Gamespot Editor "Fired Over Negative Review"

[Jonny2J]

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50134

Rumors have been swirling today that Jeff Gerstmann, executive editor at CNET-owned major video game site GameSpot, was fired after giving a generally unimpressed review of Io Interactive's Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Gerstmann awarded the game a 6.0. [Edit: Gerstmann had particularly negative words in his video review, which was removed from the site by GameSpot today.] (Though Shacknews does not score its reviews, our own Kane & Lynch review was similar in its verdict.)

According to the reports, the layoff came after Kane & Lynch publisher Eidos took issue with the review and threatened to pull its considerable ad contract. GameSpot's front page is currently almost entirely re-skinned with Kane & Lynch imagery.

The rumor began bouncing around various industry circles over the past day, and this evening was reported by Kotaku. Popular webcomic Penny Arcade posted a strip about the alleged incident tonight, outside of its normal publishing schedule.

Shacknews can confidently confirm via its own sources that Gerstmann was indeed fired yesterday from his position at GameSpot. The source declined to comment as to whether the firing was directly related to the reported Eidos situation, but the circumstances are suspicious at the least.

Gerstmann had been an employee at GameSpot for about a decade, and took the place of former executive editor Greg Kasavin when Kasavin left the company to work for Electronic Arts as a producer.

Update: CNET employee Tim Tracy has posted what appears to be a farewell notice on his GameSpot blog. Until July, Tracy was an editor at GameSpot, and since then has been working for CNET-owned MP3.com. If indeed Tracy is departing, it is unknown if it is related to Gerstmann's dismissal.

 

[Sweey]

We all knows its happening - biased reviews and the like. I still find it utterly disgusting though. Fair play to him for doing his job properly, such a shame he's been fired for it.

Eidos are a joke.

 

[Barry]

So much for journalistic independence. Why can't Eidos accept they've put an unfinished product on the market and deserve anything they have coming to them.

 

[mufcsean]

Agreed, good on the lad for saying what he really thought

 

[LarssonIsGhod]

He's a Martyr for his profession.

 

[hitmanuk2k]

I'll hire him to review PES 2008.

 

[LarssonIsGhod]

I'll hire him to review PES 2008.

seabass would snipers out on him if he gave a review of next-gen pro evo!

 

[zeemeister]

You mean to review PES 2009 we know what's wrong with PES 2008 now.

Hell he s hould be given an award not fired, I don't trust these reviewers anyway maybe PLAY magazine.

 

[Jesus]

I've always trusted GameSpot. Their standards are going to be considerably reduced if the other workers won't be able to write what they think of the game.

 

[Eric Clyde]

I don't really like GameSpot as it seems that it is full of inconsistencies. For example, both Twilight Princess reviews (Wii and GC) were done by Jeff Gerstmann and he manages to contradict himself in 2 separate reviews.

The Wii one I think he said that the controls are bad and don't feel as if you get involved so you would be best getting the GC version rated the Wii version 8.8. On the GC version however, he says that the Wii version you feel more involved with the game and recommended that version. The GC version got an 8.9.

There have been a lot of inconsistencies in GameSpot reviews so it is usually a site I just take the reviews with a pinch of salt and focus on other review sites like EuroGamer, IGN, GameTrailers etc.

 

[Jesus]

*Notes what Daz_Rangers51 said.*

 

[Dundon's]

It's just business these days so you really can't believe anything you read. Jeff getting fired just about sums up why the standard of games in general is gone to pot.

These days an average game is looked at as awesome where as before the standards were much higher.

They might all look better, but they ain't better.