Yeh, this whole promotion is extremely intrusive. Gamespot: you guys are effectively trading off reputation for ad revenue. I don't think anyone needs to point out that Gamespot is almost universally viewed (albeit in jest) as being a thinly-veiled branch of the Microsoft PR department, and instances like this only damage what little credibility Gamespot has with anyone over the age of 13. Whether or not the advertising blitz is necessary at all is up for debate, and no one will argue that the revenue is needed to run the servers, but i dont think any amount of money (however large it unquestionably is) is worth throwing unavoidable - and extremely unsightly - ads all over their reader's computer screens.
Im one gigantic, high-dollar massive promotional blitz away from finding another place to read game articles while i drink my coffee in the morning. There are other sites out there that dont alter thier code simply to accomodate a $300,000 ad campaign every couple of days.
Im glad that there are a few people at CNET that are making boatloads of money by pissing off the readers of one of their little red-headed-stepchild sister sites; after all this is a capitalist society. But someone needs to consider the fact that one day they may trade ad revenue for credibility a little too enthusiastically, and all those little video-game playing sheep might migrate to a more reputable site.
(Oh, and by the way: anyone with some spare time on their hands can easily research on teh intrawebz what kind of connection Gamespot and CNET have with Barclays and Microsoft. ...watch this post get removed by mods within the next 10-24 hours.)
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