GameSpot

180px
URL	www.gamespot.com
Type of site	Video game journalism
Registration	Optional (free and paid)
Owner	CBS Interactive
Created by	Pete Deemer Vince Broady Jon Epstein
Launched	May 1, 1996; 16 years ago  (May 1, 1996)[1]
Alexa rank	646 (June 2012[update])[2]

GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on certain video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which purchased CNET Networks in 2008, is the current owner of GameSpot. GameSpot.com is currently one of the 400 highest-trafficked websites according to Alexa.^[2]

In addition to the information produced by GameSpot staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. The forums are partially shared with those on GameFAQs, another website owned by CNET.

In 2004, GameSpot won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second Video Game Award Show,^[3] and has won Webby Awards for several years. Other gaming websites such as IGN, 1UP.com, and GameSpy have been its biggest rivals. The domain gamespot.com attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study.^[4]

GameSpot's main page has links to the latest news, reviews, previews, and portals for the following current platforms: Wii, Nintendo DS, PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo 3DS. It also includes a list of the most popular games on the site and a search engine for users to track down games of interest. In September 2009, GameSpot started reviewing and cataloging iPhone, Android, and other mobile games. GameSpot also covers the following platforms to a lesser extent: Nintendo 64, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Xbox, PlayStation, Sega Saturn, Dreamcast, Neo Geo Pocket Color, N-Gage, and mobile games, among others.

History[link]

GameSpot was founded by Vince Broady and two of his friends in San Francisco, out of an old travel agency building^[5] . Initially, GameSpot focused exclusively on PC games. Its sister site, VideoGameSpot.com, was launched in December 1996 to cover console games. In 1997, VideoGameSpot.com became VideoGames.com for a short period, and by 1998, the PC and console sections were united at GameSpot.com.^[6]

On October 3, 2005, GameSpot adopted a new design similar to that of TV.com, now considered a sister site to GameSpot.^[7]

International history[link]

GameSpot UK (United Kingdom) was started in October 1997 and operated until mid-2002, offering Europe-oriented content which often differed from that of the U.S. site. During this period, GameSpot UK won the 1999 PPAi (Periodical Publishers Association interactive) award for best website,^[8] and was short listed in 2001.^[9] Following the purchase of ZDNet by CNET, GameSpot UK was merged with the main US site. On April 24, 2006, GameSpot UK was relaunched.^[10]

In a similar fashion, GameSpot AU (Australia) existed on a local scale in the late 1990s with Australian-produced reviews. It ceased in 2003. When a local version of the main CNET portal, CNET.com.au was launched in 2003, Gamespot.com.au content was folded into CNET.com.au. The site was fully re-launched mid 2006, with a specialized forum, local reviews, special features, local pricings in A$, Australian release dates, and more local news.

GameSpot Japan (Japan) in its current form launched in 2007. It provides Japanese video game industry news, previews, reviews, features, and videos as well as translated articles from the other GameSpot sites. It had recently added a larger video player and community forums to the site.

Notable staff[link]

• Greg Kasavin – executive editor and site director of GameSpot, who left in 2007 to become a game developer. He became a producer at EA and 2K Games but he is currently working for Supergiant Games as writer and creative director for Bastion.^[11]
• Jeff Gerstmann – editorial director of the site, dismissed from GameSpot on November 28, 2007 for undisclosed reasons, after which he started Giant Bomb.^[12] Following the announcement of the purchase of Giant Bomb by CBS Interactive on March 15, 2012, Jeff was allowed to reveal that he was dismissed by management as a result of publishers threatening to pull advertising revenue due to less-than-glowing review scores being awarded by GameSpot's editorial team.^[13]

Reviews and rating system[link]

In January 2001, GameSpot introduced video reviews for games, which are released for all major games. Other games that the editors believe deserve special mention (for example, the very worst games) are reviewed by video as well. Video reviews mostly re-emphasize the written review text with clips of gameplay embedded.

GameSpot has a detailed guide that explains its reviewing policies, as well as answering frequently asked questions about its reviews.^[14]

When GameSpot Complete was introduced in late 2001, older reviews were restricted to Complete members; however, those reviews became available to everyone again several months later.

All games were judged on five different categories: Gameplay, Graphics, Sound, Value, and Reviewer's Tilt. Each category is assigned an integer score from one to ten, and these five integers are combined using a weighted average to arrive at an overall score. Should a game score at least 9.0, it is designated as "superb," and given "Editor's Choice" recognition. Although many games achieve this status each year, only eight in GameSpot's history have ever received a perfect ten.

On June 25, 2007, GameSpot began assigning scores by increments of 0.5 instead of 0.1.^[15] It also ended its practice of giving sub-scores for gameplay, graphics, sound, value, and tilt. Instead, user reviews now possess a medal system that permits the reviewer to highlight given characteristics of the game such as its artistic design, original soundtrack, or difficulty. GameSpot believes that this will create a more detailed rating system than the previous one. The only change in terms is the new term "Prime" for games that receive a 10.0 score, replacing "Perfect." Then editor-in-chief Jeff Gerstmann blogged about the change, answering questions regarding it.^[16]

While games are rated mostly with regard to how they compare to the other games available on their specific platforms, games released simultaneously for multiple platforms are also compared between systems, which often results in differing scores being given to the same game depending on the system, usually due to the inherent strengths and weaknesses of each platform.

