MEGAMERS
Jeff Gerstmann, a former editor of Gamespot, today revealed the circumstances behind his termination from the gaming website five years ago. It was rumored at that time that his departure was the result of his negative review of Kane & Lynch, with the game’s publisher twisting the company’s arm tight enough to ensure that Gerstmann never wrote for the website ever again.
Today, Gerstmann confirmed that was indeed why he was fired from the his editorial position.
The disclosure comes as part of a recent deal that has seen Gerstmann’s Giant Bomb purchased by CBS Interactive, the parent company of his former employer, Gamespot. In a slightly tense and awkward interview with Gamespot’s John Davison, Gerstmann detailed the infamous incident.
He said that he was “called into a room” by the CBS management and was “terminated” because he “couldn’t be trusted” as the editorial director due to his poor review of Eidos’ third-person shooter.
Gerstmann also shared other such instances where his team at Gamespot was pressurized into producing a favorable review. He gave an example of how Sony threatened to pull advertisement money from the website if its action-platformer Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction received anything other than a near perfect score. Gamespot eventually gave it a 7.5.
http://tbreak.com/megamers/55379/news/jeff-gerstmann-was-indeed-fired-from-gamespot-because-of-a-poor-score/
