Support NeoGAF

[Roc Gaude]

Oh and I thought the word Gamespot was censored??

It's just the links, I think.

 

[Ristamar]

Oh and I thought the word Gamespot was censored??

Add a dot com to that, and you'll see a trail of asterisks.

 

[Hellsing321]

http://valleywag.com/tech/jeff-gerstmann/gamespot-editor-on-fired-writer-328775.php

Apparently an editor posted about the affair anonymously on Valleywag.

The intimation is that marketing is taking editorial control and that they fired Gerstmann now because they were waiting for the reviewers to finish writing their reviews of the AAA titles.

My jaw was literally wide open as I read that. If things at Gamespot have gotten that bad then there might be no hope for the site. Though the comment could be totally made up but WOW...just WOW if it's true.

 

[jacobs34]

Gamespot is doing a live show right now, Tournament TV, I wonder if the editors are getting crap from the chatters? I mean someone who works there has to say something eventually right?

 

[Smokey]

Add a dot com to that, and you'll see a trail of asterisks.

Ah I see

 

[ferricide]

Totally. If it's a 4 point scale, just have 4 stars or something.

you can't; because if a game got 1 star, gamerankings would interpret that as a 25% and then you would have PR on the phone and oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

if you are playing the commercial site game and you don't have a 10 point scale you will have to improvise or adopt one. it's that simple. gamerankings is too powerful with management types at publishers.

think about an executive in another country who can't even read your review because he doesn't speak the language, on top of just simply not caring what you think.

 

[Patrick Klepek]

For what it's worth.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

 

[Shalashaska]

http://valleywag.com/tech/jeff-gerstmann/gamespot-editor-on-fired-writer-328775.php

Apparently an editor posted about the affair anonymously on Valleywag.

The intimation is that marketing is taking editorial control and that they fired Gerstmann now because they were waiting for the reviewers to finish writing their reviews of the AAA titles.

What completely sucks in this situation are the people left at Gamespot. They are in such a tough position, my first reaction is that they should quit but that's not very fair. They live in such an expensive area and have to pay their bills so they can't just up and leave. But if they stay, every single thing they write from here on out will be questioned.

I would hope that other gaming sites/publications step up and offer a place for these people to go to if they want to leave. I really feel quite bad for them.

 

[Salmonax]

If that Valleywag piece is true (and I'm not necessarily assuming it is), Gamespot is done, done, done among their core audience.

 

[nightowl]

That Valleywag article chills me to the bone.

This is probably incredibly naive of me to even contemplate, but can you see any way in which this fiasco could actually drive a credible push for major sites to again try to forgo "scores" on reviews?

I know, I know, Metacritic's of the world (which btw along with gamerankings I believe is owned by CNet) are too entrenched...

But is there reason to even dream that such a negative might bear some type of fruit, no matter how remote the chance?

 

[ferricide]

Edit: Quick question. Is it the norm for magazines/sites to have everyone on the review team read over said reviews and ok them?

no. not at all.

in fact i think it's a terrible idea, personally, but i don't even remotely buy into this authoritative voice / objective bullshit that seems to be perceived as the norm in many places.

 

[Sciz]

Finally managed to catch up with the posts in this thing.

At this point, I really can't see how Gamespot could ever bounce back from this, especially if everything we're hearing about the ad guys taking over is true. The public is never going to forget this, even if there's some amazing justification for sacking Jeff.

Best of luck to anyone who's still working there and wants to walk off, but can't afford it.

 

[Gary Whitta]

This is probably incredibly naive of me to even contemplate, but can you see any way in which this fiasco could actually drive a credible push for major sites to again try to forgo "scores" on reviews?

No. There's no problem with the concept of scores, the problem is that their execution has been increasingly compromised over the years. The system is broken but it's more helpful to fix it than to throw it out entirely.

 

[jacobs34]

For what it's worth.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

Well done for the information you have to work with.

 

[itsinmyveins]

no. not at all.

in fact i think it's a terrible idea, personally, but i don't even remotely buy into this authoritative voice / objective bullshit that seems to be perceived as the norm in many places.

Well of course the review has to go by the chief editor, the one responsible for the whole production.

 

[op_ivy]

i'd love to see the staff just rate everything a 10 from here on out. crazy stuff. fuck gamespot. good luck to jeff and all the (decent) guys left behind

 

[nightowl]

For what it's worth.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

Glad they have finally decided to weigh in on their news page, albeit late. I apprecaite their desire to separate themselves with more concrete information, but I'm not sure they have actually uncovered anything new there.

