I was debating whether to comment on the whole Gerstmann/GameSpot issue, and I think I’ve decided I need to at least make a brief suggestion here. If you’re not familiar with the situation, senior editor at GameSpot Jeff Gerstmann was fired last week. Now, no official details have been released as to why, but some people began speculating that it was due to a poor review of Kane and Lynch that he had written, while the website was covered in expensive Kane and Lynch ads by Eidos.

When the story first broke, I saw some sites responsibly reporting on Jeff’s firing, and the rumored reason for it. However, as is wont to happen on the internet, it didn’t take long for “rumor” to be interpreted as “fact”, and “might be the reason he got fired” became “is the reason he got fired.”

And now gamers are organizing boycotts and protests of GameSpot and all sorts of ridiculous measures of some noble crusade.

Except it still hasn’t been confirmed that Jeff was fired due to a negative review and pressure from an advertiser.

Now don’t get wrong, it is entirely possible that that is the reason. It certainly sounds plausible, and we all like to think that’s how every “big business” operates. And if it is the case, then it certainly has some very serious ramifications for the gaming media as a whole. But I just think it might be a wiser course of action to wait for some actual facts before creating this huge stink about things. Because otherwise a lot of people are going to feel awful stupid if it turns out to be something else.

I’m almost hoping it is the reason he was fired. At this point people have exploded it into some huge conspiracy, so what happens if he was fired over something embarrassing, like downloading porn on the work computer, or stealing office supplies? And now, due to the blast of exposure the situation has gotten, GameSpot has to divulge those details in order to curtail the negative spin that’s been created? Whereas Jeff could have been let go quietly and gone on to another job, now he’s being called The Paperclip Pilferer. Just a scenario, but still.

All I’m saying is maybe wait for some facts on the issue before you start mobilizing blackouts of GameSpot and stuff. There’ll be plenty of time for that once some solid information has been confirmed.

And that’s all I’m going to say on the subject.

Thank you to everyone who has registered for Digital Overload 2008 so far. Aside from the lower badge price and t-shirt you get for registering early, it also helps us get an idea of what our overall attendance is going to look like, so we can start on the floorplans and such. And so far it definitely looks like we’ll be experiencing some growth from last year. I’ll be announcing some new tournaments this week as well.

So now you have until December 31st to register for the $45 badge price, and you can still get a t-shirt for an extra $5 before then as well. January 1st the prices for both badge and t-shirt go up by $5, so register soon!

Those two new t-shirts I announced on Friday are sold out already (well we still have a few Church of Gaming shirts in small), but I’m told SplitReason is working on printing some more ASAP. Just keep an eye out if you’re still looking to grab one.