Jeff Gerstmann

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Jeff Gerstmann
Born August 1, 1975 (1975-08-01) (age 32)
Petaluma, California
Nationality America
Occupation Video game critic
Known for Former editorial director of GameSpot and co-founder of Giant Bomb
Website
jeffgerstmann.net

Jeff Gerstmann (born August 1, 1975) is the former editorial director of the gaming website GameSpot. He began working at GameSpot in the fall of 1996, around the launch of VideoGameSpot when GameSpot separated PC and console games into separate areas. He shared his thoughts on a variety of other subjects every Monday on his GameSpot blog. He has also been quoted by the New York Times as a video game expert,[1] and owns over 2000 games.[2]

Gerstmann also appeared on ABC's T.V. show, Good Morning America as a guest in September 1999 to discuss the launch of Sega's Dreamcast gaming console.

The first game system Gerstmann owned was a Fairchild Channel F which his parents, who own an auto-repair and tire business, bought as there were some educational games available for it. After it was ruined in a flood, he then purchased an Atari home computer.[2]

Contents

[edit] Music

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Gerstmann is the founding member of the bands Headboard, The Suburban All-Stars, and Midnight Brown.

Gerstmann was largely part of the audio section of GameSpot. Most of the background music or intro music for shows is provided by instrumental tracks from Midnight Brown. In older video reviews at the end of the video the numerical score would be announced, Gerstmann also provided the voice for these scores. Additionally, Gerstmann's vocal stylings can be heard on the theme songs for Time Trotters (A single episode live-action series that was later revived in animated form), GameSpot's game show, Button Mashing, and Indievelopment: a video documentary following Echelon Software's progress on their game Black Powder Red Earth.

[edit] Termination

Gerstmann was dismissed from his position at GameSpot as Editorial Director on November 28, 2007.[3] Immediately after his termination, rumors circulated proclaiming his dismissal was a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive, the studio behind Kane & Lynch: Dead Men which Gerstmann had previously given a Fair or undesirable rating along with critique.[3] [4][5] Both Gamespot and parent company CNET stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review.[3] [6]

A month after Gerstmann's termination, freelance reviewer Frank Provo left GameSpot after 8 years stating that "I believe CNet management let Jeff go for all the wrong reasons. I believe CNet intends to soften the site's tone and push for higher scores to make advertisers happy."[7]

Alex Navarro, an active and visible editor for Gamespot resigned in early 2008. "I felt like it was just time for me to go" he told Joystiq. Navarro said earlier in his blog that he felt like he was in a game of SimCity where "someone hit the disaster button for me." [8]

Ryan Davis, another active and well-known editor for Gamespot and a long-time employee since 2000, announced his departure in February 2008, listing one of his reasons for leaving as Gerstmann's firing. "Jeff's firing just destroyed me, and I think it shed a light on the other stuff that I had been kind of rolling along with," Davis told Joystiq. [9]

Many other employees such as Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella, departed from Gamespot following Gerstmann's termination.

On the May 6th episode of "Giant Bombcast" [10] (A podcast featuring Ryan Davis and Jeff Gertsmann) they received an email from a fan who told a story about how a student in his Journalism class decided to write a restaurant review to get free food. He told the restaurant beforehand and was pampered and loved by the restaurant and gave it a good rating, the student sending the email decided to write an article about review credibility, in which the teacher of the class responded by saying, "That's the way everyone does it, that's how I've done it for years, and that's the way the game is played." Jeff and Ryan both expressed disapproval of the teacher's statement. During the end of the rant Jeff added, "He should have just completed the circle and said 'This restaurant is also an advertiser in our newspaper, so ya know, that is the way the game is played' like why not just totally close the loop." Although Gertsmann's previous GameSpot controversy was never specifically mentioned, this seems to be the only shred of information Gertsmann has said about the situation.

