And Now... The Rest Of The Story

@Johnny5: Is there footage of that? I wasn't really watching the stuff they did at the time (more of a 1UP man).

@YukoAsho said:

@Xeiphyer said:

Everyone just needs to remember that Gamespot isn't a bad place, it was one bad dude and a bad situation that started all that drama years ago, and he got fired 6 months later. A lot of people forget that prior to that incident, the GB crew were all working there together being crazy.

Exactly. This isn't the death knell of Giant Bomb. This is Jeff Gerstmann's final vindication. He's strolling back into the building as the victor, and Josh Larson or whatever his name is will likely never run a popular website again.

Jeff won. And he did it through hard work and integrity.

This is a great way to put it. Although people need to know he's not a victor over Gamespot, but to management who screwed him. Gamespot was always on his side. Anyone who watched Ryan Mcdonald basically break down on live air knew that (hell I was close to doing it too lol). Although the content has definitely suffered since they've left, I've never had anything against Gamespot and to hold a grudge against them is pretty malaligned.

@Xeiphyer said:

Everyone just needs to remember that Gamespot isn't a bad place, it was one bad dude and a bad situation that started all that drama years ago, and he got fired 6 months later. A lot of people forget that prior to that incident, the GB crew were all working there together being crazy.

Exactly. This isn't the death knell of Giant Bomb. This is Jeff Gerstmann's final vindication. He's strolling back into the building as the victor, and Josh Larson or whatever his name is will likely never run a popular website again.

Jeff won. And he did it through hard work and integrity.

@JakJ said:

To all the bitching newbies: I'm someone who got to know these guys listening to The Hotspot w/ Rich Gallup. I've been a member on GB since day one, and I think this change is both good and exciting. Jeff and (most) of the crew have come back to the place where their careers began.

The old ignorant management is gone. I don't think the guys would be so down with this deal if they didn't think it would help expand what they've been doing for the last 4 years. I for one am excited and looking forward to the future of Giant Bomb.

These guys have passed the test of time (in Jeff's case almost two decades); they love video games. Anyone who thinks that they'd change all that over night is retarded.

Yeah, if people haven't figured out who the fuck these people are, they're high. Jeff Gerstmann, Ryan Davis, Vinny Caravella, Alex Navarro may rub me the wrong way at times, but they're honest and have all sorts of integrity. If anyone thinks that Jeff and Co. wouldn't start over again if CBS tried anything funny, they're out of their minds. I can't see how anyone on this site doesn't understand who these people are.

@Marokai said:

@UnrealDP: I'm amazed that people are really this naive on this. Having faith in Giant Bomb and the bomb crew has nothing to do with this. If there is ever conflict between CBSi and Giant Bomb, the former wins, and wins every time. There's nothing Giant Bomb can say or do to truly protect their independence except make empty, completely powerless promises to fool the gullible people of their audience into thinking that everything will always and forever be the same. It can't possibly end up like that. Things are going to change, they're going to change negatively, and it's only a matter of time until that happens. I love Giant Bomb, but they have very little to do with it at the end of the day. They can't do anything about it.

Whoa, I just got back from Saint Patties and this is how you treat me internet? Oi!

Well, I think you're taking some pretty big leaps here, mate. It's not like we know what they signed or how they signed it, for all we know, they could of sold their souls or they could of signed for full creative freedom. All we know is what we've been told by the GB guys and I'm not so jaded as to jump to the conclusion that they're ham-fistedly lying to our collective faces.

Things are going to change, they're going to change negatively, and it's only a matter of time until that happens.

Way to be optimistic, man! I bet saying things like that will totally help! I bet if we all just accepted the harsh "reality" you just conceived, it'd actually be helping anything! Sarcasm!

Bottom line, if you really believe that, then what the hell is moping around and bring others down going to do about it? For christ's sake, man. You could at least except your "reality" quietly and not try to bring others down, too.

