Gamespot owes their fans an supporters an explanation for the sudden removal of Jeff Gerstmann.

Kotaku and Shacknews have information on what happened to Jeff Gerstmann, who gave an unfavorable review to Kane and Lynch, and as a consequence may have lost his job because the advertisers of the game threatened to pull out:

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/50134

http://kotaku.com/gaming/rumor/gamespot-editor-fired-over-kane--lynch-review-328244.php

I want to believe it wasn't the result of Eidos pressure, really I do. But no one else just pops out like that. Jeff would have at least posted on his blog to explain had this been on good terms. Something's WRONG here.

They don't "owe" us anything. Its a company and the company has to abide by legal regulations. Some of which include not disclosing information they are not allowed to disclose. Most of us don't pay for what we get from GameSpot so they "owe" us even less.

He got what he deserved. It's about time Gamespot removed some of its more biased, and obviously wrong reviewers from its payroll. That review was a joke, and it's firing material, imo.

Zkeptik, I totally disagree with you. Gamespot reviews, may result in people buying a game from the shelves thinking that Mr. Gamespot reviewer gave this a high score so it must be good only to find out theyve wasted $60 on garbage. I think its totally necessary to ensure all the reviews are fair. I wonder if the rich developers of huge titles like halo 3 and assassins creed or COD4 bribed gamespot. I mean if i was msoft or sony with tonnes of cash i may too consider offering sites money for raving reviews.

At some point or another, I read an explanation of the morals by which GS reviews games, and it would appear that not only is Jeff the epitome of such on GS, but he was (if what I'm hearing is true) FIRED for doing his job, and CNET no longer holds any value in my mind ( not to mention being dishonest and corrupt).

I agree completely. I'm on strike as far as Gamespot goes.

I am so pissed that Jeff Gerstmann got fired I just may never come back to gamespot again once I finish my round of trolling and complaining. He was the only one I actually enjoyed reading or watching.

It's a sad state of affairs it really is I think GS need to be as transparent as they can with this as it's only thier honesty with this situation now which can save thier rep!

I'm really not the boycotting type, but I'm done with GameSpot now.

if its true then i don't trust GS anymore, i'm out. I'll stick to PA.

As much as I didn't agree with him, at least he was giving his honest opinion. That's called journalistic integrity, and he has nothing to be ashamed of. Unfortunately GameSpot is not a community run forum, but a corporate entity, so it is to be expected to see someone sacked from time to time for this...

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Right i want to see the video reveiw that cost him his job !! Unfortunately these things happen and if it were a reviewer further down the food chain then we wouldn't even hear about it.

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Unfortunately this sends out a message , if true, that review scores are for sale at gamespot ! if they don't issue some sort of news item on this then people will start to leave for sites like IGN

Gamespot is the first thing I've ever paid for on the internet. I've been a member like forever, Jeff is my favorite reporter here, and I'll be watching closely on the real story behind all this. (I already had my doubts considering some of the reviewer choices that have been made for games in the recent past) I am aware of the pressure from advertisers, and to me its the biggest threat towards being able to rely on websites like these. I'm not going to judge now, but as I said, I'll be watching closely.

For what it's worth, when I worked at GameSpot for about 3.5 years, I was continually impressed, even awed, by the lengths at which people like Greg and Jeff would go to insulate the editorial department from any potential conflicts of interest. In this industry, the mere appearance of impropriety can seriously damage you, and they knew it.

Apparently, CNET and GameSpot upper management did not realize that, though.

If I had any CNET stock right now, I'd sell it. Unfortunately, all I have are worthless options for a worthless company.

I don't thinks this has anyhing to do with Eidos, because more than half of the sites bashed Kane & Lynch with a relatively low score. So why pick GameSpot as the only potential target?

1) Jeff & any other honest, quality reviewer: come work for me. I run a serious independent multimedia company. I'm also a well-known writer. I'd be more than happy to get something going, even to the point of a print publication. 2) No response from GS - Jeff's video review was removed - companies threatening to pull monetary support for bad PR is a common thing & GS already has a bad rep for "shady" behavior and "jaded" reviews = Jeff was most certainly fired for the reason given: Cnet was threatened with the loss of monetary support, and they took the "low road" and fired the "aggravating source".

