Exclusive: Gertsmann speaks about K&L review, future
"Losing a job you've held for over 11 years in an abrupt manner is shocking, yes."While the above quote should perhaps win Jeff Gerstmann the 'understatement of the year' award, the former Gamespot editorial director is still staying silent about the specifics surrounding his recent firing (citing the previously mentioned "legal reasons," among others). He has, however, told Joystiq that he still stands behind his controversial review of Kane & Lynch.
"I stand behind my work, regardless of where I do it," Gerstmann told Joystiq in an e-mail. "If there was content that I felt I couldn't support, it wouldn't see the light of day." Gerstmann did not comment specifically on the edits made to his text review of Kane & Lynch, or the site's removal of the video review, but he did support the editing process in general. "If factual errors are made, I have no problem owning up to that error, correcting it, noting that a correction has been made, and feeling like an idiot for making the mistake in the first place," he said.
Gerstmann also directly addressed the somewhat pernicious rumor that he did not complete Kane & Lynch before he finished his review. "A reviewer's Xbox Live Gamercard is rarely a good place to look for answers about how much that reviewer has (or hasn't) played a game," he said. "For the record, I saw both endings in Kane & Lynch before writing about it."
As for his future plans, Gerstmann seems to be keeping his options open. "I'm not really sure what I want to do next," he said. "This whole situation has left me with a lot to think about. While this sort of clean break would be an acceptable time to think about trying game development, I feel like I still have more to say and do on the editorial side of the fence, too."
Surprisingly, the experience doesn't seem to have soured Gerstmann on video game journalism as a whole. "Despite the number of people who are taking these rumors ... to mean that game writing is ethically bankrupt, I don't feel that's the case," he said. "Either way, I'm currently keeping my options open and have been in contact with interesting people on both sides."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
blehh @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:07AM
we're all behind ya Jeff! eff cash whoressss
DWells55 @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:04AM
Exactly. I never was really a big GameSpot reader or particularly familiar with Jeff, but I fully support the guy. Anyone willing to stand by integrity and honesty over profit is cool by me. He did the right thing and is being punished for it by the greedy, so I'm completely behind him as well.
Good luck man.
Jake @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:40AM
I don't think we necessarily know all the facts. It looks a certain way, but nobody has come out and said anything concrete. Often when someone is fired, they make up a reason that makes their employer look like hell. But, the fact that neither his employer or him are saying anything definate about why he was fired certianly makes it look like it was all or in part over the Kane and Lynch review. His video review probably humiliated Eidos (it was really bad) and Eidos had invested in an advertisement on their site.
Chrysalid @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:08AM
Good to see that he's handling things in the best way possible, and not just flying off the handle.
Chris @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:20AM
Gamespot sucks it. I can't wait for some ugly truths to come out. Hopefully someone will confirm the worst, but I suspect Gamespot will just try to ride out the storm, along with Eidos - just ostrich and stick their heads in the sand and hope that gamers will just let them off the hook when some big flashy release comes out and sends the herd to another corner of the gaming world. Hold a grudge fellow gamers - make Gamespot and Eidos suffer!
nmezib @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:26AM
I hope to see him reviewing games soon. it's always good to have a hardline reviewer in video games journalism... someone to deflate some egos and keep everyone down to earth.
remember this is the same Gerstmann that gave "LoZ: Twilight Princess" an 8.8, prompting fanboys to respond by threatening to burn down his house and rape his pets. It's good to know we're all behind him on this one.
And for a laugh (no, I'm not making fun of him in any way), look up the symptoms of Gerstmann Syndrome. I learned in my neurosci class that its primary symptom just happens to be dysgraphia - the inability to write.
Xelloss @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:35AM
Glad to here Jeff is still out there. Hopefully he can fully explain what happened and what is going to happen in the near future.
Jonathan @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:53PM
It's not like they killed him. Why wouldn't he be out there?
Supino @ Dec 3rd 2007 4:55AM
To me, GameSpot is dead now...
Jtenma @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:27AM
I can't believe his "co-workers" at Gamespot aren't stepping up and saying/doing anything at all...there is a strange silence throughout the corporation. You mean to tell me they STILL support Gamespot?
There is obviously a little more to this story that is just aching to get out.
I wonder though, is Jeff really the good guy in this situation.?..What if he is not..?
gullalala @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:28PM
It's still a job and everyone working there has bills they need to pay. Also, they aren't legally allowed to discuss the status of other employees.
http://frankprovo.livejournal.com/
Read his blog if you want to hear the general consensus from the staff.
Fergus @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:38PM
If you just saw a co-worker and friend get fired for such an 'infraction' I don't think you'd be the first person to jump up and attack your employer. If they fired Jeff cause of the review, and it's still only an if, then they wouldn't bat an eyelid about sacking another editor for a more sackable offence.
