Author Topic: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review  (Read 769 times)

nodtveidt

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2007, 04:28:00 AM »
In case anyone missed it, here's the review itself:


Check it out before YouTube is threatened by CNET to remove it. You know it's coming.

Dark Fact

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2007, 04:41:13 AM »
Well, I've got a bit of time to talk before lunch so here goes:
Quote from: Necromancer
This firing's a shame, but that's the risk of trying to make a living of reviewing games - they're trying to be a profitable business, so the advertisers can't be completely ignored.
The advertisers can't be completely ignored.  However, they would have to be pretty f*cking naive to believe that everyone will automatically start singing praises for their games that they choose to advertise.  Look, I understand that gaming sites need profit to stay on, but to tell people that you can't say such-and-such and have to replace it with such-and-such is just unprofessional.  Sure, Gerstmann's reviews tend to be pretty unprofessional but that's beside the point.  The point is that people who play the game should have the right to speak based on their own personal views of what the game is like to them.  For crying out loud, I see game ads on GameFAQs all the time and yet, nobody on that site bothers to take down fan reviews and ban the reviewers themselves for fear of advertiser pullout.  Besides, since when has it been proven that reviews led to horrendous sales of games? This is just Eidos being paranoid.  Maybe Eidos should go after bad reviews on GameFAQs next.  [sarcasm]The bad fan reviews could potentially hurt game sales.[/sarcasm]
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Oh and WTF is up with your Source link? I click on it, I get a Firefox 404. I manually copy and paste, it takes me to the Wikipedia page for HTTP.  :-s
By the time you read this message, the link will already be fixed. :wink:
Quote from: The Old Rover
Kitsu, twenty years ago, what you said might hold some weight. But the fact is that today, there IS no heart and soul in commercial games. The people who work on them are paid to do a job. It's that simple. Long gone are the days of inspired games that come from actual gamers, nowadays the big studios are filled mostly with newly graduated college geeks looking to make money off of a hot industry; they could give two shits about the game itself as long as they get their paycheck. The games industry has turned into a conveyor-belt factory scheme where the only point is to make as much money as possible and get out before people find out you're a phony.
This is why I don't bother to read the reviews.  I usually just rent the game and judge it based on my own preferences.  However, firing people over reviews is just out of hand.

 
« Last Edit: December 01, 2007, 04:45:10 AM by Dark Fact »

Sorry, but I don't see your library card on the books of Ys.  Now, RETURN THEM TO ME!!!

guyjin

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #17 on: December 01, 2007, 06:47:44 AM »
This incident is making a branch of journalism that was already highly dubious look even worse.
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MissaFX

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #18 on: December 01, 2007, 06:59:20 AM »
The industry needs more people like this reviewer.  If companies who programmed games hired this guy to look at their games before they go gold, they might really be able to improve them.
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FM-77

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #19 on: December 01, 2007, 08:56:14 AM »
I never read reviews. I don't care what other people think.

Kitsunexus

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #20 on: December 01, 2007, 04:47:40 PM »
This is probably why I put more faith in unpaid, well-written amateur reviews than commercial magazine reviews. i.e. For PCE/TG-16 games, I'd take the words of people on this board over anyone else out there.

EXACTLY. The end.

Necromancer

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #21 on: December 03, 2007, 04:03:54 AM »
The advertisers can't be completely ignored.  However, they would have to be pretty f*cking naive to believe that everyone will automatically start singing praises for their games that they choose to advertise.  Look, I understand that gaming sites need profit to stay on, but to tell people that you can't say such-and-such and have to replace it with such-and-such is just unprofessional.  Sure, Gerstmann's reviews tend to be pretty unprofessional but that's beside the point......However, firing people over reviews is just out of hand.

It sounded to me like Gerstmann wasn't fired solely because of this sole review, but rather due to a history of overly critical and unprofessional reviews.  If they can't fire somebody employed as a 'game reviewer' over their reviews, then what the hell can they fire them for?
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Kitsunexus

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #22 on: December 03, 2007, 04:06:00 AM »
The advertisers can't be completely ignored.  However, they would have to be pretty f*cking naive to believe that everyone will automatically start singing praises for their games that they choose to advertise.  Look, I understand that gaming sites need profit to stay on, but to tell people that you can't say such-and-such and have to replace it with such-and-such is just unprofessional.  Sure, Gerstmann's reviews tend to be pretty unprofessional but that's beside the point......However, firing people over reviews is just out of hand.

It sounded to me like Gerstmann wasn't fired solely because of this sole review, but rather due to a history of overly critical and unprofessional reviews.  If they can't fire somebody employed as a 'game reviewer' over their reviews, then what the hell can they fire them for?

Licking the butter. You'd be surprised how many lose their job to this.

Dark Fact

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #23 on: December 03, 2007, 06:49:42 AM »
Quote from: Necromancer
It sounded to me like Gerstmann wasn't fired solely because of this sole review, but rather due to a history of overly critical and unprofessional reviews.  If they can't fire somebody employed as a 'game reviewer' over their reviews, then what the hell can they fire them for?
Unless Gerstmann got into a fist fight with the other GS staff or was just causing misdemeanors all over the office, I doubt they can fire him over his "unprofessional" reviews.  This is just a matter of Eidos wanting to protect the reputation of their title.

Sorry, but I don't see your library card on the books of Ys.  Now, RETURN THEM TO ME!!!

Kitsunexus

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Re: Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann fired over game review
« Reply #24 on: December 03, 2007, 03:32:28 PM »
Quote from: Necromancer
It sounded to me like Gerstmann wasn't fired solely because of this sole review, but rather due to a history of overly critical and unprofessional reviews.  If they can't fire somebody employed as a 'game reviewer' over their reviews, then what the hell can they fire them for?
Unless Gerstmann got into a fist fight with the other GS staff or was just causing misdemeanors all over the office, I doubt they can fire him over his "unprofessional" reviews.  This is just a matter of Eidos wanting to protect the reputation of their title.

This has nothing to do with the topic at hand, but I just accidentally read your name as "Dark Fart" and it was amusing.  :lol: