GameSpot layoffs

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Hailinel

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@hailinel: Didn't GB use to have a "preferred system" coloured name tag system? GB wasn't going all up and arms amongst ourselves back then. It really is Gamespot's crowd. Always had been atrocious. Or maybe because the site was so big that all sorts of childish/youtube-comment level of users were around, but everyone's saying Gamespot's actually smaller than GB in terms of users by now, I can't imagine that only the worst/loudest/foulest users stuck around.

Giant Bomb did, back in the original site design. But it did cause trouble. I kept my color neutral, because I found the whole thing silly, and had more than one person ask why my username wasn't red at times I stated positive things about Nintendo games. And the tone was almost hostile or accusatory. It was bizarre, and the whole thing only promoted tribalism. I'm glad that feature is gone.

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cornbredx

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#352  Edited By cornbredx

@themangalist: They still have the options in your preferences, but it changes nothing now (that I know of).

I've always been grey, but ya when Giantbomb started usernames were colored based on your side of the console wars.

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eduardo

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Wish you all the best! You won't be gone for long at all. See you back soon!

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Eribuster

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I have been visiting Gamespot for a long time (back when they had a subscription service and all non-paying users had a "_basic" appended to their names) and this lay off news greatly saddens me. I've come to enjoy Carolyn's writing and Tom's eccentricities. Justin and Ryan are long-timers that ran a tight ship. Everyone worked hard through good times and bad times and brought content that I have enjoyed.

This change is harsh and I wish those laid off the best.

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DrDarkStryfe

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Since E3 ended, both Gamespot and Gametrailers have been gutted. I do hope that these folks land on their feet somewhere, but that market for game journalists with a focus on the written word is just shrinking.

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csl316

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#356  Edited By csl316
@slag said:

@trafalgarlaw said:

Oh no...not Mary Kish! NOOOOOOOOO! Just say you're okay. :(

Good news duder!

Oh, thank god.

Everything will indeed change, and it's a shame that so soon after Gametrailers we have another site restructuring. Though it's definitely going to wear on the remaining staff for a while.

It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.
It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.

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MrViral

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This is terrible. Here's hoping that everyone affected can line something new up pretty quick. Lots of great talent in that group.

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Tonch

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#358  Edited By Tonch

Man, it's getting tougher and tougher to be able to stick with a game media outlet. Best of luck to everyone given the boot (and also to those not given the boot, because you never know what'll happen).

I know in this line of work everyone's peers are really supportive in helping each other stay relevant, so hopefully this will end up okay.

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walreese55

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Damn man Justin Calvert was fucking EIC and Ryan's been there almost as long as Jeff

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newmoneytrash

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#360  Edited By newmoneytrash

such a bummer! it's crazy that they let Ryan McDonald go. i hope everyone goes on to do cool and exciting things (where they can make hella money obv)

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JayEH

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Wow, can't believe they let Justin, Tom, and Ryan go. They've been there for a while.

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Strife777

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Seems like work in the game press business is getting more and more difficult to justify to companies.

It's too bad really. I'm not a big fan of the whole YouTuber thing, but it's what "fans" go to these days.

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Rotnac

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I know this will probably come off as dickish considering the situation of people losing jobs and all but Tom McShea's articles were the absolute worst thing ever published. GameSpot will probably thrive a lot more without his insufferably ignorant and baseless negativity he's published on there which really contributed to nothing. I personally felt that it really put a stain on all the awesome work that everyone else has been doing on the site.

I wish all the best to those who got future endeavored. It's too bad GB couldn't hire some of those let go like Justin Calvert. It would not surprise me if some of these individuals find a new job in no time.

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probablytuna

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Even Justin Calvert got fired? He's been there for years, kinda surprised he would be laid off.

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Cogzwell

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Carolyn has always been an inspiration to me for many reasons, and I'm super bummed to see her fired. I hope she finds work soon (especially if it was a place I could see her everyday.....)

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BradBrains

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@probablytuna: the people with tenure who probably made the most money?

It's all about numbers and when your numbers near the top corporate takes notice in these situations

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Stimpack

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Horrible news happening to some great people. Just remember this means you'll be moving on to bigger and better things! Can't wait to hear from all of you again.

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wrighteous86

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@csl316 said:
@slag said:

@trafalgarlaw said:

Oh no...not Mary Kish! NOOOOOOOOO! Just say you're okay. :(

Good news duder!

Oh, thank god.

Everything will indeed change, and it's a shame that so soon after Gametrailers we have another site restructuring. Though it's definitely going to wear on the remaining staff for a while.

It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.
It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.

Where is this from?

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TurtleFish

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Good luck to everybody let go.

Ambush layoffs are the worst, if the rumours floating around are true that nobody saw this coming.

