In honor of the official launch of Giant Bomb, I thought it only proper that my first blog post reflect on one of its founding members, Jeff Gerstmann.  I’m not sure if this qualifies as an ode, a tribute, a roast, or something else, but it has been written in good fun and I’m sure that anyone who is familiar with the man will understand and identify.  So without further ado,

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Jeff Gerstmann must be some kind of trust fund baby with a super secret Swiss bank account somewhere?  Either that or he just made way more money working at GameSpot than anybody thought.  Ever listen to him talk about all the stupid, obscure, and expensive stuff that he’s bought over the years?  Don’t get me wrong, I love the guy.  I think he’s awesome.  But jeez.  He’s bought pretty much every game system known to man (even when he knew going in that they were lame *cough* Sega 32X), duplicate copies of many games on different systems, import Japanese games, a bomb-ass computer, a laptop, a camcorder, a bitchin TV, and a Japanese Dual Shock 3 controller that probably cost him somewhere in the neighborhood of $100.  By his own admission, he paid $1200 for a Neo-Geo copy of Mark of the Wolves that he played once and now “sits on a shelf.”  He even considered buying a Street Fighter IV arcade game for $2600, sans cabinet!

As a member of the gaming press, I’m sure a lot of the stuff he buys is for research purposes, but if that was the case then he would just use the company credit card for most of this stuff and it would stay at the office.  I’ll be the first one to admit its none of my business, I just think its hilarious.  And to top it all off, he lives in southern California, where the cost of living is about 20-30% higher than the rest of the country (except for maybe New York).  I used to work in the mortgage industry and was assigned a large region in Cali, so I can confirm that real estate (among other things like gas) are downright insane out there.

But in the end, I must thank him.  He is arguably the most knowledgeable, dorky, crazy, and dedicated guy in all of gaming; to quote Ryan Davis, a video game savant.  Its because of his encyclopedic wisdom, insight, and utmost need to absorb every possible experience in the gaming world that makes him such an interesting guy to listen to every week and why people will continue to follow his work wherever he goes for years to come.  He, along with many other present and former GameSpotters, made me realize that you can be comfortable and proud to be a video game dork as an adult.  By bringing mature (not really) intelligence and analysis to the table, you are able to enjoy games on a completely different, and in some ways even more enjoyable, level.  Reading their reviews and listening to them every week not only helped to bring out my expressive side, but also re-ignited in me a passion for video games that I haven’t experienced since I was a semi-finalist in the Cleveland round of the 1990 Nintendo World Championships when I was 10 years old.

So Jeff, I would like to salute you, say thank you for your madness, and congratulate you on embarking on this new venture.  You make the gaming press fun and keep us informed on all the happenings, no matter how obscure or expensive or ridiculously insane they may be.  We are all extremely excited about what is to come with you, Ryan, Brad, and Vinny at the helm!