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Gamespot Fires Reviewer Due to Negative Review?

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by RC Cola, Nov 30, 2007.

  1. KePoW

    KePoW Contributing Member

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    um, what's wrong with a 8.8 for TP? you do realize that 8.8 out of 10 is still considered a great game?

    what did you expect, a 10 or something? 8.8 is not that much a difference from 9.3 or 9.5 or whatever. I don't think there's anything wrong at all with the TP score...I might personally give it a 9.0 or something but not much higher than that

    as for Tony Hawk, I can't say since I never played it myself
     
  2. RC Cola

    RC Cola Contributing Member

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    And FWIW, it doesn't just have to be advertising space. Some publishers may grant a certain website/magazine an exclusive, assuming that website/magazine was positive about their game(s) (EX: Gamespot gets exclusive story/media on Deus Ex 3 if they give a "favorable" review for Kane and Lynch). That has been one of the more common examples I've seen, although I've seen it mostly for magazines (but major ones). I guess exclusives reviews are pretty common too though (IGN gets to publish their review of a game first...and they gave it a 9+, can you believe it?).

    Wonder if some publishers have even attempted to get these guys to basically act negatively about their competition (EX: EA "rewards" IGN for giving an unfavorable review to APF 2K8).

    I never really saw a huge problem with the scores for Zelda and TH3. Never played Zelda, but his score didn't really differ much from scores by other major reviewers IIRC. The whole thing probably lead to them changing their rating system (in which case, it would have gotten a 9...the GC version even got a 8.9). If people still complained because he gave Zelda a 9, then....wow. I think I really enjoyed TH3 as well, so if he gave TH3 a 10, that wouldn't really seem bad to me. It has an average score nearly identical to Zelda TP at Gamerankings, and yet I don't really see people complaining about sites that gave Zelda a 10.

    Keep in mind I'm talking specifically about the scores. I haven't read the reviews (nor have I even played Zelda), so I can't really comment on those aspects of his reviews. I tend to be more upset with reviewers that screw up this part of their reviews instead of the scores themselves, so I can understand the backlash if that was the case.

    Generally speaking, however, I understand your point, and I don't know if those factors influenced Gerstmann in those reviews (or others). Of course, it may not have even been up to him exactly. Similar to this story, you can understand how Gamespot may want more hits if they put out a "controversial" review. This might even be why GS tends to give lower-than-average scores compared to other sites (partly why it is kind of useless to compare scores...a 8.8 at Gamespot is probably like a 9.8 at IGN). It might make more sense for him to do this rather than him trying to make a statement about the game.

    Maybe if people actually read reviews and didn't pay much attention to scores, this wouldn't really be a problem.


    BTW, I should note that technically CNET fired Jeff Gerstmann, not Gamespot. Jeff was basically in charge of Gamespot (EIC) if I'm not mistaken.
     
  3. JusBleezy

    JusBleezy Contributing Member

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    You somewhat missed my point. I've never played Twilight Princess, much like RC Cola, but I've heard others complain that the score was too low which alerted me to Gamespot's review and system in general. I have never relied on Gamespot for reviews, but I have heard other gamers say that Gamespot generally reviews games lower than other sites or publications. My question centers around whether their reviewers do this based on the actual game or to make some sort of statement to the industry. I.e. lowering their score in comparison to other sites in the name of going against what the other reviewers are saying.

    From www.penny-arcade.com directly, they said as much on their website as a commentary to Gerstmann's firing:

    "Jeff Gerstmann is no stranger to controversy. In general terms, Gamespot can be relied upon to give high-profile games scores which are slightly lower than their counterparts elsewhere. It's almost as though there is an algorithm in place there to correct the heady rush associated with cracking open an anticipated new title."

    In short, I'm not challenging the Twilight Princess or Tony Hawk scores, I'm just questioning whether the scores were what they rightfully deserved in his mind or inflated or deflated in contrast to other sites or publications.

    So calm down, I didn't care what they gave Twilight Princess and yes I do know what great scores are. I don't get angry when others don't like a game as much as I do. It's all objective or opinion based and everyone has different tastes in games.
     
    #23 JusBleezy, Nov 30, 2007
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2007
  4. DonkeyMagic

    DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
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    gamespot is/was one of my lesser trusted places for reviews...i dont see how them getting new blood could be any worse.
     
  5. RC Cola

    RC Cola Contributing Member

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    I think it has more to do with the fact that there is no real standard for review scores (can't even get the same type of scores). They're probably not inflating or deflating scores, but simply giving the score that comes from their review process. Even though the scores may differ, I hope most people that actually care about review scores would realize that something like a 8.5 at Gamespot and a 9.0 at IGN are pretty much the same thing (neither are trying to deflate/inflate the score for the game). Of course, you could always ask how Gamespot came up with their review process to begin with (why make it difficult for a game to score a 9 or 10?).

    A lot of people are probably just going to ignore their reviews from now on, regardless of any changes to the staff (getting new blood), their review process, the amount of advertising on the site, etc.
     
  6. DonkeyMagic

    DonkeyMagic Contributing Member
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    their image has certainly taken a big hit from this, whether its true or not.
     
  7. JusBleezy

    JusBleezy Contributing Member

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    Very true. A 9 on Gamespot would be equal to a 9.6 on IGN more or less. Definitely could be the case. At least I hope it is because my alternative is very unfortunate if it is the case.

    I suppose why I was going along my lines of thinking is because Gamespot comes off as negative and arrogant a bit to me during some of their reviews. Listening to some of their reviews of games, you would think that the game is about to receive a 3 by the way they are talking and it ends up with a 6 or 7. Kane and Lynch being a prime example.

