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[Tom Nook Sawyer]

From Kevin Vanord's Twitter

Somehow, I am in the tiny group of GameSpot authors still left standing. People I love will not be greeting me each day.

Doesn't sound good...

 

[LiveFromKyoto]

I haven't visited Gamespot since the Kane and Lynch scandal, so I really don't care for the organization. I hope these people land on their feet, however.

Yeah. They were my mainstay for a while back in the day, before 1up then Giant Bomb, but that scandal kind of killed them for me. I've only checked them out a couple of times since then.

 

[BearPawB]

Kevin VanOrd ‏@fiddlecub 1m
Somehow, I am in the tiny group of GameSpot authors still left standing. People I love will not be greeting me each day.


Good for Kevin. He is one of my favs.

 

[Saty]

I like how the thread title suggests it's a yearly custom.

 

[The Rain King]

Few points:

1. There's no way Carolyn's layoff was a result of her TLOU:R review. Reviews are always submitted to a chief editor before publication - they can't and wouldn't lay blame with her for writing her opinion.

2. Gamespot has not been interesting for ages since the days of the now-GiantBomb staff. I get most of my Nintendo/MS news from GAF and go to IGN for my Sony stuff because of Colin Moriarty (Mitch/Ryan are their XBOX guys and I can't fucking stand them

3. Regardless of how you feel about any of the people leaving GS, they are human beings and I'm sure are all great people even if you don't agree with some of their points. Wish them all the best of luck

We don't now who the other lay offs are yet...

I like how the thread title suggests it's a yearly custom.

Ha.

 

[Cartman86]

Kevin VanOrd on Twitter just now.

Somehow, I am in the tiny group of GameSpot authors still left standing. People I love will not be greeting me each day.

Makes it sound like it's more than I initially thought. Is this editorial? More focus on strictly video personalities as opposed to writing?

 

[Celegus]

Glad Kevin is still there, hopefully we still have Tom, Danny, and Chris (and everyone else too, layoffs suck!). Sorry to hear about Caro.

 

[JLeack]

Kevin VanOrd ‏@fiddlecub 1m
Somehow, I am in the tiny group of GameSpot authors still left standing. People I love will not be greeting me each day.


Good for Kevin. He is one of my favs.

Yeah he's great. I particularly like his video reviews.

 

[Gestault]

Dang, not a great season for mainstream gaming editorial.

 

[SlowRevolution]

Glad Kevin is still there, hopefully we still have Tom, Danny, and Chris (and everyone else too, layoffs suck!). Sorry to hear about Caro.

Danny's like the face of GS now, I can't imagine them letting him go.

 

[bananafactory]

The real question is what is the fate of Tom Mcshea?

 

[OuterLimits]

It makes no sense to let her go. Her reviews may have brought heated debate, but that is exactly what helped bring more views to the site.

 

[Velcro Fly]

I disagree with some of the stuff Carolyn Petit wrote but I wish her and others the best. I know what it's like to be unemployed and don't wish that on anyone.

 

[Amir0x]

I didn't agree Carolyn but obviously didn't want her to lose her job, so I hope she finds gainful employment somewhere else in this industry. Best of luck to all Gamespot employees who have lost their jobs.

 

[Zaph]

Kevin VanOrd ‏@fiddlecub 1m
Somehow, I am in the tiny group of GameSpot authors still left standing. People I love will not be greeting me each day.


Good for Kevin. He is one of my favs.

Yup, that kinda confirms they're going all-in on video. From a financial perspective it's just too enticing to replace writers with freelancers.

 

[Dragonborn]

Reviewers are becoming less relevant so it's not surprising to see sites scaling back. Still, layoffs always suck.

 

[tmarques]

Few points:

1. There's no way Carolyn's layoff was a result of her TLOU:R review. Reviews are always submitted to a chief editor before publication - they can't and wouldn't lay blame with her for writing her opinion.

Let me guess, she gave it an 8. I haven't visited GS in a while, but it seemed like every major release got an automatic 8 last time I checked.

 

[Cudder]

Druckmann strikes again

This shit is really stupid and has to stop.

 

[zenosparadox]

Argh, I thought the title said Gamestop. I was wondering if Wario64 was okay.

 

[Josephl64]

I don't really think highly of Petit as a reviewer, but best of luck to her finding work soon

 

[Tripon]

Argh, I thought the title said Gamestop. I was wondering if Wario64 was okay.

I know this is a joke, but Wario64 did get laid off from gametrailers.

 

[BearPawB]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

 

[Quentyn]

Gi.biz says the layoffs are significant and that they extend beyond editorial.

Consumer gaming site GameSpot has undergone a significant round of layoffs, GamesIndustry.biz has learned.

Now-former GameSpot reviewer Carolyn Petit confirmed the news in a series of posts on Twitter, saying, "Today was my last day at GameSpot. It was a dream to work there, and I'm very proud of the work I did. I walk out alongside some colleagues I am honored and privileged to have worked with. And I will miss working with everyone at GS so much."

