Gamespot Editor Fired Over Negative Kane & Lynch Review

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gam [...] 328244.php


We've heard an unsettling rumor today from an anonymous tipster that longtime game reviewer Jeff Gerstmann from Gamespot has been let go. That wouldn't necessarily be newsworthy, but the conditions under which he was allegedly dismissed were. According to the source, Gerstmann was fired "on the spot" due to advertiser pressure for his review of Eidos' Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. A visit to Gamespot shows that the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game has taken over the site very prominently, with backgrounds and multiple banner ads all pitching Kane & Lynch. Allegedly, publisher Eidos "took issue with the review and threatened to pull its ad campaign."

Jeff's review was certainly less than glowing. He assigned the game a 6.0, otherwise known as "Fair" on the Gamespot scale. The game is currently enjoying a Metacritic score in the 65 to 69 range, which the site describes as "mixed or average reviews." According to our tipster, it wasn't necessarily the score that was reason for Gerstmann's rumored axing, but the "tone" of the review.

Gerstmann has been no stranger to controversial reviews, as his scores of 10 for Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and 8.8 for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess had sensitive internet users up in arms. It's now possible that many bitter fanboys may have had their wishes for his firing granted.

As our tipster points out, if the rumor is true, it could point to a distressing precedent at Gamespot and parent company CNet. "As writers of what is supposed to be objective content, this is our worst nightmare coming to life," wrote the tipster.

Our efforts to confirm the story with Gamespot haven't proved successful. Our current requests with PR, Gerstmann and other CNet contacts have either gone unanswered or yielded a "no comment."

Update: We did get confirmation that Mr. Gerstmann is no longer with Gamespot. The circumstances in which he was terminated or left of his own accord, however, were not disclosed.

Meh, sucks for him, but this happens in every industry.

My point is - readers should be aware that Gamespot is a sham. If you want to find out if you should wip out that $50 on a new game, avoid them like the plague. If you are bored and looking for some nice screenshots, they're worth a visit.

I've become very anti-media over the last 12 months because I've been doing research into how their profitability is driven. It really helps you understand the garbage they push. Its a fricken sham. Make sure you teach your kids well.

This happens everywhere. Including in television, radio, newspapers... It's pretty normal. They are a business. They have bills to pay, if they lose their ad campaign they lose money. A better resolution would be to pull the review, however they went another route.

I don't trust any gaming website though. I have my own tastes, and I won't limit my interests by only playing games that rate 9.5 or above. I've played games that got horrible reviews that I've enjoyed. Point being, all review sites are biased to begin with. Atleast this one is open about it.

Is that "open", as in "No Comment" or unreturned calls "open"?

The story got out, someone leaked it, official or not.

That being said, I really doubt this was the single reason he was fired. No, I don't know anything more, I just have my doubts.

I stopped reading GS years ago.. anyways, we can make up our own minds, demos, rentals, etc, try yourself before you buy (some use less legal means..), it's always good to know another person's point of view, but really, does it matter that much when it comes to something like you liking a game or book?

So far this year i've only regretted 2 game purchases, WoW and SupCom (I don't know what I was thinking when I got WoW, and supcom, while some played TA, I was on starcrack and c&c). A few other guys at work bought supcom and regretted it aswell, except for one guy, and he got fired lol (not over the game).

I regret WoW now because it was a waste of time. I really loved it when I played it though. Funny you mention SupCom, DLing the expansion from D2D right now I actually like that one! And see, this is why I don't read reviews. It wouldn't of had a good one from ya!

As you said.. Demos are adundant.

Fired over personal opinion, how sad it is....

There are also so many bad reviews out now days anyway. lots of places that just play a few levels and give a review on graphics and not game play......

Play it, beat it and review it. the score should be based on everything. longer games should get a higher score due to the fact that you get more for your money....graphics are nice, but its sucks to beat a game in 2-4 days....

sucks!!!!

I don't know all the facts but if he was let go for just the review of the game it's not surprising. If advertisers have the power to affect news content on a national level what chances does a gaming review site have?

Im new , but what has this got to do with components ? Its a mans job-important-to be sure-but is this the right forum ?
nametaken