The "Gamespot Kane & Lynch controvery"

koneko

If you read other gaming forums/blogs you'll probably have heard about this a dozen times already, the internet is exploding.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review-328244.php
"Gamespot Editor Fired Over Kane & Lynch Review?"

To sum it up, according to the rumour, Jeff Gerstmann has been sacked from Gamespot (owned by CNET), after his (video?) review of Kane & Lynch, a game that has been getting 6/10's from nearly everyone. He did not go easy on the game, and the rumour has it the publisher, Eidos, "took issue with the review and threatened to pull its ad campaign". No one has officially confirmed it's true. Another Gamespot editor just quit. Related? Who knows.

Eidos' forums went mental, as you can imagine Gamespot fans flocked there to spam the living crap out of the board with porn and such. It has now been closed to "make some changes" (lol)

If it's all true, I hope the **** is going to hit the fan for Eidos and CNET.

koneko

Here's the video review, Gamespot appear to have removed it from their site:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FuJ81sDR2o

Froot

If it's a sh!t game then it's a sh!t game.

Clearly Eidos are not doing much for their credibility with this stunt. Are people more likely to buy a game as a result of something like this?

Everyone should buy COD4 and really show them :P

TheDoc

its jsut how the internet is

I was "dismissed" from my duties at four-kings when in one of my articles i mentioned how a rival product to 4k's main sponsor is better performing.

I stated facts, backed up facts etc.

When other sites got in touch to ask about my dismissal they were told " no comment"

just how it is, you tell the truth that slanders a sponsor product you are out the door

sponsorship is really these places only commercial income

uglyjohn

L31mr0d

Didn't penny arcade get into trouble for this when they where showing ads for PoP2 then slated it in a review. Penny Arcade is one of the few sites now that only accepts sponsorship of a game AFTER they have played it and actually like it.

mcgovern

L31mr0d wrote: »

Didn't penny arcade get into trouble for this when they where showing ads for PoP2 then slated it in a review. Penny Arcade is one of the few sites now that only accepts sponsorship of a game AFTER they have played it and actually like it.

There's also the fact that they are unlikely to care

dazftw

His review is pretty much perfect aswell

User45701

he can just sue them and hopefully effect the gaming industry in a posative way.

humanji

Go to the user reviews section on Gamespot, for Kane And Lynch. It's just pages of 1.0's with tags like "For Jeff" or "Screw you Eidos"

Clover

thats a shame , i liked his reviews :mad:

thank god i did not take the game to the till when i had it in my hand in hmv during the week , for once i decided to see what reviews and feedback the game was getting .

Vegeta

I honestly think this goes on quite a bit, reviewers under pressure to give good reviews due to sponsorship and the likes

Some modern games get reviews they just don't deserve

K.O.Kiki

Totally on-topic -- I believe there may be a link between This post by surfergirl, and Eurogamer's insistence on calling Assassin's Creed "Ass Creed".
Continously.

Jazzy

journalism powah! \o/

i would never dream of sucking up to a company via game scores. a game is what it is. its not the reviewers fault if its balls.
I always thought Eidos were nice enough though


edit - that pic above of "save teh internets" is ****1ng class

projectmayhem

the issue of buying good review scores is a joke. i have a feeling eurogamer are up to this lark, as they've dished out good reviews to average games. actually, scratch that. they give accurate reviews, but ridiculous scores to the games afterwards... and it's always to games they're running competitions on.

as for jeff. i haven't been to gamespot in a while, but it was my first ever interweb-based port of call for game-related jazz (well, gamespot was the first of its kind afaik)... and he's been there forever, and one of the more interesting "characters" on the site. firing him outright is gamespots loss, and hopefully someone like 1up's gain. they could do with a "big" character like him...

notahappycamper

I have to say that I agree 100% with the guy's video review.

I bought the game and it is exactly as he calls it especially with the use of "fcuk" in nearly every cut scene. It's like watching Colin Farrell on tv.:D

justfortherecor

Kotaku have a pretty good section describing how the dismissal of Gerstmann occurred.

A new user 'gamespot', who seems to be well informed on the workings inside the site (possibly even Gerstmann himself) has shown how the rest of the editorial staff have reacted to the news.

It looks as though the future of Gamespot will be pretty interesting as regards the integrity of their reviews.

Kotaku Article

projectmayhem

1up staffers showing support for the gamespot team, despite being rivals.

no doubt it'll feature heavily on the 1up show at some point in the near future

johnny_ultimate

It's a fascinating story. I must admit I don't read Gamespot (and to a larger degree IGN) as the ads can be a bit disconcerting and the reviews can tend to veer a little towards the far too enthusiastic.