Well the gamespot uk podcast needs to up its game now as it had become an annoying flaky affair lacking in decent humour. I would love to see Jane and Guy guesting in the GB podcast though; Alex can remain in the backroom editorial staff where he should be. The GB podcast is the model that all other podcasts should be measured on!!!

btw, there are no certainties in life. people need to take managed risks in order to grow. is there anything protecting GB completely from interference from CBSi? most likely there isn't, unless the CBSi guys are beyond retarded, I mean then technically there would be nothing stopping this site to put up illegal material and CBSi as a parent company would be held responsible ultimately - it isn't realistic that a major corporation would sign something like this. but there was also not a damn thing protecting them from interference from Shelby Bonnie either.

remember Jeff talking about how there were multiple other 'bidders' for GB but they didn't go with them? this is what he was talking about. they took a hard look at all of them, and decided that a company like BB would carry a far higher risk than CBSi when it comes to interfering with content. considering the apocalyptic shitstorm gamespot went through in 2007, I'm in really serious doubts that there's any risk on this front btw. but even if there was, like I said, they can always bail.

@Marokai: I said this in another thread, but CBSi bought GB, not Jeff or Ryan or anyone else. Unless you think that these guys lost integrity since 2007 (which would be pretty ridiculous), then wouldn't it make more sense for them to bail if CBSi started pulling shenanigans? They've done the same when management last tried to fuck with their creative control, and founded this website. Btw, when this happened, the content they produced was still beyond awesome. Unless you can give me a good reason why, after 15 odd years they'd lose their passion and integrity for this line of work all of a sudden, I don't have any reason to expect them to do anything but either produce the same or better quality content than before, or bail and become independent again.

@Marokai said:

@UnrealDP: I'm amazed that people are really this naive on this. Having faith in Giant Bomb and the bomb crew has nothing to do with this. If there is ever conflict between CBSi and Giant Bomb, the former wins, and wins every time. There's nothing Giant Bomb can say or do to truly protect their independence except make empty, completely powerless promises to fool the gullible people of their audience into thinking that everything will always and forever be the same. It can't possibly end up like that. Things are going to change, they're going to change negatively, and it's only a matter of time until that happens. I love Giant Bomb, but they have very little to do with it at the end of the day. They can't do anything about it.

If they and CBSi signed legal paper work giving GB creative control, they certainly can protect their independence. It all depends on how the deal was structured. Given they said they have creative control over the site just yesterday, there is good reason to think that is the case. Unless of course your just saying they lied.

To all the bitching newbies: I'm someone who got to know these guys listening to The Hotspot w/ Rich Gallup. I've been a member on GB since day one, and I think this change is both good and exciting. Jeff and (most) of the crew have come back to the place where their careers began.

The old ignorant management is gone. I don't think the guys would be so down with this deal if they didn't think it would help expand what they've been doing for the last 4 years. I for one am excited and looking forward to the future of Giant Bomb.

These guys have passed the test of time (in Jeff's case almost two decades); they love video games. Anyone who thinks that they'd change all that over night is retarded.

I guess I'll throw my two cents into this thread.

I like Jeff. And the GB crew. I still remember all the hoopla that came from when Jeff got fired. It wasn't quite as ridiculous as what happened to 1UP, but I recall thinking it was big news and being angry. It's always been a bit of a general anger towards "the man". Corporate entities I didn't really know who changed things I loved in a way I didn't like.

I never really blamed Gamespot, I mean my general "eh" feeling towards them didn't change. I like a lot of their writers and staff, but I'm not a huge fan of their design and how they run reviews and things, but they're not IGN or anything (oh snap).

What really came off from the whole divorce was that when you put young or traditional management in charge of something independent and awesome, it gets ruined. Jeff is an editor who likes "Real Talk" and that scares marketers. I think that's the core of a lot of people's worries about this deal. People are worried that once GB has a larger corporate backing that some of the magic will be workshopped out because large corporations still run websites by page views and ad revenues and not by building a community of loyal fans.