Zsavior @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:13AM
I have a problem here, you see it has to do with the sentence that he has been there for 11 years. If I worked some place 11yrs I should have some idea of what type of morality my company has. If what Eidos did was not the first of its kind at gamespot my question is what was the breaking point in this particular event.
Or maybe Mr Gertsmann has alway been a thorn in GS side not following their tainted rules and morals, thus incurring their full wrath this time, but then how did he survive all these years at this place. The more I hear this story the more intriguing it sounds.
Eugene @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:23AM
I believe (and could be completely wrong, so please do correct me if so) that Gamespot recently came under new management through CNet, thus the companies "morality" could have changed drastically in the recent past.
Zsavior @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:46AM
That would definitely make sense to me then. I also didn't know that I thought C/net owned it for sometime now.
azuravian @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:50AM
Gamespot has been a CNET property for a long while now.
MosquitoControl @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:30AM
If you ever work at a place that has a money vs. morality aspect, you'll find that it's a constant battle. If this is indeed what happened, Jeff was likely there every day protecting the integrity of the brand.
It isn't like this only happens in this industry.
If you look at the mortgage industry you'll find a constant battle between loan officers and underwriters. LOs were allowed to win for a while, now our banks are crumbling.
Hollywood has the constant battle between the creative minds and the financiers demanding product placement, happy endings and big names.
Etc.
dinoignacio @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:41AM
you have to understand that there have been many changing of heads over at gamespot and cnet over the last 3 years. vince broady, greg kasavin and ankarino lara all left last year. leaving vulrures from cnet to take hold and corrupt the whole system. (if you don't know who these people are... please google them)
Surreal @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:18AM
CNET have owned for a long time. But, there's been some management changes at CNET in October. Stephen Colvin (formerly CEO of Maxim/Stuff/Blender) was appointed executive VP for Entertainment at CNET, overseeing Gamespot in particular. This might explain the shift in morality and why Gerstmann became suddenly so undesirable.
gullulala @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:09PM
After Greg Kasavin left he was replaced by a suit. So basically Gamespot is being run by marketing now.
Anticrawl @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:21AM
Heh, Gamespot has been deing slowly for around 2 years like an old man with diabetes who doesn't know how to manage it. I personally have never really liked the guy. I use to respect him back when the site was called videogames.com but yeah his review style erks me. The nail in the coffin for me was how he decided to review Shadowrun, you know considering FASA kinda invented the Pen & Paper RPG the man had no place to comment on how the game didn't stick to its roots.
Hell Bungie has butchered their own Halo story more than FASA could have ever hoped to do with Shadowrun (they admit it themselves, they start developing a game without even having a full outline of where the story goes, they just let someone else come in and make sense of it all with the novels). That and the man insisted on reviewing games by what they weren't rather than what they were. Battlefield was a MP only game, sure it had more maps but they were hardly any memorable or original ones. I'd personally have less maps that are more diverse and note worthy.
Bah, all this doesn't matter about Jeff, stop feeling sorry for old shovel-face. He'll get work, no question. He has a loyal fan-base that will follow him in whatever endeavor he makes. In fact he will probably turn out to be better off for it.
What you should be worried about is how this will impact professional game critism and the industry as a whole.
Zsavior @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:45AM
Whoa you just said Videogames.com I was just talking to my friend about that. That site was greatness at the time, that is also why I never liked gamespot. In a sense I never felt good with the place after that change happened.
Hannibal @ Dec 3rd 2007 5:23AM
I'd love to see him as a developer that keeps a running blog.
brof @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:13AM
Jeff got fired because he did his job. his job was to tell the readers about crappy games... how will the remaining staff be able to do their job now, I wonder?
GS reviewer. hm, if I give this AAA title a 6, I might get fired, maybe I give it a 7, and everybody is happy, hm... maybe 7 is not enough, so I give it better an 8 , just to make sure I can keep my job, and hey, it is AAA, so I should appreciate it more. Maybe 9 is a perfect score....
I am sorry for the remaining staff, they have a hell of a job now!
BananaBoat @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:14AM
Gertsmann was the only guy willing to tell people that Twilight Princess wasn't the best thing since sliced bread, and for that I'd support him to the ends of the Earth. I'm not sure how a journalist would go about trying "Game Development" though. I guess he could write stories for games, but how does journalism translate to coding skillz? Either way, I hope he lands a great job (a better job than he had) soon.
Otis Whitaker @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:27AM
Yeah... but then he went on to say that Gears of War and Halo 3 ... WERE.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:44AM
That's because they were.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:48AM
At least to me, and apparently to him.
Opinions are fun aren't they?
NyghtcrawleR @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:06AM
As to the comment about how journalism relates to coding. How do you know what skills he has other than journalism. Do you know his educational history, doubt it. Plus the fact that he could go back to school if he didnt already have the skills needed.