BUt this year especially, with pretty much every big new game being dished out 9s or 10s by most sources, it's hard to take games journalism seriously. It's quite backwards, and you never really know what was behind the score. Official magazines / sites are even worse admittedly, but Gamespot and IGN have lost a lot of credibiltiy lately.

zuchum

never liked gamespot much anyway,now even less so...

never go there for a review again shall i...

The integrity of most games sites has to be put into question,I mean,it wasn't like there wouldn't have been othr advertisers than Eidos,why did they need to fire him?

flogen

projectmayhem wrote: »

the issue of buying good review scores is a joke. i have a feeling eurogamer are up to this lark, as they've dished out good reviews to average games. actually, scratch that. they give accurate reviews, but ridiculous scores to the games afterwards... and it's always to games they're running competitions on.

Yes - I've read a few Eurogamer reviews where the number just didn't seem to match up to the actual article... sometimes they seemed completely at odds (both Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy were given a perfect 10 despite the reviewers pointing out flaws in both).

This particular story is pretty interesting - Gamespot seem to be saying it wasn't what he said but the tone he's adopted in recent times... that sounds like a perfectly vague reason to use if you don't want to have to explain yourself for real.

Eidos are assholes for leaning on Gamespot but they only did what any self-respecting company would do and it's not like they're unique. Gamespot are the villains of the piece for caving into the pressure and in a niche market with so much competition they'll suffer for it in the long term.

projectmayhem

http://www.destructoid.com/

genius

johnny_ultimate

flogen wrote: »

Yes - I've read a few Eurogamer reviews where the number just didn't seem to match up to the actual article... sometimes they seemed completely at odds (both Halo 3 and Super Mario Galaxy were given a perfect 10 despite the reviewers pointing out flaws in both).

What I found interesting about the Halo 3 review in particular is that they seemd to trumpet some of the ****tier features of the game - such as the Forge - as a reason for the 10. Surely if an awful level editor can propel a game towards a 10, then something like Crysis or Unreal Tournament deserve 11s using said logic? But neither game has the Microsoft backing, and being cynical, one could suggest some ulterior motives.

There definitely is something not right in games journalism at the moment, and really the only way to tell is to wait and see what the gaming community as a whole think of the game. Reading threads on boards will usually entice me to buy a game more than a 1up review. The only sources I trust are Zero Punctuation, Edge (and even they can be overly generous - see also Halo 3 review) and Gamecentral. When the two best game reviewers are a teletext service and an extended comedy skit every Wendesday, you know that something ain't right.

Stephen

I can't say I ever really trusted sites like gamespot and IGN to begin with anyway.

the_syco

I stop reading a review magazine when they start giving all games 10/10.

Nietzschean

wasn't there a time no one got 10/10? highest was like 9.6 or something.... if there was such a thing as a perfect game why bother making more? *sigh*...................

Ciaran500

Nietzschean wrote: »

wasn't there a time no one got 10/10? highest was like 9.6 or something.... if there was such a thing as a perfect game why bother making more? *sigh*...................

If no game can get 10/10 there's not point having that rating. If you read any description of scores in magazines 10/10 doesn't mean a perfect game.

Krieg

wow, I didnt realise how many people got rattled over this. Looks like a lot of gamespot members are cancelling their accounts and I love the user reviews over at gamespot atm - http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/kanelynchdeadmen/players.html

Fair play, I mean I dont personally Bother with sites like IGN or gamespot but Im glad they are getting screwed for this

Stephen

Haha, gamespot have blocked any more user reviews of kane & lynch.

Real smooth guys!

still_raining

Stephen wrote: »

Haha, gamespot have blocked any more user reviews of kane & lynch.

Real smooth guys!

Ha I saw that too. Check them out here:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/kanelynchdeadmen/players.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;yousay

Down at 2.6 right now!
Let's see them explain their way out of this one.

seraphimvc

ah...this guy...i remember him!!:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwuGDngN3j8

Gamespot is the only website which gave Twillight princess less than 9.0 at that time...he was that reviewer...;)just checked out that review now and i was shocked...

sound like a he has to say something bad/harch about the game/s...

well,for that Kane & Lynch,no opinion,havent play it...:rolleyes:

off topic:
but for that zelda review...that is a sh*t right there.all i saw was he keep talking some really trivial stuffs of the game!why on earth do those small speakers on wiimote bother him??ridiculous!!:eek:

but whatever he did,fire him is not right IMO:cool:

Edit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SdEbR5167c
watched his halo3 review,i laughed,so loud!*compare to what he said to twilight princess*
this guy is just a typical FPS fanboy...
he somehow deserved some punishment really :)and i dont get people cancel their subscribe to gamespot for him...maybe just a protest to the right of free speech then

Krieg

You can see as well that people are spamming random threads with the news (At gamespot). Im sure the Mods/Admins are having a great time :rolleyes:

L31mr0d

guarantee 1UP hires him now.

