Truth is this is how the world works. No one person can expect to do something against what the company they work for has nudged them to do. I admit it was terrible he got fired for it but somewhere down the line he knew that if he gave it a review that did not please his bosses he would get fired.
I first hand, have experienced a boss that told employees to give a better review of a game we tested as they refused. They knew that the boss would be unhappy but dignity will most commonly overpower the urge to lie and know you lied just to make the boss happy. Of course they were not fired only because the boss changed the review to better suit the clients expectations. Soon after they quit. All of this to say life is cruel and don't be so shocked by this. In our terrible world this happens all the time. It's just not mentionned everywhere and so pubicly.
"If reality is dependent on what each person perceives it to be,Then reality as a collective does not exist."~MindChamber
"Do not be defined by your conditioning, Otherwise the rest of the world will define your path."~IntraFace
Vector Life Giver
School Of Visual Arts
Allentown PA
Joined on 6/20/00
- Rank:
- Scout
- Global Rank:
- 39,521
- Blams:
- 60
- Saves:
- 171
- B/P Bonus:
- 4%
- Whistle:
- Normal
- Trophies:
- 75
- Medals:
- 813
- Supporter:
- 11y 7m 11d
- Gear:
- 16
I never really go to GameSpot, and like hell I am going to now, but I think that is bull sh!t. This guy honestly reviews a game and he get fired. That would be like if Honda or something was sponsoring the news, and the news reports about a flaw in all their vehicles that got messed up in the factory. He is just telling the truth, and he shouldn't be punished for it. I haven't got a chance to play Kane and Lynch, but even if I played it, and thought it was the best damn game I have ever played, I would still be behind him all the way. And another things to the makers of this game. You probablly knew about these flaws and these games and still released it. Even if you didn't, go get some guys from GameSpot to test it for free. You might not have had a enough time, I don't but it is stupid. Don't blame someone else for your bad game. Also I would have done the same thing as you MindChamber if I was subscribe there. Also I support you on reviewing the Star Syndicate like they should. I used to do that, but my reviews of them get removed just because I say exactly what they are doing. Mass voting, and not deserving the score it should get. I just fear my account getting banned, but I still vote 0 every time I can for the 1 through 5 scale. Aw well I guess that is all I can say. Thanks for making this post. I didn't hear about this til now, but I am glad I know now.
Remember Remember, the 29th of November.
VIVA LA JEFF!
Check this out:
<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/blackout-monday-virtual-boycott-targets-gamespot-cnet-sites/">http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/bla ckout-monday-virtual-boycott-targets-
gamespot-cnet-sites/</a>
Blackout Monday, basically it's a boycott against CNET.
the gaming industury became as bland as other media when people started using games as ways to sell bad movies.
holy shit now im more deppressed then ever.
im stealing your header ok?
It's disappointing that people get their panties in a bunch when they don't see a 10. Some people just can't seem to see a middle ground. Even if you have a great time with a game, I'm sure there's room for improvement. People ought to hang onto their tens and make them actually mean something.
its so lame that the game is getting glowing reviews from other corp controlled sites.. it makes me want to give up reading game sites... i dont take any advice to heart but it would fucking be cool to read a review and get a semi average joe's take on the game...
even the most sold out of companies, couldn't realistically give it higher than a 7 plus
k i did even more research on it since my last post and it turns out even in the reviews Eidos is using.. they actually arent the actual reviews that gameinformer and other well known sites gave.. its kind of pathetic that they are going so far to save the game. Bleh why did you get me hooked on this dramaaaa
ya I added a link to those fake score in my blog. pretty sickening actually
Eternal Badassery. Thank you Mindchamber. You spoke the mind I didn't know I had. Shit, I canceled my GI subscription for the overzealous 10/10 reviews.
But yeah, you're tapping on that which is the core problem of, well, that which makes us unable to "have nice things". <3
amen brother.. would I wouldnt give to turn your wind-up key, and let you go, in the Cnet office :-D
Fuck gamespot! I used to use gamespot for EVERYTHING related to games until this episode, and they just proove to be nothing but a greedy corp.
Funny thing is, i started using 1UP instead and i seriously think many of their reviews and articles are way better then most of the gamespot ones.
I seriously hope gamespot reviewers will find somewhere else to work, since i kinda liked some of them. If they don't, it just prooves they are driven by money and not love for games
so you recommend 1up?
cause I need a new game site :(
After reading your view, many other peoples, and seeing the origional peice I am going to say they were deffinently using him as a scape goal. This just goes to show that all these comanys are just money hungery, but to blame the reviewers for watching thei own hides isn't totaly right, a lot of them probably have familys they have to worry about over morals. This is a sad but truthful.
you and chase from TN are a couple? omg
I hate it when corporations only take actions based on making money, and not based on integrity. Thats why I love the japanese industry more than the north american (or in this case English), generally. I find there's more honour, pride, and respect for the value of art from japanese productions. I find a japanese company is more likely to pour money into a new idea that might not sell enough to make lots of profit, where an american company is more likely to spend its money trying to trick consumers into buying a game that doesn't even meet standards of today's market. In one case money is sacrificed in the name of making art, in the other case art is sacrificed in the name of making money.
couldn't have said it any better.
<a href="http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6183666.html">http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6183666.h tml</a>
<a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50157">http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x /50157</a>
According to these two links, Jeff Gerstmann's position being dismissed was unrelated to the Kane and Lynch review and has nothing to do with any external publishers. I believe this whole notion of giving a game a 6.0 and getting his position dismissed because of it, sounds like a conspiracy theory and like all conspiracy theories, it does not mean it necessarily happened. If that WERE the case, and this conspiracy theory is all true, then, I'd think Gamespot would have taken down the review and posted up a new one with a better score.