Still, go 1UP.

 

[btf1980]

It's because these guys probably don't understand who gamers all. They probably just have this image of teenagers in a dark room lit up by a TV, swigging Game Fuel and mashing buttons on The Hot New Shooty Game(TM).

They're probably too stupid to understand that we can see exactly what they're doing.

Yup. People keep saying that they don't understand how upper management would not know the outcome of this. I'm afraid that that's just it....upper management are just a bunch of clueless tools. Gamespot/CNET is no different if these allegations turn out to be true. I work in an industry where the upper management is clearly out to lunch and out of touch with reality. Calling them clueless would be an understatement. That's what happens when people are given positions of power not through talent, expertise or a proven work record, but through nepotism and networking. It's very annoying to take instructions from superiors you are smarter than, and often times more qualified than as well. I recall a situation where I had to show my Director how to run a few in house programs and other procedures, procedures that anyone in her position would know. I then kept scratching my head as to how this person is in a position above me or anyone else if they are this clueless about the industry they are working in. The gaming industry is no different it seems. Outsiders are trying to run the show in the gaming industry.

 

[Big-E]

Well done for the information you have to work with.

Agreed. Good job Patrick.

 

[ferricide]

Well of course the review has to go by the chief editor, the one responsible for the whole production.

undoubtedly, but that's completely different.

to be clear:

review by consensus - a bunch of fucking shit
editorial oversight - absolutely essential

and i am not ascribing either of those to gamespot because all i have to go on is that dubious valleywag post.

 

[Suburban Cowboy]

5 point scale is superior to both 4 point and 10 (3?) point scale

 

[TheDarkKnight774]

daily radar had the best scoring system

 

[itsinmyveins]

undoubtedly, but that's completely different.

to be clear:

review by consensus - a bunch of fucking shit
editorial oversight - absolutely essential

and i am not ascribing either of those to gamespot because all i have to go on is that dubious valleywag post.

Well, I was only pointing out that there is a degree of authoritative voice there too (the chief, that is).

EDIT: But one thing is kind of cool about that. If they actually discuss the game it could possibly lead to more interesting and indepth views. Maybe. Not to say that everyone should be able to change one guys review. That's just strange.

 

[Kintaro]

no. not at all.

in fact i think it's a terrible idea, personally, but i don't even remotely buy into this authoritative voice / objective bullshit that seems to be perceived as the norm in many places.

Ok, that's what I thought...it sounded a little hokey to begin with when I saw it mentioned in the article. That's a very odd practice. If true, I wonder how long they've been doing that.

 

[Shamrock]

http://valleywag.com/tech/jeff-gerstmann/fired-cnet-editor-speaks-328660.php

I think this deserves it's own thread. So many people will miss this in this cluster fuck of a thread.

 

[Agent Ironside]

Gamespot is having their live TTV show right now, its almost like Jeff never existed, no comments on anything, the music that Jeffs band, "Midnight Brown" had produced, that used be in the opening titles, is non existent. Crazy.

 

[MrDaravon]

http://valleywag.com/tech/jeff-gerstmann/gamespot-editor-on-fired-writer-328775.php

What the fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

 

[acklame]

Gamespot is having their live TTV show right now, its almost like Jeff never existed, no comments on anything, the music that Jeffs band, "Midnight Brown" had produced, that used be in the opening titles, is non existent. Crazy.

This is crazy. Is there any communication to the show hosts? wtf is going on.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Gamespot is having their live TTV show right now, its almost like Jeff never existed, no comments on anything, the music that Jeffs band, "Midnight Brown" had produced, that used be in the opening titles, is non existent. Crazy.

He never existed.

 

[Ravidrath]

5 point scale is superior to both 4 point and 10 (3?) point scale

Yeah, but like ferricide said, PR and advertising will pressure away until this doesn't happen because of Gamerankings and Metacritic.

Example? When GameSpy went from a 10.something scale to a five star scale, they later caved and added a 4.5 "Editor's Choice" score to appease advertisers. Why? The impact of a 4 star review on Metacritic was too great for them, if their average might otherwise be in the 90% range.

