GAMESPOT

'GameSpot' is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks, the current owner of GameSpot. GameSpot.com is currently one of the 200 highest-trafficked websites according to Alexa.
In addition to the content produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. The forums are partially shared with those on GameFAQs, another website owned by CNET.

History

At launch, the site focused exclusively on PC games. Its sister site, VideoGameSpot.com, was launched in December 1996 to cover console games. In 1997, VideoGameSpot.com became VideoGames.com for a short period, and by 1998, the PC and console sections were united at GameSpot.com.^[2]
On October 3, 2005, GameSpot adopted a new design similar to that of TV.com, now considered a sister site to GameSpot.^[3]

International history

GameSpot UK (United Kingdom) was started in October 1997 by Ian Howie, Asher Rospigliosi and Suzie Daniels (née Rundle).^[4] In 1999, the site's team was expanded to include Laura Jenner, Russ Willis, John Houlihan, and Justin Calvert. The site operated until mid-2002, offering Europe-oriented content which often differed from that of the US site. During this period, GameSpot UK won the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website,^[5] and was short listed in 2001.^[6] Following the purchase of ZDNet by CNET, GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, GameSpot UK was relaunched, and was edited by Phil Elliott (who left in July 2007), with Guy Cocker as Features Editor and Emma Boyes as news editor.^[7] Of the former staff, Laura Jenner became site manager, Russell Willis became art editor, and Justin Calvert is an editor working at the main GameSpot office in San Francisco.
In a similar fashion, GameSpot AU (Australia) existed on a local scale in the late 90s with Australian-produced reviews. It ceased in 2003. It was initially edited by Ed Dawson and later Alex Kidman. When a local version of the main CNET portal, CNET.com.au (of which Kidman was also editor) was launched in 2003, Gamespot.com.au content was folded into CNET.com.au. The site was fully re-launched mid 2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings in AUD, Australian release dates, and more local news. Currently Randolph Ramsay is the editor of GameSpot AU.

Main site

In 2004, GameSpot won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show''.^[8] Other gaming websites such as IGN, 1UP.com, and GameSpy have been their biggest rivals.
GameSpot's main page has links to the latest news, reviews, previews, and portals for the following platforms: PC, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS. It also includes a list of the most popular games on the site and a search engine for users to track down games of interest.
GameSpot also covers the following platforms to a lesser extent: Xbox, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Neo Geo Pocket Color, N-Gage, Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance and mobile games, among others.

Personalities

With the introduction of GameSpot Live, readers were introduced to some of the staff working at GameSpot who write the features and reviews for the site. Current staff who can be seen on GameSpot's broadcasts or whose work can be read on the site include: Jeff Gerstmann, Alex Navarro, Andrew Park, Ryan Davis, Brad Shoemaker, Brian Ekberg, Jason Ocampo, Aaron Thomas, Justin Calvert, Ricardo Torres, Ryan Macdonald, Tor Thorsen, Brendan Sinclair, and many more.
Over the years veteran editors and staff members of GameSpot have left to do other things:

★ 'Bob Colayco' left GameSpot in 2006 and joined Blizzard Entertainment.

★ 'Carrie Gouskos' was a features editor who did reviews occasionally and left to develop games for EA Mythic.

★ 'Greg Kasavin' was the executive editor and site director of GameSpot who left the site in 2007 to become a game developer. Kasavin wrote in a blog that he is now an associate producer for EA Los Angeles.^[9]

★ 'Tim Surette' the news editor moved to sister site Tv.com

★ 'Greg Mueller' departed from GameSpot to pursue other interests.

★ 'Rich Gallup' was the host of all the media content on GameSpot (Hotspot, On The Spot, Button Mashing, Tournament TV) but left July 27, 2007.

