Gerstmann: "I Was Fired"

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One of last year's biggest hullabaloos centered on GameSpot and the firing of chief critic Jeff Gerstmann. Various Internet websites - and several inside sources close to us - confirmed he was fired due to a review he posted for Eidos Interactive's Kane & Lynch. Due to the immense advertising for the title at GameSpot, combined with Gerstmann's lower-than-expected score, many concluded there was a falling out.

Thus, Gerstmann left, and many others after him left. Now, GameSpot can deny all they want and some can say he voluntarily quit, but at the very least, we know one thing is true: Jeff Gerstmann was fired; he said so himself. Unfortunately, due to the clause in his CNet contract that says he can't discuss the reasons for this dismissal, he can't say anything more. Here's his quote in a recent GamesRadar interview:

“I was fired, and kind of went home, decided to sit on the couch and just mope for a while I guess, because, you know, it’s a pretty soul crushing thing to have happen, to lose your job,” he said. “And then, you know, [I] just kind of got up and checked email and saw that the internet had kind of exploded over that stuff. In the wake of that, yeah, a lot of people reached out, both with well wishes and also with job opportunities and stuff like that.”

The reason for his firing remains a mystery (to some), and nobody can really figure out why a loyal 11-year employee gets sacked...almost immediately after posting a review that could potentially hurt their business relationship with a big advertising contributor. We'll say no more, but there's no getting around one immutable fact- Gerstmann was fired.

4/7/2008 Ben Dutka

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