    Or it may have been that they totally disregarded Street Fighter...... The bastards. :D ;)

    Definitely possible also. Credibility is everything in the video game industry. Especially when it comes to whose opinions gamers trust. I personally listen to what GameTrailers.com and EGM have to say about a game, but mostly I'm looking at how they describe the gameplay mechanics and their experiences with the game. So in actuality, I'm taking what they say with a grain of salt and just listening to their initial opinions.
     
    #27 JusBleezy, Nov 30, 2007
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2007
  8. GuerillaBlack

    GuerillaBlack Member

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    Remember the different time periods in which he reviewed those games. You are using flawed logic.
     
  9. Coach AI

    Coach AI Contributing Member

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    A shame, since I liked Gamespot as one of the 'group' of sites I used to check out reviews.
     
  10. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Net media whoring will continue to be a problem until there are more ways to make money out of websites.

    I also used Gamespot as a measuring stick. What are some reliable game sites you guys trust?
     
  11. rezdawg

    rezdawg Contributing Member

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    IGN and Gametrailers give thorough reviews...I know its only two sites, but I think you can get a good understanding of any game from both of their reviews.
     
  12. Coach AI

    Coach AI Contributing Member

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    IGN's scores tend to go a little high though; not 'OMG I'm Playing a Video Game!! FIVE out of FIVE' level like GamePro, but still.

    It's one of the reasons I tend to go with the sites that collect multiple reviews.
     
  13. br0ken_shad0w

    br0ken_shad0w Member

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    I'm not going to touch the 8.8 review. I'll let the Zelda fans lose sleep over that.

    As for the firing, Eidos did what any publisher does, put up empty threats due to unsatisfactory content. As a result, they get put in bad publicity even though other publishers do the exact same thing. And remember, Gertsmann was the editor-in-chief so he's pretty high up the Gamespot ladder. Still, there is still too much speculation to see what exactly happened.

    Of course corruption is pretty much everywhere nowadays. Just look at big media and the US government.
     
  14. Lil Pun

    Lil Pun Contributing Member

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    Holy spit that made me laugh!
     
  15. demon77

    demon77 Member

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    The only sad things i could get out of this is realizing how many of you actually care about online review.

    Some of you should realize that any review is bias, even fan review. There are many fans that are paid to post on gaming forum and make fan review to boost the popularity of the games.

    If you want to know how good a game is, download the demo and play for yourself. Don't let MS and other rich company manipulate what game you should buy.
     
  16. Space Ghost

    Space Ghost Contributing Member

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    what is your OE name?
     
  17. RC Cola

    RC Cola Contributing Member

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    I don't really trust any of the professional ones. And I felt that way before this incident.

    I do visit Gametrailers and occasionally IGN due to their video reviews though.

    In addition to that, I've seen some reviews some them that mentioned completely inaccurate information about a game. Somewhat similar to what Samfisher said earlier in the thread about a previous GS review actually.


    BTW, I starting to find it really hard not to believe this is true at this point. Without directly confirming or denying anything, the editor blogs at Gamespot certainly hint at what happened. It seems like plenty of "reliable" sites have confirmed it with "anonymous" sources as well.

    Now I'm not sure if the following is 100% true, but if it is, wow:
    http://valleywag.com/tech/jeff-gerstmann/gamespot-editor-on-fired-writer-328775.php
    At least Jeff still has his sense of humor:
    [​IMG]
     
  18. Coach AI

    Coach AI Contributing Member

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    I don't think most people would actually trust a fan review over anything else. Not sure why you would think that to be the case.

    There is, however, a problem with a more 'professional' site seemingly under such control by the advertisers/publishers of games. Of course folks have had such concerns, but to see such blatant abuse is worth discussing.
     
  19. demon77

    demon77 Member

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    There are many fan site forum that produce quality review that is way superior to that of "professional site". I'm not talking about those "general gamer" that post review on gamespot. Fan review is way better due to the fact that they get the beta test the game, and actually contribute lots time and money into it. They know what they are talking about unlike "professional site" reviewer which just spend a few hour at most fooling around without a damn clue what to do.

    Things about review being manipulated shouldn't be that shocking. A few year back, I have beta tested a game and have seen leaked review score (not the actually review, but the score and quote that is simply LOL) 1 month pior to the game being finish. Is just like rocket game commenter which is clearly bias toward rocket in ever play during game. And they are professional ;) .


    I would highly doubt they would keep their job if they were to give honest opinion during game, just like most fan that are posting here during game time.
     
  20. demon77

    demon77 Member

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    Okei here is a comparison of the guy that got fire from a "fan" review.

    Ironically, it happen to be the game I'm currently playing, Unreal Tournament 3.

    Gamespot UT3 video review by that guy that got fired:

    <embed id="mymovie" width="432" height="355" flashvars="paramsURI=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egamespot%2Ecom%2Fpages%2Fvideo%5Fplayer%2Fproteus%5Fxml%2Ephp%3Fadseg%3D%26adgrp%3D%26sid%3D6183310%26pid%3D928117%26mb%3D%26onid%3D12860%26nc%3D1196505016328%26embedded%3D1%26showWatermark%3D0%26autoPlay%3D0" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" name="mymovie" src="http://image.com.com/gamespot/images/cne_flash/production/media_player/proteus/gs/proteus_embed.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"/>

    Fan (competitive player) review:

    http://pwnage.tv/On-Demand/videodirectlink/UT3-Review/
     

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