Game of the Year[link]

Every year, GameSpot holds the Best and Worst Game of the Year awards, which recognize achievements in the gaming industry, positive and negative (in the form of "Dubious Honors", containing categories such as "Most Disappointing Game", "Worst Game Everyone Played", "Best Game No One Played" and "Most Despicable Product Placement"). GameSpot also allows users on the site to vote for the winners of the "Readers' Choice" awards. From 1998-2001, GameSpot selected one PC game and one console game for the top title, but from that point forward, they would select one single game from all mediums.

GameSpot's winners for Game of the Year have been so far (the console games from 1997 to 1999 were chosen by videogames.com) :

• 1996: Diablo (PC)^[17]
• 1997: Total Annihilation (PC)^[18]
• 1998: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo 64)^[19] and Grim Fandango (PC)^[20]
• 1999: Soulcalibur (Dreamcast)^[21] and EverQuest (PC)^[22]
• 2000: Chrono Cross (PlayStation)^[23] and The Sims (PC)^[24]
• 2001: Grand Theft Auto III (PlayStation 2)^[25] and Serious Sam: The First Encounter (PC)^[26]
• 2002: Metroid Prime (GameCube)^[27]
• 2003: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (GameCube)^[28]
• 2004: World of Warcraft (PC)^[29]
• 2005: Resident Evil 4 (GameCube)^[30]
• 2006: Gears of War (Xbox 360)^[31]
• 2007: Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)^[32]
• 2008: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PlayStation 3)^[33]
• 2009: Demon's Souls (PlayStation 3)^[34]
• 2010: Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) ^[35]
• 2011: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) ^[36]

Worst Game of the Year/Flat-Out Worst Game[link]

Each year GameSpot also hands out a Flat-Out Worst Game award (known as Worst Game of the Year before 2003). The award is found in the Dubious Honors category every year. Like Game of the Year, GameSpot allows Readers' Choice awards for Flat-Out Worst Game.

• 1996: Catfight (PC)
• 1997: Conquest Earth (PC)
• 1998: Spawn: The Eternal (PlayStation) and Trespasser (PC)
• 1999: Superman (N64) and SkyDive! (PC)
• 2000: Spirit of Speed 1937 (Dreamcast) and Blaze & Blade (PC)
• 2001: Kabuki Warriors (Xbox) and Survivor (2001 video game) (PC)
• 2002: Jeremy McGrath Supercross World (GameCube), Gravity Games Bike: Street Vert Dirt (PS2 & Xbox), Mortal Kombat Advance (Game Boy Advance) and Demonworld: Dark Armies (PC)
• 2003: Gods and Generals (PC)
• 2004: Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (PC)
• 2005: Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green (Xbox & PC)
• 2006: Bomberman: Act Zero (Xbox 360)
• 2007: Hour of Victory (Xbox 360)
• 2008: M&Ms Kart Racing (Wii & DS)
• 2009: Stalin vs. Martians (PC)
• 2010: Fighters Uncaged (Xbox 360)

Note: Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing was released in 2003.

Note: There was no award for Flat-Out Worst Game in 2011.

Shows and podcasts[link]

GameSpot has regular audio podcasts for its United States, UK, and AU websites, plus the following video shows:

• On the Spot ^[37] - Gamespot.com (US/international) weekly live video show with alternating hosts. Was replaced in 2009 by Today On the Spot, a pre-recorded show that was shown three times a week. Returned to live On the Spot format in April 2011.
• Start/Select ^[38] - GameSpot UK's regular video show hosted by Guy Cocker.
• Crosshairs ^[39] - GameSpot AU's weekly video show hosted by Dan Chiappini.
• The Hotspot ^[40] - Gamespot.com (US/international)Tom Magrino was host until december 2011 when he was laid off by the company. The show was on air until april 2012 when the last episode was made as a goodbye to the fans.
• The OzSpot ^[41] - GameSpot AU's weekly audio podcast hosted by Laura Parker.

Community features[link]

Forums[link]

GameSpot's forums were originally run by ZDNet, and later by Lithium.^{[citation needed]} GameSpot uses a semi-automated moderation system with numerous volunteer moderators. GameSpot moderators are picked by paid gamespot staff from members of the gamespot user community. Due to the size and massive quantity of boards and posts on GameSpot, there is a "report" feature where a normal user can report a violation post to an unpaid moderator volunteer. The ostensible purpose of the reporting feature is to deal more quickly with violations of the website's posting policy. GameSpot's ToS states that users must be aged 13 or older to post content and maintain an account. Proof of a user's age when he/she creates an account is not required. Proof of a moderator's age is also not required. All users must agree to GameSpot's ToS (terms of service) during registration. GameSpot's ToS (as they apply to the community forums) give moderators the power to use their own discretion when deciding if a posting violation has occurred.

