Wikipedia

GameSpot

Not to be confused withGameStop,the video game retailer.

GameSpotis an American 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. In addition to the information produced byGameSpotstaff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned byFandom, Inc.since October 2022.[2]

GameSpot
Type of site
Video game journalism
FoundedMay 1, 1996;28 years ago(1996-05-01)
Headquarters
San Francisco,California
Founder(s)
  • Pete Deemer
  • Vince Broady
  • Jon Epstein
Parent
URLgamespot
RegistrationOptional (free andpaid)
LaunchedJanuary 13, 1996;28 years ago(1996-01-13)(Spotmedia)[1]
Current statusActive

In 2004,GameSpotwon "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers inSpike TV's secondVideo Game Award Show,[3]and has wonWebby Awardsseveral times. The domainGameSpotattracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to aCompetestudy.[4]

History

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In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein quit their positions atIDGand founded SpotMedia Communications.[5][6][7]SpotMedia then launchedGameSpoton May 1, 1996.[7]Originally,GameSpotfocused solely onpersonal computergames, so a sister site,VideoGameSpot,was launched on December 1, 1996.[7][8]EventuallyVideoGameSpot,then renamedVideoGames,was merged intoGameSpot.[8]On January 6, 1997, SpotMedia and publisherZiff Davisannounced a $20 million agreement allowing the publisher to run content fromComputer Gaming WorldandElectronic Gaming Monthlyon SpotMedia's websites.[9]By the following month, Ziff Davis's substantial financial infusion enabledGameSpotto grow to 45 employees.[7]In February 1999,PC MagazinenamedGameSpotone of the hundred best websites, alongside competitorsIGNandCNET Gamecenter.[10]On July 19, 2000,CNETannounced its acquisition ofZDNET,puttingGameSpotandGamecenterunder the same parent company.[11]That December,The New York TimesdeclaredGameSpotandGamecenterthe "TimeandNewsweekof gaming sites ".[12]In February 2001,GameSpotwas spared from a redundancy reduction effort by CNET which shutteredGamecenter.[13][14]

In October 2005,GameSpotadopted a new design similar to that ofTV,now considered a sister site toGameSpot.[15]GameSpotran a few different paid subscriptions from 2006 to 2013, but is no longer running those.[16][17][18]In June 2008,GameSpot's parent company CNET was acquired byCBS Corporation,andGameSpotalong with CNET's other online assets were managed by theCBS Interactivedivision.[19]

A new layout change was adopted in October 2013.[20]

CNET was sold toRed Venturesin October 2020.[21]Two years later,FandomacquiredGameSpot,along withMetacritic,TV Guide,GameFAQs,Giant Bomb,Cord Cutters News, andComic Vinefrom Red Ventures.[2][22]In January 2023, 40-50 employees were affected by a round of layoffs.[23]More layoffs at GameSpot took place in January 2024.[24]

International history

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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 UKwon the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website,[25]and was short listed in 2001.[26]PC Gaming Worldwas considered a "sister print magazine" and some content appeared on bothGameSpot UKandPC Gaming World.[27]Following the purchase ofZDNetbyCNET,GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006,GameSpot UKwas relaunched.[28]

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.au was launched in 2003, GameSpot AU content was folded into CNET.au. The site was fully re-launched in mid-2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings inAustralian dollars,Australian release dates, and more local news.[citation needed]

Gerstmann dismissal

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Jeff Gerstmann,editorial director of the site, was fired on November 28, 2007 as a result of pressure from Eidos Interactive, a major advertiser; Eidos objected to the 6/10 review that Gerstmann had givenKane & Lynch: Dead Men,a game they were heavily advertising onGameSpotat the time.[29][30][31]BothGameSpotand parent company CNET initially stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review.[32][33]However, in March 2012, the non-disclosure agreement that forced Gerstmann to withhold the details of his termination was nullified. Not long after,Giant Bomb(a site Gerstmann founded after leavingGameSpot) was being purchased by the same parent company asGameSpot,and that they moved their headquarters into the same building. As part of this announcement, Gerstmann revealed that the firing was indeed related to threats of Eidos pulling advertising revenue away fromGameSpotas a result of Gerstmann's poor review score, which was confirmed byGameSpot'sJon Davison.[29][30]