Features

GameSpot has separate sections for the current most popular consoles, as well as for the PC platform. There are other separate sections for various features such as reviews, previews, news, cheats, videos, tech, and downloads. GameSpot is well known for its original features, such as ''GameSpotting'', a conglomeration of staff editorials usually posted on Sundays, but was replaced in June 17, 2005 by a new feature called ''Freeplay'',^[10] a daily editorial in which a GameSpot editor writes about games, beginning his or her editorial with the last paragraph of the previous editorial. In turn, ''Freeplay'' later ceased to operate in this way, and began using the same system as GameSpotting had.^[11]

''On the Spot''

''On the Spot'' is a weekly talk show which airs live every Thursday at 4PM Pacific time for all members of GameSpot to watch. This show takes questions from the live audience who are online watching on GameSpot.com. The show is hosted by Jeff Gerstmann (until recently Rich Gallup) and Ryan Davis, with the rest of the GameSpot staff they play, preview, review, and interview the people and things of games. Recently ''On the Spot'' shifted from standard full screen viewing to widescreen. The show runs a basic template of events; the show starts out with Ryan Davis giving an overview of what will be covered on the show. The video clip (e.g. a clip from a special event, a GameSpot feature, etc) will then usually be shown. The main section of the show features the editors demoing upcoming games, occasionally with a guest from a development company showing the game. Towards the end of the show trivia prizes are given away. Each show runs for about 60 minutes; however there are occasions where some shows go over or under that set time. The show first aired on June 24, 2004.^[12]
On the July 19, 2007 show, On the Spot host Rich Gallup announced that he would be leaving GameSpot. On the July 26, 2007 show, the Senior Gamespot editors said their taped farewells to Gallup before he was shown a surprise montage; which chronologized his time at Gamespot. The crew were shown applauding - what sounded like - a tearful Gallup afterwards, yet the camera did not show Gallup; perhaps as a sign of respect for his on-screen composure during his four years on the show. Jeff Gerstmann has taken his place.

Best and Worst

Every year, GameSpot holds the Best and Worst of the Year awards, which recognize achievements in the gaming industry, positive and negative (in the form of "Dubious Honors", containing categories such as "Most Disappointing Game", "Flat-Out Worst Game", "Best Game No One Played" and "Most Despicable Product Placement"). GameSpot also allows users on the site to vote for the winners of the "Readers' Choice" awards.
^[13]
GameSpot's winners for Game of the Year have been so far:

★ 1996: ''Diablo'' (PC)^[13]

★ 1997: ''Total Annihilation'' (PC)^[15]

★ 1998: ''Grim Fandango'' (PC)^[16]

★ 1999: ''EverQuest'' (PC)^[17]

★ 2000: ''The Sims'' (PC)^[18] and ''Chrono Cross'' (PS)^[19]

★ 2001: '' (PC) and ''Grand Theft Auto III'' (PS2)^[20]

★ 2002: '' (PC) and ''Metroid Prime'' (GameCube)^[21]

★ 2003: '' (GameCube)^[22]

★ 2004: ''World of Warcraft'' (PC)^[23]

★ 2005: ''Resident Evil 4'' (GameCube)^[24]

★ 2006: ''Gears of War'' (Xbox 360)^[25]

Other features

Another feature is ''Burning Questions'' by Alex Navarro, in which users write in and have their questions answered, usually in a sarcastic tone.^[26] In an interview dated December 16, 2006 (one of a series known as "Getting to know GameSpot"), Alex has said that the "Burning Questions" feature has been discontinued. ''The HotSpot'' is GameSpot's own podcast in which various editors discuss different issues and news stories in the gaming world. ''Button Mashing'' is a cult favorite among GameSpot's users, consisting of a three round game show involving games which the players generally have no experience with; it returned on July 25, 2006, due to high demand following a two year hiatus. GameSpot also holds tournaments for paid subscribers. The final is broadcast live on ''Tournament TV''
In 2005, a feature called "Today on GameSpot" was introduced along with the redesign of the site. It is very similar to an older feature, now no longer running, "Let's GameSpot". Sections of "Today on GameSpot" include "The Rorie Roundup", which gives tips and hints on the latest games; "That's Fresh", which details the newest releases; "The Last Word", a Friday feature hosted by GameSpot News that recaps the week's biggest gaming-related news; "The Lowdown", which describes downloads on the site; and "Top Notch Games", which names GameSpot editor's favorite games (often being inducted into the "Greatest Games Of All Time").^[27] All of the sections of "Today on GameSpot" were discontinued due to the cost and time required to create each episode.

