Gamespot editor fired over Kane & Lynch review-confirmed (Kotaku)

[8th lutz]

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gamespot-ed...view-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 hasn't proved successful. Our current requests with PR, Gerstmann and other CNet contacts have either gone unanswered or yielded a "no comment."

Edited November 30, 2007 by 8th lutz

[8th lutz]

I have to say if this is true, then whatever crediability a game reviewer has is gone. Eidos will deserve all the flak they get from this. I got no problem with a game reviewer getting fired unless it is caused a game developer or publisher threating the site or a game magazine.

Edited November 30, 2007 by 8th lutz

[chrisbid]

dont mess with your employer, it never ends well

 

this is also a case of how messed up the 100 point rating scale is. there are no specific criteria for earning points in a rating score, so editors can throw whatever number they want. he couldve written the exact same review, criticisms and all, given the game a 7, and nobody wouldve known the difference.

[+Random Terrain]

If true, more proof that you can't trust reviews unless they're on an ad-free site.

[Gregory DG]

This pretty much confirms what we've been accusing the paper mags for years: That they're in the pockets of the publishers and will give good reviews to crappy games if there's enough advertising for said game. Sounds like the maverick reviewer got axed for going against the grain on this one.

 

Agree with RT. I think it's an unholy alliance between review sites and publishers to have them dictating review scores.

[MCHufnagel]

I too agree on not trusting reviews in magazines and large web-sites due to advertiser pressure. But when you read reviews from places like Gamefaqs, you get the "fanboy" reviews. That isn't very good either.

[Gabriel]

Well, if true, it's certainly no surprise.

 

What gets me are the users in the comments who are apparrently holding a grudge that the recent Zelda game didn't get a perfect 10 from the same reviewer. With people like them, it's no wonder we have the gaming press we do.

 

But that's no surprise either.

[Atari5200]

i think this is a load of crap, reviews are based on personal opinion and there's been times where I bought a game that has got glowing reviews and felt that it wasn't that good. A prime example is FEAR, this game won how many rewards??? Well if it were me doing the review right now I'd rate it at a bout a 6.5 out of 10. And I'm shocked it either got game of the year or was considered game of the year.

[8th lutz]

It was confirmed at http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/rumor-ga...-and-lynch-rev/

 

The 7:12 a.m. update on this story onJoystiq.com gave this following update: Jeff has confirmed his firing to us via e-mail, but says he's "not really able to comment on the specifics of my termination." He added that he's "looking forward to getting back out there and figuring out what's next." We're still digging.

Edited November 30, 2007 by 8th lutz

[+Psionic]

According to the source, Gerstmann was fired "on the spot" due to advertiser pressure for his review of Eidos' Kane & Lynch: Dead Men.

Sounds like a lynching to me.

[Ze_ro]

Sadly, this is nothing new. Any reviews from any source that accepts advertising dollars from the same industry should always be taken with a grain of salt. The same thing goes for movie reviews and everything else really. It's sad that we can never really assume an unbiased opinion, but hopefully this event will blow up enough that regular people will take notice.

 

--Zero

[+Psionic]

Sadly, this is nothing new. Any reviews from any source that accepts advertising dollars from the same industry should always be taken with a grain of salt.

No kidding. Read this review and see what happened when the VGC gave Outlaw Golf an F:

http://www.videogamecritic.net/gcor.htm#Outlaw_Golf

[Atari5200]

wow, that's terrible. Thank fully enough i guess that I can download demos of most games before I buy them but still even then that's not enough. I liked the demo of FEAR, but being i think like 5 or 6 hours into the game, I wouldn't have spent the money on this game.

 

Hard to say who you can trust, I guess I will ask more of the Atari Age community for opinions on games.

[PressureCooker2600]

This whole thing is a bunch of bullshit to me.

 

Whats the world coming to?

[bojay1997]

I for one was on the fence about this one, but given what happened, I will not be purchasing the game, and I'm going to make sure that if anyone asks me that I tell them to avoid this game at all costs.

[PressureCooker2600]

I for one was on the fence about this one, but given what happened, I will not be purchasing the game, and I'm going to make sure that if anyone asks me that I tell them to avoid this game at all costs.

 

The sad part about that statement is that the Hitman series and Freedom Fighters are some of the best games out there. The Hitman series is my favorite series on the PS2.....it was such a refreshing change of pace for any gamer.

 

It's sad to see that it had to happen with their game. IO Interactive is one of my favorite developers. I'm pretty sure it was mostly Eidos' doing.