[edit] Future

Shortly after leaving Gamespot Gerstmann started an online blog to allow people to continue to hear from him. On it he says: “I’m mainly starting this site up to give people a centralized place to hear directly from me, as all these bits and pieces that have gotten out to game news sites via interviews and the blog on my MySpace account aren’t really the best way to communicate. So if you’re interested in what I plan to do from here, this is the place. I’ll also be sharing my thoughts on games and the business that surrounds them, perhaps with an occasional video or two.” [11]

On the first episode of IGN's "GameSages" podcast, Gerstmann stated that he was talking with "old friends" in regards to his future plans. [12]

On February 25th 2008, Jeff Gerstmann announced on his blog that he would be participating in an online podcast (Arrow Pointing Down) with his former co-worker Ryan Davis. Another former co-worker, Alex Navarro, also participated

On March 5th 2008, Jeff Gerstmann's future plans were revealed on his blog, and later in an interview on G4's X-Play. He revealed that along with his previous co-worker Ryan Davis, he would be starting a brand new gaming site named Giant Bomb, which will fully launch this summer. [13]

[edit] Giant Bomb

Giant Bomb, launched in March 2008, is a video gaming website currently in a blog format, but scheduled to fully launch in summer 2008. It is being run by Gerstmann and Ryan Davis. The staff produces both a video series, "How to Build a Bomb", and a podcast, the "BombCast", for the website.

Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis (guest-starring Alex Navarro in some episodes) started a video game related podcast called Arrow Pointing Down a few weeks prior to Giant Bomb being launched. This podcast has been moved over to Giant Bomb and renamed Giant Bombcast, still essentially the same podcast. The podcast discusses latest game news, give impressions on new games, and also talk about other off-topic news, ranging from movie news to energy drinks. Both Giant Bombcast and Arrow Pointing Down can be downloaded as an MP3 and on iTunes. Unlike the podcast, How to Build a Bomb is a behind-the-scenes video series that shows the process of developing and finishing the final GiantBomb website. It shows step by step as the staff sets up their office space and equipment.

The website also writes video game reviews, including Burnout Paradise, Army of Two, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The rating system employs a 5-star scale, with 5 being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest, with no half-star marks. In one of the site's video blogs, How to Build a Bomb Part 3, Gerstmann revealed the possibility of caricatures of his and Davis' faces in different emotions to go with the 5 star rating system.

Giant Bomb's offices are in Sausalito, CA.

In the June 3rd of 2008 edition of the Giant Bombcast it was announced that Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella had joined the editorial team of Giant Bomb. Both Brad and Vinny were previously employed by GameSpot.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Richtel, Matt (2007-01-31). Nintendo’s Wii, Radiating Fun, Is Eclipsing Sony Machine. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-02-12.
  2. ^ a b Gerstmann, Jeff. Getting to Know GameSpot. GameSpot. Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
  3. ^ a b c Spot on: Gamespot on Gerstmann. Gamespot (2007-12-05). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  4. ^ Gamespot's Sad State of Affairs. 1UP (2008-01-21). Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  5. ^ Penny Arcade! - The Story Of My Life
  6. ^ CNET Denies 'External Pressure' Caused Gerstmann Termination. Shacknews (2007-11-30). Retrieved on 2007-12-24.
  7. ^ Farewell, GameSpot. Gamespot (2008-01-04). Retrieved on 2008-01-04.
  8. ^ Gamespot staffer Alex Navarro quits in wake of Gerstmann-gate. Joystiq (2008-01-15). Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  9. ^ Gamespot exodus continues: Ryan Davis to leave. Joystiq (2008-02-04). Retrieved on 2008-02-04.
  10. ^ Giant Bomb » Giant Bombcast 05-06-2008
  11. ^ Proof of Life (or “I want my shirt, I want my spoon.”). Jeff Gerstmann (2008-01-02). Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
  12. ^ GameSpot's Sad State of Affairs. Sam Kennedy (2008-01-28). Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  13. ^ G4 - X-Play - News

[edit] External links

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