Gaming News and Stuff!!! (Pick a format, any format...)

[godzillasushi]

Ha Space Channel 5....that game is so bizarre and yet I liked it so much...

I almost beat it one time. Michael Jackson was in it....

[Fawst]

Space Channel 5 would have RULED if the one glitch in the game didn't make it practically unplayable. There was lag between your pushing the buttons and the game responding.

When you're playing a game where your every button push needs to be timed perfectly, that's no good.

[godzillasushi]

Have you ever played Samba de Amigo? I never had the marraccas but even using a controller that one was a blast. Never have I had so much fun! And THAT was a great soundtrack too.....

[TheAllSeeingEye]

Samba de Amigo is a classic, as is Space Channel 5.

If you like them i suggest you pick up Boom Boom Rocket; it kept me amused for a long time.

[LaDracul]

"Metropolismania 2" is out. If you liked "Sim City", this is for you. I'm happy they have cutesy anime characters in it, and that you can play as a girl.

EDIT-I have no clue what this is about, but it was inevitable...



It does sound interesting, but I'd rather see what goes on with the third "Kingdom Hearts" or if the "Chain of Memories" for PS2 is released here... (I do like the fact that some of the animation is based off of Alphonse Mucha's work...)

[godzillasushi]

Big news for people not named Fawst

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071005/ap_on_hi_te/halo_spinoff;_ylt=AvoBGVg9w.ZZ1XiPApULh74jtBAF

REDMOND, Wash. - Microsoft Corp. will spin off the creator of the blockbuster "Halo" video game trilogy but maintain close ties with the company and a minority stake in it.

Microsoft and Bungie LLC, as the privately held company will be called, will continue to work together for "the continued success of the 'Halo' franchise," the game studio said in a statement Friday. The companies said they will expand the partnership to include new games.

Microsoft acquired Chicago-based Bungie and its "Halo" concept in 2000, ensuring that the Xbox would be the only game console to run the multiplayer first-person shooter game. The first installment of the trilogy launched in November 2001.

Bungie said its primary focus will remain developing for Microsoft's platform.

"Working with Microsoft was great for us, it allowed us to grow as a team and make the ambitious, blockbuster games we all wanted to work on," said Jason Jones, Bungie founder and partner. "But Bungie is like a shark. We have to keep moving to survive. We have to continually test ourselves, or we might as well be dolphins. Or manatees."

Gamers have already plunked down more than $300 million for "Halo 3" since it was released less than two weeks ago, and Microsoft has said the game's launch also goosed sales of the Xbox 360 console.

The final "Halo" version costs between $60 and $130, depending on special features and commemorative packaging.

"While we are supporting Bungie's desire to return to its independent roots, we will continue to invest in our 'Halo' entertainment property with Bungie and other partners," said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.

Matt Rosoff, an analyst for the independent research group Directions on Microsoft, said the move isn't likely to hurt Microsoft's plan to report a profit in the division responsible for the Xbox in the current fiscal year.

"The sales figures have been excellent so far. I'm sure that this quarter and next quarter they'll sell enough copies to drive that division into profitability for the whole year," Rosoff said in an interview.

"I don't think Microsoft wanted to do this," he added. "This is probably about Bungie wanting to have a little more control over kinds of games they're making, and not wanting to answer to Microsoft for everything."

Pretty close to what the rumor was. Only M$ isn't letting go of them that easily which is a relief. It will also be nice to see Bungie take a shot at something non-Halo. Maybe some new games in their older series. But I hope they don't give up on Halo completely after Halo Wars (M$ that is).

First Bizarre Creations and now Bungie. What a week!

[Fawst]

lol, just cuz I don't worship at the cock of Halo...

Actually, that news is AWESOME. I'm still mad at M$ for ruining (?) what would have been one of the most amazing third person shooters ever. Halo's original demo video was a thing of beauty for its time. It starts off showing some Coven soldiers in a command center. In comes Master Chief, guns blazing. He then presses a button on a console, opening a hangar bay door. Then he runs over to jump into a Banshee, flies out of the hangar, and takes down some more Banshees flying around. Then he lands, hops out, shoots some more soldiers and jumps in a warthog. BAD ASS.

Then it became just another FPS. Oh well.

Maybe I'll go buy Halo 3 today

[Fievel]

Bungie said its primary focus will remain developing for Microsoft's platform.

So in the end, not really much news.

