Gamertell

The massive multiplayer online game (MMOG) Fallen Earth‘s alpha testing game is going to begin this week, on August 14, 2008, and People who stop by GameSpot and sign up may have the chance to participate. So far, over 130 people have posted to apply for an alpha or beta testing position. Alpha testing is currently set to run until sometime in Q1 2009, and beta testing should begin shortly after.

If you want to apply, head to GameSpot, register and post on the event page. You have to give some basic information in your post (CPU, ram, graphics card and OS) in order to be considered. The Fallen Earth team will then select the first round of alpha testers based on information provided, when testers applied, the testers’ schedules and their internet connection speeds…

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In the global fight against terrorism numerous government and private organizations have kept their ears to the ground, trying to prevent the next 9/11. Now it seems that Bethesda Softworks, a Maryland based developer which created the Elders Scroll series, has unwillingly become part of terrorists’ war on the Western world.

No, Bethesda isn’t dropping the controller and mouse for AK47s and joining Al-Qaeda, but it seems that even the world’s most fearsome terrorist group is also a fan of Bethesda’s upcoming game, Fallout 3...

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Hot on the heels of the groundbreaking success of Grand Theft Auto IV, THQ said in an interview with Reuters that they are pushing back the release of Saint’s Row 2 from August 2008 to October 14, 2008.

THQ’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Bob Aniello, told Reuters that the reasons for this change were due to production quality concerns and to increase marketing efforts…

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With the June 2008 release date of the next installment in the Metal Gear Solid series just, there has been a lot of assumption that Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Patriots will be the last in the series. That might not be the case.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Hideo Kojima, the creator and lead designer of Metal Gear stated:

“Metal Gear will always be around. I feel a responsibility to continue this series as long as users demand it.“

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And the corporate consolidation of media continues - Kotaku is reporting on CBS’ acquisition of CNET networks cache of sites, including gamespot. Apparently, CNET’s board of directors unanimously agreed to the merger, and the transition is slated to occur by the third quarter of this year.

From the post:

“Upon closing, CNET Networks’ sites will be combined with CBS’s stable of dynamic and growing interactive businesses. These include CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSCollegeSports.com, MaxPreps.com, CBSNews.com, last.fm, Wallstrip, MobLogic, CBS Radio and CBS Television Stations digital media platforms, and the distribution network of the CBS Audience Network, which is made up of more than 300 partner Web sites and reaches 82% of all online users in the United States.“

As if gamespot hadn’t already had its share of nasty business in the corporate relations department… but business is business, right?

Read [Kotaku]

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It looks like Rockstar is finally getting wise about releasing its games with numerous bugs and serious glitches. After years of putting out titles such as Grand Theft Auto, which always came along with a series of major technical problems; from frequent crashing, visual glitches or simply that entire levels wouldn’t load, (San Andreas being the worst offender) fans have decided that enough is enough.

After the release of Rockstar’s latest title, Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360, which was originally released on the PlayStation 2 in October of 2006, the game once again suffered from a number of major technical glitches. But Rockstar has acknowledged that this kind of performance on a next-generation console is unacceptable.

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On Thursday (January 31, 2008), Gamespot anointed Ricardo Torres as its newest Editor-in-Chief, a position that hasn’t been filled since previous EIC Greg Kasavin left to work at Electronic Arts in January 2007.  Upon taking the job, Torres told GameDaily, in an interview, that he wants to win back the readers who were disgusted with the site after December 2007’s infamous ousting of its Editorial Director, Jeff Gerstmann. Rumors perpetuated that Gerstmann was allegedly fired for giving a negative review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and drawing the ire of advertiser Eidos and CNet’s management, although CNet contends it was due to unrelated “internal reasons.“

Unfortunately for Torres, his plea doesn’t pack the…

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According to a recent ars technica post, game retail giant Gamestop will be changing its focus to court mainstream consumers. The chain will now devote sections of its stores to casual and “family” gaming, and indicated that the interest in casual gaming (brought on primarily by the success of the Wii and DS) is the chief reason for the shift. The retailer is apparently in great shape financially, with plans to keep the pace of 500 new store openings each year and continue expansion into overseas markets.

Gamestop has always catered to the hardcore crowd, offering rare games and an (increasingly devious) trade-in program for used games. Obviously, the company is following the money trail on this particular decision, and betting that the casual games phenomena will be more than just a trend.

As things stand, Gamestop couldn’t be more tainted in the eyes of hardcore gamers, who are fed up with their unfair buyback and trade-in practices. Many will find this to be the ultimate insult, and I can’t blame them.

Read [ars Technica] Also Read [Next Gen]

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Further fanning the flames of the firing of Gamespot’s Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann, freelance writer Frank Provo is calling it quits from the site

Here’s his open post about it, grabbed right from the site before it’s noticed and likely removed:

Farewell, GameSpot

It’s true, I’m no longer contributing to GameSpot.

I believe CNet management let Jeff go for all the wrong reasons. I believe CNet intends to soften the site’s tone and push for higher scores to make advertisers happy.

I won’t lie to people and tell them a game is good when it isn’t. I won’t downplay negatives that readers have a right to know about.

And so, the “Frank Provo era” at GameSpot ends after nearly 8 years of contributions. March 2000 through December 2007. It was a nice run.

I feel sorry for the GameSpot staff that have to continue to work there because they have no choice if they want to be able to pay bills and feed their families. For such upstanding people, the CNet overloads have created the ultimate soul-crushing work environment.

Category: Editorial
Posted by mosaic, Jan 4, 2008 1:20 am PT

One of his followup posts in response to a comment on the site reads…

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After the internet flooded with comments and a protest held involving the firing of Gamespot Editorial Director Jeff Gerstmann over his review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, Gamespot address the issue last night (December 3, 2007) in a press release. The staff of Gamespot calling Gerstmann’s departure an end of an era:

“Jeff was a central figure in the creation and evolution of GameSpot, having written hundreds of previews and reviews, and anchoring much of our multimedia content,” Ricardo Torres, editorial director of previews and events, said. “The award-winning editorial team he leaves behind wish him nothing but good luck in his future endeavors.”

Of course many supporters of Gerstmann replied to the message agreeing that Gamespot was full of themselves, stating that Gerstmann’s departure will not effect GameSPot in any way.

“Neither CNET Networks nor GameSpot has ever allowed its advertising business to affect its editorial content,” said Greg Brannan, CNET Networks Entertainment’s vice president of programming. “The accusations in the media that it has done so are unsubstantiated and untrue. Jeff’s departure stemmed from internal reasons unrelated to any buyer of advertising on GameSpot.”

To ire the Gerstmann’s readers, the executive producer of GameSpot Live was tasked to respond as well.

“Though he will be missed by his colleagues, Jeff’s leaving does not affect GameSpot’s core mission of delivering the most timely news, video content, in-depth previews, and unbiased reviews in games journalism,” said Ryan MacDonald, executive producer of GameSpot Live. “GameSpot is an institution, and its code of ethics and duty to its users remains unchanged.”

To end the press release GameSpot had to quickly mention that the firing was not due to legal constraints and the company policy of GameSpot parent CNET Networks, details of Gerstmann’s departure cannot be disclosed publicly. However, contrary to widespread and unproven reports, his exit was not a result of pressure from an advertiser.

Read [GameSpot Release]

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