documentaries.
* Also includes a leaflet advertising Battlestar Galactica the TV series season 4.
So the regular version which I don't own and didn't rate gets bumped up in score even though it has none of those extras and would've gotten a lower score had I owned it? Doesn't seem right to me at all. Or am I interpreting this wrong?
If I am right in my assumption that this is how it works now, I can name you over a dozen variations just in my own collection that scored higher because of their differences that would make for misleading ratings on others. I could name you others in Greatest hits/Platinum hits form that would score higher because they are updated/patched versions which run better and play better than their original releases, those would also make for misleading ratings.
Maybe I'm alone in this but I treat every game as individual as far as ratings. If there are major differences I recognize and take them into account where applicable.