Reviews and rating system

In January 2001, GameSpot introduced video reviews for games, which are released for all major games. Other games that the editors believe deserve special mention (for example, the very worst games) are reviewed by video as well. Video reviews mostly re-emphasize the written review text with clips of gameplay embedded.
GameSpot has a detailed guide that explains its reviewing policies, as well as answering frequently asked questions about its reviews.^[28]
When GameSpot Complete was introduced in late 2001, older reviews were restricted to Complete members; however, those reviews became available to everyone again several months later.
All games are judged on five different categories: Gameplay, Graphics, Sound, Value, and Reviewer's Tilt. Each category is assigned an integer score from one to ten, and these five integers are combined using a weighted average to arrive at an overall score. Should a game score at least 9.0, it is designated as "superb," and given "Editor's Choice" recognition. Although many games achieve this status each year, only four in GameSpot's history have ever received a perfect ten: ''Chrono Cross'',^[29] '',^[30] ''Soul Calibur'',^[31] and ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3'' (PlayStation 2).^[32] Seven games have achieved a near-perfect score of 9.9: ''NFL 2K'',^[33] ''NFL 2K1'',^[34] ''Perfect Dark'',^[35] ''Super Mario Bros. Deluxe'',^[36] ''Tekken 3'' (PlayStation),^[37] ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' (Dreamcast),^[38] and ''Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2'' (PlayStation).^[39]
On the other end of the spectrum, '' is the only game to have received a 1.0 ("abysmal"), the lowest score possible.^[40]
The following is a list of ratings given by GameSpot:

★ 1.0 - 1.9: Abysmal

★ 2.0 - 2.9: Terrible

★ 3.0 - 3.9: Bad

★ 4.0 - 4.9: Poor

★ 5.0 - 5.9: Mediocre

★ 6.0 - 6.9: Fair

★ 7.0 - 7.9: Good

★ 8.0 - 8.9: Great

★ 9.0 - 9.9: Superb

★ 10.0: Perfect
While games are rated mostly with regard to how they compare to the other games available on their specific platforms, games released simultaneously for multiple platforms are also compared between systems, which often results in differing scores being given to the same game depending on the system, usually due to the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

New system

On June 25, 2007, GameSpot began assigning scores by increments of 0.5 instead of 0.1.^[41] It also ended its practice of giving sub-scores for gameplay, graphics, sound, value, and tilt. Instead, user reviews now possess a medal system that permits the reviewer to highlight given characteristics of the game such as its artistic design, original soundtrack, or difficulty. GameSpot believes that this will create a more detailed rating system than the previous one. The first review under the new system was for ''Final Fantasy Anniversary Edition''.^[42] The following is the list of ratings under the new system (the only change is the new term "prime" for games that receive a 10.0 score):

★ 1.0 - 1.5: Abysmal

★ 2.0 - 2.5: Terrible

★ 3.0 - 3.5: Bad

★ 4.0 - 4.5: Poor

★ 5.0 - 5.5: Mediocre

★ 6.0 - 6.5: Fair

★ 7.0 - 7.5: Good

★ 8.0 - 8.5: Great

★ 9.0 - 9.5: Superb

★ 10.0: Prime
The initial user reaction to this change was very negative. Jeff Gertsmann blogged explaining the decision but still received criticism. Despite viewers claiming to have canceled memberships and suggestions for a different increment scale (reverting back to a .1 scale, or changing to a .2 or .25 scale), the review system remains unchanged.

Mistakes and updates

GameSpot has occasionally had to rectify some of its reviews. Bob Colayco's original review for ''Metroid Prime Hunters'' criticized the game for having only one mode playable online, as well as certain glitches.^[43] However, all of the multiplayer modes are playable online (but only with friend codes or through the rival system). GameSpot reevaluated the review and removed the errors, appending an editor's note on the bottom of the review.
The original review for ''Shenmue'' was taken down from the site after GameSpot received many user complaints about the low score, and was re-scored, though the text review remained the same.^[44]
The review for ''Company of Heroes'' was updated after the editor of the review found that a performance bug was a "rare issue".^[45]
The review for ''Overlord'' (PC) was re-scored after receiving an unfinished version from Codemasters that had camera issues.^[46]

