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See the original image at kotaku.com —

Mass resignations from Gamespot predicted.

kotaku.com — "While the termination of Gerstmann, a respected fixture at Gamespot, was pitched to his remaining colleagues by management as a "mutual decision", it was anything but, we're told." way to piss off your viewers and employees in one swoop!

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  • Rikushix, on 12/04/2007, -36/+18If it went that way, I don't care if Gamespot did something bad (which is still unofficial, by the way), it's sad to see such a prominent site end up being the center of a lose-lose situation for everyone.
    • Chompy, on 12/04/2007, -0/+8If it was a valid cause, it would have been "leaked" by now. I know I'd definitely be outta there; indignation aside, there's no job security in a workplace like that. Also, who would want to work in such a culture of fear? The CVs must be flying.
    • JPOOPOO, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5"I don't care if Gamestop did something bad"
      That seems to explain your whole viewpoint on the subject. They did do something bad and now they should get what they deserve.
    • skuk, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1"I don't care if Gamespot did something bad"
      Well you are in a minority. Most people feel sorry for them when someone gets dumped on.
    • ericrous, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2"I don't care if Gamespot did something bad"

      Well I do.
  • daridave, on 12/04/2007, -0/+208Deep down, I'm hoping this happens... I'm not exactly wishing that Gamespot dies, but it's an insult I will never "forgive and forget". Unless they bring Gerstmann back and kick out the retard who made the call, there is absolutely nothing they can do that could satisfy me enough to ever visit their website back and actually log back into my account. I understand that besides this incident, reviews have always been accurate, but I just finished listening to the Wiik in Review from IGN and Matt mentions how the marketing and editorial depts at IGN are two completely separate entities, they don't even communicate. Unless Gamespot adopts a similar procedure, I simply cannot look at their reviews with the same level of thrust anymore, especially considering that their very own editors are not feeling comfortable doing it. I hope they get similar jobs elsewhere soon, so we can keep on having quality reviews from great people without the pressure!
    • Solis, on 12/04/2007, -16/+7Consequently, I am wishing Gamespot dies. Let's hope IGN is next!
    • joegibes, on 12/04/2007, -11/+1I agree... Profits should run these websites.
    • DanJohnHarris, on 12/04/2007, -5/+32Exactly what level of thrust did you look at their reviews before?
      • AnimZero, on 12/05/2007, -1/+17About 10 psi.
      • daridave, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Funny... not. OK, my English isn't perfect, it's not my native language, and I know it's "trust", not "thrust", I just didn't notice my mistake. There, I said it. Happy, mr. clown ? BTW, there's a "with" missing in your sentence...
        • DanJohnHarris, on 12/06/2007, -1/+1Lol chill buddy, just making a joke. I saw the missing "with" but it was too late to change it. YOU GOOD AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE!
    • SkippyDoorknob, on 12/04/2007, -1/+15What we need is something like Consumer Reports for games. They accept no advertising whatsoever, but then again you have to pay to join and get the magazine (or exclusive areas on the website). But with so many other free (but ad-supported) gaming sites out there, it seems unlikely something like that could survive.
      • blackhand0114, on 12/04/2007, -2/+1Game Informer has a similar web site as you described. A lot of reviews and photos are free (but delayed at times) while there are a lot of inside interviews and videos that you have to be a subscriber to get into. It's a nice bonus to the already high quality magazine.
        • Hexxagonal, on 12/04/2007, -0/+3are you reading the same magazine that i've read or are your standards of high quality different than everyone with a pulse?
        • SkippyDoorknob, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1There are ads all over the Game Informer site. How is that like Consumer Reports?
    • kingUssop, on 12/04/2007, -0/+2As hard as it is to leave a job when you're established and need the money, it would be the right thing to do in this case. So what if they're dealing with videogames, it's legitimate news people want to know about, as well as legitimate reviews, and all the people working there know that I'm sure.
      • Grummond, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1It's not like IGN hasn't been doing this kinda thing for years anyway. I've always hated the IGN conglomerate because they have a habit of doing exactly what Gamespot just did.
        I stopped visiting their sites back when Nokia was advertising the nGage heavily, and IGN raved about it, claiming it's "definitely the gaming platform of the future". Nokia stopped advertising there, and shortly after IGN claimed they've always hated the nGage, and it's clearly dead as a gaming platform.
        It reaked.
    • lobsangax, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1Let me remind you people that Gerstmann was allegedly fired because of his review. There is no solid evidence that he was fired for the review. It is probably pure coincidence that he was fired at the same time the ad appeared. Neither Gerstmann nor GameSpot have confirmed whether the reason for the firing was for the review or not.
