Jeff Gerstmann

Jeff Gerstmann's Auto-Biography

Jeff Gerstmann is the former editorial director of the gaming website GameSpot. He began working at GameSpot in the fall of 1996, around the launch of VideoGameSpot when GameSpot separated PC and console games into separate areas. He shared his thoughts on a variety of other subjects every Monday on his GameSpot blog. He has also been quoted by the New York Times as a video game expert, and owns over 2000 games.

Gerstmann also appeared on ABC's T.V. show, Good Morning America as a guest in September 1999 to discuss the launch of Sega's Dreamcast gaming console.

The first game system Gerstmann owned was a Fairchild Channel F which his parents, who own an auto-repair and tire business, bought as there were some educational games available for it. After it was ruined in a flood, he then purchased an Atari home computer.

Gerstmann was dismissed from his position at GameSpot as Editorial Director on November 28, 2007. Immediately after his termination, rumors circulated proclaiming his dismissal was a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive, the studio behind Kane & Lynch: Dead Men which Gerstmann had previously given a Fair rating, which is relatively undesirable, along with critique. Both Gamespot and parent company CNET stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review.

Shortly after leaving Gamespot Gerstmann started an online blog to allow people to continue to hear from him. On it he says: “I’m mainly starting this site up to give people a centralized place to hear directly from me, as all these bits and pieces that have gotten out to game news sites via interviews and the blog on my MySpace account aren’t really the best way to communicate. So if you’re interested in what I plan to do from here, this is the place. I’ll also be sharing my thoughts on games and the business that surrounds them, perhaps with an occasional video or two.”

On the first episode of IGN's "GameSages" podcast, Gerstmann stated that he was talking with "old friends" in regards to his future plans.

On February 25, 2008, Jeff Gerstmann announced on his blog that he would be participating in an online podcast (Arrow Pointing Down) with his former co-worker Ryan Davis. Another former co-worker, Alex Navarro, also participated.

On March 5, 2008, Jeff Gerstmann's future plans were revealed on his blog, and later in an interview on G4's X-Play. He revealed that along with his previous co-worker Ryan Davis, he would be starting a brand new gaming site named Giant Bomb, which launched on July 21, 2008.

Giant Bomb, launched in March 2008, is a video gaming website which is the current home of Gerstmann and other game journalists, including Ryan Davis, Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella. The staff produces both a video series, "How to Build a Bomb", and a podcast, the "BombCast", for the website.

Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis (guest-starring Alex Navarro in some episodes) started a video game related podcast called Arrow Pointing Down a few weeks prior to Giant Bomb being launched. This podcast has been moved over to Giant Bomb and renamed Giant Bombcast, still essentially the same podcast. The podcast discusses latest game news, give impressions on new games, and also talk about other off-topic news, ranging from movie news to energy drinks. Both Giant Bombcast and Arrow Pointing Down can be downloaded as an MP3 and on iTunes. Unlike the podcast, How to Build a Bomb is a behind-the-scenes video series that shows the process of developing and finishing the final GiantBomb website. It shows step by step as the staff sets up their office space and equipment.

The website also writes video game reviews. The rating system employs a 5-star scale, with 5 being the highest rating and 1 being the lowest, with no half-star marks. In one of the site's video blogs, How to Build a Bomb Part 3, Gerstmann revealed the possibility of caricatures of his and Davis' faces in different emotions to go with the 5 star rating system.

Giant Bomb's offices are in Sausalito, CA.

In the June 3rd of 2008 edition of the Giant Bombcast it was announced that Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella had joined the editorial team of Giant Bomb. Both Brad and Vinny were previously employed by GameSpot.

The new Beta site at www.giantbomb.com launched between the days of Sunday July 20, 2008 and Monday July 21, 2008. The new site allows users to create accounts and edit various pages about and relating to video games.