GameSpot

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased CNET Networks in 2008, was the previous owner of GameSpot through 2020, while the site has been sold to Red Ventures. In addition to the information produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums.

Not to be confused with GameStop.

GameSpot
Type of site
Video game journalism
FoundedMay 1, 1996 (1996-05-01)
OwnerRed Ventures
Founder(s)
  • Pete Deemer
  • Vince Broady
  • Jon Epstein
URLgamespot.com
RegistrationOptional (free and paid)
LaunchedJanuary 13, 1996 (1996-01-13)[1]

In 2004, GameSpot won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second Video Game Award Show,[2] and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain gamespot.com attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study.[3]

History

In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications.[4][5][6] SpotMedia then launched GameSpot on May 1, 1996.[6] Originally, GameSpot focused solely on personal computer games, so a sister site, VideoGameSpot, was launched on December 1, 1996.[6][7] Eventually VideoGameSpot, then renamed VideoGames.com, was merged into GameSpot.[7] In February 1999, PC Magazine named GameSpot one of the hundred-best websites, alongside competitors IGN and CNET Gamecenter.[8] The following year, The New York Times declared GameSpot and Gamecenter the "Time and Newsweek of gaming sites".[9]

On October 3, 2005, GameSpot adopted a new design similar to that of TV.com, now considered a sister site to GameSpot.[10]

A new layout change was adopted in October 2013.

International history

GameSpot UK (United Kingdom) was started in October 1997 and operated until mid-2002, offering content that was oriented for the British market that often differed from that of the U.S. site. During this period, GameSpot UK won the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website,[11] and was short listed in 2001.[12] Following the purchase of ZDNet by CNET, GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, GameSpot UK was relaunched.[13]

In a similar fashion, GameSpot AU (Australia) existed on a local scale in the late 1990s with Australian-produced reviews. It ceased in 2003. When a local version of the main CNET portal, CNET.com.au was launched in 2003, GameSpot.com.au content was folded into CNET.com.au. The site was fully re-launched in mid-2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings in Australian dollars, Australian release dates, and more local news.

GameSpot Japan in its current form launched in 2007. It provides Japanese video game industry news, previews, reviews, features, and videos as well as translated articles from the other GameSpot sites.

Gerstmann dismissal

Jeff Gerstmann, editorial director of the site, was fired on November 28, 2007.[14] Immediately after his termination, rumors circulated proclaiming his dismissal was a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive, the publisher of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, which had purchased a considerable amount of advertising space on GameSpot's website. Gerstmann had previously given Kane & Lynch a fair or undesirable rating along with critique.[14] Both GameSpot and parent company CNET stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review, but due to corporate and legal constraints could not reveal the reason.[14][15] A month after Gerstmann's termination, freelance reviewer Frank Provo left GameSpot after eight 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."[16]

GameSpot staffers Jason Ocampo, Alex Navarro, Ryan Davis, Brad Shoemaker, and Vinny Caravella also left as a result of Gerstmann's termination.[17][18] Davis co-founded Gerstmann's subsequent project, Giant Bomb, and was later joined by Shoemaker and Caravella. Navarro became the community manager at Harmonix and in 2010 joined with Whiskey Media, a family of sites that includes Gerstmann's Giant Bomb site, to be part of their new site Screened.com, focusing on cinema and television. Navarro later returned to Giant Bomb, where he works as a senior editor.

On March 15, 2012, it was announced that CBS Interactive, the parent company of GameSpot operator CNET, had acquired the Giant Bomb and Comic Vine websites from Whiskey Media. As part of the deal, the non-disparagement agreement between Gerstmann and CNET was nullified, allowing him to finally speak publicly about his termination over four years prior. Later that evening on GameSpot's On the Spot web show, GameSpot VP John Davison appeared on camera with Gerstmann, marking Gerstmann's first appearance on the GameSpot web site since November 2007. In the segment, Gerstmann revealed that his firing was in fact related to the low review score he had given to Kane & Lynch, though his explanation cited other similar events that led up to the termination, including a 7.5 (good) rating given to Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction by Aaron Thomas, then an employee under Gerstmann.

