What happened to Gamespot?

I've been away from Gamespot for some years and have revisited it now to find a different website with the same name. Of course, things change and so do personnel, but the site has none of the appeal it used to have. People with faces and personalities have gone: Carolyn Petit, Ryan MacDonald, Justin Calvert, Kevin VanOrd, Chris Watters. People move on or get sacked, but who is there now? What is their appeal? Why can't we see them? Gone is the sense of connection with the people who deliver the content. While the site continues to deal with gaming, it now also concerns itself with media outside gaming, and is bloated because of this. On the Spot, Feedbackula, The Hot Spot: engaging shows that kept the site interesting have gone. It's as though the casual tone and personality-driven warmth of the site has been replaced by a more commercial, clinical corporate chill. It's sad.

@Ludisto: Yeah it's pretty much an ad-driven site where the content exists to provide ad space. They even tried writing articles as ads (like those full page ones in magazines) without putting the disclaimer on it at one point.

I only come here for the forums. Once a month they might give us an actual piece of legitimate journalism, but for the most part it's not great.

Shit, I remember the early 2000s, that was GameSpot at its true peak. But social media I think took a toll in this archaic way of communicating with people lol.

Outside of the forums, I just check the homepage for the latest news. Don't really care about the articles, reviews or shows. If they even have shows anymore.

Well, my biggest regret is the layout of the forums. The user interface has changed multiple times over the years.

Agree for me 2001-2007 was the best years.

The forums died when union and badges no longer existed.

I joined this site a few years ago because I missed the old PlayStation forums and was looking for something with a similar vibe. Unfortunately forums of any topic of industry are a dying breed, most have been erased from the internet now thanks to twitter, fb, and Reddit. I don’t find any sense of community in those forms of social media and the discussions are much less intriguing. It’s a shame forums will be a thing of the past but I will continue to use this one while it’s around.

I'm honestly not sure. I started frequenting here in 2018. So, I missed when these forums were in their prime I guess you could say. Not that I mind though. I like how it's fairly close-knit. I've always known of GameSpot, however.

@Ludisto: they have all these woke lunatic moderators now. The reviews aren’t legit.

Don’t really remember how long I’ve been coming to Gamespot before 2011,but it was years earlier,but kinda remembered unions,fan club stuff or something or other, leveling up on things,but in my opinion Gamespot took a turn for the worse along the way. Very empty forums,crappie reviews,uninteresting gaming news,etc….. I’m sure other GS user’s could go on even further in detail how Gamespot ain’t the gaming website it used to be. I haven’t been around that long compared to some user’s but lots have left.

Even though I know exactly what you mean, I don't miss those days much. Like every other video was Jess McDonnell (Was that her name?) I mean jeezus obviously they would run out of gaming related news eventually. I for one welcome the corporate chill of the new GameSpot. ;)

For me, the heydays of Gamespot were 2004-2007. So much exciting video game coverage, awesome shows, and a very active community on the forums. Things started going downhill after the "Gerstmann Gate", and I think the final nail in the coffin was when Gamespot essentially merged with Giant Bomb/Whiskey Media. From a business standpoint though, it's understandable. There really isn't a need for professional video game journalism and reviews anymore. It's part of the same reason G4 failed on it's attempted revival, no one asked for it.

That being said, I'll always miss the energy this website had in its prime. It was a great source for video game news and related events with a very cool staff.