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:27AM
If OoT is a perfect 10 game, and Twilight Princess did everything OoT did, only better, how is TP an 8.8?
dark_inchworm @ Dec 3rd 2007 9:55AM
Crono, could it be that Twilight Princess was an 8-year-old title with a new coat of paint and some waggle?
Not to pan any of the Zelda titles - they're all good fun - but really, how is an 8.8 bad given that the series really hasn't seen much new?
Zsavior @ Dec 3rd 2007 10:21AM
ANd this is why Gertsmann and this saga will be forgotten. Gamers on a whole careless about Journalistic integrity on more about hearing the games they like and games they hate get good ratings and bad ratings.
See how the TP debate was brought back up, how does that help him at all? It doesn't it just proves to Eidos that gamers are fanboys. Makes me wonder if he would have the same amount of fans if he had crapped on Gears of War, or Bio shock.
What will people say, "But those were better games!" and that is the problem, journalistic integrity shouldn't go to favoritism it should be something that is up held every time you review a story give an editorial or convey your opinion in your job. Right now gamers don't ask for anything more than to be wrangled around like sheep.
"OH yes LAIR Got Destroyed HA AHA AHA! Oh what the hell Assassins Creed didn't get the numbers I want! Well I like that game make them change it make them change it!"
I hope this guy is being supported because he took a stand for integrity, I didn't agree with his TP review, but I do agree with the right for a reporter to give an honest unbiased opinion, with out the interference of corporate hands. But I don't think that lesson is ready for a majority of gamers right now. Not all gamers but the mass only care about system wars and flame baits and as long as that brings hits to a site corporations will manipulate the reviews how they like.
Jeff @ Dec 3rd 2007 2:38PM
Amen.
dc @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:18AM
The headline is misleading. It made it sound like he was goint to work for Future.
Dan Walsh @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:39AM
It sucks that the good guys get punished for not playing the corporate game. Nice exclusive, btw.
ClarkyCat @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:47AM
How exactly is Gerstmann's inability to comment on the matter a "Joystiq exclusive"?
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:49AM
Well the fact that he's saying something other than repeating he got fired, and the fact that this is only on joystiq makes it exclusive.
ClarkyCat @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:51AM
Erm, he already said the same thing on Facebook though!
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 3rd 2007 6:59AM
FACEBOOK DOESN'T COUNT!!!!
Kyle Orland @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:26AM
Actually, all he said on facebook to Valleywag was that he couldn't comment on the matter (something he had earlier told Joystiq... see the "legal reasons" link in the story above.) Here he expanded a bit about defending his review and his plans for the future, which is exclusive to Joystiq. Might not be the key info everyone is looking for, but it is exclusive.
kev @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:25AM
Well I'm glad he's staying in the editorial business (please let it be 1up) Please post a comment about his gamercard. He got the achievements for the game on the 27th and 28th of november. A long time after the review went live
Kyle Orland @ Dec 3rd 2007 11:26AM
Jeff addressed this directly in the story above.
Dajmin @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:33AM
I'm with you Jeff.
Journalism should not and cannot be influenced by advertisers. Readers rely on these reviews to choose where best to spend their money - if advertisers controlled that then all games would get 100% and we'd be better off without them.
It's called "freedom of speech" and "free press".
Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Brian Spence @ Dec 3rd 2007 7:40AM
I'm behind Jeff in this situation, but he has the worst on screen presence of anyone I've ever seen. Dude, you're on camera, get to a gym...
Whenever I see him, it's like he's reinforcing the stereotype of gamers being fat and lazy.
Kevin Parrott @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:12AM
Ever been inside a Gamestop? I think you'll find that gamers themselves are doing a pretty good job of reinforcing the stereotype of gamers being fat and lazy.
Alastair @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:03AM
The best On the Spot presenter by miles, a breath of fresh air, gonna miss his sharp humour and shame for the industry if he's not back reviewing soon. RIP Gamespot
Emperor Samoth @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:25AM
Wish Jeff the best on his jobsearch. It would be great to have him on the IGN or 1up podcasts.
tiremfej @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:28AM
I've never liked Gamespot. I always thought their reviews were a bit off, obviously because they are getting payola. Good, they were the first ones to charge a fee to read their stuff, they're the first to go down. I mean Cnet come on!
The crazy thing is, this could bring about a government inquiry to the whole situation, as it did with radio in the '50's. It could be a huge issue, or it could just be wiped under the rug and forgotten about. I kind of doubt it though, the videogame industry is too large to allow this kind of thing. Watch out IGN! They have to be on the take as well.
Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Dec 3rd 2007 12:01PM
ummm what? That's not true. I think you're confusing yourself with IGN. Gamespot has never charged viewers to read stuff at the site. The only thing subscribers get that basic users don't is HD quality videos of trailers and shit like that. But all content such as reviews and coverage are for everyone.
Freelance @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:38AM
"For the record, I saw both endings in Kane & Lynch before writing about it."
That doesn't necessarily mean that he plaid the game all the way through.