[Fawst]

Well, sushi said it all. Now they can do what they want without MS breathing down their neck. I'd love to see a complete 180 from Bungie. Instead of another Sci-Fi FPS, go like Gothic Horror RPG or something.

[godzillasushi]

Well, sushi said it all. Now they can do what they want without MS breathing down their neck. I'd love to see a complete 180 from Bungie. Instead of another Sci-Fi FPS, go like Gothic Horror RPG or something.

Bungie said its primary focus will remain developing for Microsoft's platform.

So in the end, not really much news.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_Trilogy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oni_%28video_game%29

Big news when you put Bungie on a reboot of one of those series and/or something different. And they will keep close relations with M$. Doesn't mean they won't make games for other consoles. See Bizarre Creation's very own Geometry Wars for that little white wand game box Nintendo makes.

[Fawst]

"Metropolismania 2" is out. If you liked "Sim City", this is for you. I'm happy they have cutesy anime characters in it, and that you can play as a girl.

EDIT-I have no clue what this is about, but it was inevitable...



It does sound interesting, but I'd rather see what goes on with the third "Kingdom Hearts" or if the "Chain of Memories" for PS2 is released here... (I do like the fact that some of the animation is based off of Alphonse Mucha's work...)

Oh, and by the way...

DISNEY PRINCESS CHARACTERS SHOULD NOT BE THAT HAWT.

The only exception to that rule is the lovely lass from Princess Diaries.

Cuz seriously... that is gonna make bulimics out of a LOT of preschoolers.

[Fawst]

Oh yah, and Oni was pure shit. It ripped off the gameplay design that a friend and I came up with back in 1998 when we sent our design doc out to a few publishers. Fuckers.

Actually, I doubt they ripped us off, but we DID have the third person shooter/hand2hand thing down. And it was FAR more interesting than this. Dead 2 Rights was close to what we had going. I need to try and find the pre-production artwork that we had...

[MonkeyM666]

From the mother site.

AICN Games: E for All Day Two! Super Mario Galaxy! Super Smash Brothers Brawl! Video Games Live!

Greetings humans, Monki here with my second update from the E for All Video Games Expo in Los Angeles, California.

Show Floor Impressions!

Things pretty much kicked off the same as Thursday...slow to start and then it picked up considerably in the afternoon. Lots and lots of kiosks filled with lots and lots of people.
I got a chance to enjoy some of the "showcase" stages today. Nintendo is demoing Super Smash Brothers Brawl in a very cool way. They place you in bleachers in rows of 8 and when it is your turn, they take two rows of people to play four separate four-player Smash Brothers matches. The winners of all those matches go and play on an enormous screen in front of those bleachers...so if you win your small game, you go to the "big show."

And of course Nintendo has a lovely group of booth babes helping the whole way. (I hear they shipped the ladies in from Arizona...or their modeling agency was there or something...)
Target is sponsoring a stage as well for the Guitar Hero lovers. The ten kiosks I mentioned in my last article were used to start up a bracket system for a big tournament being held. If you make it past the kiosks you get a shot at the big stage where you are judged on various elements by some Major League Gaming "Pro Gamers." I caught a guy absolutely destroying "Laid to Rest" on expert, head banging his way through most of the song and nailing the hammer-ons and offs with only one hand on the guitar with his other throwing the horns in the air...that guy got perfect 10s.


The longest line of the show this year goes to Metal Gear Solid 4. Pretty much immediately after the show opens, the line will stretch from the door of the MGS4 area all the way around the rest of the Konami booth.
Apparently you get about 15 minutes of game time before being asked to fill out a survey and then booted back out on to the floor.
I have yet to hit the Konami booth up yet in full force, but I will before the fest is over...if nothing else but to play some Contra 4 on the DS...woohoo...I loves me some contra.

Another pleasant surprise I got was when I stumbled across Martin Leung (the video game pianist) just as he started playing a set at the Video Games Live! booth.
I've actually seen him perform before at a Video Games Live! show, but having him rock out to Super Mario Brothers right there three feet away (as opposed to on stage a few hundred feet) was pretty badass. That kid must have played a crapload of games when he was young because his hands fly across the ivories.