Notable staff

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  • Greg Kasavin– executive editor and site director ofGameSpot,who left in 2007 to become a game developer. He became a producer atEAand2K Games.As of 2021, he was working forSupergiant Gamesas a writer and creative director.[34][35]
  • Jeff Gerstmann– editorial director of the site, dismissed fromGameSpoton November 28, 2007, for undisclosed reasons, after which he startedGiant Bomb.[36]Following the announcement of the purchase ofGiant Bombby 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 byGameSpot's editorial team.[37]
  • Danny O'Dwyer – video presenter ofGameSpot,founded crowdfunded game documentary companyNoclipin 2016.[38]
  • Chris Wanstrath– web developer ofGameSpotwho left in 2008 to startGitHub,which became the world’s largest host service for software code.[39]In 2018 he sold GitHub to Microsoft for $7.5 billion.[40]

Community features

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GameSpot's forums were originally run by ZDNet, and later byLithium.[citation needed]GameSpotuses a semi-automated moderation system with numerous volunteermoderators.GameSpotmoderators are picked by paidGameSpotstaff from members of theGameSpotuser community. Due to the size and massive quantity of boards and posts onGameSpot,there is a "report" feature where a normal user can report a violation post to an unpaid moderator volunteer.[citation needed]

In addition to the message board system,GameSpothas expanded its community through the addition of features such as userblogs(formerly known as "journals" )[41]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.

