Slashdot Mirror
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.
I just read the linked Gerstmann interview and was disappointed that it didn't add more clarity to the story. Of course, as has been repeatedly mentioned, Gerstmann is not allowed to comment on why he was fired. Given that GameSpot has very clearly denied firing him for hurting their bottom line, that doesn't seem quite fair. Why is GameSpot allowed to defend itself (by denying they inappropriately fired Gerstmann), but Gerstmann is not allowed to defend himeself (by perhaps insisting that GameSpot *did* fire him inappropriately)?
:)
On the other hand, this may be a bit of a boon for Gerstmann, especially if he was fired for simply doing a bad job. After all, right now he looks like a victim -- without this controversy, he might just look incompetent. Maybe Gerstmann has good reason to keep quiet.
I've been in the games industry for a while now and can tell you any one familiar with the inner workings of Game PR and Marketing would not be surprised by this, or the allegations being made. Many things happen between game media and game developers / publishers that result in a less than objective review. I won't spill all the beans, but for example: You know those top ten lists? You can pay to have your game show up on most of those. Companies I've worked at have bartered exclusive first looks at new titles for higher review scores on shipping titles. Our PR guys even wrote up material for reviewers to use in their reviews that highlight features we wanted to the public to get excited about. Those reviews are a lot less about journalism and are really an extension of Studio/Publisher PR and Marketing machines. Don't buy what any of the big sites say, just download the demo and make your own call.
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.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
It's kind of hard to side with any of them. Gamespot's site sucks and their reviews are the worst (which is no easy feat) so as individuals they are either shills or just incompetent idiots and as a corporation they employ either shills or incompetent idiots. And not to sound like a troll (I'm letting them off pretty easy), but fuck I hope the site just dies.
The Farewell Tour II
In California, yes, Gamespot cannot say why Gerstmann was fired. Gerstmann can say why, unless he is bound by some contractual obligation not too.
Maybe it's just me, but when I read the subject, my first thought was "Perpetual Suit? What an odd name."
I don't know... maybe it could work for a marketing exec. turned supervillain.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
"not to sound like a troll..."
That has to be the most hilarious thing I've ever heard someone say in a rant. It's kinda like me saying to you, "no offense, but you're a complete idiot."