It seems as we slept last night, big things were happening over at GameSpot. Rumors are flying (flying we say) that GameSpot's Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann was fired thanks to a negative text review and a very negative video review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. As you can see from the above image, Eidos is obviously sending a lot of advertising money GameSpot's way, leading many to think that publisher pressure had something to do with the firing. Adding fuel to the fire, the Kane & Lynch skin at GameSpot seen above has since been removed, within hours of the story breaking. It's all still hearsay at this point -- the only confirmation is currently coming from anonymous sources -- but if it's true, it's likely to rock the game industry. The news is already exploding on GameSpot's forums, while the resulting posts on the Eidos forums have apparently been purged. There's a lot to go over with more likely to break. Hit the links below to read Joystiq's coverage from early this morning. Check out Gerstmann's video review of Kane & Lynch after the break.
Read - Rumor: GameSpot Editorial Director fired over Kane & Lynch review
Read - Eidos and GameSpot forums exploding over Gerstmann incident
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
11-30-2007 @ 10:29AM
Jonah Falcon said...
Correlation is not causality.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:34AM
Corleone said...
That guy was annoying anyway....LOL
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11-30-2007 @ 10:35AM
xenocidic said...
Penny Arcade says it all ~
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/11/29
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11-30-2007 @ 10:36AM
thisguyrighthere said...
Let Gamespot do it. The guy will get another job and Gamespot will be known as an unreliable spin machine that sells good reviews to whoever will buy them.
That's the free market. Gamespot wants to ruin themselves let them go right ahead and do it.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:38AM
Jonah Falcon said...
Correlation is not causality.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:41AM
xenocidic said...
Repetition does not make your point any more salient.
11-30-2007 @ 11:43AM
Jonah Falcon said...
Apparently not, since no one gets it.
11-30-2007 @ 12:43PM
James said...
This is the media. Nobody is looking for causality, they're looking for "appearance of impropriety", and that's been found in spades.
11-30-2007 @ 10:40AM
Mike said...
Anyone else been to gamespot this morning? No more Kane and Lynch ads... and I don't believe in coincidence.
It's an upsetting story, especially when you take into account the fact that gamespot is owned by cnet - one of the most *reputable* tech websites around.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:47AM
xenocidic said...
Yea, Eidos really shot themselves in the foot with this one. They probably blame Gamespot for fumbling the spin on it.
Games should be reviewed on their merits, not on how much the game publisher has contributed to the advertising revenues of the reviewing publication.
I don't mean to keep swinging off Penny Arcade's balls but I really respect that they will slam a game when it deserves slamming, even if it means their advertisers complain or withdraw support - http://www.penny-arcade.com/2007/11/14#1195073220 .
11-30-2007 @ 10:42AM
Knight Marquise said...
If this is true, it will be one of the few times I hope this editor gets legal council.
Secondly, it will put all reviews in the light they truly are: paid advertisements by companies.
This game never even remotely interested me, and I had no intenetion of picking it up, the gamespot review was kinder then my own opinion of this game, simply story wise & game play mechanic wise.
Sorry, IO Interactive, stick with the Hitman series.
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11-30-2007 @ 10:42AM
AnOffday said...
I always hated Gamespot. Now I just hate them even more. FAKE reviews.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:43AM
Jonah Falcon said...
That makes no sense at all. The entire flack is over an HONEST review, not a fake one. (rolling eyes)
11-30-2007 @ 1:07PM
AnOffday said...
I wasn't referring to the honest review. One reviewer who doesn't even get to keep his job for doing an honest review doesn't represent Gamestop as a whole; hence the word "FAKE reviewS" being plural. Learn to read.
11-30-2007 @ 10:55AM
Josh said...
i was always at least "okay" with gamespot. this is going to be hard to recover from, methinks..
they've lost a lot of credibility with the gaming community on this one
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11-30-2007 @ 10:57AM
JimyD said...
After reading the review and watching the video review, Gerstmann was being generous with a "Fair" score of 6. Nice going GameSchlop.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:14AM
Tr3y MoNey said...
That's why I buy from GameSTOP! And I never read/watch reviews from only 1 source.
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11-30-2007 @ 11:14AM
I Dex I said...
Jeff Gerstmann fired from Gamespot for giving Kayne and Lynch a bad review. Sign the petition. This kind of behavior on Cnet's part cannot be ignored!!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/GAMEJEFF/petition.html
Jeff is an honest and nice guy. I watched On The Spot every week for the past two years. Although I did prefer Rich Gallup as the host. Never the less, those guys were a family over there and now Cnet has busted that up. This cannot and will not be swept under the carpet. Jeff needs all the support he can gather. I hope all of you guys will let your voice be heard in this matter.
Just a concerned Gamer....peace V
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11-30-2007 @ 11:19AM
I Dex I said...
...and Gals.
11-30-2007 @ 11:15AM
Benjamin09 said...
Well if I had a ton of money into advertisements with a company that gave me a bad review, I would pull my ads because...if I give you money I expect at least something in return. Like sales of my game!
Thats like still giving gifts to an exgirlfriend...why would I waste money when she isn't going to put out?!?
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