To cap the night off I actually went to a brand-spankin' new Video Games Live! show just down the street at the brand-spankin' new Nokia Theater here in brand-spankin' old downtown L.A. (Pardon the spankin's.) This was the first time they brought in a bunch of new tunes including tracks from Chrono Cross, Halo 3, the new Conan game and many others.Tons of special guests showed up as well from Nolan Bushnell all the way to Zack Ward and the Soup Nazi from Postal. The show itself was pretty sweet but there were a few minor technical difficulties with the new show and the new theater. At one point they had a Frogger competition and pulled two people from the audience. One of these two was a young kid and the other was an older guy dressed up like Snake from Metal Gear. Snake went first and was dominating the game (as much as one person can dominate Frogger) but then something happened and they lost the video feed and couldn't get it back up. Weak...
One cool new addition was Chris Kline, the "Vertex Guy" who, like Martin Leung, got his start with a video on YouTube...this video.

He came out and played the Contra Jungle Jam track on stage and did a fantastic job...he also closed the show with Tommy Tallarico (the creator/exec producer of VGL!) playing guitars on One Winged Angel.All in all, it was a fun show and I recommend you check it out when it comes through your town. I know it is making its way through Austin sometime next summer and I'm looking forward to going again.

Game Impressions!

Today was my "Nintendo Day" at E for All. I got some hands-on time with most all of their major offerings.

Super Mario Galaxy

I'll be honest; my Wii hasn't gotten a whole lot of playing time over the past few months. (I set that joke up pretty easy for you...) My 360 has been taking up the majority of my time as of late with major releases like Bioshock and Halo 3 dominating the lion-share of my gameplay.
This could all change soon...
Super Mario Galaxy is exactly what you'd expect out of a next-gen Mario title. The controls are simple and polished, the graphics are wonderfully cartoony, the levels are excellently designed...I mean...it's a Mario title for a new console...when have any flagship Mario games sucked? (Super Mario Bros. 2 doesn't count, cause it came out AFTER the 'original' SMB and even so, SMB3 is one of the best games ever made.)
You control Mario's movement with the nunchuk thumbstick and jump with the big A button on the Wii-mote. You can use your Wii-mote pointer to collect jewels on the screen while you play as well...which brings me to a very happy observance. While I was running around with Mario the lovely booth babe assigned to my station was using a second Wii-mote to collect jewels across the screen as I played...basically acting as a second helper on a single-player game. Kinda like someone controlling Tails in Sonic 2. They don't have to be there, but with someone else helping you out, it could make for some good times...if only the booth babes came with the game to help instead of my roommate...alas.I played a couple of different worlds; one was a racing arena where you rode on the back of a stingray around a track trying to get your quickest time. The Wii-mote controls the ray as you roll your wrist left and right. The tilt sensor still isn't as responsive as I would like, but it worked better on Galaxy than it did on most games that rely on the tilting.Then I checked out one of Mario's new power-ups, the bee suit. Nothing too special...it gives Mario the ability to fly for a brief amount of time and a few different attack moves. If you hit water in the bee suit, you lose it...eh...bring back the tanooki suit!
I didn't get a whole hell of a lot of time with this one, but I will certainly be buying it when it hits in a couple of weeks.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games

Gamers have been waiting for this match up for decades...Mario vs. Sonic...on the same system. If you would have told me Sonic would end up on a Nintendo system when I was a kid playing my NES...I probably would have punched you. Sega and Nintendo just don't mix. Sega does what Nintendon't...etc...but here we are...dogs and cats living together...mass hysteria.
The game itself is a lot of fun. I tried out a few different events during my hands-on time. My first bit had me as Bowser on the archery field. First of all, BOWSER WITH A BOW AND ARROW!!! Sweet...secondly...it's pretty cool. The pointer from the Wii-mote creates a target on the screen and your nunchuk has one as well that you manipulate by tilting it. Get those two targets lined up and let go to fling your arrow towards the bulls-eye. It takes a bit of getting used to (you have to account for wind as well), but it is pretty rad.
Next up I hit the trampoline as Knuckles...another simple setup...you flick your wrist to make the character bounce up and down and once you get enough height you have to match the pattern on the screen. For example, in the air you might have to press A-A-B-A-flick Wii-mote. If you succeed before your character hits the trampoline again you'll be rewarded with Knuckles performing a double-flip with a twist...or something along those lines. The patterns get longer and longer as you go on...good times.Up next was table-tennis. It's pretty much Wii Sports tennis on a smaller scale. Use the Wii-mote as your paddle and keep the ball on your opponents' side of the table...the bigger guys rule at table tennis because they have all the power! Bowser has a killer serve.From there I tried my last event, fencing. I was Peach...because there is nothing hotter than a Princess with a weapon.
Again...simple, refined controls. You swing your wrist, the character swings their sword. You hold A and swing your wrist, your character will parry. If you hit them enough times you get a power move which can blow your opponent off the course for a ring-out. Now, I kind of wish fencing was a first-person event where the Wii-mote would act as the hilt of the sword, (or is it lance? I forget) moving with your movements...but it did a decent job.
This game is poised to take Wii Sports' crown away as the party game to play when you have a lot of people over.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

