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Post by amxfiles on Dec 4, 2007 11:04:20 GMT -5
Anybody following this story at all? It's a pretty crazy story. Jeff Gerstmann, a main stay in the the gaming industry, reviewed Kane and Lynch, gave it a less than desirable review, the website he works for, Gamespot, was in the throws of a deep marketing campaign for the game, and shortly after the review, he was fired. The conspiracy theory is that advertiser pressure forced Gamespot to show their hand and let the 11 year vet go. So, what do you think. Do you think it's a vast conspiracy, or is it just a horribly unfortunate coincidence that he was fired around this time. kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review-328244.phpwww.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/gamespot-posts-official-gerstmann-firing-notice/kotaku.com/gaming/advertorials/1up-shows-support-for-gamespot-reviewers-328882.php |
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Post by goalie on Dec 4, 2007 11:11:36 GMT -5
I really don't doubt that he was let go for his review of Kane & Lynch, even though the game deserves nothing more than a 6/10. I used to be a somewhat regular poster on Gamespot, and for the most part trusted their reviews, I no longer visit though.
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Post by Graze on Dec 4, 2007 11:18:05 GMT -5
I've been following it since last week. It's too bad what happened. I loved listening to Jeff on their podcast and their weekly video show. I don't think Edios had him fired. Maybe the K&L review was the straw that broke the camel's back. But if Gamespot did fire him over one review, it's a sad sign for video game journalism.
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Post by hbkjason on Dec 4, 2007 12:32:28 GMT -5
I think it is this kind of thing goes on all the time in the video game media a mag in the UK gave Sonic Heroes 8.5/10 which they heavily promoted before its release. If it is true it is a absolute disgrace.
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Post by Mole on Dec 4, 2007 15:07:13 GMT -5
I think it is very likely that he was fired for his review. However, we will just about never know since CNet/Gamestop will never admit to it because it will destroy any integrity they may have, Gerstmann will likely never admit to it since he'd likely be assaulted by Cnet/Gamestop, and Eidos will certainly never admit to it since it'd make them confirm that they're manipulative douchebags.
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Post by Graze on Dec 4, 2007 15:26:16 GMT -5
I think it is very likely that he was fired for his review. However, we will just about never know since CNet/Gamestop will never admit to it because it will destroy any integrity they may have, Gerstmann will likely never admit to it since he'd likely be assaulted by Cnet/Gamestop, and Eidos will certainly never admit to it since it'd make them confirm that they're manipulative douchebags. |
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Post by Rant Casey on Dec 4, 2007 15:33:29 GMT -5
After reading the stories in the links (Thanks for those BTW) I gotta believe he was fired over the review.
What brought me to that conclusion was the fact that they removed his review from the site. Had his firing not been because of the review why would they remove it?
Its kinda messed up if you ask me, and it scares me a little considering I still wanted to be a game journalist.
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Post by DZ: WF Legacy on Dec 4, 2007 17:06:04 GMT -5
I've been following it. I heard he accepted a settlement to not talk about the issue, but like this entire thing I don't know if it is true or not.
It all seems to fit. We seriously can't let advertisers get a stranglehold on opinion. Sure, they "can" say this or they "can" criticize that, but the consequence is too great to do so. It's basically a form of loophole censorship. Scares the crap out of me because I don't look at this as just a video game review, I look at it as a potential major problem in the world where opinion becomes too "unprofitable" and as such people lower their standards to stay in the running. Corporate influence needs to be as minimal as possible in order to make this place more pure and less filled with monetary garbage.
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Post by Rant Casey on Dec 4, 2007 17:07:50 GMT -5
I couldn't have said it better myself bro.
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Post by Happy Pizza on Dec 4, 2007 17:08:40 GMT -5
Gah, a real blow to the gamerscore whore community. His video blogs were pretty funny, and for him to be there that long and get let go so abruptly is pretty odd, makes GameSpot look pretty bad.
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Post by goalie on Dec 4, 2007 18:32:05 GMT -5
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Post by amxfiles on Dec 5, 2007 9:56:33 GMT -5
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Post by Graze on Dec 5, 2007 11:07:19 GMT -5
Is gamespot owned by Fox News?  |
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Post by amxfiles on Jan 4, 2008 21:18:50 GMT -5
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Post by Graze on Jan 4, 2008 22:55:31 GMT -5
I'm shocking more people aren't leaving Gamespot, then again, they need a job for their families
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