Everybody's favourite anti-violent game activist, Jack Thompson, is once again attacking game publisher Take-Two over the release of Manhunt 2 and GTA IV.
Making it clear that he will never give up, Thompson has filed a lawsuit to "prevent the sale of two hyperviolent video games set to be released this year and sold to anyone under 17 years of age".
Thompson goes on to state that despite both games receiving 'Mature' ratings from the ESRB ratings board, findings have revealed that "they are still sold 42% of the time to kids under 17."
He continues his offensive on the games publisher: "Take-Two aggressively markets its 'Mature' games to children, as it was caught this past year placing Grand Theft Auto ads on public transport in major US metropolitan areas despite promises by the industry to stop that practice after Columbine."
He goes on to bring up the 'Games make people violent' argument, stating: "The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a clear causal link between violent games and teen aggression."
Speaking about Manhunt 2, Thompson highlights: "The player can plunge a syringe into the eye of his foes and removes their testicles." The statement later clarifies that Thompson "still has his testicles".
Will Thompson achieve his goal in stopping what could be the biggest game of the year, GTA IV, from ever being released and rid the world of violent videogames forever? Somehow, we doubt it.
He’s going after the wrong people. It’s not the fault of Rockstar if shops sell there appropriately rated games to kids. I don’t want to enter into the whole Jack Thompson debate again, it just gets me all
He is moaning about the sale of videogames to underage gamers, when he could be on a more important issue of selling cigarettes and alcohol to underage people. People like this man p**s me right off. They say videogames and aggression are linked.
A long time ago the NHS found a link between smoking and cancer, yet there is no ban on cigarettes.
Seriously this bloke needs to get laid and quick that way he will stop acting like a dick. Like Mr A Hulse said its not Rockstars fault if shops sell it to kids. I was what 15/16 when the first GTA came out and I got it is that Rockstars fault? When is this dude going to realise that no matter what age gets stuck to the box kids will still get their hands on it if they want it. So my advice to him is to stop putting his energy into sueing rockstar and put it into finding a mrs instead.
Is anyone really surprised at this? The guy's whole political career has been made on the back of the conservative element who want to blame everything but themselves. He is the Joseph McCarthy of the modern era. 1.) Rockstar are not responsible for the illegal acts of the stores that distribute their product. Their obligations stop at the final product and marketing of that product. And how in the hell are they supposed to stop it anyway? 2.) Last time I checked marketing a game wasn't illegal and in order for it to be seen, adverts of a non-mature kind can be put in places where many people will see it. 3.) Finally the APA report of 2005 does not find a clear link between game and real life violence. The report hedges it's bets for one very simple reason. If your work depends on grants and someone offers you a tonne of money to find a 'link' then of course you may find 'something', and that something may just require another grant for follow-up work etc Self-fulfilling prophecy I'm afraid. 4.) How does he know the content of a game that hasn't been shown yet as far as I know. I hardly think he's top of the list of people games companies want to show their newest titles too. 5.) Why has he got such a hard-on for Rockstar?
Is it not about time that Jack Thompson thought of a normal way to make money, rather than trying to make a fast buck off rockstar and the american people?, if he went out and got a 'real' job he might realise that it can be circumstances and peer pressure that lead to mass killings, not us gamers sat happily at home playing away. Nob head
“A recent study in New York among 21 junior doctors revealed that those who were or had at one time been regular videogame players performed palpably better in surgical procedures, especially keyhole surgery, requiring, as it dose, subtle manoeuvres with a joystick based on feedback from a monitor. Regular gamers were found to be 27% faster and made 37% fewer errors than their luddite colleagues, while those who played even more made 47% fewer errors and clocked in at 49% faster. While it’s unlikely that medical school will be replaced with a series of massive networked Halo 2 tournaments in the near future, the study adds another credible piece of evidence to the argument that, far from being harmful, playing videogames can actually confer a range of benefits beyond the pleasant passing of free time.”
"The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a clear causal link between violent games and teen aggression"
Thats is true. What he doesn't say is that the level of agression is still not enough for the teeanger to go shooting actual people. Its more agression in the form of "damnit, lost again", not "must.kill.people"
This is boredering on harassment surely! Trying to ban a game before we know anything about the content! (What is GTA anyway).
When will this guy realise though that he is giving the games more coverage by what he is doing, maybe thats it, really he's a Take Two employee, and through clever marketing they will take over the world.