Let me first come out and admit...I haven't played a lot of Smash Brothers before...Nintendo just never screamed "fighting game console" to me. As a matter of fact, I really was never a fan of fighting games on consoles at all...I preferred my fights to be standing up next to a random person at the arcade.That being said...I think I've been missing out...the hype for Super Smash Brothers Brawl is incredible. I've watched people sit and wait to play Brawl for half an hour...play their match and then jump right back in line. This thing is a monster.
The build available at E for All includes almost all of the characters except for Solid Snake...which makes me sad...but Sonic is in there and he is a total badass.I won't get in to too many details on this one as I don't want to embarrass myself to someone who may be an enormous fan...just suffice to say that this one is fun and I love the one-on-one-on-one-on-one aspect of the game. I'll be checking this one out more thoroughly in the future...promise.

Wrapping it Up!

We're now at the halfway point of E for All with only the weekend remaining...I expect it to get really busy.So far the buzz around the fest is pretty damn positive...fans that were kept away from E3 now have the chance to get some meaningful hands on time with some titles that won't be out for a few months and there are plenty of free shirts to go around for everyone!

I told you I'd keep you up to date on the chalk drawing, and here you go...progress is being made!

I've got another busy day planned tomorrow, so I've got to get prepped for it all! Until next time, back up the tree I go!
-Monki

[darkjedijaina]

I didn't see a thread about picking a format, so I figured this would do. My son, (7) has a playstation 2. but most of the games on it are for older kids, teens. i was thinking of buying him another system for his birthday and christmas, but i'm unsure which to go with. do i go with the Wii? or the Nintendo DS? or something entirely different? what would you guys recommend?

[Pacino86845]

I would definitely recommend one of the Nintendo systems.... as for DS or Wii, it all depends on when he'd be mostly playing, though for a young boy I'd rather go for the Wii, as there's always the risk he'll lose/forget the DS somewhere.

One word of advice though: the Wii has those bloody controllers that you have to wave around to play, so you might want to supervize him at first until he gets the hang of it without smashing the tv set inadvertently.

EDIT: And if you're wondering what game to buy for the Wii, it should definitely be Super Mario Galaxies, which is the system's tentpole platformer. It was just released last week, has been getting stellar (no pun intended) reviews, and everyone will be talking I'm sure. Your son will be teh coolness among his friends, LOL!

[darkjedijaina]

thanks, pacino!

sounds good. i was thinking of the Wii, glad to have some input on that, as well as the game recommendation.

[Bob Samonkey]

I would like to second it. As someone who owns it, I can tell you that it is really fun and my just turned 12 year old stepdaughter really enjoys it.

[godzillasushi]

EDIT: And if you're wondering what game to buy for the Wii, it should definitely be Super Mario Galaxies, which is the system's tentpole platformer. It was just released last week, has been getting stellar (no pun intended) reviews, and everyone will be talking I'm sure. Your son will be teh coolness among his friends, LOL!

Yea I got to finally see this game in action and even I was sold on it. Im TEH XBOX F4NBOY even. But it was pretty cool. Almost worthy of buying a Wii.

Believe me, any time I endorse something on another console, it's gotta be good!

[Fawst]

Wii has Metroid Prime 3. That's enough for me to buy one eventually.

[Nachokoolaid]

I just wanted to drop a line to tell people about ROCK BAND. It's like Guitar Hero, only 7 or 8 times better (discovered after intense scientific study). Seriously, this blows Guitar Hero out of the water. It's a guitar game, but there's also a drum game, and a singing game, all rolled ito one. It's beyond awesome.

Oh, and I recently got Assassin's Creed. If you liked Prince of Persia (not the sub-par sequels), you have to get this game. It's the best action game I've played in years.

Lastly, Mass Effect is awesome. The story line is great, better than most sci-fi films. And the voice action can stand next to any animated film out there. Good stuff.

