Toby McCasker, now former deputy entertainment editor for the magazine, is at the centre of this latest escapade.
As reported by News.com, the former editor posted an excerpt from an email on Facebook, alleging that it was from a Rockstar PR executive to magazine staff. The email apparently concerned forthcoming release Read Dead Redemption:
”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’s said to have read.
”Can you please ensure Toby’s article reflects this - he needs to respect the huge achievement he’s writing about here.”
The Facebook message has since been deleted, and McCasker was fired. Neither Rockstar nor the rest of the Zoo Weekly management seem keen to comment on the matter either.
Rockstar Australia commented, ”We are not clear on what the story is here. We always try to present our games in the most compelling way to media and fans alike and of course we, like every other videogame publisher in Australia or anywhere else for that matter, want to have our games seen in a positive light.”
Magazine Editor Paul Merrill merely stated that McCasker was fired for ”a number of reasons”, including ”his decision to post a private email on his Facebook page”.
Sad, even worrying, if true.