However, this isn't to say that GAFfers and the like aren't part of the problem. You guys WANT more review granularity for some reason, and scream when reviews stray too far from the same Metacritic scores that're currently ruining the media. To save themselves the headache of fantard outcry, the sites then themselves try to hover around the existing Metacritic average...

The end result? A big, self-reinforcing pile of shit. Great work, everyone!

 

[itsinmyveins]

It's like an Orwellian empire is rising out of the ashes that is Gamespot :O

 

[Hcoregamer00]

Well, regardless of whether it is true or not, the huge wave of negative responses shows that this is a subject that was waiting to explode.

 

[teruterubozu]

Editors should start demanding a cut from ad sales commissions.

 

[Flavius]

For what it's worth.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

Well played, sir. Well played.

 

[Agent Ironside]

Im sure this is buried in this thread, but apparently one of the GS staffers posted in his GS blog that over at corporate they are goin crazy over the mass Gamespot subscription cancellations. Later to have his blog deleted and then posted less aggressive comments.

 

[Kittonwy]

Gamespot forums are in complete damage-control mode.

 

[El-Suave]

Gamespot is doing a live show right now, Tournament TV, I wonder if the editors are getting crap from the chatters? I mean someone who works there has to say something eventually right?

I'm watching the event right now for the live chat with other subscribers, mods and editors. Of course editors don't get crap because they're not to blame. Nobody is talking about the tournament of course. On the other hand you can't really expect staffers to comment so all, so all I've witnessed so far is one editor saying Jeff left her his blue DQ slime.

 

[nightowl]

Editors should start demanding a cut from ad sales commissions.

HAHA

If you are going to sell your integrity, you might as well make sure the cash from the deal goes into your pocket.

 

[nightowl]

I'm watching the event right now for the live chat with other subscribers, mods and editors. Of course editors don't get crap because they're not to blame. Nobody is talking about the tournament of course. On the other hand you can't really expect staffers to comment so all, so all I've witnessed so far is one editor saying Jeff left her his blue DQ slime.

Since it is live, who knows, maybe one editor has a major shock plan up his sleave.

 

[ant1532]

Just in case someone missed the post in the other thread. 1UP is showing their support!

We actually just swung by there to show our support. Dunno when pictures will be up...

 

[Hcoregamer00]

I just realized something, a mass exodus of gamespot forumers means that they will join other places.

I could imagine NeoGAF is on a lot of people's lists since we are the premier gaming forum.

 

[GG-Duo]

Im sure this is buried in this thread, but apparently one of the GS staffers posted in his GS blog that over at corporate they are goin crazy over the mass Gamespot subscription cancellations. Later to have his blog deleted and then posted less aggressive comments.

Rawk.

 

[StopMakingSense]

I just realized something, a mass exodus of gamespot forumers means that they will join other places.

I could imagine NeoGAF is on a lot of people's lists since we are the premier gaming forum.

NeoGAF > Discussions > Gaming Discussion > Welcome our new 20,000 Juniors!

 

[ParticleReality]

NeoGAF > Discussions > Gaming Discussion > Welcome our new 20,000 Juniors!

I was just thinking, what if this is all a big plan by Cnet and Eidos to destroy GAF?

 

[Shamrock]

NeoGAF > Discussions > Gaming Discussion > Welcome our new 20,000 Juniors!

and I bet IGN is loving life right now. They will probably get a bunch of new subscriptions.

 

[nightowl]

and I bet IGN is loving life right now. They will probably get a bunch of new subscriptions.

Speaking of subscriptions....How many on this thread that is upset with the way Gamespot has handled this situation are also GameFly subscribers?

Should there be a grassroots campaign to convince GameFly that a continued business relationship with Gamespot is not in their best interests?

 

[Crushed]

He never existed.

Gerstmann is a counter-revolutionary. He was never at the Tennis Court Oath.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

and I bet IGN is loving life right now. They will probably get a bunch of new subscriptions.

Doubt that. I wonder if there is a bidding war between sites to hire him.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

NeoGAF > Discussions > Gaming Discussion > Welcome our new 20,000 Juniors!

I know there are some people who are transplants from Gamespot (I was one of them that was in GS from 2002-2006), but a mass exodus like that would overwhelm everybody.

Let's hope most of them go to IGN or 1up.

 

[Flavius]

and I bet IGN is loving life right now. They will probably get a bunch of new subscriptions.

Isn't that a bit like switching from using Heinz ketchup on your burger to Hunt's ketchup?