One distinct feature of the GameSpot community is the ability of GameSpot Total Access and Plus Access users to create their own user-created board, which can either be set to public or private. The board's creator can appoint their own moderators, and also can display HTML markup at the top of their board. Also, all users have the ability to create or join what is known as a "Union". A Union consists of a user-created board which is attached to an editorial front, as well as a homepage with news bulletins and members lists.

In addition to the message board system, GameSpot has expanded its community through the addition of features such as user blogs (formerly known as "journals")^[42] and user video blogs. Users can track other users, thus allowing them to see updates for their favorite blogs. If both users track each other, they are listed on each other's friends list.

In May 2004, the GameFAQs message boards and the GameSpot boards merged most of their game-specific boards together.^[43]

On November 11, 2008, GameSpot updated its forum software. Some of the changes include a wider page and a sidebar.

On March 23, 2012, GameSpot and GameFAQs separated from each other making both sites completely independent.

Profiles[link]

Registered users have their own profiles which they can make visible to only themselves, friends, or everyone through their preferences.^[44] Profiles can be useful and convenient to the user themselves and to others. In a profile a blog can be started and updated. The blog is shared with the user's TV.com, MP3.com, and MovieTome profiles. Other users can report blog posts to the moderators.

Users can keep a games list within their GameSpot profile which allows them (and others) to track games in four different categories. Users can keep track of news and updates by adding games to the "Tracked Games" list. "Collection" is used for games which the user owns. The "Wish List" is for games users want to try out or intend to buy in the future. Any game can be added to a wish list whether it has already been released or it is pending for release in the future. Users can indicate which games they are currently playing by adding them to the "Now Playing" list.

Emblems are awarded to users by completing various tasks. Some emblems show a user's status (free subscription versus paid subscription). Other emblems denote contest winners, voting participants, staff/moderators, and console aficionados.

Once one has a GameSpot profile, one can edit it, but not delete it. Asking a moderator to delete one's profile gets mixed replies since there appears to be no official posted GameSpot policy regarding the matter. Aspects of ones profile, like one's blog, can be set to "private and viewable by friends only" or "hidden to everyone." However reader reviews are always "public" unless individually deleted by the user who posted them.

Unions[link]

Unions act as online communities within GameSpot. Each union has a blog-style front page and a message board pertaining to a specific topic. Union members post messages and topics in the board and other members of the union can respond. Each union has a level and can receive emblems for growing, being active, or posting good news topics.

Union members can also be awarded ranks within a union, currently there are three: Leader, Officer, and Recruit. Leaders are similar to Administrators of the union, and have the power to modify anything about the union, including the name, avatar and banners, and moderate topics/messages. Officers have the ability to moderate topics and messages and any other abilities the leader wishes to grant to the Officers. Recruits are regular members with the ability to take part in topic and message posting.

Prominent unions include the "Social Cafe union","Film Apreciation Union"(or FAU)and the influential "Gamespot User Fellowship Union"(or GUFU).

Gerstmann dismissal[link]

Jeff Gerstmann, Editorial Director of the site, was fired on November 28, 2007.^[45] Immediately after his termination, rumors circulated proclaiming his dismissal was a result of external pressure from Eidos Interactive, the publisher of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men, which had purchased a considerable amount of advertising space on GameSpot's website. Gerstmann had previously given Kane & Lynch a fair or undesirable rating along with critique.^[45] Both GameSpot and parent company CNET stated that his dismissal was unrelated to the review, but due to corporate and legal constraints cannot reveal the reason.^[45][46] A month after Gerstmann's termination, freelance reviewer Frank Provo left GameSpot after eight years stating that "I believe CNET management let Jeff go for all the wrong reasons. I believe CNET intends to soften the site's tone and push for higher scores to make advertisers happy."^[47]

GameSpot staffers Alex Navarro, Ryan Davis, Brad Shoemaker, and Vinny Caravella also left as a result of Gerstmann's termination.^[48][49] Davis co-founded Gerstmann's subsequent project, Giant Bomb, and was later joined by Shoemaker and Caravella. Navarro became the community manager at Harmonix and in 2010 joined up with Whiskey Media, a family of sites that includes Gerstmann's Giant Bomb site, to be part of their new site Screened.com, focusing on cinema and television.

Paid subscriptions[link]

GameSpot formerly had a paid subscription service known as "GameSpot Complete". On February 21, 2006, the paid subscription model was changed.^[50] It now maintains two paid membership services: Total Access and Plus.^[51]

Total Access is essentially a replacement of GameSpot Complete, as it is the same price of US$5.95 per month or $39.95 per year and offers the same basic benefits.^[51] The second premium service, GameSpot Plus, is a cheaper, intermediate-level service.^[51]

The main advantage of a paid subscription is that ads are removed that would otherwise appear with a free GameSpot account. It bears mentioning that some ads will still appear with a paid subscription if GameSpot sponsors a contest and that contest is then sponsored by an advertiser. For example, in 2008, Stride gum ads appeared throughout the website, even if the user was a paying subscriber.

