Gerstmann-gate put to bed.

[GeekyGuy]

This may or may not be old news, but I just discovered it myself and I hadn't read or heard about it elsewhere. I know a lot of folks had been following the Jeff Gerstmann (editor Gamespot) firing, and Frank Provo, a fellow reviewer at Gamespot, had this to say (from his person blog):

"All the proof I need is in the way the staff reacted to Jeff's dismissal and to what went on in the closed door meeting that took place on November 30th. I can't reveal exactly what was said, because I don't want to implicate specific staffers, but the bottom line is this: Any staffer that continues to work there once this fervor dies down does so with the fear that, one day, management will ask them to soften up their tone and scores... and they will either have to swallow their integrity and abide, or risk taking a stand and being let go."

Sounds like they asked Gerstmann to rework his review and he refused, resulting in his being let go. Everyone on the broadcast end (Hotspot / On The Spot) denies that such was the case, but, of course, I'm sure they are all too happy to say such when they get paid quite well and don't want to jeopardize their standing at CNET. Though what Provo says is what was speculated about much earlier, and what caused all the ruckus, his report seems to confirm the rumor as being true after all.

Source: Frank Provo's blog

 

[bluebright]

yeah, i believe this. Sounds about right.

 

[Lumstar]

Eh. I'm pro-Gamespot. I'll take the company's side, not what anonymous and/or random people on the Internet are claiming.

 

[King Zargo]

I dont like gamespot they review games to low. But that guy was stupid he just should have changed the review its just a crap game nobody cares about.

 

[Lumstar]

Um... I think you should look up which developer worked on that game. One of their series became popular enough to get a theatrical Hollywood movie.

 

[.TakaM]

always hated gamespot, absolutely no surprise

 

[mossy]

Courtesy of wikipedia:

Gerstmann was dismissed from his position at GameSpot as Editorial Director on November 28, 2007. While rumors circulated to his dismissal being a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive after Gerstmann had given the game Kane & Lynch: Dead Men a 6.0 ("Fair") rating, both Gamespot and parent company CNet stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review.

For more details see the official Gamespot response - found here - or do a google search (there were literally dozens of articles and blogs written about the incident.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Eh. I'm pro-Gamespot. I'll take the company's side, not what anonymous and/or random people on the Internet are claiming.

Provo isn't an "anonymous and/or random" person, he's a reviewer for Gamespot -- been there for a while. He was also present at the meeting he's referring to. I'd say that gives him a lot of credibility.

 

[blahman]

ugggggg i hope people finally get over this thing...
and pleaaaaase people can't you be a little bit more...creative.
i'm so sick of things being called -gate.

 

[jesterscourt]

How does this mean it's over? If anything, it's just getting started, with Gamespot/Cnet being caught with their pants effectively down while in bed with Eidos.

 

[GeekyGuy]

How does this mean it's over? If anything, it's just getting started, with Gamespot/Cnet being caught with their pants effectively down while in bed with Eidos.

I didn't mean to imply that I think the issue is over, but that the jury regarding the true nature of Gerstmann's firing seems to be settled with Provo's report (if true).