Giant GameSpot? GameSpot Bomb?
In a very strange bit of news, Giant Bomb has announced that they'll be working under GameSpot. If you're not sure why this is weird, then I'll provide a little synopsis. Or, I'll just quote this chunk of text from Neoseeker:
"The largest reason this news comes as a surprise is Gerstmann's dramatic history with Gamespot. Gerstmann was fired from the site in late 2007. It was rumored that Eidos Interactive pressured GameSpot to remove him after he gave Kane & Lynch: Dead Men a "Fair" rating, a game which Eidos had heavily advertised on the site. It was this termination that led to a number of GameSpot staff leaving to start Giant Bomb." - March 15, 2012
A more beautiful summation than I could have come up with, truly.
Gerstmann was a journalist at GameSpot, as you can see, and after he was fired he formed Giant Bomb. The site has enjoyed popularity over the past four to five years, and many loyal fans of his work were outraged by his extermination. Giant Bomb has been known for its comedy and ridiculosity (a word that isn't a word, but really should be a word. I may submit it to the dictionary Lords at the end of the year).
The announcement has been met by cries of outrage from readers of Giant Bomb, and some commenters have even speculated that the whole situation has been a five year long publicity stunt.
Nabbed from the Neoseeker article.
A five year stunt seems excessive to me; I mean, that would take a whole lot of forethought. Of course, Radiohead did it, so I suppose anything is possible.
Gerstmann states that the decision made sense for the website and the financial backing will allow the team to go even farther with their crazy, fun antics. I can see validity in this. However! He was fired under completely BS pretenses, and I find it difficult to believe that anyone would want to go back to a company who would do that sort of thing.
But! It has been five years, so maybe he's over it and only cares about better things for his own reviewing empire.
Could it all have been a stunt though?
Sorry. I'm going back and forth. This is what it's like in my mind all the time. Exhausting.
What do you think? Publicity stunt? Or a mature guy letting go of the past and doing what's best for his company?
I still can't come to a decision. I'll decide someday. Maybe.
-MJ