And that's the end to my bank account for a while. But check any of these out if you get the chance.

[Fawst]

Yah... I want Rock Band. And Mass Effect.

Nacho, is Rock Band better "just because," or is there seriously a better element to it beyond the fact that it's now Guitar/Drum/Voice Hero? Better gameplay/songs or something?

[godzillasushi]

From the looks of it the soundtrack is probably pretty weak. Especially compared to Guitar Hero 3. But I don't think that matters because from what I've read, it could be the best party game ever made.

Wow I wish I had the money to buy it.

[Bob Samonkey]

From the looks of it the soundtrack is probably pretty weak. Especially compared to Guitar Hero 3. But I don't think that matters because from what I've read, it could be the best party game ever made.

Wow I wish I had the money to buy it.

Are you kidding me? They are having new music coming out every week. Just like GH3. Seems like both could be lots of fun...

[papalazeru]

I only want Guitar Hero 3 because it was on South Park. I'm such a sucker for a gimmick!

[Bob Samonkey]

So you have WOW too?

[godzillasushi]

From the looks of it the soundtrack is probably pretty weak. Especially compared to Guitar Hero 3. But I don't think that matters because from what I've read, it could be the best party game ever made.

Wow I wish I had the money to buy it.

Are you kidding me? They are having new music coming out every week. Just like GH3. Seems like both could be lots of fun...

Yea im kidding you. Are you laughing?


Well, Guitar Hero 2 had a weak soundtrack. All im saying is this one does too. Im not counting DC. I shouldn't be...it's great to have but for the initial release I could see 10-15 songs that I probably wouldn't touch very often. That's it. I haven't really checked DC out. All I know is Metallica will more then likely be featured heavily.

[Bob Samonkey]

From the looks of it the soundtrack is probably pretty weak. Especially compared to Guitar Hero 3. But I don't think that matters because from what I've read, it could be the best party game ever made.

Wow I wish I had the money to buy it.

Are you kidding me? They are having new music coming out every week. Just like GH3. Seems like both could be lots of fun...

Yea im kidding you. Are you laughing?


Well, Guitar Hero 2 had a weak soundtrack. All im saying is this one does too. Im not counting DC. I shouldn't be...it's great to have but for the initial release I could see 10-15 songs that I probably wouldn't touch very often. That's it. I haven't really checked DC out. All I know is Metallica will more then likely be featured heavily.

Yeah!! And now you can pretend to be Lars and mouth along to the song while playing the drums and dream about suing Revlon for making a Metallica lip gloss...

[godzillasushi]

I did that before. They copied me.

[papalazeru]

So you have WOW too?

I'm a sucker for a gimmick. I'm not THAT fucking stupid!

At least GH you buy once and don't have to pay to play every month.....unless Metallica get their way and make sure you pay like 11 cents every time you GH along to one of their songs.

[Bob Samonkey]

So you have WOW too?

I'm a sucker for a gimmick. I'm not THAT fucking stupid!

At least GH you buy once and don't have to pay to play every month.....unless Metallica get their way and make sure you pay like 11 cents every time you GH along to one of their songs.

I heard that if you only hum the song it is ok...

[Nachokoolaid]

From the looks of it the soundtrack is probably pretty weak. Especially compared to Guitar Hero 3. But I don't think that matters because from what I've read, it could be the best party game ever made.

Wow I wish I had the money to buy it.

Are you kidding me? They are having new music coming out every week. Just like GH3. Seems like both could be lots of fun...

Yeah, I 've already downloaded the first week's songs and have been digging them, especially the Metallica pack (Ride the Lightning, Blackened, And Justice for All), My Sharona by the Knacks, and Joker and the Thief by Wolfmother.

In response, I think it's an overall better game. Part of it comes down to musical taste. I see a lot of folks say that they liked GH3's tracklist better, but I disagree. Also, many of the GH3 tracks are covers, but most of Rock Band's tracks are the original master recordings.

But what really makes this game shine is the joy you get from just "jamming" with friends. It really does create a band type feeling.

Also, there's a much better career mode than GH3, where you actually can create your characters and then earn/lose fans and make money. L

So like I said, I think it's heads and tails a better game than GH3.

That being said, I'm totally addicted to MASS EFFECT right now.

[godzillasushi]

Editorial Director gets fired for a bad review of a game being advertised on the site

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

UPDATE: Story now features quotes from an alleged insider at GameSpot, via Valleywag.

