CNET tells all, reveals nothing on GameSpot firing

GameSpot, the CNET-owned videogame-reviews site, has officially acknowledged the canning of 11-year site veteran Jeff Gerstmann in a sappy farewell posted early this morning. The site begs off confirming whether Gerstmann's departure had anything to do with his critical review of an advertiser's game, repeating the party line that "his exit was not a result of pressure from an advertiser." CNET vice president Greg Brannan treads the same tone as CNET's official release: "Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content. The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff's departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot." There's a simple way to prove that, Greg: State those reasons.

3:01 PM on Tue Dec 4 2007
By Mary Jane Irwin
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5 comments

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sidhudgens at 03:50 PM on 12/04/07
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"Some people think our mission as a company is to do great editorial. It is not.... Great editorial is not a goal in and of itself.... " --Halsey Minor, email to CNET staff, Dec 1997

Jai Singh spoke out then to defend the company. Where is he now?

Silent.
sidhudgens at 04:05 PM on 12/04/07
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CNET had a chance to repent, and did not.

No one expects honesty from a second-rate trade rag. Maybe that's all CNET ever was.

But they were trying so HARD to be more. So proud of that National Magazine Award. So happy about the Maggies; the Webbies; the decorations from Columbia and USC; SABEW, SPJ. Such swagger when their competitors fell in the bust.

Look at them now: compromised hacks at a greaseball publication.

Sad, because there are so many good people there, but we can't trust what they write, because who knows what their editors are up to.

Well, there's always the old media. I know I left that WSJ around here somew.... d'oh.
magnusdopus at 04:41 PM on 12/04/07
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In the last few months, Gerstmann had a series of reviews that diverged from critics on other game publications. He went from the guy who championed good games, to the guy who could find a singular flaw in any game. While there is a place for Gerstmann, it certainly is not at industry standard Gamespot.
ValleyWorker at 06:50 PM on 12/04/07
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They think this is all going to blow over, but until there is a true end and people know the truth it will hang around forever. No matter what the reasons, this could have been handled so much more professionally by having a transition plan over the Holiday break. Someone should be fired for this mess, they have done a ton more damage then Jeff ever did.
andyfox1979 at 07:59 PM on 12/04/07
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@magnusdopus or Greg Brannan (or his lackey), video games are expensive and the market is flooded with new games all the time, shouldn't there be someone who points out the flaws of games?

If you people had a clue you'd know that in the gaming world nothing drives sales like some people saying something sucks and others saying it doesn't. (halo 3 for one). I'm not a gamer but I do work on the web and I know how advertisers can be and how "bottom line oriented" management can be. Even at their own peril.

"In the last few months, Gerstmann had a series of reviews that diverged from critics on other game publications."

Interesting... Could it be that those other "game publications" were getting cash from the same sources you get yours from?

Ta da.