I like that GB will be closer to Gamestop and can have their friends on the quick looks and podcasts. Gallup was always fun and I like Davison's dry, British sense of humor. My only concern is CBSi. Mainly because they are an unknown entity to me. I don't know who runs them, I don't know their practices and I don't know how they will react to whatever craziness Vinny, Jeff and Ryan can come up with a tricaster and a giant greenscreen. Someone there is smart enough to realize GB is great otherwise this deal wouldn't have been made, but not everyone in a corporate environment will "get" Happy Hour or Luchadeer or Uh Uh Uh Uh Uh Uh, and I worry that someone with the power to effect GB's funding now will take one look at them and ask "Why are we paying for these crazy assholes?" instead of saying "I love these crazy assholes! Lets send them to Leipzig!"

That's about it I guess. Giant Bomb is full of cool guys, Gamespot is full of cool guys, CBSi has at least one cool guy, probably more. And Jeff gets to eat more curry. So far everyone wins.

@Branthog said:

Do you know what the talent at one FM radio station said when CBS took them over?

Hurrah! We have more resources, now! And more stability! And health insurance! And more money! And more advertising dollars! And we'll eventually get a better studio! And we'll get an even larger audience! This is what we've been working so hard for so many years for and our effort is finally being rewarded!

Less than one year later, every single on-air talent was exhausted and beaten down and betrayed and eventually fired and most of the off-air staff were fired and the station underwent a new imaging campaign and really douchey (like, would repulse Howard Stern) radio guys from across the country were brought in to replace everyone. Less than a year after *that*, those people were fired, almost all of the staff remaining was fired, the station became an FM simulcast for the AM sister-station's right-wing blow-hards, and the radio station's building was bulldozed. (This was a thirty-year old power-house of a station with a huge reputation broadcasting out of one of the top markets).

So, the lesson to learn here is that the talent has less input than you think, the talent often is kept more in the dark than you think, and just because employees buy into the "hey guys, stuff is gonna be thuper awethome over here!" pitch from the new parent company doesn't make it true. Are you going to badmouth your new employer? Are you going to tell the employees from your new acquisition the truth, when you might not have everything planned out just yet and you might still need them in some capacity? Of course not.

See "Burned" for more... Mate, it's looking like you've already made up your mind, but don't be like this. Look at how GameSpot was before any of this even happened. Everything was great and they were honest with the community and given lots of freedom. There was a mistake, but now they're back and here you are being as negative as possible about how this could turn out. It could go totally bad and the GB guys could just be lying to our faces to try and herd us into their new evil overlords, but hey, I'm not gonna try and see that. The GB guys are saying it's not like that and seem genuinely happy. They've always been super honest with the community and they haven't betrayed our trust before. You can be this way and try to put everyone around you down, or you can maybe try to support the GB guys and the community instead of trying to spread the hate.

I'm a bit late, but. We'll follow you through the gates of hell my lord!

@UnrealDP said:

@Branthog said:

@UnrealDP said:

Yay for change! Duders, you've got my full confidence 'n all that! It's not like some corporation's gonna change my faith in your guys's judgment. Hell, If I had any doubts, I probably would've bailed a while ago. In it to win it, amigos!

Their judgement? You ralize Shelby Bonnie owned Whiskey Media, right? Even though some of them may have had a small stake in it, it's not like it was their decision as to it being sold and in the face of one of the largest corporations on the planet, there is nothing they can do if things start to turn for the worse, except quit (which would be silly in an industry where, you know, jobs are precious).

You sound burned as hell, mate. The guys have been saying it's not like that, so I believe them. It's hard to keep skepticism at bay and what not, but that doesn't mean we should just turn our backs on what the GB guys have been saying this whole time and write off their judgment and opinions. These are the guys that've been keeping this site awesome for years now and I got nothing but respect for them like the most of us, so why does everyone suddenly distrust them and assign their word with null meaning? At least pretend to have some trust in GB, duder.

Do you know what the talent at one FM radio station said when CBS took them over?

Hurrah! We have more resources, now! And more stability! And health insurance! And more money! And more advertising dollars! And we'll eventually get a better studio! And we'll get an even larger audience! This is what we've been working so hard for so many years for and our effort is finally being rewarded!