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HellknightLeon

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I hate GS. I have for a long time. Just looking at that site and some of the stuff they post makes me grown. I was happy that G4 was cut just for the simple reason that I thought GS would be next. That said... This sucks. I think they picked the wrong people... but who am I to make that call. I don't visit that site. I wish them the best and mean it. I dislike the site but not the people. I know they just do a job. (Also I don't hate the site as much as it seem... I just don't care to find better wording right now.)

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csl316

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@csl316 said:
@slag said:

@trafalgarlaw said:

Oh no...not Mary Kish! NOOOOOOOOO! Just say you're okay. :(

Good news duder!

Oh, thank god.

Everything will indeed change, and it's a shame that so soon after Gametrailers we have another site restructuring. Though it's definitely going to wear on the remaining staff for a while.

It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.
It's been almost two months, GT staffers are still bitter.

Where is this from?

Intro to Kyle Bossman's segment this week.

For a better idea of what Gamespot's feeling right now, go to 2:45 in this one.

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turboman

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Just saw that Justin Calvart and Ryan MacDonald were let go too, I thought those two had a certain tenure at Gamespot. Really sad to hear I was wrong.

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lun49gameon

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I hope they don't lay off the guys from Gamespot Australia because I like some of those people.

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lun49gameon

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So who are the people who are left from the Golden Era of Gamespot??

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warpr

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I only really know Carolyn Petit and Tom McShea from the GameSpot gameplay podcast hosted by Kevin VanOrd. I'm not familiar with their writing, that stuff is dying for a reason :) -- but I'll miss their appearences on the podcast (if that even continues!). I hope they find other places where they get paid to talk about video games, whether that is in writing, audio or video.

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iceman228433

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Wow those are some deep cuts to that sites talent base I feel bad for the them, but thank god Danny was not one of those he is the Franchise.

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Daveyo520

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While it sucks that people are gone I am glad Chris and Danny are still around.

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RTSlord

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MCDONALD MCSHEA AND CALVERT!?!?!?!? NOOOOOOOO

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cmblasko

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Best wishes to all involved. Sounds like a well-liked, talented group of people so hopefully they won't have trouble finding work.

So I guess the future of video game journalism will be YouTube reviews and playthroughs made by people who may or may not be on the payroll of the company who had a part in publishing and/or developing the game.

I don't know, I feel like games journalism in general is becoming less and less deserving of the talent that is within it.

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deactivated-60dda8699e35a

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@turboman said:

Just saw that Justin Calvart and Ryan MacDonald were let go too, I thought those two had a certain tenure at Gamespot. Really sad to hear I was wrong.

No kidding, I'm actually shocked that these guys were let go. They've been there for over fifteen years. I can't even imagine losing a job I've been doing for so long.

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DjTonySnark

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Man, I haven't regularly visited GameSpot in a while, but the people who were laid off were the people I followed.

This doesn't bode well for the future of games coverage, at least outside of Giantbomb. The people who were laid off were the people who actually challenged the medium.

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Hailinel

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@cmblasko said:

Best wishes to all involved. Sounds like a well-liked, talented group of people so hopefully they won't have trouble finding work.

So I guess the future of video game journalism will be YouTube reviews and playthroughs made by people who may or may not be on the payroll of the company who had a part in publishing and/or developing the game.

I don't know, I feel like games journalism in general is becoming less and less deserving of the talent that is within it.

I'm thinking that the era of the monolithic game review site is coming to an end. IGN will probably either go down in flames at the very worst or at least shrink dramatically in the next several years. Coverage will probably become more dependent on smaller sites with more focused interests like Siliconera and small, personality-driven websites like Giant Bomb. As for Youtube, something is going to have to give there, with the tug-of-war between the Youtubers and the game publishers clashing over copyright violations and what is or isn't fair use. I don't think we've seen seen how that side will shake out yet.

There will still be an audience for text articles on games, and an audience for more thoughtful critique and interaction from content that isn't just some guy on Youtube making screeching noises while playing horror games. That sort of content just won't come from monstrous websites like GameSpot.

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two_socks

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Bummer! Lots of big names on that list. Hope all those duders can find a new gig sooner rather than later!

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ottoman673

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#384  Edited By ottoman673

Gonna miss McShea, MacDonald and Calvert. Maxwell was pretty cool the one time he was on that Professional Wednesday show, too.

Didn't really know/follow/care about the rest, but sucks for them too, i suppose.

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TournamentOfHate

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Maxwell was pretty cool the one time he was on that Professional Wednesday show, too.

I think he was one of the first of the Gamespot staff to blend right in with the GB staff, Vinny even commented that when Maxwell & Patrick were looking at Ridiculous Fishing it was just like they were doing a Quick Look. Also Maxwell was pretty much the only write at GS who cared about fighting games.

