GameSpot editorial director fired for Kane & Lynch review?

Another video game has managed to entrench itself in controversy, but like the infamous ongoing Manhunt debate, the controversy concerns not just the game itself but is relevant to the entire industry, and even includes us gamers.

The controversy surrounds Jeff Gerstmann, who was recently fired from his post as editorial director of GameSpot. Speculation goes that he was fired because of the politics surrounding his review of Kane & Lynch. More in the full article.

 

Another video game has managed to entrench itself in controversy, but like the infamous ongoing Manhunt debate, the controversy concerns not just the game itself but is relevant to the entire industry, and even includes us gamers.

The controversy surrounds Jeff Gerstmann, who was recently fired from his post as editorial director of GameSpot. Until then he had worked there for 10 years. The controversy goes that he was fired because of the politics surrounding his review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, PC).

The facts – and the surrounding speculations – are these. Basically the root of the controversy starts with Jeff Gerstmann’ video review of Kane & Lynch, rating it with a rather low score of 6/10 and also giving negative remarks about the game.

Gerstmann was fired several days after the review was made live. He confirmed his termination to Joystiq via email, but he doesn’t comment further. Sources then give more info on the story, saying that it was Gerstmann’s review that caused the termination.

According to the sources, and a commentary by Penny Arcade, the review of Kane & Lynch caused Eidos Interactive, the studio behind the game, to withdraw “hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of future advertising from the site” (qtd. from Penny Arcade).

Kane & Lynch ads no longer appear on GameSpot’s front page, which gives weight to the story. Gerstmann’s video review was also taken down, although the text review was “updated […] based on [GameSpot’s] editorial standards,” according to a CNET spokesperson.

GameSpot says that they “do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers” but doesn’t comment on whether any pressure was given on Eidos’ part.

Eidos and Gerstmann gave the usual no-comment while GameSpot made an official statement saying that:

GameSpot takes its editorial integrity extremely seriously. For over a decade, Gamespot and the many members of its editorial team have produced thousands of unbiased reviews that have been a valuable resource for the gaming community. At CNET Networks, we stand behind the editorial content that our teams produce on a daily basis.

However, they do not comment on Gerstmann’s case, saying it’s not their policy to comment on personal employee matters. For now, every major party involved is remaining quiet on the issue.

The controversy is causing a lot of buzz on the internet, causing some talk about the role of advertising and their influence on games and reviews.