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Controversy Leaves Game Sites In Jeopardy
- GigaOm, Friday, December 7, 2007 11:30 AM
Niche publishers always walk a fine line between the editorial and promotional sides of the business, and right now there's an interesting bit of controversy happening to video game publisher
Gamespot.com. Last week, long-time Gamespot editor Jeff Gertsmann was fired after giving a harsh review to "Kane & Lynch: Dead Man," a high-profile title from Eidos Interactive, one of
Gamespot's biggest advertisers. Gamespot owner CNET fervently denies the firing has anything to do with the review, but the industry is asking questions.
Video game sites walk that fine
line between advertising and editorial content. For example, game publishers can purchase more editorial prominence for their titles. They also track users' editorial preferences and sell those to
advertisers. All this amounts to advertisers having considerable sway over the content Gamespot users consume.
To prevent a user exodus, video game sites need to consolidate--preferably by merging with larger publishers that aren't dependent on game advertising.
