ITWire

We have seen this kind of thing before, alleged pressure from a game publisher forcing a journalist/reviewer from their position in the wake of a poor review.  The famous Gamespot incident where reviewer Jeff Gerstmann was harsh on Kane & Lynch: Dead Man, an Eidos game at the time.  A time when Eidos were heavily invested in advertising on Gamespot, and reportedly pressure from Eidos forced Gamespor management to dismiss Gerstmann.

Today comes the news that an Aussie version of this story has emerged.  This time the journalist in question is Toby McCasker, now former deputy editor at Zoo Weekly. 

According to the report on news.com.au, McCasker wrote a none-too positive preview for the upcoming RockStar Games western opus Red Dead Redemption. 

The theory then goes that McCasker received communication from RockStar Games staff, which he then published on his Facebook: "This is the biggest game we've done since GTA IV, and is already receiving Game of the Year 2010 nominations from specialists all around the world," it read.
"Can you please ensure Toby's article reflects this '” he needs to respect the huge achievement he's writing about here."

Subsequently McCasker has been dismissed from his Zoo Weekly position, according to McCasker his dismissal was due to pressure from RockStar Games, a company that advertises with the magazine.

"I did not sign up to become a journalist to write advertorials masquerading as editorial," he said.
"This 'cash for comment' culture that is fast becoming the status quo within print media bothers me a lot."
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