Jeff Gerstmann fired over review...

[Peanut]

F*cking SAD! That's all I can say about the Gamespot higher-ups at this moment. Way to completely ruin all the credibility Gamespot had as one of the best places for game related content.

Destructoid (http://www.destructoid.com/rumor-gamespot-fires-editor-to-appease-eidos-w-r-hearst-rolls-in-grave-56683.phtml)
Kotaku (http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review-328244.php)

Even PA has already put up their comic about it...
http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2007/20071129.jpg

You know, I don't care whether you love or hate Jeff, the guy has been around for 10 years. He's reviewed almost every huge game to be released in that time span, and along with the likes of Greg Kasavin and Ryan MacDonald, made Gamespot the juggernaut it is today, and also one of the funnest and most reliable gaming sites on the internet. This is completely and utterly despicable. I feel sick.

[Mecha Cow]

So, this is actually real? I saw the comic but I thought it was a joke.

I don't like particularly like Gerstmann, but to fire him for doing his job is nothing short of retarded. What the f*ck, Gamespot.

[Peanut]

Yes, it's 100% confirmed at this point. There's pretty much calamity over in the Gamespot community. Some old editors have started some trouble, including one starting up a campaign to get as many people as possible to cancel their GS paid accounts. They're already nearing $4,000 worth of cancelled subscriptions.

On top of all this, apparently Tim Tracy, who was a main man behind almost every single Gamespot Live feature, has quit because of this.

[Cure]

Damn. That's f*cked up.

[Kendamu]

Fsck Gamespot. I'm not going there anymore.

[JameO]

Personally, when playing Kane and Lynch with a friend, the game's controls are rather terrible I feel, just doesn't work at all I feel, didn't really enjoy playing it, it wasn't that bad and sure I only played for like an hour or two, but still, Jeff Gerstmann is the man, I loved his humour and his need to get as many live achievements as he could. Good man, this blows, like Peanut said, Kasavin was the king as well, two great editors gone down the tube.

[ThirdMarioBro]

I've never been Jeff Gerstmann's biggest fan, but this is just downright crooked. Gamespot looses all respect from me both as a journalist and a reader if this is legit. This is a writer and reader's worst nightmare--to know that an editor gets the guillotine if their reviews and opinions don't fall in line with the ideals of the sponsors, especially when you're in a position of power such as Gamespot. This completely blows Gamespot's credibility straight to hell if its true. How can a reader expect their content to be objective and honest if they fire editors who don't kiss the collective asses of the sponsor of the week?

This is just more evidence that in the minds of publishers, game journalism is nothing but an extension of their PR firms. Problem is, behavior such as Gamespot's essentially makes us even more so their volunteer lackeys. If someone won't cave, publishers will just take their exclusive content to someone who will.

Credibility is hard earned, and easily lost. I hope this scandal gets a lot of attention from the core gamer-base, because the site deserves to burn. Seriously, you hear about this kind of stuff going on time and time again, but it never turns out to be real. This is big, and ugly.

[Brodie]

Yeah, this is nuts. I saw this earlier, and actually saw that video 2 weeks ago. Its down now, but on the tube of you.

I wonder how big this whole repercussion circus will go.

[Barkworm]

First I didn't believe that he got fired because of the review but then I noticed that Gamespot took down his video review for the game. Yeah.

As most of us I never really liked Gerstmann but this is pathetic. F*ck Gamespot.

[Dr. Doom]

Gamespot's been my site for alla this stuff since high school, so I'm obviously a bit confused about where to go from here. What they did is sort of unforgivable for a journalistic institution of any sort, but at the same time it's gonna be difficult for me to just up and start using something else that I'm unfamiliar with.

[Aelia]

Geez. What really gets me upset is that Eidos actually 'took issue' with the review. If they couldn't take a bad review, then they shouldn't have made a bad game. They were acting like immature jerks, and whats worse is that Gamespot actually gave into them. Total bullsh*t, says I.