ORIGINAL STORY: By now, most have heard that Jeff Gerstmann, Editorial Director at GameSpot, is now the former Editorial Director at GameSpot. The short of it, confirmed through our own sources: Gerstmann was fired for his negative review of Eidos Interactive's Kane & Lynch. But there's more to the story in which Gerstmann -- one of the site's leading editors for over a decade -- was terminated this week.

The GameSpot staff is currently keeping publicly quiet, but CNET, the parent organization of GameSpot, issued a response today. "For over a decade, Gamespot and the many members of its editorial team have produced thousands of unbiased reviews that have been a valuable resource for the gaming community. At CNET Networks, we stand behind the editorial content that our teams produce on a daily basis," reads CNET's statement.

We're told Eidos had invested a sizable chunk of advertising dollars for Kane & Lynch -- check the before and after shots above of GameSpot's front page for proof -- and then allegedly threatened to pull the ads if the "tone" of Gerstmann's "6.0" review (just under the current Game Rankings average score of 70%) wasn't changed. Gerstmann did alter the tone of his critique ahead of publication, but it looks as if that wasn't enough for management. When asked about the situation, Eidos declined comment to 1UP. "Eidos is not able to comment on another company's policies and procedures," said a company representative.

But pressure from other advertisers may have contributed to the clash with editorial. Just a few weeks prior, GameSpot came under fire from Sony Computer Entertainment America for scoring Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction a 7.5. In his former position, Gerstmann was responsible for overseeing (and defending) all reviews.

1UP did contact Gerstmann, but he declined comment, likely due to signing a non-disclosure agreement upon his termination, common in situations such as these.

What's interesting is the timing of his termination, though. GameSpot has never been a stranger to review controversy or publisher backlash. Gerstmann himself had a long history of bucking the popular trend with certain review scores over the many years he critiqued games for the site, most recently scoring The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8.8 on Wii.

With no transparency into the situation, no one knows if this is something that had possibly been brewing for a while now, but sources point to a recent change in GameSpot management as the real catalyst. Stephen Colvin, former President and CEO of Dennis Publishing -- the group responsible for publications like Maxim, Blender and Stuff -- became CNET's Executive Vice President at the end of October. One of Colvin's jobs would be to oversee the growth of CNET websites, including GameSpot.

On Valleywag, an alleged GameSpot insider has come forward to deliver an anonymous response to musings on the Internet the last few days. One of his comments supports our belief the recent changes in management could be trickling down to GameSpot editorial:

"I was in the meeting where Josh Larson [Executive Editor replacement for now Electronic Arts employee Greg Kasavin] was trying to explain this firing and the guy had absolutely no response to any of the criticisms we were sending his way. He kept dodging the question, saying that there were "multiple instances of tone" in the reviews that he hadn't been happy about, but that wasn't Jeff's problem since we all vet every review. He also implied that "AAA" titles deserved more attention when they were being reviewed, which sounded to all of us that he was implying that they should get higher scores, especially since those titles are usually more highly advertised on our site."
The editorial in Maxim and Stuff, publications who routinely review games months ahead of their completion and where the line between marketing and editorial is a little less clear, is much different than GameSpot's. That was apparently reflected quickly when Colvin joined CNET. "New management has no idea how to deal with games editorial," said one source not long after Colvin came on board.

Indeed.

This is very interesting. And it has a lot to do with entertainment in general, not just games. I've been a member at Gamespot for many years and I'm pretty high level wise on their forum rankings. Posted there a long time ago probably more then I do on the Zone now. So they lost their top guy over at the site. He moved on to EA I think this year. Jeff comes in and takes the top.

The article will mention that he typically rates games lower then other sources. But when he reviewed a recent release poorly the advertisers on the site threatened to pull. Eidos appearantly made K and L. So follow the link for those images.

Anyway, the biggest problem here and what makes an interesting debate is that someone lost their job for writing a review of an advertised game. It's like Beowulf advertising on AICN. And Moriarity writes a bad review on it. They pull the ad, and Mori gets fired. Same idea here.

Thought some of you would find this very interesting. I don't think I will use that website anymore. I happen to find it very stupid what happened.

And that hurts credibility in a big way. They are actually bending the reviews for advertising purposes.

[Seppuku]

Guess there's still always IGN...

[Fievel]

Wow.
Too bad Consumers Reports doesn't review games.

