GameSpot issues short comment on Gerstmann firing

He was fired because there was proof that he had not even finished the game before writing the review for it.

In my mind, Gamespot WAS the most credible of the commercial game sites. Jeff Gerstmann had a lot to do with my perception. Yes, some fanboys (including myself) didn't always agree with him, but I always felt he was giving is honest opinion. Gamespot, and Edios for that matter, have lost their way and my business. I wish Jeff Gerstmann the best.

I agree... Epic Fail. Actually Gamespot has been a major disappointment for years.

Here's an amusing look at the current status:

1) Official Comment: Gamespot's official comment listed in this article does not appear to be on their own website.

2) The Review: The Kane & Lynch review is not linked from their front page. Nor can you find it under "Reviews." Nor can you find it from Gerstmann's profile which lists all his reviews. You can find it if you use the search engine and look up the game, but other than that, they are pretending it doesn't exist.

3) Gerstmann: His bio/blog fails to note that he has been fired, nor does it link to the K&L review.

4) Gamespot Home: No mention of the K&L controversy. The sidebar box that links to the featured user blogs has been removed (it was there earlier today, and of course all the hot topics were about the Gerstmann incident).

In summary: The Gamespot/CNET leadership has decided to bury their collective heads in the sand and hope this blows over. Nice. I'll give you a guess as to how well THAT strategy is going to work.

That's a shame...I enjoyed his reviews.

So does this mean GameFAQs is on the boycott list too, since it's under the CNET/Gamespot umbrella?

So they stand behind the editorial content by changing the words to his Kayne & Lynch review and pulling the video review entirely after firing its author. NICE! canceled.

I'm predicting they'll be no peace or goodwill for Gamespot or Eidos for the immediate short term and possibly even long term unless some light is shed on what happened

To each, this is a PR nightmare. I'm boycotting both until there's answers.

Apparently even Tim Tracy has left Gamespot ! http://www.digg.com/gaming_news/Not_Only_has_Jeff_Gerstmann_Left_Gamespot_so_has_Tim_Tracy

I am mixed... We are talking about the man that gave Zelda:TP a 8.8. Yet, He shouldn't be fired.

Gamespot hasn't been the same since Greg Kasavin.

I don't think game review site should be able to advertise games.

Add me to the list of canceled memberships. I have to admit it was satisfying and fun to cancel and send a scathing email. Granted it will accomplish nothing, but it was fun.

CNet lost it's integrity with me a week ago when they surrounded their Windows Vista page with a two panel Flash ad for Macs. That, coupled with their searing review of Vista (which no matter way you spin it, ain't that bad), ruined CNet for me. There's no integrity there.

So, who is going to be the new senior editor? Alex Nevaro?

actually based on the number of promised cancellations here, on the GS forums, and elsewhere, it probably WILL do something.

I have seen at least 150, if not more, of these posts, and that's only so far, and only where I read.

Well done.

They're witches, Burn them!!

I've been a subscriber to GameSpot for a long time, and it wasn't easy for me to do, but I've gone ahead and cancelled my subscription just a few moments ago.

I'm not happy with this situation or the way it's being handled. And without a statement from GameSpot on their site, I'm left with only the knowledge I've received secondhand.

As of today, I'm no longer visting their site.

Squeaky wheel gets the boot?

I've always liked Jeff's reviews. With Kasavin no longer working at Gamespot, Jeff was the editor I trusted most with a video game review. Keeping in mind that Gamespot's review scores were a little lower than the average, they were consistent and thus reliable.

I did get to see his review and don't find it to be a departure from his other reviews. More so than that, it is in line with the way movies are reviewed by the most reputable of film critics. The notion that he was fired because of the review calls into question the integrity of the review site.

I am greatly disappointed.

This is why I ONLY go to Game Revolution for my reviews (www.gamerevolution.com). They said pretty much the same things about Kane and Lynch that Gerstmann did. And instead of numbers, they use letter grades that gives me a better impression of how I would like the game.

Also, they liked Assassin's Creed, and commented on others reviews of AC the same way Gabe did.

And notice they have an ad for Fire Emblem for Wii up on the site, but the review for it wasn't too great and actually said that it didn't use the Wii-mote to the fullest potential.

God I sound like a marketting agent.

Anyways, I used to only go to Gamespot for the news in case Joystiq missed anything, but if the publishers can affect their reviews, I don't even know if I can trust their news!

CNET Networks contact info:
http://www.cnetnetworks.com/advertise/contacts.html

Based on the above, CNET knows they stepped in it and just haven't figured out what to do about it. The lack of comment on why he was fired also seems to indicate that the rumors from multiple sources is true, but to deny it would get them in more trouble (since would be easy enough to contest) so better to say nothing at all.

E-mail I just sent to sales@cnet.com:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing on behalf of Pixelmagic Gaming, an up and coming development house based right outside of Dallas, Texas. We are currently developing a new, original flight fighter game, tentatively titled "Twin Tigers".