The major difference between the old and new membership services is the lack of GameSpot Complete's 10 percent discount at EBGames.com. There was much discontent over this decision, and for a while, GameSpot claimed to have an unspecified replacement in the works. No further details were ever provided.

GameCenter[link]

GameCenter was a gaming service which allowed players to host their own customized servers, chat with their friends, and play an assortment of PC games online with players all around the world, all while tracking users' stats. As of March 6, 2006, the GameCenter subscription service has been discontinued and merged into the GameSpot Total Access service. As a result, GameSpot is discontinuing support of the GameCenter client, but will continue tournament events for Total Access members.^{[citation needed]}

The most recent GameCenter has no relation to the original GameCenter, which CNET Networks ran from 1995 to 2001 as a competitor to GameSpot. Shortly after CNET Networks acquired ZDNet and GameSpot in 2000, the original GameCenter was disbanded.

References[link]

External links[link]

• GameSpot website

Tom Clancy
Tom Clancy (left) at Burns Library, Boston College
Born	(1947-04-12) April 12, 1947 (age 65) Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	American
Period	1984–present
Genres	Techno-thriller, Crime fiction, nonfiction, Spy fiction

Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. (born April 12, 1947)^[1][2] is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and promotional purposes. His name is also a brand for similar movie scripts written by ghost writers and many series of non-fiction books on military subjects and merged biographies of key leaders. He is Vice Chairman of Community Activities and Public Affairs, as well as a part-owner, of the MLB Baltimore Orioles.

Personal life[link]

Clancy was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Loyola Blakefield in Towson, Maryland, graduating with the class of 1965. He then attended Loyola College in Baltimore, graduating in 1969.^[1] Before making his literary debut, he spent some time running an independent insurance agency. This agency thrived for a few years before joining a group of investors.

Clancy and his first wife Wanda married in 1969, separated briefly in 1995, and permanently separated in December 1996.^[3] Clancy filed for divorce in November 1997,^[4] which became final in January 1999.^[5]

In 1993, Tom Clancy joined a group of investors that included Peter Angelos and bought the Baltimore Orioles from Eli Jacobs. In 1998, he reached an agreement to purchase the Minnesota Vikings, but had to abandon the deal because of the divorce settlement cost.

On June 26, 1999, Clancy married freelance journalist Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, whom he had met in 1997.^[6] Llewellyn is the daughter of J. Bruce Llewellyn, and a family friend of Colin Powell, who originally introduced the couple to each other.^[7]

In 2008, the French video game manufacturer Ubisoft purchased the use of Clancy's name for an undisclosed sum. It has been used in conjunction with video games and related products such as movies and books.^[8]

Political views[link]

Tom Clancy has been a life-time supporter of right-wing, libertarian conservative, and Republican causes in America. A week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, on The O'Reilly Factor, Clancy stated that left-wing politicians in the United States were partly responsible for September 11 due to their "gutting" of the Central Intelligence Agency.^[7] Clancy has also associated himself with General Anthony Zinni, a critic of the George W. Bush administration, and has been critical of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as well.^[9]

His books bear dedications to conservative right-wing political figures, most notably Ronald Reagan. In his novels, countries portrayed as hostile to the United States include the former Soviet Union, North Korea, Syria, China, Iran, Palestine, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, India, and Japan. By contrast, countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Colombia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Morocco, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Germany, South Korea, Israel, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom are shown as close allies of the United States.

On September 11, 2001, Clancy was interviewed by Judy Woodruff on CNN.^[10] During the interview, he observed that Islam does not condone suicide. Among other observations during this interview, Clancy cited discussions he had with military experts on the lack of planning to handle a hijacked plane being used in a suicide attack and criticized the news media's treatment of the United States Intelligence Community. Clancy appeared again on PBS's Charlie Rose, where he debated Senator and future Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards.^[11]

Clancy has been a Life Member of the National Rifle Association since 1978.^[12]

Bibliography[link]

The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears have been turned into commercially successful films with actors Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford as Clancy's most famous fictional character Jack Ryan, while his second most famous character John Clark has been played by actors Willem Dafoe and Liev Schreiber. All but two of Clancy's solely-written novels feature Jack Ryan or John Clark.

The first NetForce novel was adapted as a television movie, starring Scott Bakula and Joanna Going. The first Op-Center novel was released to coincide with a 1995 NBC television mini-series of the same name (Tom Clancy's Op-Center) starring Harry Hamlin and a cast of stars. Though the mini-series did not continue, the book series did, but it had little in common with the first mini-series other than the title and the names of the main characters.

With the release of The Teeth of the Tiger, Clancy introduced Jack Ryan's son and two nephews as main characters; these characters continue in two of his latest novels, Dead or Alive and Locked On.