I'll still go to GameSpot for news, but will stick to IGN for the reviews.

[MonkeyM666]

Damn, I don't have time now to read the whole thing but that's CRAZY!!! So basically no one will trust CNET's reviews now due to this balls up. I know that I use gamespot a fair bit... damn, does that mean that Mario Galaxy is really shit????

It makes you think... but also it doesn't surprise me. CNET is a massive company with many tendrils in many different pies. This kind of stupidity will hopefully hurt their user numbers, but I doubt it. CNET users usually seem to read CNET news

[Bob Samonkey]

I know that I use gamespot a fair bit... damn, does that mean that Mario Galaxy is really shit????

No. I a playing it right now and it is lots of fun. And the levels have alot of replayability.

[MonkeyM666]

*phew....





How does it look???

[CeeBeeUK]

Activision and Blizzard merge.

That's one big-ass company!

[Chairman Kaga]

Ugh not much of a fan of Activision and I love Blizzard. I hope this doesn't change Blizzard's years long support of the Mac.

[papalazeru]

*phew....





How does it look???

It's beautiful 666....just beautiful.

[bastard_robo]

Has any one seen the New Command and Conqure? NOW WITH SAWYER AND BILLY D FUCKING WILLIAMS!

Good stuff

[MonkeyM666]

Tell me more robbo.....

I love the C&C universe and am dead keen on getting this but my laptop just doesn't cut it in teh graphisc dep, even though it's pretty new.

[Fievel]

Editorial Director gets fired for a bad review of a game being advertised on the site

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3164656

UPDATE: Story now features quotes from an alleged insider at GameSpot, via Valleywag.

ORIGINAL STORY: By now, most have heard that Jeff Gerstmann, Editorial Director at GameSpot, is now the former Editorial Director at GameSpot. The short of it, confirmed through our own sources: Gerstmann was fired for his negative review of Eidos Interactive's Kane & Lynch. But there's more to the story in which Gerstmann -- one of the site's leading editors for over a decade -- was terminated this week.

The GameSpot staff is currently keeping publicly quiet, but CNET, the parent organization of GameSpot, issued a response today. "For over a decade, Gamespot and the many members of its editorial team have produced thousands of unbiased reviews that have been a valuable resource for the gaming community. At CNET Networks, we stand behind the editorial content that our teams produce on a daily basis," reads CNET's statement.

We're told Eidos had invested a sizable chunk of advertising dollars for Kane & Lynch -- check the before and after shots above of GameSpot's front page for proof -- and then allegedly threatened to pull the ads if the "tone" of Gerstmann's "6.0" review (just under the current Game Rankings average score of 70%) wasn't changed. Gerstmann did alter the tone of his critique ahead of publication, but it looks as if that wasn't enough for management. When asked about the situation, Eidos declined comment to 1UP. "Eidos is not able to comment on another company's policies and procedures," said a company representative.

But pressure from other advertisers may have contributed to the clash with editorial. Just a few weeks prior, GameSpot came under fire from Sony Computer Entertainment America for scoring Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction a 7.5. In his former position, Gerstmann was responsible for overseeing (and defending) all reviews.

1UP did contact Gerstmann, but he declined comment, likely due to signing a non-disclosure agreement upon his termination, common in situations such as these.

What's interesting is the timing of his termination, though. GameSpot has never been a stranger to review controversy or publisher backlash. Gerstmann himself had a long history of bucking the popular trend with certain review scores over the many years he critiqued games for the site, most recently scoring The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess an 8.8 on Wii.

With no transparency into the situation, no one knows if this is something that had possibly been brewing for a while now, but sources point to a recent change in GameSpot management as the real catalyst. Stephen Colvin, former President and CEO of Dennis Publishing -- the group responsible for publications like Maxim, Blender and Stuff -- became CNET's Executive Vice President at the end of October. One of Colvin's jobs would be to oversee the growth of CNET websites, including GameSpot.

