Gamespot Sings Its Own Song, Talks “Gerstmanngate”

by Cavin Smith on December 5, 2007 at 3:36 pm

Is That a Bull Doing a S*** I Spy?

I’m sure you’re all well aware of the controversy at this point, but we haven’t gotten a whole lot out of Jeff Gerstmann’s firing out of ex-employer Gamespot besides a few vague comments out of public relations. Well, now they’re ready to talk. A new “full disclosure” post on the site attempts to address several questions, but their answers feel less like explanations and more like excuses.

First and foremost, it’s important to note that Gamespot insists they have nothing to hide and that you’re getting the whole nine. “In the spirit of full disclosure” has never been more figurative, though. The post consists of questions “authorized” to by management and we suspect the answers are, too. Take what would likely be the most important of them, “Why was Jeff fired?” The reply:

“Legally, the exact reasons behind his dismissal cannot be revealed. However, they stemmed from issues unrelated to any publisher or advertiser–it was due purely to internal reasons.”

In the previous query as to whether or not Gerstmann was actually fired, they do mention that it was after an “internal review process by the managerial team.” Still elusive, doesn’t explain a thing we don’t already know. But it gets better when they get into the reasons for modifying the written review as well as pulling the video, including an open admission of retroactively modifying content.

“Jeff’s supervisors and select members of the edit team felt the review’s negativity did not match its “fair” 6.0 rating. The copy was adjusted several days following its publication so that it better meshed with its score, which remained unchanged.”

“The morning of Wednesday, November 14, the video was taken down due to concerns of quality. Specifically, its audio was deemed inferior due to a faulty microphone. There were also concerns about the limited amount of footage that was unrepresentative of the game in the review.”

And why wasn’t it reposted?

“Due to the crush of high-profile titles being released the following week, there were insufficient resources to reshoot and re-edit the video review.”

In order to save face, they decided to repost the original video review (opting out earlier because it would “exacerbate the situation”). It would seem more damning now, considering they also point to the Youtube version as if to say, “Look! See! We’re not trying to pull the wool over your eyes! Really, we aren’t! Believe us? Please? We have cake!” But really, microphone issues? If they even tried to hint at a precedent for pulling reviews on bad audio, it would actually sound reasonable.

The article goes on to talk about the way the Kane and Lynch skinned ads were handled, why fellow staffer Tim Tracy split in the midst of the whole debacle, and other credibility issues.

Unexpectedly, Gamespot continues to stand behind a veil of ethical impunity, but it seems to do more harm than good. It’s hard to believe that this was a series coincidences, especially when the answers feel so scripted.

If you’re interested in seeing the rest of the report (and we suspect you are), hit the link below. Apparently, the discussion will continue on the site’s podcast “The HotSpot,” while “On The Spot” will feature a Gerstmann tribute of it’s own.

Source: Gamespot on “Gerstmanngate”

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