Did Gerstmanngate Hurt Kane & Lynch?

While we may never know what actually happened, months have passed since the internet exploded over Kane & Lynch, GameSpot and reviewer Jeff Gerstmann. Now that the dust has settled what does Kane & Lynch developer IO Interactive think about the way it went down? Did it hurt game sales? Says Thomas Howalt, business development director at IO Interactive:

It sold well, we broke even and it's still selling. We had some really harsh reviews and there was all this noise about this thing with GameSpot and it sort of went over my head whatever people were fighting about. The web has it's own voice and it can be very loud... You know, what I see today is a lot of people picking it up, playing the free levels we put out. We get a lot of people playing online. You can argue are the graphics good enough, is it up there with the best? But it only takes two weeks and you're no longer the best looking game out. I've been playing games since Pong so I take these things lightly. In the end it's about sales and we have games like Freedom Fighters which is still selling.

Oh, it's always about the sales Thomas. Hence the problem.

IO Interview [Games Industry] [Pic]

Bruce Willis Signs On For Kane & Lynch Movie

According to Variety, Bruce Willis is slated for the Kane & Lynch movie adaptation. Bruno will play mercenary Adam "Kane" Marcus, who with batshit insane partner James Lynch is out to retrieve a stolen microchip. Willis has been rumored to play Kane since last fall — and Billy Bob Thornton is supposed to be Lynch, but that's not confirmed. Veteran stunt coordinator Simon Crane will make his directing debut and helm the picture, and scribe Kyle Ward will pen the script. The flick will be produced by the guys that brought Hitman to the silver screen. Reviews for the film will be met with apprehension from the game community.

Kane And Lynch Movie [Variety via AICN] [Pic]

Kane & Lynch DLC Trailer

Kane & Lynch Ads Banned In UK

The Advertising Standards Authority is not amused by the recent UK advertisements for Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The watchdog group has recieved 26 separate complaints against the violent ads, which include a TV spot, posters, and print ads. The main offender was the poster, which featured a gagged, crying woman with her head held back by one of the game's heroes. Another poster contained a quote from OXM calling the game "Grittier and nastier in tone than anything you've seen before, the violence here is visceral, brutal and very, very real." The television ads included the crunching noise of a rifle butt being brought down on a man's face and another man getting his throat cut. The ASA has ordered that Eidos not broadcast or reprint the ads again, deeming them too graphic and shocking to be seen in any medium. Hope no one gets fired over a game as average as Kane & Lynch.

'Shocking' Eidos ad banned [MCV]

Kane & Lynch Gets Free DLC

Kane & Lynch Sells Over A Million Copies

Middling review scores and a negative association with the controversy surrounding the termination of a Gamespot employee doesn't seem to have harmed the sales performance of the Eidos-published Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. The IO Interactive action game has sold over a million copies since its launch in November, according to a report from Next Generation. That would mean sequel talk is more than likely, despite my predictions that everyone involved would like to avoid franchise talk like the plague. Guess that movie is still going ahead, too.

Also a big hit for parent company SCI? Pony Friends, which is, as far as we know, a harrowing pony war game.

Kane and Lynch Sells 1 mln [Next-Gen]

When site GameBump noticed that the official Kane & Lynch: Dead Men web site contained what appeared to be a series of five-star reviews for the Eidos and IO Interactive game, five-star reviews that weren't actually granted, reaction from quoted outlets and readers was less than positive. The German-language version even quoted our own hands-on impressions of the game, nestled comfortably beneath a grand row of five-stars. It all seemed so... distasteful.

Today, regardless of whether it was an innocent design decision or whether consumers were being intentionally mislead, the unwarranted "ratings" have been removed. All that remain now are the pull-quotes, a preview clip, some guns to let you know how shoot-y it is... and a couple of black eyes.

Official Site [Kane & Lynch]

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.

