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"."

Comments

The boy who cried wolf

[alvinrod]

Jack Thompson is nothing more than the boy who cried wolf. While his tactics are effective at first, eventually people will get sick of him blowing the whistle on anything that seems innapropriate to him. When they do, he will be left flapping is jaws and wondering why no one is listening to him.

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.

Re:Internet Audio Not Radio

[theWrkncacnter]

And I'd futher like to point out that if you glanced to the left of the page you would have seen that it says, very clearly: "The ChatterBox Video Game Radio show airs weekly from KFNX 1100AM in Phoenix, Arizona."

What an idiot.

[Trepalium]

If this idiot wants to do something, how about finding a way to prevent these M rated titles from find their way into the hands of children? The M rating clearly says that it's for ages 17 and up, and these idiots continue to complain that 12 and 13 year old children are playing the game. The M rating is supposed to be equivalent to the MPAA's R rating for movies, and by and large, it is (perhaps it's even more generous with that rating than the MPAA is).

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.

How about we just ignore him?

[Lewisham]

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.

You don't know Jack

[Kaenneth]

Jack Thompson is naked under his clothes.
Jack Thompson keeps talking about sex.
Jack Thompson has a poorly defined, but detectible penis.

ban Jack Thompson!