3) GS most certainly IS as responsible as Cnet, whether it's the parent company or not. I'll tell you why: because any company, subsidiary or not, that does not stand up for it's quality employees are spineless, and are just as guilty as those who receive the monetary "kick-backs" even though they may see no money themselves.

You're also talking about a website here that, on more occasions than I care to count, has been like the "internet Gestapo", and closed threads and banned members for giving opinions that were NOT flaming, but adult discussions that offended their "delicate sensibilities". I've never seen a public website exude such abhorrent censorship to their supporting public, and it's a disgrace. GS has a lot to learn about how to run a proper business.

Oh, and yes, GS most certainly DOES "owe" certain things to the public, as someone else has stated: people make/do not make purchases sometimes on basis of what a supposedly "trustworthy" and "experienced" source has to say about said product. It's a responsibility you OWE to the public to be fair and accurate. I'd know, since I've run a few big online publications myself, and written for print magazines.

If you've not enough honor, principal and ETHICS to stand up for your quality employees and give-in to corporate disgrace, you're no better then they are, and all things are pointing clearly to this being the case with GS.

GS never has lost much credibility over time, and this is the last straw for me, and this just pushes is over the edge to the point that I wont bother returning once I've finished this post, with the exception of checking msgs that remain. IGN, whether people admit it or not, offer excellently written reviews that are always in-depth and usually right "on the mark", with few exceptions. They're also owned by FOX, who despite being a joke in a lot of ways, don't control what IGN does in terms of their reviews for monetary gain. I'm back to a full-time IGN and GameTrailers patron.

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im sad to say this i really am. I loved coming here every day and checking up on the latest news, but for it to come to this....they have my loyalty no more. im switching to IGN...

Zenfolder, you're glad Jeff got removed for "biasy" yet the reason he was removed was because he wasn't being Biased. How in the hell does that make any sense?

I trusted Gamespot to an extent. Now i have lost all faith. They have to bring him back and repent. Or at least post an apology. Either way, i will never trust their reviews again.

so, what really happened? if that rumor is true, i'm leaving GS forever!

I hope this isn't true.

He was removed to giving his honest opinion? Damn you GameSpot... You are just a bunch of sell outs.

It seems it's true. But if they're firing someone, because he is just doing his job and he is giving and telling to US the reality about this game, Kand and Lynch, which is quite worst as he is told in that review, it's meaning they're corrupted on the highest level. I'm already surprised on many review points, such as C&C3, which would deserve the 50% or less, not the 90%. And now this one. CNET is corrupt on the highest level, using up GameSpot to delude us, trick us to buy the craps too, such as Kane and Lynch, C&C3 and other craps with high review points, while they deserve the half or the quarter of it. I'm never trusting in GS anymore. I'm done.

This is modern censorship. It is not solved with prisoning or killing, but to fire someone and don't advertise no more on the site. If reviews are based on the amount of money put rather than on quality, the end is nigh for good games to come out. Because a bad review should be used by the programmers of such games to make future efforts better.

I sensed something was wrong with GameSpot as of late. Turns out my senses don't fail me. Not only is it a shame to see such an honest and experienced reviewer as Jeff Gertsman go, but this also means that GS lost, not to mention one of the "faces" of GameSpot, but also a WHOLE LOT of users! Heck, they will probably lose more subscriber money then they would have gotten from the advertising deal. Which brings me to another issue. Advertising is fine on a site like GameSpot. It's a little annoying if you are not a full access subscriber, but nescessary and understandable none the less. But when it goes as far that the advertisers expect the content of a site like this to affect their game positively (no matter how bad or good the game is (K&L was crap imo, yes)) it is no longer called advertising, it's legal term is bribery and I wouldnt be surprised if a lot of lawsuites came flying in all directions quite soon. I've lost what little trust I had in GameSpot and will not renew my subscription unless things change. Over to IGN and GameTrailers, sites that dont give in to bribery and corporate threats.

This is not about a gamespot employee getting fired per say, but rahter about they way it was handled by the companies involved and the circumstances and reasons under which it was commited.

It's a shame GameSpot, you used to be the best site on the internet for over 10 years for all aspects of the gameindustry.