Sorry! Moving forward from a few previous posts, my nephew has been playing computer games since he was about 2 in one way or another, and he is top of his class at school in many areas, his problem solving skills are fantastic, and has great hand eye co-ordination. He does get aggressive when playing games, as stated, annoyance not completing levels or loosing etc, but he is one of the most well behave well adjusted 10 years there could be.
Seriously this bloke needs to get laid and quick that way he will stop acting like a dick. Like Mr A Hulse said its not Rockstars fault if shops sell it to kids. I was what 15/16 when the first GTA came out and I got it is that Rockstars fault? When is this dude going to realise that no matter what age gets stuck to the box kids will still get their hands on it if they want it. So my advice to him is to stop putting his energy into sueing rockstar and put it into finding a mrs instead.
Whilst I understand the sentiment, this kind of attitude is hardly productive. Yes he's an idiot and should be concentrating on the distributors of games and parents who don't understand that computer games are no longer 'just for kids'... but making juvenile comments on his ability to get laid?
Does anyone else think that we should all group together and send him an open letter in protest to his email? I'm sure if enough of us bombard his email address in a short period of time we can make him take notice.
Thompson has made his career by being an "ambulance chaser" type of lawyer. His wrath was directed to rap and heavy metal in the nineties, then video nasties, etc. He isn't a pleasant guy at all, far from his moral posturing - accusing a politician who criticised him of being a lesbian, then suing her for assault when she touched him on the arm!
Seriously, something needs to be done about him but as long as we are all talking and not doing, it won't be. We have a voice people, let's start using it.
Jack Thompson was 34 years of age when he acquired his first videogame. That game was CounterStrike. He went online and proceeded to get pwned six ways to Sunday. In his frustration, he vowed to begin a movement. Once he finished in the loo, he vowed to begin a movement of a less literal kind. The movement to rid the world of its most exciting entertainment meduim... "I don't like them, so nobody can play them" - The Jack Thompson story. Coming soon to absolutely nowhere. Rated OMFGSTFU.
I bet school is hell for Jack Thompson's kid. "Yo Jimmy, you played the new Burnout? It's awesome!" "Um.. no, my daddy says the graphic depictions of wanton and glorified car dismemberment is unsuitable for my wikkil bwain to compweehend... he even says it in that voice. He's trying to get it banned, just like every other game that comes out." "Wow, your dad sure hates games doesn't he?" "Yes. It's a sexual potency issue. One night he came home and caught mommy playing tetris. He said the way the elongated block fit between the other ones was too suggestive and that she was trying to find a replacement for him. On top of that, consoles are banned in my house. There was whiskey and shouting..."
The man's an idiot. He doesn't care about the youth of America, all he cares about is lining his own pockets and gaining a moderate amount of infamy. It's funny how these stories always seem to pop up just as people are forgeting about him. The man seems to enjoy Googling his own name and seeing what comes up. I personally think sites like CVG should stop posting stories on him whenever he tries to pop his ignorant head up and we should all stop replying to them (though I'm doing what I say not to at the minute... but I blame my being two-faced on videogames, obviously) and maybe he'll realise we don't care who he is and just try out for American Idol instead like every other attention whore does.
I reckon he sucked at pac-man or something as a kid and everyone used to laugh and point at him and since that day he's vowed to bring games to there doom.
Whilst I understand the sentiment, this kind of attitude is hardly productive. Yes he's an idiot and should be concentrating on the distributors of games and parents who don't understand that computer games are no longer 'just for kids'... but making juvenile comments on his ability to get laid?
Whilst I understand the sentiment, this kind of attitude is hardly productive. Yes he's an idiot and should be concentrating on the distributors of games and parents who don't understand that computer games are no longer 'just for kids'... but making juvenile comments on his ability to get laid?
IIRC he's married and has a kid...
I was joking jeez
Yeah, but he's taken such comments in the past and gone to the FBI with them saying that gamers are plotting to kill him...
Whilst I understand the sentiment, this kind of attitude is hardly productive. Yes he's an idiot and should be concentrating on the distributors of games and parents who don't understand that computer games are no longer 'just for kids'... but making juvenile comments on his ability to get laid?
IIRC he's married and has a kid...
I was joking jeez
Yeah, but he's taken such comments in the past and gone to the FBI with them saying that gamers are plotting to kill him...
It's just adding fuel to his fire...
Precisely - don't descend to his level... it's demeaning and counter-productive...
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That reminds me…
