GameSpot

''GameSpot'' is 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 by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022.

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

History

In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so a sister site, ''VideoGameSpot'', was launched on December 1, 1996. Eventually ''VideoGameSpot'', then renamed ''VideoGames.com'', was merged into ''GameSpot''.

On January 6, 1997, SpotMedia and publisher Ziff Davis announced a $20 million agreement allowing the publisher to run content from '' Computer Gaming World'' and '' Electronic Gaming Monthly'' on SpotMedia's websites. By the following month, Ziff Davis's substantial financial infusion enabled ''GameSpot'' to grow to 45 employees. Upon the May 11, 1998 launch of Ziff Davis's cable channel ZDTV, a program by ''GameSpot'' was projected for a mid-summer release, and would premiere as '' GameSpot TV'' on July 4. In February 1999, ''PC Magazine'' named ''GameSpot'' one of the hundred best websites, alongside competitors '' IGN'' and '' CNET Gamecenter''.

On July 19, 2000, CNET announced its acquisition of ZDNET, putting ''GameSpot'' and ''Gamecenter'' under the same parent company. That December, ''The New York Times'' declared ''GameSpot'' and ''Gamecenter'' the "''Time'' and ''Newsweek'' of gaming sites". In February 2001, ''GameSpot'' was spared from a redundancy reduction effort by CNET which shuttered ''Gamecenter''.

In October 2005, ''GameSpot'' adopted a new design similar to that of TV.com, now considered a sister site to ''GameSpot''. ''GameSpot'' ran a few different paid subscriptions from 2006 to 2013, but is no longer running those. In June 2008, ''GameSpot''s parent company CNET was acquired by CBS Corporation, and ''GameSpot'' along with CNET's other online assets were managed by the CBS Interactive division.

A new layout change was adopted in October 2013.

CNET was sold to Red Ventures in October 2020. Two years later, Fandom acquired ''GameSpot'', along with Metacritic, TV Guide, GameFAQs, Giant Bomb, Cord Cutters News, and Comic Vine from Red Ventures. In January 2023, 40-50 employees were affected by a round of layoffs. More layoffs at GameSpot took place in January 2024.

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, and was short listed in 2001. '' PC Gaming World'' was considered a "sister print magazine" and some content appeared on both ''GameSpot UK'' and ''PC Gaming World''. Following the purchase of ZDNet by CNET, GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, ''GameSpot UK'' was relaunched.

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 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.

Gerstmann dismissal

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 given '' Kane & Lynch: Dead Men'', a game they were heavily advertising on ''GameSpot'' at the time. Both ''GameSpot'' and parent company CNET initially stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review. 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 leaving ''GameSpot'') was being purchased by the same parent company as ''GameSpot'', 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 from ''GameSpot'' as a result of Gerstmann's poor review score, which was confirmed by ''GameSpot's'' Jon Davison.

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. As of 2021, he was working for Supergiant Games as a writer and creative director.
* Jeff Gerstmann – editorial director of the site, dismissed from ''GameSpot'' on November 28, 2007, for undisclosed reasons, after which he started '' Giant Bomb''. 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.
* Danny O'Dwyer – video presenter of ''GameSpot'', founded crowdfunded game documentary company Noclip in 2016.
* Chris Wanstrath – web developer of ''GameSpot'' who left in 2008 to start GitHub, which became the world’s largest host service for software code. In 2018 he sold GitHub to Microsoft for $7.5 billion.

See also

* GameSpot Game of the Year awards

References

External links

*

GameSpot UK
(archived)

GameSpot Belgium
(archived)

GameSpot France
(archived)

GameSpot Germany
(archived)

{{Video Game Critics

Internet properties established in 1996
Video game Internet forums
Video game news websites
Webby Award winners
2020 mergers and acquisitions
2022 mergers and acquisitions
Former CBS Interactive websites
Fandom (website)
Spike Video Game Award winners