  • sockpuppets, on 12/04/2007, -18/+4That sucking sound is... well, you sucking.
  • RyanBlack, on 12/04/2007, -1/+85RIP Gamespot corrupt bastards.
    • Dylson, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Gamespot fails. The site was never that good anyways. ***** layout, unorganized, way cluttered. AND the reviews were always sub-par.
  • tyfighter, on 12/04/2007, -16/+3A bit melodramatic, but IGN/Gamespy sucks. Where am I supposed to get good news? I've been going to gamespot since C&C: Red Alert :(
    • Solis, on 12/04/2007, -1/+6There's about 100 other websites out there to get gaming news. I personally prefer Kotaku.com myself.
    • frmatc, on 12/04/2007, -1/+141up.com?
    • angers, on 12/04/2007, -0/+6personally, i have a lot of respect for eurogamer.net. mainly because when they have interviews with the developers, they not only ask relevant questions regarding the gameplay, but also about really important issues such as the netcode for multiplayer...
    • Skooma714, on 12/05/2007, -4/+1Actiontrip FTW
  • Ender008, on 12/04/2007, -1/+41I'd like to think that I'd resign over this if I worked there.
    • Bamont, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6No offense, I'm sure we'd all like to think this - but the amount of times that people have quit a job over principle (in terms of the masses) is almost non-existent. I'm not saying it hasn't happened - but in reality, most Americans are only looking out for themselves. To get a pay check, or not to get a pay check. People with families still have to pay bills, and those who are working after school or while in college also have bills and/or prospects they have in mind for their money. I doubt we'll see mass resignations over this. We'll see some internal protesting, no doubt, but people quitting in mass? Highly unlikely.
    • underburn, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1You'd think... then you'd realize you had to pay rent in San Francisco.
      • Sethbacca, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Ugh, you guys over there are nuts. No way would I ever pay 1500 a month for rent. That would get you an amazing house up here in Maine. We pay like 300,000 for what you tards over there pay 1-2 million for :P
    • unearth, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2I'd like to think that I wouldn't quit the job, but instead go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way
    • ericrous, on 12/05/2007, -1/+1It's not reasonable to think they're going to resign en masse (seriously, when has that EVER happened?). If they want to protest, they should just start giving ever single game a 10/10 and writing rave reviews of even the worst *****. Management would get the message pretty quick as the site's little remaining credibility evaporated. It would force them to institute some major reforms to save face, and maybe even hire Jeff back (which is really the only way for them to save face at this point anyway).
  • rupprupp29, on 12/04/2007, -2/+75Gamespot is about to get pwned.
  • georgemason01, on 12/04/2007, -1/+16Hopefully that ship in the picture is in fact sinking.
  • Rahodeb, on 12/04/2007, -5/+53I'm sure they'll have a hard time trying to find people to play games for a living and talk about them.
    • Defuser, on 12/05/2007, -1/+7As a casual reading of any Digg comments section can attest, there's a HUGE difference between "being a writer" and "knowing how to type". Professional websites only thrive if their content is BETTER than the random ravings of your average fanboy.
      • theaceoffire, on 12/05/2007, -1/+4Sometimes you WANT a fanboy, someone to cause a ruckus in the community and gain traffic to the site.
    • Metis2be, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2The problem isn't finding writers, it's convincing the readers to stay. If everyone leaves over this, the fans of their reviews aren't going to stick around, and finding a new fanbase is a lot harder than finding someone to review a game.
  • f4nt0m4s, on 12/04/2007, -0/+10If Gamespot wants to run a deceptive site than they should hire deceptive writers. I know I wouldn't want to work at a game review site where I couldn't state my honest opinion. I'm sure they will fill the void of anybody that leaves, so hopefully the people that leave can start their own site.
    • m.sandstorm, on 12/05/2007, -3/+2Deceptive writers? I'm sure they can gather plenty from fox news.
  • bruinexmo, on 12/04/2007, -1/+119This isn't just about Gerstmann. You can't help but wonder how many times ad buyers have influenced the editorial content of Gamespot. Their credibility is forever tainted.
  • tacklebox, on 12/04/2007, -21/+12Doubt it. Every idiot I've fired has told me about how many people will quit because of this.
    • MrFisty, on 12/04/2007, -2/+23Getting rid of your helpers in Viva Pinata doesn't count as firing.
    • mandarin, on 12/04/2007, -2/+19Does Dominos have a high turnover rate?
    • Metalteeth9, on 12/04/2007, -1/+5Yes, but it is not often that it is the OTHER employees that are saying it.
  • soot, on 12/04/2007, -6/+181UP.com baby.
    • silentdragoon, on 12/04/2007, -0/+3GFW Radio (going up shortly, with any luck) will be talking about this extensively.

      gfwradio.1up.com
    • Hexxagonal, on 12/04/2007, -2/+4I love 1up.com but they're still owned by ZDNet which is owned by CNet, unless someone else recently bought ZDNet.

