Since the firing of reviews editor Jeff Gerstmann from GameSpot, the game’s website has taken heavy criticism for the way it handled the situation. But GameSpot has a new editor in chief now and he says that he wants to defend the integrity of his website and retain the readerships’ confidence again.
Ricardo Torres spoke to gamedaily and talked about the Gerstmann incident and what he wants to do to change things in 2008.
Torres expressed shock at the incidents leading up to the firing of Jeff Gerstmann.
"We were all pretty taken aback and surprised by how it all went down. … Hindsight’s always 20/20, and I think we’ve made it clear that we would have loved to have done things differently, but dwelling on it isn’t going to help things. … Our goal really is to just acknowledge what happened, that we’re bummed about it, but we do still need to take Gamespot forward. … Ultimately content is going to prove to people that we’re untainted, uncorrupt and committed to serving our readers."
He said he was committed to regain the trust and confidence of his readership. Torres acknowledged that some people have left with the intent of never returning but he was asking for those who were still open minded to give his site another chance.
"I want to make the site better, I want to regain that trust people have lost in us – those that are willing to give us a chance. For some people it’s ‘never again,’ and that’s fine. If people want to walk away and just not trust the site, that’s their right. But those that are willing to give it a shot, just keep an eye on things, because I think there’s a lot of potential here still."
Whether or not GameSpot can regain its lost audience is debatable at this time. But one thing remains clear–any further firings of personnel will definitely be handled differently from now on.
[via gamedaily]
