Jeff Gerstmann on GameSpot, Giant Bomb, and snark

Tiduz

Eurogaime
Sorry if old.

GamesRadar: Regarding GameSpot, we've only heard snippets of the full story - is there anything left to say?

Jeff Gerstmann: Not legally, no. [laughs] It's pretty much dead and over with really. Um, You know, I think it's... there's been a lot of weird rumors about it and no one can really confirm nor deny any of that stuff.

GR: So what made you decide to start from the ground up with Giant Bomb?

JG: Well, the guys here that I'm working with are people that I have worked with before and I kind of know what they're capable of in terms of building a site, and getting that sort of stuff off the ground, and that just sounded really appealing. It was a group of guys that I knew that I could trust, that I knew we would have a great time doing it, and so far it's really been fun.


GR: According to the site, Giant Bomb is "blowing up this summer." Do you have a specific timeframe for its completion?

JG: Nothing more specific than Summer right now - we have ideas, but until a few things get locked down, we're not going to get more specific than Summer. Obviously, E3 is in July, and no one wants to launch after E3, I'll say that much.


GR: We posted an article a while back explaining why your HD-DVDs were still good, despite the format losing the war. The Blu-ray kids came out angrily against it, despite the fact that we didn't bash Blu-ray at all. It's interesting how technology divides people like that.

JR: [b
It's people that have to, in some sense, justify their purchases. That's what it has always been. Guys like you and me, we're surrounded by every single game console, we have PCs that can play games, it's just not an issue. But if you're some kid who saved up all summer to buy a PlayStation 3 and you get on the internet and there's people effectively saying that you wasted your entire Summer saving all this money and buying this system, you're going to get pretty pissed off. So I think that's what a lot of it is - people out there spending real money on these products and then taking it really personally when someone talks bad about the thing that they chose.[/b]

GR: Speaking of forums - you mentioned that you will be hosting forums on Giant Bomb. Are you planning to launch any features early, or will it be "all in one go?"

JG: I think we're going to go "all in one go." Because there has been a demand for it we were thinking of launching forums early, and that's still possible, we haven't made the decision one way or the other just yet. But if it's gonna take away from the development of the full site it might just be easier to do it all at once. One thing I do want to do before we're ready to go is launch a user registration so people can claim the usernames they want to use, so people who have been following the blog really religiously can be rewarded with the name that they want.

More @ http://www.gamesradar.com/f/jeff-gerstmann-on-gamespot-giant-bomb-and-snark/a-20080403102237110057

I hope the site really works out excellent, i like Jeff.
 
I had never heard of the guy untill the whole Gamespot debacle. His podcast is pretty enjoyable, though. Seems like an ok guy to me.
 
I like supporting the underdog sites. Will read for sure.

Make sure you have decent RSS there on day one if you're reading.
 
AlternativeUlster said:
Kane & Lynch is one of videogame's defining moments and he blew it.


I thought he made the otherwise-forgettable shooter significant by getting fired over it.
 
JR:
It's people that have to, in some sense, justify their purchases. That's what it has always been. Guys like you and me, we're surrounded by every single game console, we have PCs that can play games, it's just not an issue. But if you're some kid who saved up all summer to buy a PlayStation 3 and you get on the internet and there's people effectively saying that you wasted your entire Summer saving all this money and buying this system, you're going to get pretty pissed off. So I think that's what a lot of it is - people out there spending real money on these products and then taking it really personally when someone talks bad about the thing that they chose.

Interesting to hear someone address that issue in this way. I've heard journalists discussing "fanboyism" in tons of sources, but rarely do I ever hear them hit that point, that you can't afford everything and so try to defend the purchases you do make.
 
Peronthious said:
Interesting to hear someone address that issue in this way. I've heard journalists discussing "fanboyism" in tons of sources, but rarely do I ever hear them hit that point, that you can't afford everything and so try to defend the purchases you do make.

This still doesn't explain the 20-something fanboys that can afford to buy more than one system, yet choose not to.
 
this is the first time I am actually anticipating the launch of a site.