What we're looking to do with this IP is to bring back fun to flight games, hearkening to the days of Afterburner and Starfox. So many modern day flight games are either too technical or too "kiddie" for our tastes.

That said, we would like to run a series of banner ads on your site next year closer to our game's release, most likely Q3 2008.

Please let us know what kind of payment plan you have. I am pretty sure we can get some kind of banner for $10k, but does that include a couple points? For the review, I mean? How much would, say, 3 banners w/video, and a guaranteed 8.0 or higher score cost? Our company has unlimited funds at our disposal, so just name the price and we will send all manner of money, swag, and women of ill repute to your headquaters.

Now keep in mind if you post a negative review of our game, we WILL pull all advertising funds. So make sure you get someone disposable to handle the review.

Please contact me at your earliest convenience with your preferences (blonde, brunette?) and your payment plan. If necessary we will pay in cash, unmarked small bills.

Sincerely,
Everyone on the Internet Hates You Now

PS: Next time just wire funds directly to IGN and 1up, it will be less painful.

Gamespots website seems to be down, anyone else can't access it?

The really scary thing here is that the review score in question was a 6 out of 10. A 6! In any other medium that would be middling to good. For a game review, that's apparently death. (And from the sound of Gertsmann's video review, it probably should have been a 2 or a 3).

All game review scores are inflated, including Gamespot's, even though they did tend to be slightly lower. But for a lead editor of a publication with more than 10 years under his belt to be apparently fired over a 6 all but destroys the credibility of games journalism.

My suggestion to Gamespot and CNET would be to get rid of its editorial staff altogether and just put up a website of nothing but ads. Clearly they don't give a damn about the integrity of their editorial content (seemingly it's just something to fill up a page otherwise populated with ads), and they don't have a leg to stand on anymore anyway with readers.

As of now, thanks to this controversy, you can not trust any of the content on Gamespot or any of CNET owned websites and publications. I include all of CNET because we simply don't know if this was a decision internal to Gamespot or is part of a company wide policy for advertisement revenue. Until CNET clarifies and explains exactly what happens (and allows Gerstmann to do the same), defines what the hell "tone" of a review means (because I don't see a problem in the reviews I read or seen), and makes it clear what steps it will take to keep the advertising arm firewalled from the content arm it is my belief that CNET and any of its websites can be trusted as a source of news, reviews and information as we simply don't know what has been bought off and what hasn't.

Sadly this could be what game reviews need this may be our "Watergate". Sites need to know that sure they may loose advertising revenue if they dont give favorable reviews but those dont mean anything if no one reads there site. As well as the negative opinions that come down on the studios for such actions.

Sure the community may be over reacting and GS may be legally bound not to say the real reason for his termination but their actions in pulling content is suspicious but that could simple be due to demand caused by this whole situation. If there is anything afowl on there part they should come clean and if they are innocent these claims I would hope this editor would come forward to clear them.

Out of all of you who claim to have your subscriptions cancelled, how many of you will actually do it?
Now you may ask? "Why would someone lie about that?"
The best answer I can give is because there are people who go back on their word for whatever reason.

I know its a bit long and I can imagine that a the people that have been saying that 'press person' X or 'game news company' Y sucks will hate be but you only have to listen to the Hotspot podcasts to tell that, whether or not you agreed with his reviews, he is someone that completely understands the industry better than any reader of websites likely does. A passionate gamer and someone with genuine integrity to properly play and rate games on its merits as well as shouting up when a game is sub par. Arguing over the fact that he scored a game you love/hate differently than what you feel is own opinion. Surely thats what a reviewer should be doing and explaining in depth (and not just by a score) why a game is or isn't worth your time and money. so even if his thoughts aren't in line with your own, it's quite ludicrous to cry his opinion is crap. if anything this whole event proves that he wasn't willing to tow a line and report a mediocre game as a good one. Isn't the whole point of game reviews to inform their readers, everyone tends to read reviews by sources they trust and share a similar opinion with. If you like 10 games that a reviewer liked, there's a fair chance that they will be able to point you in the direction of other games you might not have considered or known of. Then that reviewers opinion IS valuable and in the case of Jeff Gerstmann, it's definitely a well educated one at the very least.

I don't quite get why people are flaming Gerstmann (or any other member of the game press for that matter), he has worked in the industry for a fair old time and provides his 2 cents regarding numerous games. If you disagree with his reviews, dont read them, they're not of value to you. As long as they are not misrepresenting facts or doing anything dodgy then all is fair surely?

Regardless. If this story is true, then decent person and has provided a stellar service to a large number of gamers at no cost to them has lost their long time job because dirty money was changing hand in management. Unfortunately this will no doubt taint the work of other employees at Gamespot and the other parts of CNet that find the whole thing even more distasteful as outsiders of the company do.

At That, I wish Jeff the best of luck with his future endeavours.