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Jack Thompson Continues To Talk
Lucerin Red writes "It seems the next game on Jack Thompson's censorship list is Killer 7. The article posted by IGN quotes Jack as saying "There is no question in my mind that a videogame containing 'full-blown sex sequences' cannot be rated anything other than 'AO' rather than 'M.'" The 'full-blown sex sequences' are no more then you could see in a rated R movie." Meanwhile, MowAlon writes "Those of you keeping up with all the latest in the Rockstar Games/Take-Two Interactive/ESRB/EA Games sex scandal may be interested in a radio interview just made available: ChatterBox Video Game Radio just posted an 80-minute audio interview with Jack Thompson, the Miami lawyer out to shut down Rockstar Games. The interview provides a much deeper insight into his views, opinions, and efforts than anything else I've read about him elsewhere on the internet. One highlight includes Jack saying "Will Wright said he wants Electronic Arts to collaborate with the porn industry to allow wholesale modification of their game"."
If he wanted to go after GTA and get it an AO rating for the violence, I'd probably be fine with that. Considering the amount of violence in the game, it's not too hard for anyone who's ever played it to say it may be innapropriate for a majority of younger teenagers. Consider, for example, the movie Titanic in which you could see a breast that wasn't a really poor and clunky animation rendered on 5 year old hardware. This movie was rated PG-13. Consider several R rated movies with sex scenes that are more pornographic than the comical and largely unerotic scene in San Andreas.
This is merely the latest Salem witch trial. Eventually the whole thing will blow over. Eventually, Jack Thompson, like Senator McCarthy will go so far over the top that he will lose credibility. I think that this has already happened to an extent when he went after The Sims 2. When he does go, I can honestly say that I won't miss him one bit. Goodbye, moronic fuckwad.
If he wants to lobby for something, perhaps they should make the ESRB ratings enforcable on game resellers or something. Perhaps levy fines on retailers who sell M or AO games to children under 17 (e.g. require ID to purchase these games). It'd probably be an easier fight than Jack's crusade to destroy the ESRB and Rockstar.
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
It seems the only people who print stories about Jack Thompson are gaming sites. How about we just ignore him? He's obviously been terribly ineffective at a mainstream media and lobbying level. It's only when people like Hilary Clinton start shouting that anyone listens.
He feeds on people hating him. I worry that games journalists are feeding off him too. IGN, Gamespot, Slashdot, Kotaku all need to stop running stories on him, then he'll have nothing left.
We don't all need a bad guy, people.
The game industry needs an advocacy group, or maybe have a lobbyist or perhaps buy off a senator :P
Seriously, you don't see gun manufacturers targeted like you might have in the past. Anyone remember that video of those Columbine kids with a small arsenal shooting trees in the woods? Anyone try to trace back where they got those guns and hold them as responsible as Doom??
These grieving families get counciled by layers that tell them to sue the video game companies, and defense lawyers use it as a defense tactic...not much different than what they tried to do to rock, when some kids commited suicide after playing a Judas Priest record backwards...or with rap when this guy shot a state trooper and blamed it on Tupac b/c he was listening to one of his songs in the car.
The game industry has always had its level of releative violence, even before Mortal Kombat. IMO the main problem is that the industry has become more visible and mainstream, and it has no real protection against people like this guy Thompson trying to rage his own little war.
On the other side, Rockstar's recent actions don't help matters...the explicitness (or lack of) the content is not the point. Their dishonsty makes an organization like the ESRB look ineffective. Additionally, it doesn't help when you have fools commiting murder over virtual property. You don't give the enemy anything to hold over you, regardless of whether you think its inconsequential. If they can use it, that's a problem.
"Death and poverty like me so much, they brought friends!" - Vash the Stampede, Trigun
Well, it's partly rational. I really think Thompson is truly stretching the point and makign all kinds of specious arguments. Especially when it comes to his discussion of the class action suit.
When we start holding parents at fault? When do we start punishing the legal guardians? If we advocate fining retailers for selling the product to under-age kids, will we bring charges against the parents? I've worked in retail. In most cases, it's an adult that makes the purchase, irrespective of wether or not you make a point of directing them to the age rating. It seems that you can't make parents aware of the problem.
Does anyone else find it ironic that the radio station he was interviewed for has the same name as a GTA radio station, a series he's always been so avidly fighting? (In GTAIII, the talk radio station was called Chatterbox, hosted by Lazlo, for anyone who didn't know) ...Anyone? Didn't think so.
You know, some of Jack's points were really interesting. But you could have countered better? C'mon how many times did you bring up the Ken/Barbie doll defense? You could have easily just told him to switch on the TV at any time of the day and you'll see things which are 100x more serious than videogames. You also let him talk too long when replying to an answer and often times he sidetracked you into another argument. (WTH was he doing talking about McCarthiasm.. I mean c'mon) I wish you had done some more research on the ESRB, Lowenstein, ESA etc. The illinois ban he mentioned is being challenged for a number of valid reasons and I really wish you looked into all this stuff before the interview. It also seemed to me that you bought into some of his arguments regarding interactivity of video games having more of an effect than movies yet there is no solid scientific study to back it up. And you fail to mention that that obviously the vast majority of the video gaming population doesn't go kill people. You know, if this guy actually was working to reform the industry (he really does have some valid points but from his arguments he's obviously just doing this to milk his 30-seconds of fame for all its worth), I would actually be rooting for him. That being said, I'm sure you learned about interviewing through this experience and you will be better prepared when you interview a prominent figure in the future. Mr. Thompson was clearly trying to overwhelm you with his legal innuendos and side tracking arguments.