[Mecha Cow]

Eidos took issue with it because their ads were plastered all over the website.

[Aelia]

Eidos took issue with it because their ads were plastered all over the website.

That still doesn't change the fact that they took the wrong course of action.

[Peanut]

Gamespot's been my site for alla this stuff since high school, so I'm obviously a bit confused about where to go from here. What they did is sort of unforgivable for a journalistic institution of any sort, but at the same time it's gonna be difficult for me to just up and start using something else that I'm unfamiliar with.

Same here. I was reading Gamespot back when it was Videogames.com, when Jeff and Ryan would make videos about which controller flew the furtherest. I don't know if I can just not visit Gamespot over this. I mean, over the past year and half 1up has made gigantic strides with their podcasts and interesting features, but their reviews and previews still pale in comparison, and come off as almost amateurish at times. I don't really know what to do, because IGN isn't, and never was, an option.

Eidos took issue with it because their ads were plastered all over the website.

That makes little difference. They had Hour of Victory ads all over their site, even had developers visiting On The Spot to show it off, and it was nailed to the wall with an even worse score, yet they didn't get into a fit about it. If you make a sh*t game, expect to pay the consequences.

[Mecha Cow]

I don't agree with it, I'm just clearing up why they had a problem with it.

[Peanut]

Destructoid f*cking rules!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/tmntrule/destructoid.jpg

[Aelia]

Destructoid f*cking rules!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/tmntrule/destructoid.jpg

:lol:

Thanks for posting that little bit. I needed the laugh.

[ThirdMarioBro]

Banner of the year. Easy win.

[Mecha Cow]

Apparently the 1up guys are protesting (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8786543&postcount=2871) against this.

[Peanut]

I wouldn't call it protesting, but showing their support for Jeff, which just shows yet again how f*cking solid all the Ziff guys are. 1up, Gamevideos, EGM & GFW. I will eat something not fit for consumption if Jeff doesn't end up over on 1up. It really is their chance to elevate themselves to new levels.

Anyways, I don't know how many people here actually watch/listen to the various Gamespot productions, but did anyone happen to see Tournament TV last night? The look on Kevin Van Ord's face almost killed me. That guy is usually just so full of smiles, but he looked like he was miserable. And the continued blog entries from (current and former) Gamespot employees are really telling about how everyone feels about this.

Brian Ekberg even made a blog post saying pretty much that he wanted to leave.

[Aelia]

I just talked with a friend of mine about this, a friend who is a diehard Zelda fanboy apparently. He says Gerstmann deserves it for giving Twilight Princess a 8.8.

[Peanut]

I just talked with a friend of mine about this, a friend who is a diehard Zelda fanboy apparently. He says Gerstmann deserves it for giving Twilight Princess a 8.8.

Well your friend is a worthless sh*t bag, to be perfectly honest.

[Aelia]

Well your friend is a worthless sh*t bag, to be perfectly honest.

Yeah. Just so we're clear, he's no longer a friend. Because I had the galls to agree with Gerstmann on TP. :roll:

[Peanut]

Then he's pretty damn pathetic.

[Aelia]

Then he's pretty damn pathetic.

Yeah, he was. I forgot why I was friends with him to begin with, but that's enough of that.

[Mecha Cow]

I'm also a 'diehard' Zelda fan, and I fully agree with Gerstmann's 8.8. The guy seems like an honest reviewer.

[Dr. Doom]

I, being the only person on this board who really appreciated Twilight Princess for everything it was, was kinda upset at the 8.8, simply because those two missing points would have given it Editor's Choice status. People have said Gamespot intentionally reviews things lower than other sites just to give themselves attention and that's always how the TP review sorta struck me. But then again I actually loved the game.

[Peanut]

8.8 was generous.

[Janus Prospero]

I just talked with a friend of mine about this, a friend who is a diehard Zelda fanboy apparently. He says Gerstmann deserves it for giving Twilight Princess a 8.8.