Clancy has written several nonfiction books about various branches of the U.S. armed forces (see non-fiction listing, below). Clancy has also branded several lines of books and video games with his name that are written by other authors, following premises or storylines generally in keeping with Clancy's works. These are sometimes referred to by fans as "apostrophe" books; Clancy did not initially acknowledge that these series were being authored by others, only thanking the actual authors in the headnotes for their "invaluable contribution to the manuscript".

By 1988, Clancy had earned $1.3 million for The Hunt for Red October and had signed a $3 million contract for his next three books.^[13] By 1997, it was reported that Penguin Putnam Inc. (part of Pearson Education) would pay Clancy $50 million for world rights to two new books, and another $25 million to Red Storm Entertainment for a four-year book/multimedia deal.^[14] Clancy followed this up with an agreement with Penguin's Berkley Books for 24 paperbacks to tie in with the ABC television miniseries Tom Clancy's Net Force aired in the fall/winter of 1998. The Op-Center universe has laid the ground for the series of books written by Jeff Rovin, which was in an agreement worth $22 million, bringing the total value of the package to $97 million.^[14]

By publication date[link]

The Hunt for Red October (1984)

Clancy's first published novel. CIA analyst Jack Ryan assists in the defection of a respected Soviet naval captain, along with the most advanced ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet fleet. The movie (1990) stars Alec Baldwin as Ryan and Sean Connery as Captain Ramius. Captain Mancuso is introduced here. Nearly every book after has Mancuso in ever increasing command of U.S. submarine forces.

Red Storm Rising (1986)

War between NATO and USSR. The basis of the combat game of the same name, this book is not a member of the Ryan story series (although the protagonist of the story has many similarities with Jack Ryan). He co-wrote it with Larry Bond.

Patriot Games (1987)

Patriot Games predates the first book that Clancy wrote, The Hunt for Red October, chronologically. Jack Ryan foils a disdain attack in London on the Prince and Princess of Wales by the "Ulster Liberation Army". The ULA then attacks Ryan's Maryland home while he is hosting the Prince and Princess for dinner. The movie stars Harrison Ford as Ryan and Samuel L. Jackson as Robby Jackson.

The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988)

First appearance of John Clark and Sergey Golovko. Ryan leads a CIA operation which forces the head of the KGB to defect. Other elements include anti-satellite lasers and other SDI-type weapons, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Major Alan Gregory is introduced here. (He appears later, updating SAM software in The Bear and the Dragon). Colonel Bondarenko also is introduced here. (He appears in later books offering advice to Golovko in "Executive Orders" and commanding the Russian Army defenses against China in its sequel "The Bear and the Dragon".)

Clear and Present Danger (1989)

The President authorizes the CIA to use American military forces in a covert war against cocaine producers in Colombia. The operation is betrayed. Ryan meets John Clark as they lead a mission to rescue abandoned soldiers. Domingo "Ding" Chavez (Clark's protege in later novels) is one of the rescued soldiers. The 1994 film stars Harrison Ford as Ryan, Willem Dafoe as Clark and Raymond Cruz as Chavez.

The Sum of All Fears (1991)

Arab terrorists find a nuclear weapon that had been lost by Israel, and use it to attack the United States. This nearly triggers a war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, due to the incompetence of the new President and his mistress with an anti-Ryan agenda. Ryan intervenes to avert the war. The 2002 film stars Ben Affleck as Ryan and Liev Schreiber as Clark, and changes the identity and motivation of the terrorists to neo-Nazis.

Without Remorse (1993)

Without Remorse takes place during the Vietnam War, when Jack Ryan was a teenager. Ex-SEAL John Clark (then John Kelly) fights a one-man war against drug dealers in Baltimore, attracting the attention of Jack's father Emmett, a Baltimore police detective. He also helps plan and execute a raid on a prisoner-of-war camp in North Vietnam. Clark joins the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Debt of Honor (1994)

A secret cabal of extreme nationalists gains control of Japan (having acquired some nuclear weapons), and start a war with the U.S. Ryan, now National Security Advisor, and Clark and Chavez, agents in Japan, help win the war. The Vice President resigns in a scandal, and the President appoints Ryan to replace him. A vengeful, die-hard Japanese airline pilot then crashes a jetliner into the U.S. Capitol during a joint session of Congress attended by most senior U.S. government officials, including the President. Ryan thus becomes the new President through succession.

Executive Orders (1996)

This is the immediate sequel to Debt of Honor. President Ryan survives press hazing, an assassination attempt, and a biological warfare attack on the United States. Clark and Chavez trace the virus to a Middle Eastern madman, and the U.S. military goes to work.

SSN: Strategies for Submarine Warfare (1996)

Follows the missions of USS Cheyenne in a future war with China precipitated by China's invasion of the disputed Spratly Islands. Also not a Ryan universe book, SSN is actually a loosely connected collection of "scenario" chapters in support of the eponymous video game.

Rainbow Six (1998)

Released to coincide with the video game of the same name. John Clark and Ding, who is now Clark's son-in-law, lead an elite multi-national anti-terrorist unit that combats a worldwide genocide attempt by eco-terrorists. Ryan is the U.S. President and only mentioned or referred to as either 'The President' or 'Jack'.