Less than one year later, every single on-air talent was exhausted and beaten down and betrayed and eventually fired and most of the off-air staff were fired and the station underwent a new imaging campaign and really douchey (like, would repulse Howard Stern) radio guys from across the country were brought in to replace everyone. Less than a year after *that*, those people were fired, almost all of the staff remaining was fired, the station became an FM simulcast for the AM sister-station's right-wing blow-hards, and the radio station's building was bulldozed. (This was a thirty-year old power-house of a station with a huge reputation broadcasting out of one of the top markets).

So, the lesson to learn here is that the talent has less input than you think, the talent often is kept more in the dark than you think, and just because employees buy into the "hey guys, stuff is gonna be thuper awethome over here!" pitch from the new parent company doesn't make it true. Are you going to badmouth your new employer? Are you going to tell the employees from your new acquisition the truth, when you might not have everything planned out just yet and you might still need them in some capacity? Of course not.

This might be a unique situation. This might be on the up-and-up. However, that is almost never the case in these situations. The audience is almost never told the truth and the talent is often mislead and lied to.

I'm hoping this is one of those exceptions, though, because I'm a huge fan of Jeff (and the others, for that matter) and I don't know where else I would call "home" gaming-wise on the internet.

@Branthog said:

@UnrealDP said:

Yay for change! Duders, you've got my full confidence 'n all that! It's not like some corporation's gonna change my faith in your guys's judgment. Hell, If I had any doubts, I probably would've bailed a while ago. In it to win it, amigos!

Their judgement? You ralize Shelby Bonnie owned Whiskey Media, right? Even though some of them may have had a small stake in it, it's not like it was their decision as to it being sold and in the face of one of the largest corporations on the planet, there is nothing they can do if things start to turn for the worse, except quit (which would be silly in an industry where, you know, jobs are precious).

You sound burned as hell, mate. The guys have been saying it's not like that, so I believe them. It's hard to keep skepticism at bay and what not, but that doesn't mean we should just turn our backs on what the GB guys have been saying this whole time and write off their judgment and opinions. These are the guys that've been keeping this site awesome for years now and I got nothing but respect for them like the most of us, so why does everyone suddenly distrust them and assign their word with null meaning? At least pretend to have some trust in GB, duder.

I don't like CBS. I don't like GameSpot (they're the poster child for shitty ad-oriented, unfocused, backwards design). And even if GB gets fucked (which I hope it won't), I'll continue to be a Gerstmann fan.

@GozerTC said:

All I have to say is I can't WAIT to see the crazy house the Giant Bomb crew rent out for E3 with CBSi money! :)

Seriously guys bigger bar, bigger interview area, more couches! :)

You're joking, right? CBS is a tightwad. Drop in to your local CBS-owned radio station or television news room.

All I have to say is I can't WAIT to see the crazy house the Giant Bomb crew rent out for E3 with CBSi money! :)

Seriously guys bigger bar, bigger interview area, more couches! :)

@Norusdog said:

um..so a game review/news site....is now part of a game review/news site.

and this is a good thing? talk about overkill.

whatever...bets on how long it takes for giant bomb to be completely absorbed into Gamespot.

You really need to understand the difference between CBSi and Gamespot. Hint: one is a large company that owns the other.

To be honest I was also a little curious why Ryan left Gamespot. No real surprise form this interview. I can't wait to see how much improve the site will be ... Jeff looks real exited to do this.

This video made me a little less queasy to the move. It took some days for me to finally watch it, life got in the way, but it was pleasing to see Jeff talk about what's happened, and is happening. I mean, I know he has to smile and grin for the things that are going on, but I am sure at least he is alright with what's happening. I wonder what bodega thinks about all this, not that his opinion matters.

um..so a game review/news site....is now part of a game review/news site.

and this is a good thing? talk about overkill.

whatever...bets on how long it takes for giant bomb to be completely absorbed into Gamespot.

No surprise, it's what we all thought. It's nice to have confirmation. I did think for awhile that there may have been more to the story, but it turns out not to be the case. Just a mix of inexperienced management not knowing what to do about standard industry complaints. I'm just glad it worked out all for the best with the GiantBomb team, and expect that things will only get better from here on out.

