With the latest news that Alex Navarro has left Gamespot I think it is time to question whether or not Gamespot is on its way out. This is the second person that has left Gamespot since the first notable firing of Jeff Gerstmann. Many of the blogs and people on forums would like you to believe that it is really hurting Gamespot with all of this going on. What people do not tend to realize is that with all of this publicity on the subject they have in fact garnered an immense amount of traffic to their website since the actions were taken. If Alexa’s traffic data is to be believed then the answer to the question ‘Is Gamespot boycott working?’ is no, in fact it’s having the opposite effect.

If you take October (the month prior to the firing of Jeff Gerstmann) and then take the rest of the months ending at December 30th then the traffic has risen almost 20%. Without consideration to the uptake in traffic that gaming websites always have during this time of year then the stories of the firing have actually helped Gamespot’s traffic…but the holiday season is a pretty big elephant to ignore. The other thing is that since websites are never stable in when it comes to traffic there are simply too many variables to accurately say that a website is suffering from actions that “hurt” public opinion. We can at least say the “Gamespot Boycott” is having a beneficial effect for the time being.

I am not saying that it was an inherent good thing to fire Jeff and have all of these editors leaving the company but it at least, for now, is not killing them. Ultimately the negative publicity has helped. As much as forum goers want to have a feel good boycott against a company that has treated a fellow “friend” negatively, it has done nil and to believe it will do something is idiocy. If you want to not visit the website for your own reasons that’s fine but you’re doing your own cause hurt by talking about it. Boycotts do not work. People are not idiots, they will choose for themselves and the few that are idiots do not give a damn either way.

Digg it!