The Bear and the Dragon (2000)

War between Russia and China. Ryan recognizes the independence of Taiwan, Chinese police officers kill a Roman Catholic Cardinal, and the American armed forces help Russia defeat a Chinese invasion of Siberia.

Red Rabbit (2002)

In the early 1980s, CIA analyst Ryan aids in the defection of a Soviet officer who knows of a plan to assassinate Pope John Paul II.

The Teeth of the Tiger (2003)

Jack Ryan's son, Jack Ryan, Jr., becomes an intelligence analyst, and then a field consultant, for The Campus, an off-the-books intelligence agency with the freedom to discreetly assassinate individuals "who threaten national security", following the end of the Jack Ryan Sr. presidential administration. This book of the Jack Ryan series by Tom Clancy introduces Ryan's son and two nephews as heirs to his spook-legacy.

Dead or Alive (2010, with Grant Blackwood)

The story picks up where The Teeth of the Tiger left off with Jack Ryan, Jr. and The Campus trying to catch a terrorist known as "The Emir".

Against All Enemies (2011, with Peter Telep)

A terrorist bombing in Pakistan wipes out Max Moore’s entire CIA team. As the only survivor, the former Navy SEAL plunges deeper into the treacherous tribal lands to find the terrorist cell, but what he discovers there leads him to a much darker conspiracy in an unexpected part of the globe — the United States/Mexico border.

Locked On (Dec 2011, with Mark Greaney)

While Jack Ryan Jr. trains to become a field operative within The Campus, his father campaigns for re-election as President of the United States. A devout enemy of Jack Sr. launches a privately funded vendetta to discredit him, while a corrupt Pakistani general has entered into a deadly pact with a fanatical terrorist to procure nuclear warheads.

Search and Destroy (June 2012, with Peter Telep)

Novels not in a series[link]

• Red Storm Rising (1986)
• SSN (1996)
• Search and Destroy (2012)

Jack Ryan/John Clark universe chronology[link]

In the order in which they occur in the storyline (and when they occur):

• Without Remorse (1970)
• Patriot Games (1982, based on a reference to Ryan's age, which is 31 at the beginning of the novel. This roughly fits with a reference to the Princess of Wales's first child being a baby and a few months old, Prince William was born in 1982) Discrepancies include the reference to a van having a likely year of manufacture of 1984.
• Red Rabbit (circa spring of 1982, based on references to living Leonid Brezhnev and Mikhail Suslov, both of whom died in 1982, as well as Jack Ryan, Jr.'s age in the novel, 6 months) Discrepancies with the estimate of 1982 include frequent references to "Transformers" which did not appear until 1984 and the fact that the Orioles played the Phillies in the World Series in 1983, not to mention that the World Series is played in the Fall, not the Spring. Also a reference to "Coke Classic" which did not debut until the summer of 1985.
• The Hunt for Red October (1984)
• The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1986) – "The first chapter is set in January and states that Ryan is 35 years old. It also has references to the other books set earlier. For example the Foleys have been in Moscow for almost four years. The book must begin (not including prologue which was set end of previous year) in January 1986.

Starting with the following novel, the series becomes distinctly different from real history as noted below.

• Clear and Present Danger (1988) The book refers to Jack's age at 40.
• The Sum of All Fears (1990–1991) — Israel partially cedes sovereignty over Jerusalem to the Vatican and Saudi Arabia, and the city becomes a United Nations protectorate policed by Swiss Guards. Residents of Jerusalem can choose between either Vatican, Israeli or Islamic judicial law. Denver is devastated by a terrorist nuclear explosion. The book occurs after the Persian Gulf War and before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It is implied that both events occur at the same time in the Ryan universe as in actual history (of the Soviet Union dissolution), 1991. In the earlier chapters it states that it had almost been two Novembers since President Fowler had been elected, making the beginning set in 1990.
• Debt of Honor (1995–1996) — The U.S. and Russia destroy all of their ballistic missiles. After crippling the U.S. economy and becoming a nuclear power, Japan invades and takes the Marianas Islands; the United States and Japan fight a brief war, which the Japanese lose (they are subsequently denuclearized); an embittered Japanese pilot and proponent of the war crashes a 747 into the United States Capitol Building immediately after Ryan's confirmation vote for the Vice President, killing most of the House and Senate, the President, all nine Supreme Court justices, the senior military establishment (including the JCS), and most of the Cabinet; Ryan is left in charge of a gutted government. The end of the book occurs eleven months before 1997 presidential inauguration. Of interest, but not crucial to the plot of this or further books is that North and South Korea were said to be unified at some point between The Sum of All Fears and this book.
• Executive Orders (1996) — Saddam Hussein is assassinated; Iran and Iraq merge forming the United Islamic Republic; the UIR launches a biological attack on the U.S. using the Ebola virus; the United States launches the Second Persian Gulf War against the UIR and defeats them; the Ayatollah is killed in a smart-bomb attack by the U.S.
• Rainbow Six (Takes place between Executive Orders and The Bear and the Dragon most likely 1998-1999 from a statement saying that it had been a year and a half since Jack became president and the date of the video game) (although events seem to be based on the Sydney Olympics held in 2000) RAINBOW — an elite counter-terrorist force — is created and engages terrorists across Europe. Ecoterrorists plan to create a genetically-enhanced virus based on Ebola and cancer cells, which they plan to use to wipe out much of the world's population.
• The Bear and the Dragon (2000) — Russia is admitted to NATO; China and Russia fight a major war, in which the U.S. intervenes on its NATO ally's side. It implies that the British Prime Minister is Tony Blair.
• The Teeth of the Tiger (2005, based on the age of Jack Ryan, Jr.) The U.S. is now engaged in a global war on terrorism, in response to the September 11 attacks, which occurred in the Ryan universe as they did in the real world. It is mentioned that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq occurred in the Ryan universe continuity, and that the Jerusalem Treaty signed in The Sum of All Fears has failed as Israelis and Palestinians went back to fighting each other.
• Dead or Alive (2010, based on Jack Ryan's announcement that he would run against Ed Kealty for President "in the coming year") — The Umayyad Revolutionary Council (the Ryan universe version of Al-Qaeda) and its leader "The Emir" (based on Osama bin Laden) plan a string of major attacks on the U.S. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq continue, as in our timeline, and President Kealty is in the process of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, a process that began in our timeline in 2009. A character also explicitly refers to the date as May 2010, in the process of decoding encrypted messages.
• Locked On (2011, based on Jack Ryan Sr.'s campaign for re-election).