Community

Forums

GameSpot's forums were originally run by ZDNet, and later by Lithium. GameSpot uses a semi-automated moderation system with numerous volunteer moderators. GameSpot moderators are volunteer moderators who are picked from trusted members of the community. However, due to the size and massive quantity of boards and posts on GameSpot, there is a "report" feature where a normal user can report a post to a moderator. The reporting feature saves a lot of time and makes sure a lot more content is handled correctly.
One distinct feature of the GameSpot community is the ability of GameSpot Total Access users to create their own user-created board, which can either be set to public or private. The board's creator can appoint their own moderators, and also can display HTML markup at the top of their board. Also, all users have the ability to create or join what is known as a "Union". A Union consists of a user-created board which is attached to an editorial front, as well as a homepage with news bulletins and members lists.
In addition to the message board system, GameSpot has expanded its community through the addition of features such as user blogs (formerly known as "journals")^[47] and user video blogs. Users can track other users, thus allowing them to see updates for their favorite blogs. If both users track each other, they are listed on each other's friends list.
In May 2004, the GameFAQs message boards and the GameSpot boards merged most of their game-specific boards together.^[48]

Profiles

Registered users have the privilege of having their own profile which they can make visible to only themselves, friends, or everyone through their preferences.^[49] Profiles can be useful and convenient to the user themself and to others. In a profile a blog can be started and updated. The blog is shared with the user's TV.com, MP3.com, and FilmSpot.com profiles. Other users can report blog posts to the moderators. Users can subscribe to a number of RSS feeds which provide updates for user-generated content. There are feeds for "Tracked Games", "Tracked Unions", "Friends' Reviews", "Friends' Blogs", and "My Blog". Other elements on profiles include their latest videos, games, tracked blogs, and ratings.
Users can keep a games list within their GameSpot profile which allows them (and others) to track games in four different categories. Users can keep track of news and updates by adding games to the "Tracked Games" list. "Collection" is used for games which the user owns. The "Wish List" is for games users want to try out or intend to buy in the future. Any game can be added to a wish list whether it has already been released or it is pending for release in the future. Users can indicate which games they are currently playing by adding them to the "Now Playing" list.
Emblems are awarded to users by completing various tasks. Some emblems show a user's status (free subscription versus paid subscription). Other emblems denote contest winners, voting participants, staff/moderators, and console aficionados.

Unions

Unions act as online communities within GameSpot. Each union has a blog-style front page and a message board pertaining to a specific topic. Union members post messages and topics in the board and other members of the union can respond. Each union has a level and can receive emblems for growing, being active, or posting good news topics.
Union members can also be awarded ranks within a union, currently there are three: Leader, Officer, and Recruit. Leaders are similar to Administrators of the union, and have the power to modify anything about the union; including the name, avatar and banners, and moderate topics/messages. Officers have the ability to moderate topics and messages and any other abilities the leader wishes to grant to the Officers. Recruits are no more than regular members with the ability to take part in the topic and message posting.

Paid subscriptions

GameSpot formerly had a paid subscription service known as "GameSpot Complete". On February 21, 2006, the paid subscription model was changed.^[50] It now maintains two paid membership services: Total Access and Plus.^[51]
Total Access is essentially a replacement of GameSpot Complete, as it is the same price of US$5.95 per month or $39.95 per year and offers the same basic benefits. The second premium service, GameSpot Plus, is a cheaper, intermediate-level service.
One difference between the old and new membership services is the lack of GameSpot Complete's 10 percent discount at EBGames.com.
In August 2006, GameSpot reintroduced the subscriber-only "Ice" skin, which had been removed after a redesign in October 2005.

GameCenter

GameCenter was a gaming service which allowed players to host their own customized servers, chat with their friends, and play an assortment of PC games online with players all around the world, all while tracking users' stats. As of March 6, 2006, the GameCenter subscription service has been discontinued and merged into the GameSpot Total Access service. As a result, GameSpot is discontinuing support of the GameCenter client, but will continue tournament events for Total Access members.
The most recent GameCenter has no relation to the original GameCenter, which CNET Networks ran from 1995 to 2001 as a competitor to GameSpot. Shortly after CNET Networks acquired ZDNet and GameSpot in 2000, the original GameCenter was disbanded.

Trivia Robot

Trivia Robot starring in an episode of ''Time Trotters''

Trivia Robot was a fictional character who appeared frequently in a variety of video productions on GameSpot. Speaking in a digital electric monotone, Trivia Robot rose to prominence as the character who would answer viewer mail sent in to the weekly webcast show ''Let's GameSpot'', often in a sarcastic, irreverent, or desultory fashion designed for amusement. Trivia Robot appeared in a one-episode series entitled ''Time Trotters''.^[52]

References

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