Furthermore, I'm a little bit confused about your media mainstream theory. By mainstream, are you saying that the industry is trying to sell their games to a large number of people? If so, then I'd say it has always been that way. Look at Mario. Look at Halo. Look at Grand Theft Auto. Great examples of mass media that have positively impacted the gaming industry. I don't think Mass Media has hurt the gaming industry in anyway, I think it expanded it.
As for the money spent on advertising, that's up to the companies to decide. Doesn't take away from the quality of the games. If they are going to bribe review sites/mags that are already profitable for their quality reviews, good luck to them! Once, everyone finds out that a terrible game was given not such a bad score, the whole company will eventually die (and I'm sure companies such as Gamespot know that). Obviously, Gamespot is taking a big hit right now with all these rumours flying around (and they know this) but they are not giving any detailed information in Gerstmann's dismissal as to legality issues (according to them) and ethical standards (though, the gaming community expects Gamespot to give reason and therefore think, that if they do not give a reason, it's a coverup).
'Game companies are hiring spoke-persons now to sell their products. (Jade Raymond anyone?)'
I don't remember Jade Raymond being hired as a spokesperson but from what I've read, she's a producer in the gaming market, having graduated from McGill University with a Bachelors in Computer Science and a lot of experience in the industry (she was doing programming for games).
Anyways, I do hope we find the truth behind Gerstmann getting fired besides all these rumours that claim to have heard it from 'anonymous sources'. I highly doubt he got fired for a bad review though and all parties involved seem to be silent on the case (even Jeff Gerstmann)...
"I'd think Gamespot would have taken down the review and posted up a new one with a better score."
Where have you been? They re-edited the review days after, to basically make it sounds less negative. but they didnt change the score,
there would've been an Uproar, far worse than the one we have now, if the actual number score was changed, Thats immpossible to do after all this exposure
But here's alittle something for you to chew on. All REVIEWS, are passed through a process. even Jeffs. All Editors must check off on a review before it is submitted. Especially a triple AAA title.
Jeffs written review was re-edited AFTER it was put up, which means who ever saw the review was someone who saw it from the outside or part of the management staff, Either way, this means someone of significant influence, NOT PART OF THE EDITORIAL STAFF Influenced the changes. That alone is contemptible.
"I don't think Mass Media has hurt the gaming industry in anyway, I think it expanded it."
So I guess, HollyWood, has not been influenced by mainstream success? The countless rehashed low quality movies hasn't cause Hollywood to lose any credibility? Same thing happening with Games,. for the record there were games before Mario, Halo and GTA.
"but they are not giving any detailed information in Gerstmann's dismissal as to legality issues (according to them)"
Ahh sounds like rumors to me. and we all know you cant believe a rumor right?
"I don't remember Jade Raymond being hired as a spokesperson but from what I've read, she's a producer in the gaming market, having graduated from McGill University with a Bachelors in Computer Science and a lot of experience in the industry (she was doing programming for games)."
The only Traceable Job Jade had was host on Videogame show called Electric Playground. She's just another pretty girl trying to break into the business, just like Morgen Webb, and every other spokesperson on G4.
Theres not one game to her credit aside from Creed. You would think she would have a list of all the games she has made for Sony in the past.
Theres no list because she has none.
"Anyways, I do hope we find the truth behind Gerstmann getting fired besides all these rumours that claim to have heard it from 'anonymous sources'. I highly doubt he got fired for a bad review though and all parties involved seem to be silent on the case (even Jeff Gerstmann)..."
Same here. But heres something else to Chew on,
If jeff wasn't fired for a bad score, and was fired for his overall tone in his reviews, Then he had a paper trail. A list mile high of demerits to warrant the firing of one of the most important editors on gamespot,
So it shouldn't have been surprising to anyone, least of all Jeff, who claims hes still emotionally wrought by his "sudden new free time"
Also since only his coworkers are the ones who could actually protest any of his work ethics it would mean that some or all members of the staff were making written complaints to the managerial staff against Jeff. So all the tears from his co-workers on the last gamespot show were a lie, someone there was out for him.
While this theory is possible, I find it highly improbable. More than half the guys there built that site from the ground up for the past 10 years.
Its more realistic that Josh Larson who is the new head of the management Team for CNet, now in charge of Gamespot, took his experience working on a fast paced (youre hired- your fired) atmosphere of a magazine like Maxim, and mistakingly applied it to the gamespot structure.
yup
Er... If possible, you might want to change your title a bit. Seen from the front page, it reads:
Why sometimes being a straight shooter, can lead to being shot in the....
This is due to the title being too long, so... it makes for some strange and vivid mental images... But is that a good thing or a bad thing?
yea i borrowed kane and lynch from block bucter and it sucked ball sack i beat it in 2 days and the game play was shity and like it just gave me that mediocre copy cat feel yaknow? btw are you really 72?
EH Its just people, for to go with the group. Money gives happiness to people, and depending on how many people it touchs will in turn affect the everyone. People like to make people feel good, most of the time.
It is things like this that twist, and bend the minds of all weak souls who only care about short term effects, "hey as long as I keep this cash I don't really care about anyone else" Maybe something along the lines of that.
Topcatyo
Put it better than I could have. I wish I had a Total Access subscription before just so I could cancel it.