      Who's to say that this won't happen to them with the same upper upper management.
    • Aooogah, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7Actually they are owned by Ziff Davis Media which sold ZDNet to CNet a while back.

      Confusing I know.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziff_Davis_Media#Tech ...
    • Jugalator, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1It's easy to see which site may be at risk about this. Any website that have extensive ads on the games they review is... It was really a warning that Gamespot had them, and fortunately 1UP doesn't seem to have those as prominently at least. I see some Crysis ad now, but it seems combined with Logitech, and in this case it's probably Logitech doing the ad, but in partnership with EA... And then it looks a bit more OK, for example. Direct game ads on review sites are a no-no though. Should always be considered to be.
  • duggtodeath, on 12/04/2007, -8/+55All GS needs to do is apologize, re-hire Jeff and fire Larson. Problem solved.
    • PawtucketPat, on 12/05/2007, -0/+3Of course, it looks like none of those will happen.
    • bariswheel, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2you make it sounds so easy
      • elvenseven, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Remember Kevin Rose and the HD-DVD code?
  • shcforward, on 12/04/2007, -2/+61We'll see if people put their money where there mouth is. We'd all like to see an exodus from that company, but quitting your job over something like this is not a really easy thing to do. You've got a family to feed.
    • tuxidomasx, on 12/04/2007, -2/+20co-sign

      i personally know how hard it is to put food on your family.
      • Skooma714, on 12/05/2007, -4/+8Why? Whipped cream is cheap, you can do your whole wife with half a can
    • cmckinla, on 12/04/2007, -0/+4Agreed. I'm sure some of them don't feel like looking for another job. While it would be awesome to see happen, it most likely won't.
    • pwnerofnoobs, on 12/04/2007, -6/+1+1 for Bushism
    • 5555, on 12/04/2007, -1/+11It's not an easy thing to do. A co-worker on my team was fired without cause (well, the company needed to lay 'someone' off but apparently that looks bad for tax reasons so he was terminated), without proper warning or reason, and without severance. I was so shocked by the lack of respect shown by the company that I quit on the spot. I don't have a family to feed, but I've got rent to pay and bills like anyone else and it was pretty damn scary. Everybody said I was crazy, and I felt unsure about my decision at the time.. but it turned out to be a great career move. Life is too short to work in an unhealthy, corrupt work environment.
      • inchrnt, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1good for you. in the long run, your principles will raise you above the masses ... or you'll die a stubborn death. I forget which one it is.
  • DellDrEvil, on 12/04/2007, -9/+11Here we are a hairs' breadth from a recession, and you really think people are going to quit over someone else's journalistic integrity? BS... they're going to cash their paychecks like every one else. It's not like the internet is starving for writers of game reviews. Where are they going to go?
    • spudnic, on 12/05/2007, -0/+8The problem is their future career could be at risk, if this doesn't all blow over and Gamespot is forever seen as being in the pockets of the advertisers, how good is it going to look on their CV that they stayed?
      Don't under-estimate the importance of having journalistic integrity.
      (This is coming from a journalist, not a games journalist, but still)
      • inchrnt, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2journalistic integrity? there is probably no greater myth than the concept of journalistic integrity.

        if you are paid for your journalism, your integrity is in question.

        I've worked for one of the largest media companies on the planet and also one renowned for their 'integrity' and trust me it's a myth perpetuated by narcissistic journalists. paid journalists are EXTREMELY aware of what sells. It affects their choices and their tone and that, although very interesting, is dishonest. journalism is a business.
  • imants, on 12/04/2007, -11/+41While it's good to be passionate about things, I wish that people were this passionate about other, arguably more important things in life.

