The Man Who Fired Jeff Gerstmann From GameSpot Has Been Sacked

When long-time GameSpot reviewer and editorial director Jeff Gerstmann was let go from the site last November—with sources pointing to his review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men as the catalyst for his termination—fingers were also pointed at executive Josh Larson, VP of games at parent company CNET. Larson, who replaced former Editor in Chief Greg Kasavin, was implicated by anonymous GameSpot employees to have had the "church-and-state separation between the sales teams and the editorial team" "cracked" under his tenure. Whether the VP, Jeff's supervisor at the time, was the key decision maker in letting Gerstmann go we can't confirm, but we can confirm that Larson will be leaving the company next week.

Another GameSpot Editor Quits

Gerstmann On X-Play Tonight

GameSpot Loses One More Editor

Ryan Davis, an associate editor, experienced reviewer and nearly 8-year GameSpot veteran, has become the latest to quit in the wake of former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann's termination. GameDaily.biz reports today that it has confirmed with new GameSpot editor in chief Ricardo Torres that Davis will follow Frank Provo and Alex Navarro as the latest casualty to the site's editorial staff. News of the most recent resignation comes two months to the day that we warned of a mass walkout at the CNet Networks owned site.

Gerstmann and Davis appeared to have been close cohorts, with the pair performing as the musical outfit Suburban All-Stars. Davis wrote in his GameSpot blog within days of Gerstmann's firing that "I would not be in the video game business at all were it not for Jeff Gerstmann," adding that the controversial termination "absolutely breaks my heart" and signaled "the end of an era for both GameSpot and myself."

The GameSpot Exodus Continues as Ryan Davis Leaves [GameDaily.biz]

GameSpot's New EIC On Gerstmann, Moving On

You couldn't pay me enough to take Ricardo Torres' job. The newly promoted Editor-in-Chief of GameSpot took up the reins of the site in the wake of Gerstmann-gate, with community trust at an all time low and the eyes of the internet watching their every move. GameDaily's Kyle Orland discusses the trials and tribulations of stepping into this new position with Torres in his weekly Media Coverage segment, touching on the future of GameSpot, competing with upstart gaming blogs (*whistles innocently*), sketchy advertising policies and of course, Jeff Gerstmann.

"GameSpot's gone through quite a few bumps in the road over the years. I know Jeff's fans are upset and I know people are upset over the perception and how it all played out. Really, the best thing that we can do is to just show them that we're good at what we do. Ultimately content is going to prove to people that we're untainted, uncorrupt and committed to serving our readers."

GameSpot Names New Editor In Chief

CNet Networks announced today that GameSpot veteran Ricardo Torres has been named the new Editor In Chief of the online publication, replacing former site lead Greg Kasavin in the role. The site had been without an official EIC since Kasavin's departure in January of last year to work at Electronic Arts. Torres, who shared editorial director duties with former GameSpotter Jeff Gerstmann, has been with the site since 2001 and has been focused on previews and worldwide event coverage.

Torres, who spoke to us recently about the departure of longtime reviewer Alex Navarro, said of the new responsibilities via press release "I'm eager to continue the site's tradition of excellence and I'm confident we can move forward into 2008 and set a new industry standard for how video games are covered." Torres recently set editorial standards for wearing cornrows, pictures of which we desperately wish we had in our possession.

We wish Torres the best in his future endeavors at GameSpot. Full statement from CNet after the break.

Another GameSpot Reviewer Decides To Leave

Longtime GameSpot Reviewer Leaves, Cites Gerstmann Firing

Next-Gen Picks Top Ten Blunders Of 2007

"Best of" awards are fun, sure, but it's the screw ups that give us the most joy during the depressing holidays, not the accolades. Watching others fail so spectacularly makes our own lack of accomplishment that much less memorable. Fortunately, Next-Gen knows what we like and have rounded up the year's biggest blunders in its latest list, which not only includes the familiar Sony blackballing incident from March, but also touches on other fun and interesting topics like the dismissal of Jeff Gerstmann and the whirlwind of confusion surrounding this year's PlayStation 3 SKU confusion. Even better are trips down memory lane with execs Shane Kim and Jack Tretton.

I won't spoil number one, but it's certainly the most expensive of the lot. Let loose the finger pointing and HAHA-ing!

TOP 10 BLUNDERS OF 2007 [Next-Gen - thanks, Duane!]

GameSpot Gets Oliver Stone Treatment

Jeff Gerstmann's departure from GameSpot, sometimes referred to as Gerstmanngate, was one of the bigger sexy scandals of 2007. (Note: we fully recognize that "bigger" is grammatically incorrect, but if enough people keep saying it, the rules will change). That's why this trailer for JFG, a reinterpretation of Oliver Stone's highly controversial JFK, cracked us up. It's pretty well done. But like most internet videos, the idea is incredible for about half its run.

Thanks Laurens!

Talkin' 'Bout Jeff Gerstmann And Gamespot On G4

If you happened to miss yesterday's episode of Attack of the Show on G4, featuring Wired Game|Life's Chris Kohler and yours truly chatting about the Jeff Gerstmann-GameSpot situation, now's your chance. Notice that it's Kohler representing with a bird shirt this time, not a Kotaku editor. Now that we've had ample time to process, with tempers cooled, we rapped about the long term effects of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Score-gate. I know, that doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

GameSpot's Tribute To Jeff Gerstmann

Q: Was Eidos Interactive upset by the game's review?

Gerstmann Speaks A Little, I Think It's Telling

MTV's Stephen Totilo exchanged some emails with ex-GameSpot review Jeff Gerstmann. And while Gerstmann didn't go on record saying anything all that juicy, he did have something telling to say about the separation of advertising and reviews:

you asked if it's realistic for readers to expect a church and state separation between editorial and sales. Realistic or not, I think readers should demand that from a publication. Some people probably think that's a little old-fashioned or hopelessly idealistic, given the changing nature of advertising these days, but there you go.

CNET Employee Responds To Gamespot Controversy, CNET Starting Investigation

The entire GameSpot craziness that we've seen for the last week or so is bad news for the site. But the repercussions could be just as bad for GameSpot's equally trafficking though possibly more famous/influential tech-reviewing parent site, CNET.

Yet CNET hasn't said a word. And according to a trusted source within the organization, none of CNET's writers are all that happy about the delay despite CNET higher ups launching an investigation on the matter.

GameSpot May See "Mass Resignations" Over Dismissal

Speaking with a Gamespot employee yesterday who asked not to be named for this story, we've learned that, despite the neutral nature of the Gamespot news item on the matter, the editorial staff is said to be "devastated, gutted and demoralized" over the removal of former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann. While the termination of Gerstmann, a respected fixture at Gamespot, was pitched to his remaining colleagues by management as a "mutual decision", it was anything but, we're told.

The confusion over the reasons for Gerstmann's termination, compounded with a lack of transparency from management has created a feeling of "irreconcilable despair" that may eventually lead to an exodus of Gamespot editorial staffers. "Our credibility," said the source, "is in ruins." Over the course of the previous days, a "large number of Gamespot editors" have expressed their intentions to leave. Tales of emotionally deflated peers, with no will to remain at the site, were numerous.

Unless cooler heads prevail or concerns are addressed, Gamespot could see "mass resignations", our source revealed.