First of all, the score was an 8.9 (http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/thelegendofzelda/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review).

Second of all, your friend does realize that's out of 10 right?

I like how the reports on him getting canned talk about how the reason he was given was because of his "tone." So why wasn't his "tone" a problem for his past gazillion reviews? Hmmmm...hmmm...hmmm... :-?

[Mecha Cow]

The Wii version which was reviewed first got an 8.8.

[Dr. Doom]

If he'da given the GC version a 9.0, that'd be different from my perspective. One of the versions deserved at least a nine.

[Aelia]

First of all, the score was an 8.9 (http://www.gamespot.com/gamecube/action/thelegendofzelda/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review).

Second of all, your friend does realize that's out of 10 right?

I like how the reports on him getting canned talk about how the reason he was given was because of his "tone." So why wasn't his "tone" a problem for his past gazillion reviews? Hmmmm...hmmm...hmmm... :-?

Again, he was being a jerk and he is no longer my friend. Plus, The Wii version was given an 8.8 (http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/thelegendofzelda/review.html)

Still, it's not a bad score out of 10, so I don't really understand why he was so pissed off.

[Peanut]

If he'da given the GC version a 9.0, that'd be different from my perspective. One of the versions deserved at least a nine.

No. It didn't.

Edit: The script kiddies have been set loose. GameFAQs, which was bought by CNet something like two years ago, was the first victim.

http://i16.tinypic.com/6okcpp3.jpg

ROFL!

Edit: Edios forums get hosed. ROFL again!

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa240/cheet0bandit0/lolgamefaqs.jpg

[Janus Prospero]

The Wii version which was reviewed first got an 8.8.

Plus, The Wii version was given an 8.8 (http://www.gamespot.com/wii/action/thelegendofzelda/review.html)

Oops! My mistake then. Thanks for the correction.

Still, like you said I feel 8.8 is a good score.
I think so many people are jaded to this whole "Games must have a 9.0+ score to be considered any good," and that's just whack.


::Looks through the Eidos Messageboard pic::
Hmm... "Very good vagina of cousin?" I can only imagine...

[ThirdMarioBro]

That's true. Gamespot's review format is/was the standard others should try to emulate.

[Peanut]

What people don't seem to realize is that there's a whole set of other numbers below an 8, and the last time I checked, anything between a 6 and a 7 could be considered average, with anything above that considered good to excellent. I mean, a person has to be a complete and utter ASS to complain about the difference between an 8.8-8.9 and a 9. Seriously.

Aside from all that, meaningless scores aren't what this is about. At all. So if anyone else is going to bring up that worthless bullsh*t, just get the f*ck out.

[Barkworm]

What has the the TP review got to do with anything? For the record, it was one of Gerstmann's best reviews, end of story.

[Dr. Doom]

Aside from all that, meaningless scores aren't what this is about. At all. So if anyone else is going to bring up that worthless bullsh*t, just get the f*ck out.

You're the one gettin' all bothered over it, cheif. We can talk about whatever we want here, you're not the only one.

[Barkworm]

The point is, the Zelda review is completely irrelevant for this topic.

[Dr. Doom]

I dunno if I'd agree with that entirely. It was a review by Gerstmann, after all. I'm done with it, either way.

[Peanut]

I dunno if I'd agree with that entirely. It was a review by Gerstmann, after all. I'm done with it, either way.

Then it just shows how short-sighted you are. If you think that Jeff, or his reviews, are the big picture here, then you don't understand this at all.

[Aelia]

EDIT: Edios forums get hosed. ROFL again!

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa240/cheet0bandit0/lolgamefaqs.jpg

Wow, that's a lot of 'sucking.'

[Dr. Doom]

Then it just shows how short-sighted you are. If you think that Jeff, or his reviews, are the big picture here, then you don't understand this at all.

