Ladies and gentlemen, I would advise you to all to duck as there will almost certainly be a large amount of splatter coming from every fan near you as a result of the news I have to share.
Primotech has a story up claiming insider information regarding the firing of Gamespot reviewer Jeff Gerstmann. Mr. Gerstmann recently awarded Eidos' Kane & Lynch: Dead Men a 6.0 score while Eidos was pumping a large amount of advertising cash into Gamespot, and shockingly this pissed off some of the higher-ups. In a much less sarcastic instance of the word "shocking" instead of merely admonishing him -- which would have been unethical in its own right -- the powers that be fired Mr. Gerstmann (and may have slapped his wife). Here's a quote from Primotech:
According to a fellow Gamespot contributor and close friend of Gerstmann who wished to remain anonymous, the editor was fired Wednesday morning because of his negative review of the game, which he awarded a 6.0.
While there is no official confirmation on this issue, it's unlikely that Gamespot is going to publicly admit they canned a reviewer for honesty based on advertiser pressure. Though, if they do I'd be willing to bet that they themselves would be sacked moments later. That move, of course, will go without any public comment for fear of further commentary causing even more sacking, and the endless cycle of Pythonian sacking jokes that would inevitably ensue.
(Side Note: This upcoming Penny Arcade comic is either strikingly prescient or strikingly something else smart-sounding that means whatever I'm trying to say. -- Nex)
[UPDATE: Don't trust me or Primotech? How about Penny Arcade's Gabriel Whateverhislastnameis? Comment #18, if you're inclined. Props to power-glove for pointing this thread out. -- Neximo]
[UPDATE DEUX: Thanks to tehuberone, here's a link to the Youtube of the now-removed video review Mr. Gerstmann created for Kane & Lynch. -- Tyrannosaurus Nex]
[UPDATE TROIS: Thanks to topgeargorilla and Vegas, there's also word that Gamespot editor Tim Tracy is leaving the site as well. Is it related? Will Greg Oden help the Blazer's playoff hopes? Who shot J.R.? More news as it becomes available. -- Oedipus Nex]
Now please start a firestorm of public outcry in the comments or Niero might fire me to appease whoever the hell it is that funds this place.
[Publisher's Note: Nex, you're promoted! I hereby crown you as our new senior editor of news about Gamespot, but only on the condition that you say nice things. On a serious note, Jeff was at GS for ten years and has the reviewer's portfolio equivalent of War and Peace -- this is a pretty big deal. I cannot wait to see the tapdance their PR people are brewing up tonight. In the meantime, check out Destructoid's Kane and Lynch review -- proudly unfiltered.
Ron also informed me that he's supposed to represent them at the Spike TV awards... so next week should be interesting. Nex, Destructoid is funded on my hopes, dreams, and tall deck of credit cards so nobody is going to get fired here for speaking their mind. Linde does reserve the right to stab you, though. -Niero]
[FURTHER UPDATERY: It seems like more info comes to light by the minute and according to a piece by Wired's Susan "Voice of Reason" Arendt things may not be as the Internet assumes. Here's a quote from a Gamespot insider:
The ads went up and the Eidos brouhaha was settled over two weeks ago. Jeff got fired yesterday. Furthermore, I'd heard a few people tell that he'd already been skating on thin ice for "unprofessional reviews and review practices." I don't know much about that, though, so I can't say one way or the other. My gut tells me that he got canned for larger reasons.
I suppose we won't really know what happened until Mr. Gerstmann himself settles the rumors, but at this point the cat is out of the bag, running around the living room and clawing the hell out of Eidos' leg, regardless of whether the cat is an invention of conspiracy theorists or not. -- Reality Nex]
(Photo courtesy of The Lonestranger Network)
11/29/2007 22:04
11/29/2007 22:04
Read Comment 18
Gabe says its true.
11/29/2007 22:04
11/29/2007 22:04
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11/29/2007 22:08
11/29/2007 22:08
Sorry about that
11/29/2007 22:10
...Please
11/29/2007 22:11
11/29/2007 22:12
Why I love this fuckin site.
11/29/2007 22:13
Side note though I never really though Gerstman was a good reviewer.
11/29/2007 22:13
whilst Gamedespot[sic] thinks they can quell the fires by locking all Jeff related threads http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_topics.php?board_id=314159282&page=2.