I've always loved Giant Bomb because it's just 2 or 3 or 4 dudes sitting in a room playing a game (hopefully it's a terrible one, more entertaining!) and just hanging out. The star wars galaxies and matrix quick looks are awesome. It never struck me as their 'job' to do this, just that they are hanging out with some friends playing some games.. and that's awesome.

If gamespot/cbs ruins that feeling i'll be very disappointed.

Very very nice to actually get that whole story straight out like that, I pretty much knew everything already but like you said Jeff, it was blown way out of proportion! Always more to it, isn't it... Glad you guys made this move! Congrats!

I just have a bad feeling about this whole move. I guess we will see how it goes in the future.

This sounds promising! I trust the Giantbomb guys, even with this big decision :) Wish them all the best!

That Gamespot green screen set is terrible. I wish they would go back to a real set. Nice to see the story being told as it gives some perspective of how the site worked back then.

Wow. This is so strange that Gamespot will effectively own two separate video game websites. I know that the creative content of Giant Bomb will supposedly not be influenced by Gamespot but I still find it very strange that there will be two separate sites owned by Gamespot which are both reviewing games and most likely be posting different scores for the same games. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely hope that Giantbomb remains as great as it has always been, but I'm just curious what Gamespot's long term motives are for acquiring Giantbomb.

I am glad that Jeff can finally tell the story of what actually happened with his dismissal from Gamespot. Now we can all put it to rest and the speculation can end.

Wow. This is so strange that Gamespot will effectively own two separate video game websites. I know that the creative content of Giant Bomb will supposedly not be influenced by Gamespot but I still find it very strange that there will be two separate sites owned by Gamespot which are both reviewing games and most likely be posting different scores for the same games. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely hope that Giantbomb remains as great as it has always been, but I'm just curious what Gamespot's long term motives are for acquiring Giantbomb.

I am glad that Jeff can finally tell the story of what actually happened with his dismissal from Gamespot. Now we can all put it to rest and the speculation can end.

You can count me in guys. I was surprised to hear about this at first. However, after listening to the reasoning behind all of this, it sounds like a wise decision.

@Hailinel said:

@DayOneAdvantage said:

Does Gamespot actually own Giantbomb now? The reason I ask is that I imagine there could be some pretty intense conflicts arising in the future. For example,if the GB gang will be considered Gamespot staff, I suppose that Ryan will have to surrender his "largest man-tits in the office" trophy to Carolyn Petit. Unless they consider surgery to be a disqualification. Regardless of this possible technicality, I bet Alex's "man with the biggest vagina" belt will remain safe either way.

No, GameSpot does not own Giant Bomb. They are separate entities that both share a common owner, CBS Interactive. Neither answers to the other.

Pretty much. CBS isn't dumb, either. They probably wanted the extra manpower, to say nothing of any possible site tech CBS can use in other places.

And CBS has been a lot more hands-off than Gamespot's previous management. They'll be fine.

@DayOneAdvantage said:

Does Gamespot actually own Giantbomb now? The reason I ask is that I imagine there could be some pretty intense conflicts arising in the future. For example,if the GB gang will be considered Gamespot staff, I suppose that Ryan will have to surrender his "largest man-tits in the office" trophy to Carolyn Petit. Unless they consider surgery to be a disqualification. Regardless of this possible technicality, I bet Alex's "man with the biggest vagina" belt will remain safe either way.

No, GameSpot does not own Giant Bomb. They are separate entities that both share a common owner, CBS Interactive. Neither answers to the other.

Great video, although it was still really surreal to see Jeff shaking Davison's hand. Very happy to hear Jeff say they want to not change GB but make it better, great to hear him praising the community, and good to finally get closure on the whole "Gerstmann-gate" thing. In all honesty I thought we'd probably never quite know that story, especially not this soon.