Notable staff
  • Greg Kasavin – executive editor and site director of GameSpot, who left in 2007 to become a game developer. He became a producer at EA and 2K Games but he is currently working for Supergiant Games as a writer and creative director for Bastion.[19]
  • Jeff Gerstmann – editorial director of the site, dismissed from GameSpot on November 28, 2007 for undisclosed reasons, after which he started Giant Bomb.[20] Following the announcement of the purchase of Giant Bomb by CBS Interactive on March 15, 2012, Jeff was allowed to reveal that he was dismissed by management as a result of publishers threatening to pull advertising revenue due to less-than-glowing review scores being awarded by GameSpot's editorial team.[21]

Community features

Forums

GameSpot's forums were originally run by ZDNet, and later by Lithium. GameSpot uses a semi-automated moderation system with numerous volunteer moderators. GameSpot moderators are picked by paid GameSpot staff from members of the GameSpot user community. Due to the size and massive quantity of boards and posts on GameSpot, there is a "report" feature where a normal user can report a violation post to an unpaid moderator volunteer. The ostensible purpose of the reporting feature is to deal more quickly with violations of the website's posting policy. GameSpot's ToS states that users must be aged 13 or older to post content and maintain an account. Proof of a user's age when he/she creates an account is not required. Proof of a moderator's age is also not required. All users must agree to GameSpot's ToS (terms of service) during registration. GameSpot's ToS (as they apply to the community forums) give moderators the power to use their own discretion when deciding if a posting violation has occurred.

In addition to the message board system, GameSpot has expanded its community through the addition of features such as user blogs (formerly known as "journals")[22] and user video blogs. Users can track other users, thus allowing them to see updates for their favorite blogs. If both users track each other, they are listed on each other's friends list.

GameSpot formerly had a paid subscription service known as "GameSpot Complete". On February 21, 2006, the paid subscription model was changed.[23] It now maintains two paid membership services: Total Access and Plus.[24]

Total Access is essentially a replacement of GameSpot Complete, as it is the same price of US$5.95 per month or $39.95 per year and offers the same basic benefits.[24] The second premium service, GameSpot Plus, is a cheaper, intermediate-level service.[24]

On January 9, 2013, it was announced that the Paid Subscription model would no longer be accepting new subscribers, and current subscribers would not be able to renew after January 31, 2013.[25]

See also

References
  1. "GameSpot.com WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". WHOIS. 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  2. "Results of Spike TV's 2004 Video Game Awards". Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved June 9, 2006.
  3. "Site Profile for gamespot.com". Archived from the original on October 19, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2008.
  4. "D.I.C.E. Awards by Video Game Details". Archived from the original on June 5, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  5. "Course Number: Ba278".
  6. "Research Dream Job: Online Gaming Zine". Wired. February 6, 1997.
  7. Navarro, Alex (July 14, 2006). "Burning Questions: July 14, 2006". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  8. Willmott, Don (February 9, 1999). "The 100 Top Web Sites". PC Magazine. 18 (3): 114.
  9. Olafson, Peter (December 7, 2000). "BASICS; Sites Keep Up With Games and Gamers". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  10. "GameSpot Redesign: Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved September 29, 2006.
  11. "GameSpot UK Winner, PPAi Awards 1999". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2006.
  12. "GameSpot UK Short Listed, PPAi Awards 2001". Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2006.
  13. "GameSpot UK launches". April 24, 2006. Archived from the original on June 11, 2007. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
  14. "Spot On: GameSpot on Gerstmann". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. December 5, 2007. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
  15. "CNET Denies 'External Pressure' Caused Gerstmann Termination". Shacknews. November 30, 2007. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
  16. "Farewell, GameSpot". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. January 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
  17. Orland, Kyle (January 14, 2008). "Gamespot staffer Alex Navarro quits in wake of Gerstmann-gate". Engadget. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  18. Orland, Kyle (February 4, 2008). "Gamespot exodus continues: Ryan Davis to leave". Endgadget. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  19. Kasavin, Greg (January 19, 2007). "To Live and Die in L.A." Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  20. "Jeff Gerstmann - Virtual Fools". Archived from the original on March 14, 2008. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
  21. "GameSpot and Giant Bomb, Together". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  22. "GameSpot Forums". GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 14, 2005. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
  23. "GameSpot revamps subscription model". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  24. "GameSpot sign-up page". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on March 21, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
  25. "GameSpot's Paid Subscription Service is Ending: FAQ". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. January 9, 2013. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
  • Official website
  • "GameSpot". Archived from the original on November 5, 1996. Retrieved July 26, 2005.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
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