This is shaping up to be a cat 5 shit storm.
11/29/2007 22:14
11/29/2007 22:14
11/29/2007 22:15
11/29/2007 22:17
11/29/2007 22:18
We're the only fuckers worth listening to.
11/29/2007 22:18
An unprecedented number of "10s" being handed out by top magazines... I love, and I mean LOVE Mass Effect and Bioshock, but reading most of the reviews for these games has been like reading glorified press releases.
I think games are suffering from the stigma of being a province of the young, and I honestly think larger media thinks that the gamer audience is naive enough to buy reviews that blatantly shirk all kinds of journalistic integrity.
I've kept my subscription to these magazines because they're good reading on the crapper. But now I think I'll be using them for other paper related purposes while in the john.
And now Gamespot... Et Tu, CNet?
11/29/2007 22:19
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11/29/2007 22:19
Oh yeah, plus boycott gamespot, but does that really need to be said here on the green robot? They are already full of fail, this is just the fart-stained icing on the shit-soaked cake.
11/29/2007 22:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FuJ81sDR2o
This video review was pulled off of the site
11/29/2007 22:22
11/29/2007 22:22
Eventually of course he would leave to 'do his thing' and call you all cunts and a shitstorm of violence would ensue.
That would be swell.
11/29/2007 22:22
11/29/2007 22:22
Hooray independent website reviewers of the world!!!!1!!1!
11/29/2007 22:23
Yeah I really liked Gamespot's reviews because they were really strict.
11/29/2007 22:23
11/29/2007 22:24
Hilarity ensues.
11/29/2007 22:26
11/29/2007 22:27
God, I hope not.
11/29/2007 22:27
ouch
11/29/2007 22:29
11/29/2007 22:30
god I love destructoid.
11/29/2007 22:31
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11/29/2007 22:33
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11/29/2007 22:39
The only reviewer I pay attention to is Alex Navarro.
11/29/2007 22:42
Anyway...
What... the FUCK.
Seriously, I cannot fucking believe that this is happening. I never really liked Jeff Gertsmann, but I don't think that his job should be compromised because he stated his own personal opinion. I hope whoever started this gets fucked up, because now Gamespot has entirely RUINED any kind of trust that I had in them as a gaming journalism site. If shit like this is going on, I don't even know why these fucking sites exist. I hope CNET fucks over whoever fired this guy, because they fucking deserve.
What's even the fucking point of these review sites when you have blogs? Originally I treated them as generic gaming news sources and critics, but I don't even know what the fuck they are. Thank Jesus that there are people who say whatever the fuck they want and don't get fired. I'm not talking about any other blog (Summa, joystiq), I'm talking about Dtoid only.
11/29/2007 22:44
me and jeff have the same taste in games... and i can't stand playing a game with fps problems. I don't care about graphics, i care about the fps and the gameplay.
11/29/2007 22:44
me and jeff have the same taste in games... and i can't stand playing a game with fps problems. I don't care about graphics, i care about the fps and the gameplay.
11/29/2007 22:48
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11/29/2007 22:59
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11/29/2007 23:01
All hail the green robot and the freedom of opinion!
11/29/2007 23:02
So, I am reluctant to believe that the actual story is as "simple" as that.
Also, can you disclose the amount offered by Ubi for Rev's head? :P
11/29/2007 23:02
http://www.petitiononline.com/GAMEJEFF/petition.html
11/29/2007 23:03
thanks for killing my childhood, GS. bastards
11/29/2007 23:06
That sucks a lot.
11/29/2007 23:07
the world just gets dummier and dummier. So you fire the guy for having his opinion on the game? I mean, it's not his fault he decided to be truthful. Don't take the anger out on him just cause they game Gamespot so much money.
Then again, Gamespot are the idiots who gave Super Paper Mario such a low score...cause it didn't seem to appeal to all? what kind of BS excuse is that?
11/29/2007 23:08
That petition you are linking over there says some "Mr. Gursman" was fired due to giving a bad review to some "Edios" game. If we want to sign online petitions like if it was 2005 it is fine by me, I will be first there, but let's just not sign something that makes us seem plain down retards.
11/29/2007 23:12
11/29/2007 23:14
11/29/2007 23:15
I just hope that when I'm looking for work (in addition to actually finding a super awesome gaming journalism job) that the higher ups have something that at least resembles dignity or ethics.