Does Gamespot actually own Giantbomb now? The reason I ask is that I imagine there could be some pretty intense conflicts arising in the future. For example,if the GB gang will be considered Gamespot staff, I suppose that Ryan will have to surrender his "largest man-tits in the office" trophy to Carolyn Petit. Unless they consider surgery to be a disqualification. Regardless of this possible technicality, I bet Alex's "man with the biggest vagina" belt will remain safe either way.

"the rest of the story" didn't really add much of anything, despite it being a 25+ minute video. Everybody already knew everything that was revealed here, I guess actually confirming it is SOMETHING at least. Still, I was hoping to get more details behind the events. Jeff really glossed over being called into meetings by just saying "heated words were exchanged". I realize that Gamespot now either owns or as at least partners with your boss, but if the people responsible for your firing don't work for Gamespot anymore, why not say what was said? If they told you to change your tone in the reviews, or god forbid increase your review scores, now is the time to say so. Conversation details should be listed if you are going to say that this video was meant to reveal anything, or provide closure. Things must have been pretty damned bad if Brad, Vinny, Alex(even though he had a Harmonix job before joining WM), Rory, all left. There were also several GS employess that quit that didn't join WM. Hell, didn't Ryan announce his girlfriend had given birth very close to his leaving? He left a steady paycheck with a new child for a reason, right? Details as to what was said would be really nice. I know we aren't entitled to anything, but if you are going to make a long ass video claiming to spill the beans, I wish it wasn't full of Jeff talking to someone who wasn't even at Gamespot during any of the time Jeff worked there, and nearly the entire length of the conversation is Jeff saying how great Gamespot is and they aren't bad people. I mean if Dave wanted to sell out to the highest bidder, and that bidder was a company that didn't want Jeff around, and nearly every other GB member flat out didn't want to work there, that's his business, and that's the risk you take when you let Whiskey take control, but to pretend this video provides any closure on anything is disingenuous. But hey, if all the membership money, donations, huge increase in ads, and store merch isn't paying the bills for uploading videos to Youtube, I guess the operating income has to come from somewhere. At least Kevin VanOrd won't be alone as the only good Gamespot staffer anymore. *Im sure this will all be a huge wall of text, as usual when I post in multiple paragraphs here. Not my fault, I spaced it correctly, Giantbomb's post system always does this to me.

I thinks thats a bunch of bs but it is what it is i just hope things stay the same and dont go crappy like gamespot.

Baller. Jeff gets fired by some bastards, goes and makes an even better site, and then returns victorious four years later. The bastards are gone, Jeff is back, and Gamespot has to kiss the ring! I guess now we know who IS in charge, and who IS NOT in charge.

Jeff even took the high road about the crap that they put him through back in 2007. Classy. That's how it's done, kids.

Great business move. This will give Giantbomb more to work with... however... Im scared of GB eventually fading away in the Gamespot clutch... im not saying it WILL happen, Im just nervous... cuz I love these guys

I'm with you every step of the way Jeff

@Alazoral said:

I can't believe they use that chintzy virtual set non-ironically over there. It's like from a T&E bit or something.

I'm waiting for this to all turn out to be one big Cinco ad.

I am totally panicking right now. Mostly because I thought Whiskey was doing really well.

@Zatoichi_Sanjuro said:

Who needs two gaming websites? IGN and 1UP, that turned out well didn't it?

Indeed. Anyone who thinks that Giantbomb will remain an independent part of Gamespot is deluded! All that CBS are doing is removing a more innovative competitor!

This was so awkward and depressing to watch :(

@Grimluck343 said:

I was ready to be angry and call them sellouts. Then I saw the hardcore Dave t-shirt. All is forgiven. Good luck.

They aren't sellouts anyway, they made a very good decision.

I can't believe they use that chintzy virtual set non-ironically over there. It's like from a T&E bit or something.

Good to see all that getting cleared out.

I'm coming along for the ride, and I hope it's going to get even crazier!

Not gonna lie, I threw a bit of a fit reading that there announcement. But I think y'all have your priorities secure. Giantbomb is awesome, and as long as it's awesome, I'm with ya.

Just promise me you'll stay away from Kotaku. Yeah? Ok we good.