The Internet is buzzing over the recent firing of Jeff Gerstmann from the popular video game review site, Gamespot. In what seems to be a reaction to Jeff’s very negative review to Kane and Lynch, the long tenured journalist was given the axe. So far no official statement has been made from either Gamespot or Eidos (who is being blamed for instigating the whole thing), but Jeff has confirmed via email that he has indeed been fired but won’t give any details.
Look, it’s no secret that I’ve disagreed with Jeff on many occasions in the past and I’ve been somewhat criticial of his approach to reviews, but what is happening here is terrible if all accounts are true. If a video game journalist is fired for voicing his or her honest opinion on a game, well, then the industry is in danger of losing all credibility. Whether you’re a fan of Gerstmann or not, this should trouble any fan of gaming.
Good luck landing on your feet, Jeff, and thanks for putting out an honest and sincere review despite pressure to do otherwise.
Boy, they’re great at taking your money, but they’re terrible at giving you any sort of acceptable service. Anyway, I was really looking forward to this week’s podcast, but we can thank Qwest and their total ineptitude for creating a scenario where putting out a show would be physically, logistically, theoretically, grammatically, and emotionally impossible.
There’s a new ISP coming into town soon…it’s not soon enough.
For our some 250 regular listeners…sorry, we’ll get a show out as soon as Qwest can get their act together. Try not to miss us too much.
Yesterday we pointed out the insane pace that the Wii and DS are selling at, and today Microsoft released some numbers of their own about the 360. According to an MSNBC story, the 360 sold more than 310,000 consoles last week. They also made a point of revealing that the number is at about a 2:1 ratio for 360 vs. PS3 sales. So despite the PS3 price drop, the 360 is still managing to increase the gap in hardware numbers here in North America.
Also revealed in the report is that 360 software is selling at a faster rate than Wii and PS3 software combined. When you look at the holiday lineups, it’s really not that big of a surprise. The 360 has tons of games releasing, great exclusives, and usually the best version of multiconsole software.
We’ll talk about the meaning and implications of the latest PS3, Wii, and 360 numbers in this week’s podcast.
Yeah, that’s right…the Nintendo DS is currently averaging more than one DS sold per second in the United States right now, according the latest sales figures released by Nintendo. In the past week (which includes Black Friday), Nintendo moved over 653,000 DS Lites in the United States alone.
The Wii also is selling at an incredible pace (not exactly a secret at this point), coming in at 650,000+ units over the past two weeks. These huge numbers are definitely the reason for the continued Wii shortage on retail shelves. As the holidays approach, it’s more than likely that finding a Wii will stay extremely difficult. If you have even the slightest desire to own a Wii, and you see one in the store, don’t hesitate to grab it.
Full November numbers will be available once the NPD hits in about 2-3 weeks.
If you’ll notice, there’s a link in the header of the site asking you to visit The Stupid Gamer Store. We’ve implemented an Amazon powered store right into the blog…so if you are in the market for games, tech gear, books, or other related stuff, feel free to shop from here. As we mentioned in a previous podcast we’re looking to start up contests, giveaways, and promotions here on the blog, and this will go a long way toward making that happen (we hope). If you browse the store and can’t seem to find a product listed that you’re interested in buying, let us know and we’ll get it included.
After some massive release weeks, this week is pretty tame in comparison…er, actually in comparison to any week. Ah well, if nothing interests you on the list below, it just means that you have plenty of time to get working on the backlog that has to be piling up by now. Oh, and if you’re still picking games up, check out our new Stupid Gamer Store. By buying through the store you’ll help us out a bit and get to feel the fuzzy warmth of tossing a few pennies in my direction!
I’ll be out Tuesday through Sunday this week and I don’t know if I’ll be able to make posts. The site might be dormant for the rest of the week, and there won’t be any podcast. Don’t forget to come back after the Thanksgiving weekend, mmmmmkay?
