If you compare the ratings and reviews of the Windows Store application with store listings on Microsoft’s Store website, you may notice that they are not identical.
Windows 10 users have two major ways to look up application information. They can open the Windows Store app on Windows 10 directly, or open the Microsoft website instead which offers listings for all items as well.
While you cannot install an app or game from the Microsoft Store website, you can look them up without having to use the Store app.
A reasonable assumption would be that the app and the site display the same data. This is indeed the case, but the default listings don’t reflect that.
Take any reasonably popular game or application and compare the Windows Store app data to that displayed on the Microsoft Store website. You may notice that the rating is not identical, and that the number of reviews and user ratings may differ significantly.
Take the recently released Asphalt Xtreme game as an example. The overall rating is identical, but if you look at the total number of ratings, you will notice that the Store app lists 1260 while the website 1607.
User reviews are not identical either, as the Store website features more reviews than the app.
If you look closer, you will notice that the Windows Store app uses different filters than the Microsoft Store. Microsoft Store uses the broadest range of filters to display ratings, reviews and the score of the app or game.
This means that it displays accumulated ratings and reviews for all versions on all platforms.
The Windows Store application on the other hand displays ratings for the “current version” and “PCs” only.
You can switch the listing to all devices and all versions to get the same number of reviews and user comments as the Store version. The rating is also identical if you do that.
It makes sense to display only PC ratings if you open Windows Store on the PC, as mobile ratings and reviews may differ slightly or even significantly.
It can still be confusing if you stumble upon these differences by accident and if you don’t notice the filters that the app and Store display next to the rating module. (This article was inspired by this Deskmodder’s article)
Now You: Do you use Windows Store at all?