http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2009/07/bobbuilds.jpg
Or, you know, any other review outlet for that matter. That’s a criminally oversimplified version of the point that John Davison is making over at What They Play today. Davison says that, by-and-large, review sites aren’t giving a fair shake to kids’ games. Which is just as well, because parents aren’t really reading them, relying instead on consumer reviews like those found at Amazon.com.
I wouldn't expect parents to go to sites like ign, gamespot, joystiq etc unless they're also gamers. I don't remember reading any of their reviews that say anything about how suitable a game would be for children. When deciding to buy a game for a child, a parent wouldn't want to read a page. User reviews are just fine for their needs.
Re: Parents don't read Joystiq
I agree..
user reviews tell you more about the game then professional reviews .
That's right. I'd say the professional reviews are for more hardcore gamers, the ones who have a lot more experience with games. Many times, other games in the same genre and/or other games in the series are also taken into consideration when rating any given game. These things would be irrelevant to parents and would have a less significant effect for the children they're buying the games for. The one situation where I would see this being useful is if they recommend you an older (and therefore less expensive ) game than a new one you're considering. Then you would get similar if not identical gameplay for a fraction of the cost.