Kohnke v. Perpetual Suit Unveils 'Pay For Good Reviews' Angle

The recent debate brought about by Jeff Gerstmann's dismissal from Gamespot has focused a lot of attention on the role of advertiser manipulation of reviews. Now a lawsuit brought by PR firm Kohnke Communications against what remains of Perpetual Entertainment has unveiled an interesting element of their business relationship. From the language of the agreement: "Kohnke's public relations campaign was successful in creating pre-release 'buzz' around Gods & Heroes, and in convincing reviewers to write positive reviews about the game. In addition, on information and belief, Perpetual had signed up more than 100,000 beta testers for Gods & Heroes, a large number for an unreleased MMO." For another viewpoint on the Gerstmann issue, Dean Takahashi just recently interviewed the former reviewer.

Comments

Re:Gerstmann interview not exactly revealing

[El Gigante de Justic]

It could also be that while they fired him to appease Eidos, they also offered him a substantial severance package as long as he stays quiet about what actually went down.

Re:Controversy regarding Gerstmann firing

[brkello]

Slashdot tends to defend the little guy and hate the corporations...so it is natural to get that slant on here. You bring up good points, but it almost feels like you are a Gamespot advocate trying to inject doubt in to the forums.