Is there anywhere where fans can make suggestions to features and stuff that they should/could add to the site?
 
It's people that have to, in some sense, justify their purchases. That's what it has always been. Guys like you and me, we're surrounded by every single game console, we have PCs that can play games, it's just not an issue. But if you're some kid who saved up all summer to buy a PlayStation 3 and you get on the internet and there's people effectively saying that you wasted your entire Summer saving all this money and buying this system, you're going to get pretty pissed off. So I think that's what a lot of it is - people out there spending real money on these products and then taking it really personally when someone talks bad about the thing that they chose.

Console Warz in a nutshell.

Bravo ::applause::
 
Peronthious said:
Interesting to hear someone address that issue in this way. I've heard journalists discussing "fanboyism" in tons of sources, but rarely do I ever hear them hit that point, that you can't afford everything and so try to defend the purchases you do make.
it's actually a marketing/psychological thing (more psych than mktg, though). I wrote a big post about it when I was in school studying it. Basically, you want to see your decision as right as no one wants to say "I made a horrible decision!" so all of your research and efforts go into looking for pro-your-stuff and anti-other-stuff. Nothing can change your mind because you just don't want to be wrong. It's grossly simplified in that example, btw. I just don't want to dig out my old school books to remember the more salient points. You get the gist of it, at least.

also, I had never heard JG in a podcast before the Giant Bomb. I thought Chris Kohler was a guest on the show at first because they have similar voices.
I say that because I haven't heard CK on a GAFcast in so long.
 
GR: You mentioned a while ago on an X-Play interview that the internet is a "snarkfest." Do you think the internet has become too negative?

JG: I do. I think that there are pockets of it that people just use to complain, you know? Message boards have gotten out of control in a lot of cases. We have an environment where the demand for gaming information has grown so much that now you have people out there who used to just be interested in the games, and now they're getting more interested in the business behind them and they're learning all of these NPD numbers and analyst rantings and all this stuff, and they're not necessarily equipped to digest that stuff, so instead they run off to a forum and use it as fodder for, "Here's why Nintendo is really awesome!" Who benefits from that? That's just kind of crazy.
we suck.
 
Peronthious said:
Interesting to hear someone address that issue in this way. I've heard journalists discussing "fanboyism" in tons of sources, but rarely do I ever hear them hit that point, that you can't afford everything and so try to defend the purchases you do make.

Please tell me you all thought of this before and that Jeff wasn't the guy to get you to think this way.
 
Well I just checked out the site and downloaded the latest podcast

Are they changing the layout? What I hate about 1up, IGN, and other sites is how much crap is on the page. I hope Giant Bomb keeps it simple after the "blow up"
 
GR: You mentioned a while ago on an X-Play interview that the internet is a "snarkfest." Do you think the internet has become too negative?

JG: I do. I think that there are pockets of it that people just use to complain, you know? Message boards have gotten out of control in a lot of cases. We have an environment where the demand for gaming information has grown so much that now you have people out there who used to just be interested in the games, and now they're getting more interested in the business behind them and they're learning all of these NPD numbers and analyst rantings and all this stuff, and they're not necessarily equipped to digest that stuff, so instead they run off to a forum and use it as fodder for, "Here's why Nintendo is really awesome!" Who benefits from that? That's just kind of crazy.

Respect for Jeff +8.5
 
AlternativeUlster said:
Kane & Lynch is one of videogame's defining moments and he blew it.

Look man, you can talk all the #$@% you want but there is not even a single giant ant to kill in Kane and Lynch. If there is one thing that science has taught us it is that "No giant ants" = automatic 6 or below. Jeff was absolutely right.

NOW JUST TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND DEAL WITH IT MUCHACHO!
 
I've grown to love the podcast. I hope that with Giant-Bomb "blowing up" it doesn't mean a format change. It's rather lovely indeed.

Go Gerstmann and co.!
 
Hootie said:
More like +6.0, amirite?

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