I understand the inevitable repercussions of the whole thing for video game journalism, but in the end it's still coming from Gerstmann and a review he did. That made what I said plenty relevant. Now shaddap and let us digress and move on.

[Peanut]

In case no one has been keeping up with the recent community rumblings, there have been a couple very active GS community members organizing some stuff, one of which was a mass spam attack on companies that hold ad space on Gamespot. The point would be to get across that all of these potential consumers would refuse to purchase any product advertised on the site, and continued on to tell them how bad Gamespot and Cnet's rep had become with the community. This began sometime last night, and if anyone bothered to visit Gamespot, they would have noticed the site was covered in ads for Mountain Dew. And not just the main page, but every page without any breaks.

Because of this, Pepsi was the first company to get bombarded by a cross community spam blitz. Everyone from people in the GS community, to NeoGAF and 1up banded together on this one. As of this morning, every single Mountain Dew ad had been pulled. Including ads on Gamespot's sister sites, such as MP3.com and GameFAQs.

An interesting development to say the least.

[Dr. Doom]

Very interesting indeed. I suppose it's a good sign.

[Janus Prospero]

In case no one has been keeping up with the recent community rumblings, there have been a couple very active GS community members organizing some stuff, one of which was a mass spam attack on companies that hold ad space on Gamespot. The point would be to get across that all of these potential consumers would refuse to purchase any product advertised on the site, and continued on to tell them how bad Gamespot and Cnet's rep had become with the community. This began sometime last night, and if anyone bothered to visit Gamespot, they would have noticed the site was covered in ads for Mountain Dew. And not just the main page, but every page without any breaks.

Because of this, Pepsi was the first company to get bombarded by a cross community spam blitz. Everyone from people in the GS community, to NeoGAF and 1up banded together on this one. As of this morning, every single Mountain Dew ad had been pulled. Including ads on Gamespot's sister sites, such as MP3.com and GameFAQs.

An interesting development to say the least.

Wow, that is interesting. I'm hoping this pans out and Gamespot loses more from this than what they otherwise would have lost from the K&L deal. IMHO this is what they deserve.

Thanks for keeping us posted.

[Kendamu]

"You Know You Have a Fanbase When..."
A book by Jeff Gerstmann


Would that be cool or what?

[Aelia]

"You Know You Have a Fanbase When..."
A book by Jeff Gerstmann


Would that be cool or what?

I smell a NY Times #1 bestseller!

[Peanut]

Unfortunately, a lot of Jeff's supporters aren't actually fans of his work. A good amount of them are actually people who are completely against what happened to him, and completely against the ethics of Josh Larson and CNet as a whole.

[Kendamu]

Okay, then. An alternate title:

IF I REVIEWED IT

[Peanut]

GameSpot, or more like the CNet higher-ups, have finally released some damage control for this whole thing. I got this from the GAF, because today is the blackout for all the people protesting CNet, and I refuse to visit their websites.

Gerstmann, GameSpot part ways
After nearly 11 years of news, reviews, and previews, editorial director's tenure ends; GameSpot editors address controversy surrounding his departure.


The past week marked the end of an era at GameSpot. After over a decade in a variety of editorial roles, Jeff Gerstmann's tenure as editorial director has ended.

"Jeff was a central figure in the creation and evolution of GameSpot, having written hundreds of previews and reviews, and anchoring much of our multimedia content," said Ricardo Torres, editorial director of previews and events. "The award-winning editorial team he leaves behind wish him nothing but good luck in his future endeavors."

Due to legal constraints and the company policy of GameSpot parent CNET Networks, details of Gerstmann's departure cannot be disclosed publicly. However, contrary to widespread and unproven reports, his exit was not a result of pressure from an advertiser.

"Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content," said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment's vice president of programming. "The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff's departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot."

"Though he will be missed by his colleagues, Jeff's leaving does not affect GameSpot's core mission of delivering the most timely news, video content, in-depth previews, and unbiased reviews in games journalism," said Ryan MacDonald, executive producer of GameSpot Live. "GameSpot is an institution, and its code of ethics and duty to its users remains unchanged."