See also

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References

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  1. ^"GameSpot WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools".WHOIS.2016.RetrievedFebruary 15,2016.
  2. ^ab"Fandom Acquires Leading Entertainment & Gaming Brands Including…".Fandom.October 3, 2022.Retrieved2022-10-03.
  3. ^"Spike TV Announces Winners of 'Video Game Awards 2004'".The Futon Critic(Press release).Archivedfrom the original on 2023-04-21.Retrieved2023-04-20.
  4. ^"Site Profile for GameSpot".SiteAnalytics.Compete.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-10-19.Retrieved2008-05-18.
  5. ^"D.I.C.E. Awards by Video Game Details".Interactive.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-06-05.Retrieved2019-08-17.
  6. ^Grabowicz, Paul."Course Number: Ba278".Berkeley.edu.University of California, Berkeley.Retrieved2023-04-20.
  7. ^abcdFarnady, Kate (February 6, 1997)."Research Dream Job: Online Gaming Zine".Wired.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-01-02.Retrieved2023-04-20.
  8. ^abNavarro, Alex (July 14, 2006)."Burning Questions: July 14, 2006".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2007-09-30.Retrieved2007-03-23.
  9. ^Brown, Janelle (January 3, 1997)."ZD, SpotMedia to Create Online Gaming Goliath".Wired.Condé Nast.Archivedfrom the original on May 23, 2018.RetrievedApril 23,2024.
  10. ^Willmott, Don (February 9, 1999). "The 100 Top Web Sites".PC Magazine.18(3): 114.
  11. ^Vaggabond (July 19, 2000)."Cnet buys ZDnet".Eurogamer.Archivedfrom the original on May 23, 2018.
  12. ^Olafson, Peter (December 7, 2000)."Basics; Sites Keep Up with Games and Gamers".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-05-23.Retrieved2018-05-27.
  13. ^Fost, Dan (February 15, 2001)."Heavy Lifting Begins for Cnet".San Francisco Chronicle.Archivedfrom the original on May 23, 2018.
  14. ^Smith, Andrew (February 7, 2001)."CNET shuts Gamecenter".The Register.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2004.
  15. ^GameSpot Staff (November 2, 2005)."GameSpot Redesign: Frequently Asked Questions".Archivedfrom the original on 2013-10-18.Retrieved2006-09-29.
  16. ^GameSpot Staff (February 23, 2006)."GameSpot Revamps Subscription Model".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-01-15.Retrieved2018-01-14.
  17. ^"GameSpot Sign-Up Page".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-21.Retrieved2007-04-03.
  18. ^Anderson, Lark (January 9, 2013)."GameSpot's Paid Subscription Service is Ending: FAQ".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-02-06.Retrieved2013-01-22.
  19. ^"CBS CORPORATION COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF CNET NETWORKS; MERGES OPERATIONS INTO NEW, EXPANDED CBS INTERACTIVE BUSINESS UNIT".CBS Corporation. June 30, 2008. Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2008.RetrievedJune 30,2008.
  20. ^"Swipe Up Game".Expoodle.Retrieved2021-09-29.
  21. ^"Red Ventures Announces Closing of Acquisition of CNET Media Group".PR Newswire.2020-10-30.Archivedfrom the original on June 8, 2021.Retrieved2020-11-06.
  22. ^Weprin, Alex (October 3, 2022)."TV Guide, Metacritic, GameSpot Acquired by Fandom in $55M Deal With Red Ventures".The Hollywood Reporter.RetrievedOctober 3,2022.
  23. ^Gach, Ethan (2023-01-19)."Layoffs Hit GameSpot, Giant Bomb Just Months After Fandom Buys Them".Kotaku.Retrieved2024-03-05.
  24. ^Sinclair, Brendan (2024-01-31)."GameSpot lays off portion of staff".GamesIndustry.biz.Retrieved2024-03-05.
  25. ^"GameSpot UK Winner, PPAi Awards 1999".UKAOP.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-26.Retrieved2006-10-07.
  26. ^"GameSpot UK Short Listed, PPAi Awards 2001".UKAOP.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-26.Retrieved2006-10-07.
  27. ^"GameSpot UK: Computer Games News, Reviews, Demos, and Strategy Guides".GameSpot UK.ZDNET.Archived fromthe originalon 2000-08-15.Retrieved2023-02-14.Some of the material on this site also appears in our sister print magazine
  28. ^Foster, Lisa (April 24, 2006)."GameSpot UK Launches".MCVUK.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-06-11.Retrieved2006-11-01.
  29. ^abGerstmann, Jeff (March 15, 2012)."Exciting News From Your Friends At Giant Bomb".Giant Bomb.Archivedfrom the original on July 20, 2018.RetrievedApril 9,2022.
  30. ^abPlunkett, Luke (March 15, 2012)."Yes, a Games Writer was Fired Over Review Scores".Kotaku.Archivedfrom the original on April 9, 2022.RetrievedApril 9,2022.
  31. ^Szuban, Peter (2018)."Reconstituting Vocabularies: User Generated Databases, Social Tagging, and Folksonomies in Giantbomb's Videogame Wiki Database".The IJournal: Student Journal of the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information.4(1): 41–49.ISSN2561-7397.
  32. ^GameSpot Staff (December 5, 2007)."Spot On: GameSpot on Gerstmann".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2008-07-25.Retrieved2007-12-24.
  33. ^Faylor, Chris (November 30, 2007)."CNET Denies 'External Pressure' Caused Gerstmann Termination".Shacknews.Archivedfrom the original on 2008-05-15.Retrieved2007-12-24.
  34. ^Kasavin, Greg (January 19, 2007)."To Live and Die in L.A."Archivedfrom the original on 2007-09-30.Retrieved2007-05-17.
  35. ^"Supergiant Games".SuperGiantGames.Retrieved2021-11-19.
  36. ^"Jeff Gerstmann - Virtual Fools".VirtualFools.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-03-14.Retrieved2008-04-15.
  37. ^Davison, John; Gerstmann, Jeff (March 15, 2012)."GameSpot and Giant Bomb, Together".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archivedfrom the original on 2013-03-08.Retrieved2018-01-14.
  38. ^"dannyodwyer's Blog - GameSpot".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.December 31, 2013.Retrieved2022-03-18.
  39. ^Jr, Tom Huddleston (2018-06-04)."How this 33-year-old college dropout co-founded GitHub, which just sold to Microsoft for $7.5 billion".CNBC.Retrieved2024-01-05.
  40. ^"Microsoft finalizes its $7.5 billion GitHub acquisition".ZDNET.Retrieved2024-01-05.
  41. ^"GameSpot Forums".GameSpot.CBS Interactive.Archived fromthe originalon 2005-08-14.Retrieved2007-06-22.
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