    Now mod me down.
  • theNazz, on 12/04/2007, -2/+4I liked GameCenter.com so much better ...
    • tomservo51, on 12/04/2007, -1/+1lol, gamecenter.com forgot about that.
    • mrjit, on 12/04/2007, -1/+1avault.com back in its day.
    • savingpvtbryan, on 12/04/2007, -0/+0Gamecenter.com was too slow at reporting things. Sort of how CNET is right now. However, I did like Gamecenter and I do miss it.
  • mhender, on 12/04/2007, -9/+6Everyones going to forget about it.
    • myranttoyou, on 12/04/2007, -3/+1Exactly, noone will give a ***** a month from now. When the next batch of games come out?
    • kingUssop, on 12/04/2007, -0/+2people haven't even forgotten about McIGN... of course they'll remember this... this is a thousand times worse. hell it's the whole credibility of a site destroyed.
  • Bender4Pharoah, on 12/04/2007, -3/+12I call "no way". If even one person resigns from a job that pays them to play video games all day, over something that may or may not have happened, I'll eat my Xbox.
    • kertong, on 12/04/2007, -0/+12No GS reviewer in their right mind would choose unemployment over their GS job, you're right. But it seems like an opportune time for IGN to swoop in and recruit their talent.
    • nerdherder, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1I hear they are tasty with ketchup.
    • dbdrum, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0I agree completely. 'Tones' will change when they actually have to do it as a group. It'll be a "You go first" "No, you go first" thing for sure.
  • YuriSakazaki, on 12/04/2007, -5/+2Well, guess there's always 1up.
    • tyzent, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1i think 2 girls 1up is a more reliable place for game reviews and, you know, ***** eating
  • LRG1, on 12/04/2007, -12/+6Go outside, walk around and get some fresh air. There is a word beyond your computer.
    • logicalnoise, on 12/04/2007, -1/+1you mean like the bathroom?
    • technoredneck, on 12/04/2007, -0/+6I'll stick to my computer. There are lots more words there for me to read.
  • tomservo51, on 12/04/2007, -6/+9To be fair, the review was sloppy.
  • gazzigger, on 12/04/2007, -5/+23Nothing will happen. They have it good and everybody knows it. Hell, go ahead and leave, I'll submit my resume and make 60k a year playing games.
    • puggy, on 12/04/2007, -3/+6Don't forget to tighten up the graphics for us, okay?
    • Hoov, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4I highly doubt a reviewer gets paid anywhere close to $60k a year. And if they do, I'm in the wrong profession.
  • ElAssoWipo, on 12/04/2007, -10/+7Lol, did you JUST realize that game critics are for the most part paid by game producers? Every inch of that space is paid for by game producers. And just like on TV, you don't piss off the sponsors. That guy got fired for making an honest review about a POS game.

    EIDOS is big money. That guy is replaceable.

    • spudnic, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4No amount of money they're likely to have paid is worth this much bad press. The site will lose visitors because of this, less visitors means less ad money. On top of that other advertisers might now pull ads, not wanting to be seen as corrupt themselves. The management should have stuck by him.
  • Synthesize, on 12/04/2007, -2/+10I hope whoever decided to fire Jeff, gets fired.
    • nexah3, on 12/04/2007, -1/+1And not just fired, beaten into a bloody pulp.
    • weezer17, on 12/04/2007, -2/+0or at least hung by their testicles outside their office, and people get to go there and throw ***** at him.
    • skyfire1, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1And I hope the person that fires that person gets a better job.
    • fhornplayer, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have (hopefully) been sacked.
  • harrisbradley, on 12/04/2007, -2/+1@tyfighter asked "Where am I supposed to get good news?"

    Sorry, at this time I can only tell you where not to go to avoid paid-for-opinions
  • chaos7, on 12/04/2007, -3/+12gamespot/cnet isn't handling this correctly at all
  • masscrazy, on 12/04/2007, -11/+5LET IT GO!!!
    • weezer17, on 12/04/2007, -1/+2NO!!! People will be talking about this for months, and if you don't want to read about it, dont click the ***** link.
    • Rorsach, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Who are you kidding? In a couple of months almost everyone will have forgotten this and the internet generation will have found something else to spew their indignation about.
  • omgwthlol, on 12/04/2007, -3/+5die cnet die
  • myranttoyou, on 12/04/2007, -7/+9I call *****. This is an American company, and individuals do what is best for them. What game reviewer is going to give up such a fun job over this. Answer: None.

    Even if I'm wrong, Gamespot will just have to hire any of the other thousands of male teen to twenty-somethings that will work for a pittance to have such a job.
  • Doomsan, on 12/04/2007, -0/+6I miss videogames.com, those where the days...
  • Jenovaside, on 12/04/2007, -4/+2That review is not as infuriating as the one on Fire Emblem:Radiant Dawn. 6.0, 79 from Metacritic.Someone decided to send a halo fanboy to review a srpg game.
  • kwansolo, on 12/04/2007, -0/+7i used to go to cnet for all my electronics reviews (thought they were quite good). but the other day a cnet review came up in a search result and i skipped right over it because this story has tarnished the brand in my mind pretty badly.