Tune in later in the week to hear editors' tributes to Gerstmann on the HotSpot podcast and GameSpot's weekly Webcast, On the Spot.

I don't even know what to say. I'm just completely f*cking disgusted. That quote from Ryan Mac reads like the biggest piece of insane PR bullsh*t I've heard since Kaz tried to tell us the PS3 wasn't overpriced. We all know CNet will never admit what happened, but the blogs posted by the various Gamespot crew during the weekend clearly point to anything BUT "internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot." I really can't wait for the HotSpot this week.

Edit: And now that I really think about it, it's not surprising that the two old guys, the only long-time members of GameSpot to not comment on all of this, MacDonald and Torres, are the ones towing the company line. Way to be f*cking shills, assholes. I always liked Ryan, too. I know they're probably really comfortable where they are, and Ryan has a family, but at least have a LITTLE integrity.

[ThirdMarioBro]

*sits in office chair and spins around in circles*

See, I can do it too. This is truly pathetic. I honestly don't see how anybody could be bothered to trust anything that comes from Gamespot again after this blatant cover-up.

[ThirdMarioBro]

More subtle proof that Eidos is full of sh*t. (http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/12/kane-lynch-site.html)

[Peanut]

Yeah, I saw that earlier today. What a crock of sh*t. They actually took a Kotaku quote from July of last year and used it as a "review quote", even adding a 5-star rating along side it. What a bunch of f*cking idiots.

Anyways, GameSpot could very well be on the verge of collapse...

GameSpot May See "Mass Resignations" Over Dismissal (http://kotaku.com/gaming/gamespot-on-the-spot/gamespot-may-see-mass-resignations-over-dismissal-329822.php)

Also...lulz

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y300/gwhitta/gerstmanntags.jpg

[ThirdMarioBro]

I was just about to post that. What a bunch of c***s

[Dr. Doom]

Gamespot has made another news post about the incident, addressing it more directly and answering some of the questions on everyone's minds.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183666.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newstop&tag=newstop;more;1

For the past week, controversy has rocked the game news media--a controversy that originated here at GameSpot. The affair began last Wednesday when near-11-year veteran reviewer Jeff Gerstmann's tenure as editorial director ended. In keeping with the human-resources procedures of GameSpot parent company CNET Networks and in accordance with California State Law, no public comment was initially made about his departure.

In the void of information that followed, numerous conspiracy theories sprang up. First and foremost was that, as a result of pressure from publisher Eidos Interactive, GameSpot terminated Gerstmann because of his review of the multiplatform game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The game was released on November 13, 2007 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. (The PC version of the game was released on November 20, but has not yet been reviewed.)

Hundreds of reports pointed to the fact that the Kane & Lynch video review was pulled and the text review's copy was altered as evidence substantiating this hypothesis. In many readers' eyes, the fact that the entire GameSpot site was "skinned" with advertisements promoting Kane & Lynch all but confirmed the theory behind his firing. In the gaming press, the subsequent furor has been dubbed "Gerstmanngate."

Due to legal restrictions and corporate HR policy, GameSpot could not initially comment on Gerstmann's departure. Though the site officially addressed the issue on Monday, the full story behind his exit could not be told--until now.

In the spirit of full disclosure to our readership, GameSpot News has been provided the following answers by management to the questions below regarding the circumstances surrounding Gerstmann's exit. Further questions can be submitted to [email protected] for review; those questions that merit posting will be addressed. (Please, no hate e-mail.)

Q: Was Jeff fired?

A: Jeff was terminated on November 28, 2007, following an internal review process by the managerial team to which he reported.

Q: Why was Jeff fired?

A: Legally, the exact reasons behind his dismissal cannot be revealed. However, they stemmed from issues unrelated to any publisher or advertiser; his departure was due purely for internal reasons.