Op-Center universe[link]

1. Op-Center
2. Mirror Image
3. Games of State (1996)
4. Acts of War
5. Balance of Power
6. State of Siege
7. Divide and Conquer
8. Line of Control
9. Mission of Honor
10. Sea of Fire
11. Call to Treason
12. War of Eagles

Net Force universe[link]

• Net Force (1998)
• Hidden Agendas
• Night Moves
• Breaking Point
• Point of Impact
• Cybernation
• State of War
• Changing of the Guard
• Springboard
• The Archimedes Effect (2006)

Net Force Explorers universe[link]

• Virtual Vandals
• The Deadliest Game
• One is the Loneliest Number
• The Ultimate Escape
• End Game
• Cyberspy
• The Great Race
• Shadow of Honor
• Private Lives
• Safe House
• GamePrey
• Duel Identity
• Deathworld
• High Wire
• Cold Case
• Runaways
• Cloak and Dagger
• Death Match

Power Plays series[link]

• Politika (novel, 1997)
  • Politika (video game) by Red Storm Entertainment
    • Politika (board game)
• ruthless.com (novel, 1998)
  • ruthless.com (video game, 1998) by Red Storm Entertainment
• Shadow Watch (novel, 1999) by Jerome Preisler
  • Shadow Watch (video game, 1999) by Red Storm Entertainment
• Bio-Strike (novel, 2000) by Jerome Preisler
• Cold War (novel, 2001) by Jerome Preisler
• Cutting Edge (novel, 2002) by Jerome Preisler
• Zero Hour (novel, 2003) by Jerome Preisler
• Wild Card (novel, 2004) by Jerome Preisler

Ghost Recon universe[link]

• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels
• Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Combat Ops by David Michaels

EndWar universe[link]

• Tom Clancy's EndWar by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels
• Tom Clancy's EndWar: The Hunted by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

H.A.W.X universe[link]

• Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X by Grant Blackwood as David Michaels

Non-fiction[link]

Guided Tour

• Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship (1993)
• Armored Cav: A Guided Tour of an Armored Cavalry Regiment (1994)
• Fighter Wing: A Guided Tour of an Air Force Combat Wing (1995)
• Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit (1996)
• Airborne: A Guided Tour of an Airborne Task Force (1997, ISBN 0-425-15770-9)
• Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier (1999)
• Special Forces: A Guided Tour of U.S. Army Special Forces (2001)

Study in Command

• Into the Storm – On the Ground in Iraq (with Fred Franks) (1997)
• Every Man a Tiger — the Gulf War Air Campaign (with Chuck Horner) (1999)
• Shadow Warriors — Inside the Special Forces (with Carl Stiner) (2002)
• Battle Ready (with Anthony Zinni) (2004)

Other

• The Tom Clancy Companion — Edited by Martin H. Greenberg — Writings by Clancy along with a concordance of all his fiction novels, detailing characters and military units or equipment.