On Valleywag, an alleged GameSpot insider has come forward to deliver an anonymous response to musings on the Internet the last few days. One of his comments supports our belief the recent changes in management could be trickling down to GameSpot editorial:

"I was in the meeting where Josh Larson [Executive Editor replacement for now Electronic Arts employee Greg Kasavin] was trying to explain this firing and the guy had absolutely no response to any of the criticisms we were sending his way. He kept dodging the question, saying that there were "multiple instances of tone" in the reviews that he hadn't been happy about, but that wasn't Jeff's problem since we all vet every review. He also implied that "AAA" titles deserved more attention when they were being reviewed, which sounded to all of us that he was implying that they should get higher scores, especially since those titles are usually more highly advertised on our site."
The editorial in Maxim and Stuff, publications who routinely review games months ahead of their completion and where the line between marketing and editorial is a little less clear, is much different than GameSpot's. That was apparently reflected quickly when Colvin joined CNET. "New management has no idea how to deal with games editorial," said one source not long after Colvin came on board.

Indeed.

This is very interesting. And it has a lot to do with entertainment in general, not just games. I've been a member at Gamespot for many years and I'm pretty high level wise on their forum rankings. Posted there a long time ago probably more then I do on the Zone now. So they lost their top guy over at the site. He moved on to EA I think this year. Jeff comes in and takes the top.

The article will mention that he typically rates games lower then other sources. But when he reviewed a recent release poorly the advertisers on the site threatened to pull. Eidos appearantly made K and L. So follow the link for those images.

Anyway, the biggest problem here and what makes an interesting debate is that someone lost their job for writing a review of an advertised game. It's like Beowulf advertising on AICN. And Moriarity writes a bad review on it. They pull the ad, and Mori gets fired. Same idea here.

Thought some of you would find this very interesting. I don't think I will use that website anymore. I happen to find it very stupid what happened.

And that hurts credibility in a big way. They are actually bending the reviews for advertising purposes.

Gamespot's trying to cover their ass.

Does it work for you?

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

And that hurts credibility in a big way. They are actually bending the reviews for advertising purposes.

Anna this a fact, she surprises you, paisan? Anytime a you gotta the advertising dollars coming inna to a the publication, the editorial board, she is a far from a the biased, eh? Despite a their protestations to a the conna'trary, no?

A the money, she talks... plain anna simple.

[godzillasushi]

And that hurts credibility in a big way. They are actually bending the reviews for advertising purposes.

Anna this a fact, she surprises you, paisan? Anytime a you gotta the advertising dollars coming inna to a the publication, the editorial board, she is a far from a the biased, eh? Despite a their protestations to a the conna'trary, no?

A the money, she talks... plain anna simple.

Yea I totally get it. What suprises me was it coming from the site itself. Gamespot has always been pretty harsh and against the grain. They gave a lot of praise to Perfect Dark Zero, and an 8.8 to Twilight Princess for example. So hearing that coupled with the newest "faq" about it, it's interesting.

Shame it all did take place over something called Kane and Lynch.

Does it work for you?

It made me laugh just a little.

[stereosforgeeks]

The game didnt even look very good to begin with.

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

What suprises me was it coming from the site itself. Gamespot has always been pretty harsh and against the grain.

Yes... but a that's a just a what a they WANNA you a to think, no? They wanna to seem as iffa they are a the last bastion of a the impartial opinion inna the gaming free world, no? A so's a you will a keep onna coming to a the site anna viewing alla the ad dollars at a work from a the sponsors, anna buying uppa the games a they recommend based onna said ad dollars, no?

[godzillasushi]

What suprises me was it coming from the site itself. Gamespot has always been pretty harsh and against the grain.

Yes... but a that's a just a what a they WANNA you a to think, no? They wanna to seem as iffa they are a the last bastion of a the impartial opinion inna the gaming free world, no? A so's a you will a keep onna coming to a the site anna viewing alla the ad dollars at a work from a the sponsors, anna buying uppa the games a they recommend based onna said ad dollars, no?

Yes yes, you could have a point. But not quite. 10 months ago I'd say you were wrong. Now, it's changing. I mean, they have so many readers that don't care about the reviews even. The people who visit the site for the impartial opinions are in the minority. All I had to do to discover that was read the forums. It was very recently that the Twilight Princess review came out lower then normal. Only lately have the ad$ cluttered the site anyway. Within the past year it's become almost exclusively like that. It's new for them. IGN has been that way for a long time. I don't think it matters anyway.

The best part about the internet is that there will always be a dedicated gaming site to turn to.

I don't visit the site anymore!

[stereosforgeeks]

Sushi what site do you read now?

[Fievel]

Does it work for you?

It made me laugh just a little.

Me too.
It's like they solicited advice from the worst PR people in the world. Yes, I'm talking to you Bush Administration (ummm, duh!) and Catholic Church (naughty priest coverups).