GameSpot's Gerstmann Fired Due to Negative Review

Report: GameSpot's Gerstmann Fired Due to Negative Kane & Lynch Review

by Chris Remo Nov 29, 2007 9:09pm CST
Rumors have been swirling today that Jeff Gerstmann, executive editor at CNET-owned major video game site GameSpot, was fired after giving a generally unimpressed review of Io Interactive's Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. Gerstmann awarded the game a 6.0. [Edit: Gerstmann had particularly negative words in his video review, which was removed from the site by GameSpot today.] (Though Shacknews does not score its reviews, our own Kane & Lynch review was similar in its verdict.)

According to the reports, the layoff came after Kane & Lynch publisher Eidos took issue with the review and threatened to pull its considerable ad contract. GameSpot's front page is currently almost entirely re-skinned with Kane & Lynch imagery.

The rumor began bouncing around various industry circles over the past day, and this evening was reported by Kotaku. Popular webcomic Penny Arcade posted a strip about the alleged incident tonight, outside of its normal publishing schedule.

Shacknews can confidently confirm via its own sources that Gerstmann was indeed fired yesterday from his position at GameSpot. The source declined to comment as to whether the firing was directly related to the reported Eidos situation, but the circumstances are suspicious at the least.

Gerstmann had been an employee at GameSpot for about a decade, and took the place of former executive editor Greg Kasavin when Kasavin left the company to work for Electronic Arts as a producer.

Update: CNET employee Tim Tracy has posted what appears to be a farewell notice on his GameSpot blog. Until July, Tracy was an editor at GameSpot, and since then has been working for CNET-owned MP3.com. If indeed Tracy is departing, it is unknown if it is related to Gerstmann's dismissal.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50134

Kinda depressing really - in a sick way.

I'm a member, and I can tell you that it must have been serious bucks for the extent that we've been pounded with this Kane and Lynch for the last couple months! I have zero interest in the title purrsonally, but I did want to check out the video review, tho it is indeed pulled. I havent read the review (here at work, doing this one the sly) but once glance at this page of player reviews does not bode well for the title. Merely backlash for the rumored scandal?

Only one person that can clear this up, and that's Jeff himself

Ive found Jeff a competent reviewer, if this rumor truly is the case it's a dark day for GS and the industry.

You would think an executive editor would know which side his bread was buttered, whether or not he was in a position to be objective with the opinions he expressed at GameSpot.

Well, now he knows. And so do we.

Here's the review.

Yeah, sounds pretty bad!

I haven't heard much good about the game in general - and when I saw this article earlier it put the Penny Arcade comic into context …

Yup, almost posted this on the front page but figured I'd posted enough non-rpg stuff for one day.

It's all part and parcel of the "You are teh consumer--you have no brain, only a wallet." approach that seems to drive marketing and advertising these days. Sometimes it's been known to backfire, though. I give the guy marks for writing his honest opinion of the game. He had to know it wouldn't be popular, even if he didn't know it would get him canned.

Well, assuming that the rumor is true of course.

What, the internet would lie???

This is really sad. Gamespot used to be the only big gaming site of which reviews were more or less reliable

I don't get why eidos got so pissed off. Anyone can tell by looking at the video that this game is standard rubbish. Character movements feel quite akward and on top of everything the game a.i seems to be total moron and if you listen to what reviewer says….its a miracle Kane&lynch scored even 6.

Eidos should make better games.

This does not bode well for Deus Ex 3.

This game is utter crap. 9/10

How to write a sponsor review.

Ah, the infamous sponsored review debate strikes again!! Guess this means more free publicity for the game too!!

I read about this earlier this morning, and it's pretty depressing. I do worry though that there's going to be a large backlash against reviewers rather than marketing folks. There are a lot of people who believe all reviewers are "on the take" and something like this will only confirm that suspicion, whereas the real problem lies with the publishers who try to pull this crap, and worse yet those who succumb to it by screwing up honest people's lives.

The people who need to look badly here are Eidos and Gamespot's upper management. Eidos shouldn't pull stuff like this, but Gamespot certainly shouldn't go along with it either. Marketing people do this sort of thing, it's their job, yet by no means does that imply that their targets must comply.
It's all quite absurd. I'd hope this Jeff guy tries to argue the matter based on wrongful dismissal.

That makes me sad when an honest reviewer is reprimanded and loses his job for being honest.

Jeff Gerstmann surely understood the position GameSpot was in after courting and accepting Eidos advertising dollars. To then turn around and trash the game… I don't blame Eidos for flexing their muscles. Advertisers pay GameSpot's bills, and they know it.

It never should have worked out the way it did, but it was up to GameSpot -- not Eidos -- to avoid that situation. Gerstmann blew it. He's going to have some explaining to do for a while, every time he interviews for a new job.

Originally Posted by Squeek
it was up to GameSpot -- not Eidos -- to avoid that situation.

Definitely - people might be upset with Eidos, but in their position I'd do the same - we paid good money for this, now we want blood!

Originally Posted by Squeek
Gerstmann blew it. He's going to have some explaining to do for a while, every time he interviews for a new job.

I am not so sure - I think that anywhere outside of gaming he'll do fine. He can point to his journalistic integrity and use all of the editorial articles being written to back him up. Gaming media is terribly immature in this regard …

It's got Wrongful dismissal written all over it.

Well, I don't think he blew it in any way. If you start validating dishonesty, where do you stop? There's more to life than making a buck.

Originally Posted by magerette
If you start validating dishonesty, where do you stop? There's more to life than making a buck.

It's more than a question of honesty. GameSpot doesn't just review games. They advertise them too. They are, in fact, trying to make a buck. There's obvious potential for conflict of interest there. That makes it a question of tact as well as honestly and having the good judgement to know how and when to avoid those situations.

How hard could that have been, anyway? If nothing else, Gerstmann might have just skipped reviewing that particular game. Or he could have refused to advertise it. But he did both instead. GameSpot ran ads that claimed it was a great game, and then they trashed it in their review.

Originally Posted by Squeek
Or he could have refused to advertise it. But he did both instead.

I seriously doubt he had any say in that whatsoever. As for refusing to review a game … that would cause significant issues. I would rather put up a review that gets me in trouble for its' honestly that try to avoid controversy by not reviewing it at all.