Stephen

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/03/exclusive-gertsmann-speaks-about-kandl-review-future/

MooseJam

I usually read gamespot reviews and have to say this is very shocking, guess I will look for some place else now

gline

just watched the review, i didnt see anything harsh really that he said about the game and I actually like the game :P

I think gamespot over-reacted a bit tbh.

However, why is everyone shocked about unfair review scores, thats being going on since game reviews started. When their is money involved they will always be tainted, its business

K.O.Kiki

Kane & Lynch site lies about reviews, then to top it off drags Kotaku into it
This reminds me of a sh!tty British gangster movie of yesteryear, the name of which eludes me atm (probably due to its aforementioned sh!ttyness).

GG Eidos no rly

steviec

I feel sorry for the guys at IO. If you watched any of the developer interviews it was obvious that some very talented people poured their hearts into making something that would stand out, but they were no doubt forced to rush the game for Christmas when it wasn't ready, and Eidos' behavious since has turned what was still a flawed but good game into a laughing stock now.

0ubliette

Wow, havent seen the crap hit the fan like this since driv3rgate

humanji

steviec wrote: »

I feel sorry for the guys at IO. If you watched any of the developer interviews it was obvious that some very talented people poured their hearts into making something that would stand out, but they were no doubt forced to rush the game for Christmas when it wasn't ready, and Eidos' behavious since has turned what was still a flawed but good game into a laughing stock now.

It's the way of all games. Can't remember which company has it as their motto, but "Done when it's done" would be a great way to have games made. Unfortunately, money takes precedence over art.

stevenmu

3DRealms, and while it is in some ways a good motto, it's only good if the game actually does become 'done' at some point

gline

LOL - http://www.gamespot.com/news/6183603.html?action=convert&om_clk=latestnews&tag=latestnews;title;0

"Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content," said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment's vice president of programming

Yeh sure :rolleyes:

Burning Eclipse

steviec wrote: »

I feel sorry for the guys at IO. If you watched any of the developer interviews it was obvious that some very talented people poured their hearts into making something that would stand out, but they were no doubt forced to rush the game for Christmas when it wasn't ready, and Eidos' behavious since has turned what was still a flawed but good game into a laughing stock now.

Well said man, this really sums up the situation for the devs!! Horrible incident overall, nobody wins here! Eidos made many big mistakes with this one!

Sabre0001

Interesting post by the creator of CTRL-ALT-DEL here - would be very funny if he were right...

But back to the issue at hand - if you hire reviewers and want readers to be able to trust you, then they need to be able to do their job (and sponsorships / game advertising should be thought about after - as someone said advertise the good games...)

conzy

humanji wrote: »

Can't remember which company has it as their motto, but "Done when it's done"

Thats Epic Games' motto, but they seem to have forgotten it for UT3

tba

I can honestly say I have never been to any of these game review sites until this incident, I always check the magazines and metacritic.

Stephen

...Metacritic is owned by CNet as well. I wonder if any manipulation goes into the scores on that depending on advertiser $ ?

flogen

seraphimvc wrote: »

Gamespot is the only website which gave Twillight princess less than 9.0 at that time...he was that reviewer...;)just checked out that review now and i was shocked

Didn't he give it an 8.9? Seemed to me like he was going out of his way to get Zelda fans' backs up and at least appear to move away from the herd... because 89% is SOOOO much poorer than 90%!

seraphimvc

flogen wrote: »

Didn't he give it an 8.9? Seemed to me like he was going out of his way to get Zelda fans' backs up and at least appear to move away from the herd... because 89% is SOOOO much poorer than 90%!

lol cant remember that well really,you maybe right:D

but take a look of that review video of zelda....superb....:cool:

edit:
checked...8.9 for the GC version...8.8 for wii version...

Mr E

Very very interesting article about the differences between the Gerstmann's original scathing gamespot review and the diluted original.... (Gotta love Google's cache!)

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/12/05/comparison-shows-significant-edits-to-gerstmanns-kane-and-lynch-r/

youcancallmeal

My view of gamespot has definitely changed after reading all this. There has been a few games recently where it has given high scores out such as C&C3 90% and COD4 90%. I found both to be repetitive and lacking innovation. Then again most other big websites scored those two games similarly so maybe its just me?