11/29/2007 23:16
11/29/2007 23:17
To fire a reviewer who had an average opinion of one of their sponsors games is really wrong, and I wonder how much this stuff goes on with these kinds of sites, present company excluded. If a big company sponsors your site would you give a biased review if it meant them giving you more money? This just smacks of pure shit. I wish Jeff the best and I give a huge middle finger to gamespot. Shame on you gamespot, fucking shame on you.
11/29/2007 23:17
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11/29/2007 23:22
Radio DJs in the past have been paid to promote music, and this is a hugely dissappointing example in the games industry.
Boo.
11/29/2007 23:22
11/29/2007 23:23
This case is a bit more extreme, but it's not unheard of.
11/29/2007 23:23
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11/29/2007 23:31
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11/29/2007 23:32
"There could never be flames here at Eidos about their many wonderful and different games.
We are a big happy family, and most fans here play in more than one game sandbox.
***And besides, any flaming is frowned upon by the membership and administration. "
He just got owned so much since his forum is burning!
11/29/2007 23:33
11/29/2007 23:38
11/29/2007 23:39
Eidos. You make shitty games, you're no longer allowed to be surprised about it and throw a fit. Hey, here's an idea. How about instead of spending advertising dollars on marketing your crappy games you put that money into development instead. It's okay to give up. No one will blame you.
Gamespot. There isn't much to say. Epic fail. EPIC. Gerstmann was the only reviewer I liked over there because he was tough, fair and his opinions always seems on par with my own.
Hopefully he'll be able to find a good home somewhere else. 1Up just lost a few guys. *hint* *hint*
(PS: not IGN!!)
11/29/2007 23:39
11/29/2007 23:40
Boooooo.
So much to say :p
11/29/2007 23:44
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11/29/2007 23:51
+6.0 is not negative. Just above average.
Gerstmann will get his revenge. He'll be posting here someday. Just you wait.
11/29/2007 23:51
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11/29/2007 23:58
Now there are legit reasons to fire someone over a review or reviews
1. Constantly missing deadlines.
2. Blatently misrepresenting a game such as giving a game a bad score cause it was on a console you didn't like or any other reason other than the merits of the game.
3. Errors in the work or not meeting a desired style for the reviews(score should never be an issue of comprimise but a site might wish for there reviews to be done a certain way and a certain flavor or appeal to a certain group of people).
11/29/2007 23:59
11/30/2007 00:00
11/30/2007 00:06
I did? As far as I can tell I went to have a cigarette and get some food after posting this. Had I known I was contractually obligated to seek out your blog I would have. A thousand apologies.
I'll go find it now Captain Impatientpants.
11/30/2007 00:07
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Need to wash my eyes...
11/30/2007 00:26
11/30/2007 00:27
Ziff Davis may just have found it's journalistic integrity shaken down to it's knees.
11/30/2007 00:31
11/30/2007 00:34
11/30/2007 00:35
First off, thanks for the caps. Second, I disagree with your assertion that reviews can be "right" (or "wrong" for that matter).
I can't say I'm a big fan of Jeff Gerstmann. There is something vaguely unlikeable about a person who, upon receiving one of the first Wiis in America, refused to stand up while playing Wii Sports bowling *while on camera.* Nevertheless, if he was indeed fired simply because he gave a negative review to a Gamespot-advertised game, then that's bullshit.
11/30/2007 00:36
11/30/2007 00:36
1. I will never visit Gamespot again. I used to rely on them, when I needed generic reviews to give me a general impression of a game. No longer, however. Fuck them.
2. Assuming that Eidos put some pressure on - did they? Anyone? I don't see it written, but can we assume that? - I will never play Kane & Lynch now, though I doubt I'm missing anything.
This is fucking bullshit. I don't really remember this guy's reviews, but this is fucking atrocious. I really hope that they come to their senses and re-hire him and that he, subsequently, turns them down and goes to work for another website. (Dtoid? Can haz hire him, plz?) I'm glad to hear that people are cancelling their Gamespot subscriptions. I did not have faith in the internets. Anyway, God bless this guy, and I hope he comes out of this okay. Kudos to him for having balls and giving an honest review. I wonder if I can say the same for other Gamespot employees...