GameSpot is the flagship gaming brand at CBS Interactive, which also owns Giant Bomb, GameFAQs, and onGamers. CBSi touts GameSpot as streaming 50 million hours of live gaming content every month, with 25 million monthly visitors across its gaming platforms.

The full extent of the cuts is not clear yet, but they extended beyond the editorial team. Representatives with GameSpot and parent company CBS had not returned requests for comment as of this writing.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-07-30-layoffs-at-gamespot

Best to all that are affected by this.

 

[Cygnus]

I don't really think highly of Petit as a reviewer, but best of luck to her finding work soon

Lol these posts

 

[Tom Nook Sawyer]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

Damn...

 

[lefantome]

Well, she saw it as a glorification of misogyny. "Misogynistic escapism" for lack of a better phrase.

That was her observation and she put it in her review of the game.

She's not wrong. She just sees it from a different perspective.

You and I both see it as satire. It's really all of the above.

Everyone has their opinions and everyone could review anything but that doesn't make everyone a good reviewer/critic.(I'm not implying anything in regard of Carolyn).

I could see Guernica by Picasso as the glorification of war but I won't be taken seriously, rightfully.

 

[bronson]

Danny O'Dwyer's Twitter:

https://twitter.com/dannyodwyer/status/494585195559788544

"Time for a drink!" could mean anything. It's sort of his natural state.

 

[Illusive_Juan]

Shame that so many gaming companies and gaming news websites are seeing such cutbacks in an industry that's thriving.

I wish everyone the best; you have all contributing to my hobby in more ways than one.

Godspeed.

 

[robotrock]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

Damnnnn. That second Bioshock: Infinite review was hilarious

 

[Volotaire]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

Oh man.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Danny O'Dwyer's Twitter:

https://twitter.com/dannyodwyer/status/494585195559788544

"Time for a drink!" could mean anything. It's sort of his natural state.

If they're going to be a heavily video focused site then Danny would probably be the last person that would get laid off.

 

[erawsd]

It makes no sense to let her go. Her reviews may have brought heated debate, but that is exactly what helped bring more views to the site.

I think its a matter of them moving toward a more video focused site since people tend not to read content anymore. Carolyn was a good writer but not a great "on air personality".

 

[Celegus]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooo! Not again, Gamespot!

 

[Cygnus]

I think its a matter of them moving toward a more video focused site since people tend not to read content anymore. Carolyn was a good writer but not a great "on air personality".

I find that odd, written reviews are often much more detailed, especially considering how short Gamespot reviews generally are.

 

[bigwinnerx]

Danny's flying back to the UK pretty soon.

And he just responded to someone on Twitter saying he's not one of the cuts.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I find that odd, written reviews are often much more detailed, especially considering how short Gamespot reviews generally are.

But we're in an age where someone can instead go on Youtube and find a Let's Play or Quick Look. That's what they're fighting against.

 

[JLeack]

Lol these posts

Basically, you can tell they loathe her by their post history but say they hate layoffs to make it non ban worthy.

Where was the respect when people were bashing her left and right yesterday?

 

[darkside31337]

Tom Mc Shea ‏@TomMcShea 57s
Today was my last at GameSpot. I couldn't have asked for a better group of people to work with the last six years.

Man those cuts are pretty ruthless. Dude was great.

 

[icespide]

is GiantBomb safe?

 

[ezekial45]

I wish them all the best. It's a pretty hairy time being in Games Journalism.

 

[JesseEwiak]

I find that odd, written reviews are often much more detailed, especially considering how short Gamespot reviews generally are.

You overestimate how much people actually care about the quality of reviews. Enough review threads have shown that all many people actually care about is a review that agrees with their preconceptions.

 

[BearPawB]

is GiantBomb safe?

They are getting rid of writers, and keeping video people around. Given that 95% of GB is video content. I am beyond sure they are fine.

And they just hired two people

 

[SymbiantXenos]

Always sad to read that people have lost their jobs. Hope they find quick employment.

Although the site redesign (the forums also) wasn't the best idea. Lost a lot of community.

 

[solarus]

I worry for the future of giant bomb, I fear it will just get merged with GameSpot.

 

[kingocfs]

is GiantBomb safe?

Sounds like they may be using them as the model. A minimal staff centered on video.

 

[JLeack]

is GiantBomb safe?

I think so. They are strong on video content, and have a much more loyal fan base.

 

[BearPawB]

"GameSpot did some shifting of internal resources as part of our long-term content and user engagement strategy."

 

[Quentyn]

Official word from from Gamespot. Read from bottom to top.

https://twitter.com/BrendanSinclair

 

[Golgo 13]

Petit was/is a great writer. Wish all of them the best, even if I didn't always agree with their take on things. Sucks to be layed off

 

[GlamFM]

is GiantBomb safe?

Watch GB and GS merge into one site soon..