Q: Why was the Kane & Lynch review text altered?

A: Jeff's supervisors and select members of the edit team felt the review's negativity did not match its "fair" 6.0 rating. The copy was adjusted several days after its publication so that it better meshed with its score, which remained unchanged. The achievements and demerits it received were also left unaltered. Additionally, clarifications were made concerning the game's multiplayer mode and to include differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game.

Q: Why was the Kane & Lynch video review taken down?

A: Both the text and video reviews of Kane & Lynch went up on Tuesday, November 13. The morning of Wednesday, November 14, the video was taken down due to concerns of quality. Specifically, its audio was deemed inferior due to a faulty microphone. There were also concerns about the limited amount of footage, which was unrepresentative of the game in the review.

Q: Why wasn't the video immediately reposted?

A: Due to the crush of high-profile games being released the following week, there were insufficient resources to reshoot and re-edit the video review.

Q: Why hasn't the video review been reposted since the "Gerstmanngate" controversy broke?

A: A determination was made by GameSpot Live, GameSpot's multimedia division, that reposting it would seem reactive and might exacerbate an inflamed situation. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, it has since been reposted, and is viewable on the site in its original form (See above). For those who want to be sure that it has not been altered after the fact, the video review is also available on YouTube for comparison purposes.

Q: Was Eidos Interactive upset by the game's review?

A: It has been confirmed that Eidos representatives expressed their displeasure to their appropriate contacts at GameSpot, but not to editorial directly. It was not the first time a publisher has voiced disappointment with a game review, and it won't be the last. However, it is strict GameSpot policy never to let any such feelings result in a review score to be altered or a video review to be pulled.

Q: Did Eidos' disappointment cause Jeff to be terminated?

A: Absolutely not.

Q: Did Eidos' disappointment cause the alteration of the review text?

A: Absolutely not.

Q: Did Eidos' disappointment lead to the video review being pulled down?

A: Absolutely not.

Q: Why was GameSpot "skinned" with Kane & Lynch ads when Jeff was terminated?

A: Due to design and development considerations, media buys on GameSpot are made weeks in advance. The timing of said ads was extremely unfortunate but was purely coincidental and determined solely by the game's release date of November 13, 2007.

Q: Why did the Kane & Lynch ads disappear from GameSpot right as the "Gerstmanngate" controversy began to heat up?

A: Advertising sales on GameSpot are sold by the day. The end of the Kane & Lynch "skin" promotion had been predetermined long beforehand. Internal documentation filed before the review appeared shows that the site skin was scheduled to run from November 17 to 29, 2007. Site-wide ad campaigns automatically change at midnight, hence the "skin" being removed after hours.

Q: Was Jeff's termination somehow tied to the departure of former GameSpot Live managing producer Tim Tracy?

A: No. Tim and Jeff are childhood friends and had been colleagues until Tim transferred over to other CNET Networks Entertainment properties. His exit was completely unrelated.

Q: Why didn't GameSpot write about Jeff's departure sooner?

A: Due to HR procedures and legal considerations, unauthorized CNET Networks and GameSpot employees are forbidden from commenting on the employment status of current and former employees. This practice has been in effect for years, and the CNET public-relations department stuck to that in the days following Jeff's termination. However, the company is now making an exception due to the widespread misinformation that has spread since Jeff's departure.

Q: When will the PC version of Kane & Lynch be reviewed?

A: We haven't decided when that will happen.

Q: GameSpot's credibility has been called into question as a result of this incident. What is being done to repair and rebuild it?

A: This article is one of the first steps toward restoring users' faith in GameSpot, and an internal review of the incident and controversy is under way. However, at no point in its history has GameSpot ever deviated from its review guidelines, which are publicly listed on the site. Great pains are taken to keep sales and editorial separated to prevent any impression of impropriety.

For years, GameSpot has been known for maintaining the highest ethical standards and having the most reliable and informative game reviews, previews, and news on the Web. The colleagues and friends that Jeff leaves behind here at GameSpot intend to keep it that way.