    FTA, i also thought that bill lumberg / alien lieutenant reference was awesome.
  • kidwithsword, on 12/04/2007, -2/+5I really hope this happens. I was never a fan of Jeff, but I still respected his opinions and he was a great guy. If I were an employee, I think I would resign too. Burn in hell, GameSpot!!!!
  • Cdog923, on 12/04/2007, -1/+9Maybe Gamespot will be readable now...
  • dgh1973, on 12/04/2007, -3/+1From the outside this seems like an editor who is acting as the source... it's been my experience that sentiment like this can go around an office over something and not always have the effect some people think it will have. I for one hope they do suffer from mass resignations IF the rumor going around about Gerstmann is true... it would teach them a lesson for letting publishers pay for good reviews, that's unethical and needs to be stopped ASAP if you want honest reviews on video games (which I am very interested in frankly, not sure about you all).
  • deadbaby, on 12/04/2007, -1/+3I doubt it. Most people choose paychecks over integrity. I kinda doubt there's huge demand for video game "journalists" in the age of the blog/podcast/etc where every person with a keyboard is equally qualified to give their opinions (for free)
  • akatsuki, on 12/04/2007, -0/+4Resignations won't be good enough if names aren't named. The people who bowed under pressure will just go on to ruin other sites with their whoring ways.
  • Burnmaster10, on 12/04/2007, -2/+3I hope GS does meltdown should this all be true that Edios wanted a better review and the suits got rid of Jeff because the review wasn't up to snuff as in not keeping the publisher happy. I don't care about the publisher, I care more about the games themselves.
  • therandar, on 12/04/2007, -0/+14Gamespot refused to refund my subscription citing their refund policy - Refunds are only issued in the event of FRAUD
    • goldfenix, on 12/05/2007, -0/+2Okay, is this textbook irony yet?

      irony: A literary or rhetorical device, in which there is a gap or incongruity between what a speaker or a writer says, and what is generally understood.
  • sleepless, on 12/04/2007, -1/+3After reading all the news on this matter, one thing (particularly a song) comes to mind:
    PS3 Song: How to kill a brand. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mK5D23fVJM
    Maybe someone will be creative enough and write a song? Gamespot Song: How to kill a brand.
  • Dustin00, on 12/04/2007, -0/+5"OK, we just fired the last guy that gave a game a 6/10 rating. But don't pay any attention to that. Who's review is up next?"
  • syn3rgyz, on 12/04/2007, -1/+1i never liked any of their reviews anyway, but i guess their reviews are personal opinions, but why would you resign if you get paid?
  • esaks, on 12/04/2007, -0/+7I always liked gamespot because of the fact that they rated games hard. Their scores were always similar to my opinions. This Eidos thing is ridiculous and the site credibility is probably ruined forever. Despite how much I loved the gamespot site, I've always considered Jeff Gerstmann one of the most irritating internet personalities ever. He always just came across as pompous and really gives off the vibe of the comic book guy from the Simpsons.
  • Skooma714, on 12/05/2007, -1/+18***** Gamespot!

    09-f9-11-02-9d-74-e3-5b-d8-41-56-c5-63-56-88-c0
    • r3negadeX, on 08/11/2008, -1/+4"***** Gamespot" & "***** the RIAA" FTW!
  • BuckleButt, on 12/05/2007, -4/+393% this won't happen.
  • Yage2006, on 12/05/2007, -3/+5I hav always assumed that all those review sites IGN , Gamespot so on all were deceptive.
    Check all the ones that game mario a 10/10 .
    Games good but not a 10.

    I dont trust any of them anyway .
  • Yage2006, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Damn 60sec edit :/

    There is a easy way for CNET to get out of this.
    Fire whoever fired Gerstmann, And then re-instate him .

    Problems solved :)
  • kkith, on 12/05/2007, -4/+3While this is sad to hear that the integrity of gamespot is in question, most readers will forget about this whole mess in just a few months (if not days). Gamespot's reputation will be fine. The editorial staff is currently in an uproar, but at the end of the day, they all can't just mutiny. I'm guessing some need to bring home the bacon for themselves and/or their families. Once the dust settles, they will all go back to work. Getting paid to review games are jobs that are not easy to find, everyone wants to do it, and there are a lot of people that major in English in college. I am willing to bet there are lots of people willing and able to take their place if they all leave. Management has all the cards in this case, as bad it may sound, but that is the reality.

    If I am wrong and they all mutiny, then they are either
    1) Independently wealthy
    2) Or they have ballz of steel
    • DavidGX, on 12/05/2007, -0/+1Well idn't that cute.. BUT IT'S WRONG!
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