[jboypacman]

This is just a load of garbage! How can you fire someone for doing there job and giving there opinion on something.

 

I hate mainstream review sites like Gamespot i much rather read a review from a fan who is not getting money or other kickbacks from a company to say something favorable about a bad or just ok game.

 

I refuse to do reviews in my Blog or on my website GameBlips just because i feel am just a normal person and videogame fan who has games he likes/dislikes.

 

Hell i like Space Jockey for the Atari 2600 and alot of people hate that game so does this mean am not allowed to be on AtariAge? No it doesnt it just means i like something that others dont just like some people like 2600 E.T. and Pac-Man i dont.

 

The heck with Gamespot am heading over to Jess Regan's Gameroom Blitz or some other fansite and read a review and then go buy a game i want not one someone tells me to buy.

Edited November 30, 2007 by jboypacman

[Albert]

Sadly, this is nothing new. Any reviews from any source that accepts advertising dollars from the same industry should always be taken with a grain of salt.

No kidding. Read this review and see what happened when the VGC gave Outlaw Golf an F:

http://www.videogamecritic.net/gcor.htm#Outlaw_Golf

That's interesting. I like how the individual from "Simon & Schuster" states the game hasn't received any reviews below a "C or C-". Funny, but looking on Metacritic and GameRankings.com you can clearly see several reviews before 70:

 

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/...q=Outlaw%20Golf

http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/562...q=outlaw%20golf

 

Gamespy and IGN gave it 58 and 69 respectively!

 

..Al

[AtariRocks]

I never look at critic reviews anyway. I look at the related reviews they have from users instead. I trust a groups of users much more than any one critic.

[Jess Ragan]

The heck with Gamespot am heading over to Jess Regan's Gameroom Blitz or some other fansite and read a review and then go buy a game i want not one someone tells me to buy.

 

Aw, shucks! You're making me feel embarrassed. And a little guilty, since I only update the site once a week!

[chrisbid]

This is just a load of garbage! How can you fire someone for doing there job and giving there opinion on something.

 

its simple, you dont cross your employer. he was the lead editor and thought he was bigger than the company that paid him. according to the penny arcade article, he was told his tone needed to change. that was probably nice talk for the editor being on the arrogant side. he probably took pleasure in pissing off internet fanboys with his twilight princess score

 

it sucks that he got fired, but why anybody took these reviews seriously in the first place is beyond me.

[A Sprite]

he probably took pleasure in pissing off internet fanboys with his twilight princess score

 

Of 8.8? That's a B+ for a bare bones last gen port with Wii controls expertly stapled on at the last minute. Sounds fair. Shouldn't an "A" be reserved for the very best someone can do? Since when was a B+ an attack on innocent children? Please tell me you're just being a devil's advocate.

 

And don't defend this as the way business is done. The company just burned millions of dollars since people who would never have heard of that review now view it as gospel and are out to spread the word.

 

It's an anti-commercial.

 

Someone needs fired.

 

It isn't the critic.

Edited December 1, 2007 by A Sprite

[8th lutz]

Gamespot now has denied Eidos pressured them to fire the editor. Here is the link: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/30/gamespot...g-of-gertsmann/

 

We just got off the phone with Sarah Cain, a CNET spokesperson who wanted to amend CNET's previous statement to Joystiq on the recent firing of executive editor Jeff Gerstmann. While reiterating that CNET does not discuss personal employee matters with the press, Cain said directly that "we do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers." When asked specifically about whether any such pressure was even attempted on Eidos' part, Cain had no comment. We're still waiting for a response to multiple e-mail requests for comment by Eidos PR.

 

While we had Cain on the line, we also asked her about the odd disappearance of Gerstmann's video review of the game from the GameSpot site. She responded by pointing out a note at the bottom of the still-running text review for the game, which states that "this review has been updated to include differences between the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions and a clarification on the game's multiplayer mode."

 

When pressed for clarification, Cain said that this note applied to the video review as well. "At the bottom of the post of the [text] review we made a note that we have updated the review, and we made those decisions based on our own editorial standards," she said. "It was our decision to take down the review." Given this justification, we can't help but wonder why GameSpot couldn't just edit the video review, as they did the text version. Why remove the entire thing if the problem was really just a "clarification?" When asked just that question, Cain reiterated her initial statement.

[8th lutz]

That Pr person did what she was paid to do. Tell bs to the media.

[Albert]

That Pr person did what she was paid to do. Tell bs to the media.

Yeah, they'd be better off saying nothing if they're just going to lie about it, as nobody's going to believe them anyway!

 

..Al