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Game Violence Lawsuit Hits Take Two, Sony, Wal-Mart

Posted by simoniker on from the famous-radiohead-song dept.

oDDmON oUT writes "According to TBO/AP, $246 million is being sought from hardware manufacturer Sony, game publisher Take Two, and retailer Wal-Mart, by the families of victims killed by two teenagers supposedly inspired by Grand Theft Auto. The suit was initiated by Miami lawyer, Jack Thompson, and is not the first time that Thompson has attempted to sue game makers. His crusade to implicate video games in violent incidents has led to countless media appearances, but his 1997 efforts to implicate id and others in a $33 million dollar suit stemming from a school shooting ultimately failed, when the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case, writing that: 'We find that it is simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom.'" This looks to be an extension of the lawsuit filed last month.

2 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"Wal-Marting" of games by NexusTw1n · · Score: 4, Insightful

    That storyline may have been removed but the plot about a cabin boy/slave who loves his master despite the fact he regularly physically hurts him was kept in. The aforementioned underage boy will flirt openly with male characters in the group.

    The irony with Walmart being inconsistant with its demands for censorship is it leaves them wide open to the charge of disapproving of consenting adults paying for sex, while having no problem with child abuse...

    Whereas if they hadn't censored the brothel, they could at least argue that they don't care about the content as long as minors don't buy it.

    It's a bit like demanding the rocking car in GTA3 is taken out while having no problem with killing a hooker for her money. It generates a rather mixed message about your morality.

    --
    It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. --Albert Einstein
  2. Re:you must be soooooo conflicted. by pbrammer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Take Two and Sony should not be sued -- they did their part by putting a MA rating on the game.

    Wal*Mart on the other hand, should be sued because they allegedly sold the game to kids who are under the age of the MA rating. If their parents bought the game, then Wal*Mart should not be sued, but rather their parents should.

    This is an easy case to close IMO.

    Phil