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The Bleeding Continues, Alex Navarro Leaves GameSpot
As reported by Kotaku, Alex Navarro has left GameSpot. He was one of the site's longest tenured review editors and contributed numerous video reviews to the site.
Of course, no one wants to mention the elephant in the room, so I will: this has everything to do with the firing of Jeff Gerstmann.
Let's sum up what's happened since that infamous event: Tim Tracy has left; freelancer Frank Provo, who had contributed over 750 reviews to GameSpot (slightly more than Navarro) has left; and now Navarro.
GameSpot is a site that I have been a paid subscriber to in the past. It was one of those gaming sites that I felt I could count on to turn a critical eye on games, as well as the home of one of the best (and funniest) gaming podcasts anywhere.
The site's credibility takes a hit with each departure and the editorial section of the site is losing more and more talent as time goes by, talent not easily replaced. The most telling line of the Kotaku story is Ricardo Torres' repeated statements that GameSpot is trying to "move forward".
But the site seems unable to move forward for now, as each departure reminds readers of the scandal and reminds them that the site might still be getting pressure to soften its tone and become more advertising-friendly.
Is GameSpot destined to die a death by 1,000 cuts? I don't think so but the site clearly has a huge fight on its hands to regain its editorial integrity. It will either take a long time or a complete reinvention of the site's image.
And the worst thing is, it's not GameSpot's blunder, it's CNet's (and possibly Eidos'). But GameSpot is paying the price, again and again.
Ouch.
Posted by Sub at January 13, 2008 11:14 PMWow, that one's an especially hard blow. Through all of this I kept telling myself "at least they still have Navarro." Now what am I going to tell myself when my subscription comes due in a few months? I'll just have to hope they pull their act together before then...
Posted by Fade2Gray at January 13, 2008 11:50 PMNow they only have Brad Shoemaker
I hope he leaves too so they can go somewhere good
It seems the time has come to move on and look for another reliable internet source for gaming. I liked Gamespot a lot and found their reviews to be very helpful. Their Podcast and the Shows were quite good too, but Alex Navarro was my last hope among the editors ranks. Without him GS probably won't be anything like the site I once respected anymore.
It's a shame :(
My theory: They're not just leaving GameSpot over morality issues. They're following Jeff to a new venture. This is just a theory but I hope I'm right about this.
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