[Peanut]

So, Gamespot did their live show last night, On the Spot, and started it off with a pretty heart breaking speech by Ryan MacDonald. As someone who's followed Gamespot as far back as '97, when they were Videogames.com, watching Ryan talk and get so torn up over this was pretty moving.

I suggest everyone takes a look at it, although you should all be watching On The Spot every week, anyways; since it's the best show about games on the net or otherwise.

[R-iZZy]

To be honest, I never really did like Gamespot in general. They were okay when it came to bringing exclusive trailers and whatnot, but as far as reviews go, I could never really agree with them. Gamespot had me under the impression that they were ran by Microsoft anyway, so I just quit paying attention to them. But this is a pretty low blow to their credibility. What little respect I had for Gamespot has just cleared out. Not to say I liked Gerstmann to begin with, I mainly hated a lot of his reviews, but the guy was doing his job. Can't see why he should get fired for that.

[Peanut]

Gamespot had me under the impression that they were ran by Microsoft anyway

Which is what all Sony/Nintendo fans say against all three of the big videogame sites. People can't seem to realize the reason the 360 is talked about so much is because the thing actually has good games to play. You didn't hear the Sony whiners complaining when the PS2 was the hot sh*t and no one did anything but talk about that.

[R-iZZy]

I have no problem with a site big-upping most all exclusive games on a platform, but when they give their competitors' exclusive games lower scores and reach harder than Mr. Fantastic to find flaws, while turning their heads to flaws of the games they praise, I just get annoyed. So I don't even pay attention to Gamespot reviews unless I actually want to forcefully go bald from ripping my hair out.

And I'm not really a platform supporter, just a good game supporter. There's definitely strength coming from all three platforms, in my opinion. The fact that Gamespot gives me the impression that they are a platform loyalist just irks me.

[Barkworm]

You know, back when the 360 was released I too thought Gamespot was a pro-Microsoft site. Many of the launch games got higher ratings on Gamespot than elsewhere. Apart from that the site has always been neutral. Hell, Gerstmann actually gave a mediocre game like WW: Smooth Moves a 9.1. You could as well accuse them of being Nintendo-friendly.

[Peanut]

You realize you're accusing Greg Kasavin of being biased. RIGHT!? No one insults Greg Kasavin!

*transforms*

[Peanut]

So, last week Frank Provo, who had some 750+ reviews on Gamespot, left the company due to the whole Jeff thing.

This week, Alex Navarro has also decided to quit. Lately, he's been throwing a lot of content up for Jeff's own site, and there's a lot of speculation that he left Gamespot to continue doing just that.

Gamespot is in a really sad state right now. Alex and Jeff did so many reviews on the site and with both of them gone, I say it's only a matter of time before one Ryan Davis jumps off the sinking ship, a move that would cripple their reviews department.

I continue to believe that as Jeff manges to wrangle more and more of his friends together for his own website, that Gamespot will continue on the decline. It's sad, but it almost seems inevitable at this point.

[Ra]

Amazing what one act of firing someone has lead to. Gamespot had it coming to them, I guess...fire someone as popular as Jeff and a chain reaction will more than likely go off, like we are seeing now. :ohwell:

[Ecto Jedi]

I always preferred IGN, so I couldn't care less.

[ZariusTwo]

I hate it when upstart companies are actually upstart...

[Barkworm]

I always preferred IGN, so I couldn't care less.
Oh no, you didn't!!!

[Peanut]

I always preferred IGN, so I couldn't care less.

IGN is soulless and their editors are all complete jackasses.

[Mecha Cow]

Well, good I guess. I like Gamespot, but they made a really bad move and there should be consequences for it. Hopefully a new, better site will be born out of this mess.

[Brodie]

Anyone notice the fact that there's been like 4 reviews in the past month and a half?