Rogier. By my opinion this is idiotism and delusion, not modern censorship. GameSpot. Honestly. We want answers. Please explain to us, mortals, what the hell happened?

Corruption come one.... And oh yeah 9/11 is the greatest conspiracy of all time and so is the titanic and humm we've been created by a superior alien specie

If it is true, gamespot is no longer credible or respectable. Good bye gamespot, hello IGN.

Blame CNET, not GameSpot, as this was most likely handed down from the top. It would be nice to have an explanation, but I wouldn't hold your breath. I can understand why you might want to leave, but don't do so holding GameSpot responsible as that's probably not the case.

m3ss: True, but if the desitions come down from the top, a lot of the money go the other way aswell.

To quote a game some of you might have heard of:
"Cut off the head of the snake, and the body dies"

To people who are saying they will leave the site because of this - Grow up. I mean, GameSpot will make amends in some ways, but if the only compromise you've come to is to leave the site, you really should consider therapy. Besides, this was on Cnet, not GameSpot. They dug themselves a hole, don't take it out on this site, because GameSpot had nothing to do with it.

His review was similar to the reviews from other sites....the game sucks and truth hurts.

I like the community and news, but I simply won't trust their reviews anymore

-Tish-, how dare you tell people to grow up. I paid good money to this site because I liked its integrity with reviews, they've just proved that they're more concerned with money from advertisment deals and are willing to let them effect review scores, makes you wonder what review scores in the past have been influenced by money, bribes.

I refuse to give my money to this site any longer.

Personally i think that the negative about Gamespot is that it treats PS3(for example Rachet and Clank) and some Nintendo games with arrogance,reviewing them from the perspective of an Xbox fan...
So i call this site Xboxspot,not Gamespot...

Reviews are never objective these day's anyway. They used to be treated like news reports where only the facts where given. Now it's all about the individual reviewers opinion on the game.

Jeff got fired? Wow, im really slow....

TBO, ive noticed that nearly evry review gets a high score on gamespot... even Okami, which i saw as just another platformer after playing, nothing revolutionary, yet it got a 9.0

I also posted a review on that game + it got 6.5 + it was deleted for 'trolling'

This isn't fair that Jeff got fired.... Gamespot needs to do something or i'm leaving...

Auf weidersehn!

I agree, if true this is an outrage.

wow big deal. jeff got fired? karma from the zelda review, lol. slanderin my favorite plumber durin the marathon, talkin about space chickens! :\ ...deep down though, we're gonna miss jeff lol

I've been a paid member of gamespot for years now. Jeff is a straight up and honest reviewer, and called it like he saw it. The blame lies on BOTH CNET and GS. And yes, reviews ARE for sale at gamespot. Alot of 'tipsters' are coming to the surface of other gaming sites talking about pressure to write good reviews for whatever game their running ads for up to release. Eidos poured a ton of ad dollars into Kane and Lynch to have that crap game postered all over the net.

Too bad no one liked it. And now CNET and GS reviews go to the highest bidder. I no longer see any reason to pay for this service again. I came here for honest reviews, the fact that there is even slight reason for doubt now in that, i'll take my money elsewhere.

Gamespot lost all credibility long ago. Awarding Mas Effect with a mere 8.5 was laughable.

Once my subscription runs im busting this popsicle joint.

First Greg leaves, then Rich and now Jeff..... who's next, Alex maybe? I recently suscribe to this community, but I have been checking it out since 2003. If this rumor comes true I will just leave GS cause there will not be any credibility.

I wonder if loosing the most entertaining member of the gamespot staff (as well as a respectable reviewer, even if I don't agree with many of his reviews) is gonna cost them more in the long run. If Eidos is threatening to pull because of his review, even if he made a mistake somewhere, they are wrong. If they want better reviews, don't publish crap.

I'm a member since 2004 and only recently became a paid subscriber - Total Access. I'm sad to see that it has come to this. If this is true I'm no longer supporting GS and I'll regret a lot to have been supporting a corrupt site.

There no other words for me to say. I'm really sad.

Guess I'll look for other videogame sources in the net know. Its better have various sources of information and then make your decision whether or not you will buy a game...