Gamespot Comments On Gerstmann Departure

A commenter on sister site Valleywag, who claims to be a current Gamespot employee, wrote anonymously about the current situation surrounding rumors of former editorial director Jeff Gerstmann's termination. The new user, known as "gamespot", who does a fairly solid impression of a bitter employee of CNet, if nothing else, provides possible insight into the emotional state at Gamespot's editorial staff. In response to a Valleywag post that quoted another supposed CNet employee, one whose "gut" had informed them that Gerstmann was fired for unspecified "larger" reasons, "gamespot" chimed in. Many had questioned the timing of the termination, wondering why, if the Kane & Lynch: Dead Men review had been published over two weeks ago, was Jeff fired just two days ago?

Commenter "gamespot" responded.

It's been a banner several weeks for new games and this one is no different. No matter what your taste there is a little something for everyone. Mass effect, Rock Band and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune will be on my holiday play list as I sit in my parents rec room after ingesting too much food. What will you be playing post-turkey time?

Mass Effect (X360)
Space, ho!

Rock Band (PS3, X360)
Rock out with more than just a guitar.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Relive every great 80's adventure movie you ever saw.

Unreal Tournament 3 (PC)
Get real with Unreal..3!

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (PC)
It's like a buddy movie with killing.

Ghost Squad (WII)
Fight the war on terror at home on your Wii

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS)
More Final Fantasy... more!!

College Hoops 2K8 (X360, PS3, PS2)
Next-gen college basketball.

Soul Calibur Legends (WII)
The Soul Calibur franchise tries a new style.

Time Crisis 4 (PS3)
Shoot those bad guys up. Now with scrolling.

Link's Crossbow Training (WII)
Test out the Wii Zapper Zelda style!

Kane & Lynch Go Mobile

Now that Kane & Lynch is finally upon us, we can move our attention towards different things, such as the forthcoming Kane & Lynch movie. The Times Online reports that two stars are already under consideration.

Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton are said to be in the running to play Kane and Lynch, two escapees from death row - one "a flawed mercenary", the other "a medicated psychopath". The game is due for release next Friday.

We had a little break last week, but the cork popped out of the dam and the flood of games has begun anew. Super Mario Galaxy, Assassin's Creed and Umbrella Chronicles are all on my list of things to buy and eventually not get to play because I have too many other things to play. What's topping your list this week?

Super Mario Galaxy (WII)
It'sa Mario again... in space!

Assassin's Creed (X360, PS3)
Altair is da man in 1191.

Crysis (PC)
Fight aliens!

BlackSite: Area 51 (X360, PC)
Fight more aliens!

Need for Speed ProStreet (PC, X360, PS3, PS2, WII, DS)
Race around the world in your custom car.

WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008 (X360, PS2, WII, PS3, PSP, DS)
Wrestlemania. Wait, that's something else...

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (X360, PS3, PC)
Co-op killing.

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 (PS2)
Dragon Ball Z. Still going.

SimCity Societies (PC)
Learn how buildings shape society.

Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles (WII)
A zombie massacre on rails.

Soldier of Fortune: Payback (X360, PC)
The game based on the magazine based on killing and guns.

Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (WII, PSP)
Invade WWII with your Wii Zapper.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 (WII, DS)
Rayman's Raving Rabbids return.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (PSP)
My money is on Aliens because they look cooler.

Kane And Lynch Multipayer Mayhem

Kane & Lynch Walkthrough

With Kane & Lynch now coming out on Nov. 13, it's time to stop talking about things like art direction and voice acting and to get to the nitty-gritty of game play. This walkthrough features the soothing sounds of game director Jens-Peter Kurup explaining the game play elements, like the use of picture-in-picture.

Eidos announced earlier today that it's shooter Kane & Lynch: Dead Men is the lucky recipient of an early release from the publisher. The PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC versions will all ship a week ahead of schedule on November 13, giving it plenty of time to settle in to retailers before the post-Thanksgiving rush.

Unfortunately, it's now going head to head with big names Assassin's Creed and Super Mario Galaxy. We wish it the best of luck. Oh who am I kidding? Everything is coming out over the next two weeks. The Dead Men moniker couldn't be more apt.