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Thompson Stifled by Take Two Suit
Take Two has done something that many gamers have probably dreamed of: they've managed to make Jack Thompson shut up. In return for dismissing their suit against Thompson (and the dismissal of Thompson's counter-suit), Thompson has agreed to limit communication with Take-Two Entertainment. He's also barred for the time being from filing suit against games made by the company, ensuring we'll see a minimum of court drama around the release of GTA IV later this year. Ars Technica's Opposable Thumbs blog reports: "It appears that his once mighty roar is now to be temporarily quieted, as the well-documented case--which included numerous bold claims, outrageous scandals, and even a counter-suit--between Thompson and publisher Take-Two has reached a settlement ... Any statements or concerns that Thompson wishes to voice will now have to first go through Take-Two's lawyers."
About time somebody got that idiot to quiet down. Wonder if he can sit on his hands like a good boy or if he's just going to harass somebody else in the meantime. I'm not holding my breath.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Some of the best publicity Take Two has gotten for its games has come from Jack Thompson. I only noticed Bully when JT sued to stop it from being released; I ended up buying a copy and finding that it was a pretty good game. They should let JT continue to rant and give their legal department some of Marketing's budget.
Jack is actually our best friend because he's such a wack job that these things get overturned and set a precident for future legislation.
Thank you Jack. Don't ever change...
---S.
Please note: I tried to use the sarcasm tags, but the filter rejected them.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
For such a narcissistic egomaniac as him to agree to this, he must have realized just how hosed he was. Good for Take-Two.
If brevity is the soul of wit, then how does one explain Twitter?
where Thompson's money comes from? Wikipedia says he's an attorney but it's hard to see how he has spare time to do any actual "attorneying" for anyone. Does he make a living purely from interviews, or is there a sinister backer we should know about?
He certainly isn't silenced beyond some limited Take-Two criticism.
Despite several folks, including dorm mates, saying the Cho never played computers game (he spent most of his time writing)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weG7A4lTGtg
I would have much rather seen Take Two continue with their contempt of court case (which looked pretty strong) and get this attention whore thrown in jail. The guy acts like a madman when he gets on the subject of violent games and has a long history of frivolous lawsuits against the gaming industry, so I can't imagine it would have been difficult for them to succeed in their second filing.
Jack Thompson's insanity is far older than TakeTwo. Remember the outrage about Body Count's Cop Killer song? That was Thompson.
And this my friends, is how an evil, evil man uses a tragedy to advance his agenda.
There is a war going on for your mind.
Think about it...what is the best way to marginalize a set of opinions? By being very radical in a very public way. Thompson's crusade has made him the poster boy for all those who would try to ban violent video games, and his status as a laughing stock means other like-minded individuals don't want to be identified with him and back down from their positions.
So could it be that Jack Thompson is really working for the game industry, out there embarassing into silence anyone who would voice a similar opinion if it weren't for his incessant babbling?
What's more, good ol' JT has done more to get consumers educated about game ratings with his public displays of affliction than the government and ESRB ever could have. Thanks to him and others like him, parents are aware of the ratings system that is the standard rebuttal by the game industry when they get airtime thanks to Jack.
I think we need to stop hating Jack Thompson and thank him. Thank him for crippling the efforts to ban or restrict violent games. Thank him for giving the game industry a voice in the national media in the form of rebuttals to his statements. Thank him for giving the media a reason to discuss how the game industry and retail stores already provide concerned parents with the ability to know what their child will be playing.
Thank you, Jack Thompson. Thank you. Your secret is safe with us.
120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
He's been giving (well, helping give) Florida a bad name since at least 1990.
This is not my sandwich.
For someone filled with such righteous indignation, he folded like a cheap accordion.
It makes you wonder just how deep seated his convictions really are.
Proud member of the American Non Sequitur Society. We might not make much sense, but boy do we love pizza!
from TFA: "The shooting on the Virginia Tech campus was only hours old, police hadn't even identified the gunman, and yet already the perpetrator had been fingered and was in the midst of being skewered in the media.
Video games. They were to blame for the dozens dead and wounded. They were behind the bloodiest massacre in U.S. history.
Or so Jack Thompson told Fox News and, in the days that followed, would continue to tell anyone who'd listen.
my sig is an honor student
And in a letter sent to Bill Gates Wednesday, he wrote: "Mr. Gates, your company is potentially legally liable (for) the harm done at Virginia Tech. Your game, a killing simulator, according to the news that used to be in the Post, trained him to enjoy killing and how to kill."
He's talking about f'cking counter-strike.
What a dingus malingus.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
Apparently he settled out right before a contempt hearing was set in the state court. He was apparently about to get his ass slapped pretty hard for something. Since I don't have access to the state court file, I can't tell you what it is. I'll see what I can find out and let everyone know.