Jeff said nothing in either his written or video review for the game that wouldn't fit right in with half the staff reviews posted on my site, HonestGamers. The difference is that my staff members aren't paid and he is. GameSpot has to get that money from somewhere, and that 'somewhere' is online advertisements. As consumers, we trust that GameSpot uses its ad revenue to pay its writers for fair and accurate reviews in all cases, so him getting fired over this would certainly do irreparable damage to the site's reputation, traffic and ultimately its ability to generate income. That's why I keep thinking there's something we don't know.
People, please remember that this isn't a game product announcement. CNet isn't really free to discuss the terms of someone's employment with outside entities. That's true of any employer, and CNet certainly was paying Jeff money to write those reviews. Think about it for just one second.
I'm not saying that Jeff wasn't fired for a Kane & Lynch review--we really have no way of knowing--but I am asking you all to at least remember that CNet's failure to say anything about the matter should by no means be considered "pleading the 5th." There are a probably a lot of things they'd like to say right now but can't.
If GameSpot really fired Jeff because of the Kane & Lynch review, that's a deplorable act I won't forgive. You don't just let a 10-year employee go because he wrote one review (or for that matter, one hundred) that angered an advertiser. I run a reasonably popular game site of my own, as dohundreds of other game critics. If GameSpot allows itself to become known for dishonest reviews, it might as well close its doors right now and send its trafficour way. We'd love to have it!
CNet is certainly aware of that fact and wouldn't willingly do anything to put a mass exodus into motion, so you can be sure there's more to this story than we're being told. I'm going to wait to pass judgment until I knowmore of thetale. I encourage the rest of you to do the same.
Log in to comment