Gamespot Controversy Continues

[Demon_Skeith]

Friday brought us the rumor that the editor of gamespot.com was fired over a semi-negative review of Kane & Lynch, that showed up when the site was skinned with K&L ads.

On Monday morning, the facts remain about the same: Many on the internet are speculating that Jeff Gerstmann was fired from CNET's site over the review, although no confirmation has come from anyone. Gerstmann is bound by an agreement he made with his former employers to not discuss the circumstances of the end of his employment. CNET has issued a vague statement assuring you that the really respect the wall between advertising and editorial, without actually denying or confirming anything. But, facts or not, the gaming community is reacting

* A gamespot boycott has been called for.
*Destructoid.com changed the name of its site to CashWh0res and has satirically offered an "11 out of 10" review for any game company that give them 20 grand.
*Virtual Fools has published a round-up of insider at Gamespot blogs, which, at best offer oblique hints as to the goings-on, and tend instead more toward, "Sorry, we really can't say anything because we work here" posts.
*The user rating page for Kane & Lynch on * Gamespot's site has been shut down. Presumably because of an explosion of 1.0, retaliatory reviews for the title.

Ironically, the biggest loser in all of this might be Eidos, the makers of Kane & Lynch. The company's top brass is reportedly freaked out over the dust-up, and say they had nothing to do with the firing. If that's true, and Gerstmann was fired either for a legitimate reason or because CNET's management independently took issue with the review, Eidos is really catching flak for no reason at all, and Kane & Lynch's sales and reputation could tank horribly as a result.

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[Demon_Skeith]

update:

Gerstmann can't tell his story because he undoubtedly signed an agreement to that effect. Eidos may have nothing to do with the whole thing, but their game will suffer the blowback, and employees of gamespot have to decide how to react to the situation and/or keep their jobs.

This afternoon's rumor, courtesy of Kotaku, is that gamespot may soon see a mass resignation. Citing a source who would rather not be named, Kotaku reports that gamespot's editorial staff is demoralized, and recognizes that the site's crediblitly is "in ruins."

Also interestingly, the unnamed source says the firing was not over the Kane and Lynch review, but rather had to do with a conflict between Gerstmann and Vice President of games Josh Larson.


another rumor on the internet iis that Gerstmann was fired from the website after Eidos complained of a bad review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Gamespot's response, attributed to "Staff, Gamespot," was posted last night at around 9 o'clock. It reads:

Due to legal constraints and the company policy of GameSpot parent CNET Networks, details of Gerstmann's departure cannot be disclosed publicly. However, contrary to widespread and unproven reports, his exit was not a result of pressure from an advertiser.

"Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content," said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment's vice president of programming. "The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff's departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot."

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I'm seeing gamespot closing down in the near future anyone agree?