[AquaParade]

Sad. Gamespot wasn't a bad site. Just sad that you can't trust a review site for honest reviews....:|

[ThirdMarioBro]

This industry is nothing without integrity. Its our only claim in a business where everyone is so immature. Its such a shame really. Me and the AMN crew were at the same hotel with the Gamespot guys, and we hung out with them some. They were a good bunch.

[Peanut]

Another one is gone. This time it's easily one of the THE funniest men at GameSpot, Ryan Davis. There's no going back for GameSpot at this point. When Rich Gallup left last year, the content took a real hit, when Jeff left, it continued to wane and now we've got both Alex and Ryan gone, they have nothing left.

Jeff was recently on the new IGN Gamesages Podcast with big members from various videogame news outlets, and said that "something big was in the works". I think a brand new game coverage site is about to spring up featuring Jeff, Ryan and Alex, and maybe even Provo. If that happens, I wouldn't be surprised to see Brian "Mech"berg and Brad Shoemaker jump ship, and then GameSpot would officially be dead.

A real slow burn for the end of GameSpot, but the walk-out that was warned is slowly taking place.

[Mecha Cow]

I thought Shoemaker had already left.

[Peanut]

Not that I was aware of. He's been on On The Spot recently and his GameSpot account still has the "Staff" medal on it.

[Peanut]

So, looks like Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis have indeed started their own gaming site:

www.giantbomb.com

They've got a basic thing setup now, but apparently they're going to be upgrading it into a full fledged gaming site. I'm all for this, honestly. These two guys are two of the most entertaining people in the games industry as far as press goes, so I really hope they do well with this. Let's see how many former Gamespot employees find their way over there if it picks up.

[ThirdMarioBro]

Good for them. Hopefully this will pick up and poach anybody left at Gamespot worth poaching.

[AquaParade]

Justice is served:lol:

[Peanut]

Justice is served:lol:

Huh?

Anyways, I haven't really been keeping up with all of this, but I was surprised to note, while listening to the IGN Game Scoop podcast, that Gamespot recently lost Jason Ocampo to IGN PC. Yet another blow, following the loss of Brad Shoemaker.

Gamespot is a joke. They've got community guys like Kevin VanOrd running around reviewing every other game that comes out. And even worse for them, I haven't seen Brian "Mechberg" Ekberg around lately. If he goes, there's officially nothing entertaining left at Gamespot.

[Dr. Doom]

I actually sorta feel like Gamestop hasn't been reviewing as many games or at the same rate that they once did. Maybe it's starting to show?

[Ra]

I wouldn't be surprised if they have. They've lost some star players in their team, afterall, and I don't think they have been replaced...then again, I'm not constantly checking Gamespot for reviews like you guys.

[Peanut]

I don't think any us of are constantly checking anywhere for reviews. Let alone Gamespot.

I don't know about anybody else, but I read game reviews very rarely. Most of the time, it's after I've actually played the game, and I have a habit of reading reviews of games I've already beaten.

[Dr. Doom]

I pretty consistently check for reviews on Gamestop out of habit. I'll basically go there, read the news and then see if there are any new reviews I wanna read. That's just kinda what I've been doing for at least like 6 years now, I guess it's a hard habit to break considering how much time I spend online/thinking about video games, and due to the fact that I really like to try and make very well educated purchases and avoid wasting my money. I think the only thing that's changed is that I actually started using that as a hub to check what scores other sites gave a certain game as well in light of recent events.

[ThirdMarioBro]

I don't think any us of are constantly checking anywhere for reviews. Let alone Gamespot.

I don't know about anybody else, but I read game reviews very rarely. Most of the time, it's after I've actually played the game, and I have a habit of reading reviews of games I've already beaten.

I do the same thing. I like to think that my judgment in purchases in higher than the average gamer. Can't really think of a game I've read a review before purchasing in the last two years.

[Dr. Doom]

You really just keep on leading us right back to Sonic The Hedgehog.