Amazon.com released their top ten list today for games, and here is how it breaks down. Sorry if the formatting is a little funny, but I tried pulling this straight in from Amazon to try something out.
“Our one word review for the new Mario: Wow! The new standard in platformers, the best game on the Wii hands down, and maybe the best Nintendo game of all time. If you don’t own a Wii yet, this is the reason to buy one.”
“The Orange Box is loaded with phenomenal games - Half-Life 2, Team Fortress 2, Portal - and each game by itself is amazing. Portal itself is one of the most innovative games in years.”
“A tremendous first person shooter experience with a great storyline, amazing graphics, creepy little girls, and one of the best baddies - “Big Daddy” - in years.”
“The best game to date on the Nintendo DS, Phantom Hourglass makes great use of the stylus, has a terrific storyline, and provides action/adventure everyone should enjoy.”
“The comparisons to Guitar Hero are natural, but the guitar and game play have a smoother feel in Rock Band. Plus, the song list is extra strong thanks to MTV’s involvement. But most of all: DRUMS!”
“2007 was a year of many great games and lots of focus on next generation consoles. Somehow along the way, GOW2 got a bit overlooked. It’s an amazing game that builds upon and goes beyond the original. A must for gamers who can tolerate heavy violence, it’s one of best PS2 games of all time.”
“The fourth installment of COD is simply amazing and by far the best game of the series. The graphics are stunning and the gameplay is near-perfect for a first person shooter.”
“Certainly no game received more press during the year…and deservedly so. The third installment continues the Halo tradition of providing gamers a great first person shooter experience. If you’re an online junkie, Halo 3 is a no brainer buy.”
The first Halo 3 map pack will be made available December 11th. The pack contains three maps and will cost 800 points (a little steep, Bungie!). Details from the press release are as follows:
Available for 800 Microsoft Points exclusively on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, each map presents a totally different play style. Standoff’s symmetrical valley, with its entrenched bases and fields of boulders is ideal for mid-sized objective and Slayer game types, while Rat’s Nest’s vast, labyrinthine passages bring something new to the “Halo†multiplayer experience: an indoor vehicle paradise, strongly influenced by the Campaign mode, ideal for big team battles. Finally, Foundry is the ultimate Forge map – players can edit every single object in this voluminous industrial warehouse, place stairways, walls, bridges and tunnels to create an entirely new play space and build almost any kind of map they can think of.
Here are some pictures, borrowed from BlimBlim at Gamersyde (thanks!):
Note: These screens are downscaled. To see the full size, drag and drop them to your address bar.
NPD is like a monthly holiday for gaming geeks that can’t get enough of the console wars that have raged on for decades. This month Nintendo, once again, had a massive month, Guitar Hero III makes its debut, the 360 keeps rolling along, and the PS3 kind of limps along. As expected, Halo 3 still leads sales on the software front. Remember, next month will be interesting as it will include Black Friday, the PS3 price drop, the Xbox 360 Arcade bundle, and the Super Mario Galaxy effect. So, here are the numbers:
Hardware Results (rounded to the nearest 1,000):
Wii - 519,000
Nintendo DS - 458,000
Xbox 360 - 366,000
PSP - 286,000
PlayStation 2 - 184,000
PlayStation 3 - 121,000
Top 10 Software (ranked by number of units sold)
360 Halo 3 - 433,800
360 Guitar Hero III (w/ guitar) - 383,200
WII Guitar Hero III (w/ guitar) - 286,300
PS2 Guitar Hero III (w/ guitar) - 271,100
DS Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourlgass - 262,800
WII Wii Play - 239,700
360 The Orange Box - 238,400
PS2 Guitar Hero III - 231,700
PS2 FIFA Soccer 08 - 129,700
DS Brain Age 2 - 116,900
For those interested, the PS3 version of GHIII moved 105,800 copies with Ratchet and Clank debuting with 74,500.
Jeff Gerstmann fired from Gamespot over bad review?
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