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Ares42

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This just makes me feel bad about filling out the personality focused survey they've been running lately. Makes it really seems like they were just creating a "hit list" based on user feedback.

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forteexe21

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I haven't been to GS regularly for years but this is still a bummer to wake up to. Hope everyone take a short break and find a better job. This games journalism transition sucks!

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twc353

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People have been throwing around a bunch about how this is about a shift away from written and towards video. On a level, this certainly makes sense with the cuts of Carolyn, Tom, and Maxwell, but there were also 3 video productions people in the layoffs, Tyler, Benito, and Ryan. It looks more like cuts across the board from both long form written and video productions. To me, it looks like a shift away from in house reviews entirely. Thus, they removed the actual editorial folks and the people who produced video reviews doubling down on the smaller more integrated live streams and shows about video games.

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Danteveli

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Now it looks like GameSpot will be just a place to host all their Twitch stuff or something. I'm pretty bummed about it since I have enjoyed most of the content. Hope fired people will find better jobs soon.

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TyCobb

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#390  Edited By TyCobb

Conspiracy theory time! Giant Bomb hired staff; GameSpot laid off staff. Giant Bomb expanding; GameSpot downsizing. Giant Bomb and GameSpot will be consolidated into 1.

God I hope not, but with Giant Bomb being "separate", it makes for easy transition. If GameSpot had just hired a bunch of people and opened offices, then fired senior staff and closed older offices -- all the new folk would immediately be tainted. Seems plausible and makes a little sense. Still hope it is all bullshit, but that's where my mind went.

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TheHT

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@ares42 said:

This just makes me feel bad about filling out the personality focused survey they've been running lately. Makes it really seems like they were just creating a "hit list" based on user feedback.

Yikes!

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kindgineer

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Crazy. Times are a changing it seems. I hope the best for all those affected!

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SharkEthic

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#393  Edited By SharkEthic

Wow, don't go to the GameSpot forum threads about this...what a horrible, HORRIBLE community...

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Christoffer

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#394  Edited By Christoffer

Wow, I did not expect this. The GS staff did seem a tad huge, but those are some pretty heavy names being cut. I guess this means GS will focus on video content, which is understandable in this day and age, I guess. But still, I like a long well-written article or review every now and then.

I hope they all recover quickly.

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Hailinel

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@tycobb said:

Conspiracy theory time! Giant Bomb hired staff; GameSpot laid off staff. Giant Bomb expanding; GameSpot downsizing. Giant Bomb and GameSpot will be consolidated into 1.

God I hope not, but with Giant Bomb being "separate", it makes for easy transition. If GameSpot had just hired a bunch of people and opened offices, then fired senior staff and closed older offices -- all the new folk would immediately be tainted. Seems plausible and makes a little sense. Still hope it is all bullshit, but that's where my mind went.

It's bullshit. The hiring decisions of Giant Bomb have no affect on GameSpot. They operate on separate budgets. Giant Bomb spent the past year proving to CBSi that they were a worthwhile investment, and it's started paying off in terms of the ability to hire a couple of employees and get the staff at external offices some new equipment. This budget was determined well in advance and had no impact on CBSi slashing jobs at another web site.

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killroycantkill

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Woah they laid off Ryan McDonald?! That dudes been there forever.

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Hunter5024

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With the exception of Kevin Vanord, Shaun Mcinnis, and Danny O Dwyer you just listed everyone I know who works at Gamespot. What a damn shame.

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AngeTheDude

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Wow, don't go to the GameSpot forum threads about this...what a horrible, HORRIBLE community...

It's easy to see why quality editorials wouldn't be appreciated over there.

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TyCobb

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@hailinel said:

@tycobb said:

Conspiracy theory time! Giant Bomb hired staff; GameSpot laid off staff. Giant Bomb expanding; GameSpot downsizing. Giant Bomb and GameSpot will be consolidated into 1.

God I hope not, but with Giant Bomb being "separate", it makes for easy transition. If GameSpot had just hired a bunch of people and opened offices, then fired senior staff and closed older offices -- all the new folk would immediately be tainted. Seems plausible and makes a little sense. Still hope it is all bullshit, but that's where my mind went.

It's bullshit. The hiring decisions of Giant Bomb have no affect on GameSpot. They operate on separate budgets. Giant Bomb spent the past year proving to CBSi that they were a worthwhile investment, and it's started paying off in terms of the ability to hire a couple of employees and get the staff at external offices some new equipment. This budget was determined well in advance and had no impact on CBSi slashing jobs at another web site.

Companies do this all the time though. It is not unheard of. You said it yourself the budget was determined well in advance. You think it isn't plausible that GameSpot's budget was being determined at the same time? 99% chance it is the same person/team approving the budget for both sites. My post was more of joke, but as I wrote it, it made more sense because I have seen it happen before.