Video games[link]

In 1996, Clancy co-founded the video game developer Red Storm Entertainment and ever since he has had his name on several of Red Storm's most successful games. Red Storm was later bought by publisher Ubisoft Entertainment, which continues to use the Clancy name. This game series includes:

• The Hunt for Red October (1987): Submarine simulation loosely based on the novel of the same name. Produced by Grandslam Entertainment for IBM PC, C64, and Amiga.
• Red Storm Rising (1988): Submarine sim loosely based on the novel of the same name. Produced by MicroProse for IBM PC, C64, and Amiga.
• The Hunt for Red October (1990): Submarine sim based on the movie of the same name. Produced by Grandslam Entertainment for Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, DOS, ZX Spectrum.
• The Hunt for Red October (1990): Submarine sim based on the movie of the same name. Produced for Nintendo Entertainment System, Game Boy, and Super NES.
• SSN (1996): Submarine sim based on the novel of the same name. Produced by Simon & Schuster Interactive for IBM PC.
• ruthless.com (1998) by Red Storm Entertainment: Strategy game based loosely on the book of the same name.
• Shadow Watch (2000): Turn-based strategy based on the Power Play novel of the same name.^[15]
• The Sum of All Fears (2002): Tactical first-person shooter similar in style to Rainbow Six, but based on the Ghost Recon engine. The plot is based on the movie of the same name. Produced by Ubisoft for the IBM PC and Nintendo GameCube system.

• Rainbow Six series: Squad-based first-person shooters, based on the novel of the same name, typically taking place in closed urban environments. Tom Clancy has made 18 Rainbow six games.
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (1998)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Eagle Watch (1999)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (1999)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Urban Operations (2000)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Covert Operations Essentials (2000)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Take-Down – Missions in Korea (2001)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Black Thorn (2001)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lone Wolf (2002)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Black Arrow (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Athena Sword (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Iron Wrath (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Critical Hour (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (2008)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Shadow Vanguard (2011)
  • Tom Clancy's Rainbow 6: Patriots (2013)

• Ghost Recon series: Squad-based first-person shooters/third-person shooters. As opposed to the Rainbow Six games, Ghost Recon usually takes place in larger, outdoor environments.
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon (2001)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Desert Siege (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Island Thunder (2003)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Jungle Storm (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2 (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (2007)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Predator (2010)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wii (2010)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (2012)^[16]
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Online (TBA)

• Splinter Cell series: Third person stealth games, lately spawned a line of books written by a series of different authors, all writing under the pseudonym David Michaels.
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (2004)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Essentials (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (2006)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (2010)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Retribution (TBA)

• EndWar series: Franchise set in a speculative World War III, taking place in 2020.
  • Tom Clancy's EndWar (2008)
  • Tom Clancy's EndWar 2 (TBA)

• H.A.W.X series: Air combat.
  • Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X (2009)
  • Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X 2 (2010)

Board games[link]

• The Hunt for Red October (1988)

  Naval wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered modern naval warfare between NATO and the Warsaw Pact.

• Red Storm Rising (1989)

  Ground warfare wargame published by TSR, Inc., based on the novel of the same name. It covered an attack on NATO forces in western Europe by the Warsaw Pact. It included rules for integration with The Hunt for Red October game of the year before. The publisher reused the system for Europe Aflame (1989), a strategic World War II game, and A Line in the Sand, a strategic game about the First Gulf War.

• Tom Clancy's Politika (1997)^[17]

Achievements and awards[link]

• Clancy is one of only three authors to have sold two million copies on a first printing in the 1990s (the other two being John Grisham and J.K. Rowling). Clancy's 1989 novel Clear and Present Danger sold 1,625,544 hardcover copies, making it the #1 bestselling novel of the 1980s.^[18]

• Clancy received an honorary doctorate in humane letters and delivered the commencement address at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1992, and has since worked a reference to the school into many of his main works.^[19]

• Clancy is an honorary Yeoman Warder of The Tower of London holding the title "Supernumerary Yeoman".^[20] On the television show Ace of Cakes his wife commissioned, for his 60th birthday, a special cake in the shape of the Tower of London in acknowledgment of his status. In the episode, Tom Clancy referred to the Beefeaters as, "Just a terrific bunch of guys".

• Clancy received the Alfred Thayer Mahan Award for Literary Achievement from the Navy League of the United States in 1990.

In popular culture[link]

The BBC Radio 4 sitcom Deep Trouble, set on a nuclear submarine, features a humorous version of Clancy as a recurring character. He is portrayed by Ben Willbond, co-writer of the series.^[21]

See also[link]

• Publishers Weekly lists of bestselling novels in the United States
• List of novelists by nationality

• John le Carré
• Stephen Coonts
• Charles Cumming
• Ian Fleming
• Frederick Forsyth
• James Clancy Phelan

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Tom Clancy on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Official Tom Clancy Web Site
• Transcript of interview with Deborah Norville on the War in Iraq — April 2004
• Detailed Tom Clancy Book Reviews
• Tom Clancy FAQ
• Tom Clancy at the Internet Book Database of Fiction
• Tom Clancy at the Internet Movie Database
• The Page of Tom Clancy's Primary Publisher
• Booknotes interview with Clancy and Gen. Fred Franks on Into the Storm: A Study in Command, July 13, 1997.
• In Depth interview with Clancy, February 3, 2002

Literary reviews and criticism[link]

• "Something for the Boys" by Christopher Hitchens, The New York Review of Books, November 14, 1996. A review of Clancy's Marine: A Guided Tour of a Marine Expeditionary Unit.