John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law 1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111 Coral Gables, Florida 33146 305-666-4366 jackpeace@comcast.net
July 14, 2005
Open Letter to the Members of the Entertainment Software Association:
Activision, Inc. Atari, Inc. Buena Vista Games, Inc. Capcom USA, Inc. Crave Entertainment Eidos Interactive Electronic Arts Her Interactive, Inc. id Software Konami Digital Entertainment America LucasArts Microsoft Corporation Midway Games, Inc. Namco Hometek, Inc. Nintendo of America Inc. NovaLogic, Inc. SEGA of America, Inc. Sony Computer Entertainment America Square Enix, Inc. Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. THQ, Inc. Ubisoft Entertainment, Inc. Vivendi Universal Games Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc. Wild Tangent
Dear ESA Members:
Today, United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, with initiatives she will announce at a 10 am news conference in our nation's capital, is acting decisively in furtherance of what for her has been a strong leadership role on these issues since Columbine--a tragedy caused in part by the violent video game industry. Millions of American parents should be thankful to the Senator for striking back against what can be fairly called "Grand Theft Innocence" at the expense of our children by only some within your industry.
It has been my privilege, as a lifelong Republican, to provide facts--not feelings--about the reckless practices of certain members of this industry, some of which are Members of the ESA, in the midst of responsible fact-gathering by Senator Rodham Clinton's staff. The Senator is not a newcomer on this issue. She has been an abiding and loyal advocate for parents who oppose predatory, fraudulent practices by some within your video game industry.
I am happy to help the Senator, just as I have worked with Democrats like Senator Joseph Lieberman and Washington State Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, as well as with fellow Republicans, for what for me have been nearly seven years of effort to try to get certain companies within the video game industry to start acting like good corporate citizens. Senator Rodham Clinton is today at the forefront of an issue that is not partisan in nature, nor should it be. The Republican Party would do well to wake up and realize that Senator Clinton is about the work that needs to be done. Today is a mere extension of her years of commitment. This is not politics. This is leadership.
As a lifelong Republican who ran against Janet Reno, I can note that whereas the largest chapter of the National Organization for Women, located in New York, has had me address them regarding the misogyny and violence against women depicted in the Grand Theft Auto games, the supposedly "family values" Republican President of the United States, George W. Bush, has consistently turned away from parents who have asked him to speak out against the entertainment industry's assault on our children.
The evening in January 2000 that I appeared on NBC Nightly News to talk about the link between violent games and Columbine, Tom Brokaw asked then Governor Bush about that link and what he as President would do about it? George Bush simply said "Parents just have to be better parents." He should trying telling that to my clients in Paducah whose three daughters were gunned down by 14-year-old video gamer Michael Carneal, who trained on Doom to become a more efficient killer. What did they, as parents, Mr. President, do wrong? Was sending their kids to school their mistake?
George Bush, as Governor of Texas, gave a state tax break to Id Software of Dallas, the makers of Doom, after Columbine, for Heaven's sake, and it is his Department of Defense which has subsidized with taxpayer dollars the creation of violent video games for teen consumption at the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has increased funding for this taxpayer
I do because I figured out a way to put a rearview mirror on the frames of my glasses. People say I look like a big nerd, but that's okay. When the borg come at me from behind, I'll be ready.
The SP is probably one of the most perfect pieces of production design I've ever held. It is beautiful and practical and the right size and everything. This micro looks like it's got DS's problem of buttons too close to the edge. Of course, there's nothing but edge to put them on.
See, I'm seeing something totally different in that image. Look at the neon signs.
1. Playstation is blue. 2. Nintendo is red. 3. The shop is called Game One. In blue and red. No green in that sign. 4. The open sign on the door? A blue "halo" absorbing the red lettering. 5. That car parked in front of the store is blue, with just a little bit of red on the gas door.
I think this picture clearly illustrates that Sony (the color blue) is going to be buying out Nintendo (the color red) and forming One Game company.
Or maybe I'm just looking at pictures and reading way the hell too much into them.
Only criminals and followers of that upstart from the colonies. What was his name again? Jeeesie? Josie? Yes, I know you're about to die. Enough saluting and on with the dying at the hands of imperial mechs!
I think it's really cool how you say "a few Buds" all casual and cool-like, and then make sure that we all understand that this is fancy, imported "Budiwar chezch beer,not budweiser" (sic) so that we don't think you're some lowly plebian. In fact, it is we who are the lowly plebes, for when we hear of someone having a "Bud", we think of one of the most heavily advertised brands this country has to offer instead of a beer that few of us have heard of- a beer so good that its name should be capitalized even when the country it comes from does not get such treatment (or even correct spelling).
Truly you are a god among men. Thank you, Fidel Catsro.
I don't remember where I first learned about Snood, but I can attest to the cult mentality that surrounds it. It's the first shareware game where I grew up and paid the paltry sum instead of just finding a hack for it. And when I saw it was available on the gba I didn't hesitate to pick up a copy, glad to know that some guy just wrote a simple, fun little game and that it ended up on a cart.
"Game developers are in a losing battle against piracy."
What battle are they losing? I'm honestly asking. I keep reading that game publishers are making more money than ever before.
Is it the battle to make more money? Because they seem to be winning that battle.
Is it the battle to annoy their honest customers? Because they seem to be winning that battle hands down.
Or is it the battle to defeat people who want to not pay for their games? Because that battle can't be won.
There will always be a scene dedicated to their zero-day downloads and the like. I'm not saying no copy protection is the answer, but requiring online authentication every time a session of entertainment software is run is laughably overboard.
"Some of them are still making games for peer group approval - that has to stop."
i realize this is a business guy making the statement, but god...
peer group approval is what gives us the crazy stuff like katamari damacy, warioware, and others. if that stops, we get stuck with nothing but incremental sequels to racing games, sports franchises, and the army men series.
The ps3's gonna have a hoobaflop of processing power. The neXtbox (or whatever) is going to be able to download content from the future. The revolution is going to fit in your wallet and come in yellow or green.
What are these things going to do besides juggle more polygons and present cleaner textures? Are we looking at new kinds of gameplay?
I remember being a little kid, looking at Nintendo Power's codes section and wondering where all those codes came from. Did kids like me just sit there all day punching random codes in and seeing what happened?
Looks like someone figured out a way to do just that.
Probably not likely, but I'm hoping. There are a few frames from the end of the trailer that certainly look like a spot on vision of the great glass elevator.
Too bad Dahl didn't write a third book, because then it would be a lock. Everyone seems to have such a damned hard on for trilogies these days.
Slashdot Mirror
John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 South Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146
305-666-4366
jackpeace@comcast.net
July 14, 2005
Open Letter to the Members of the Entertainment Software Association:
Activision, Inc.
Atari, Inc.
Buena Vista Games, Inc.
Capcom USA, Inc.
Crave Entertainment
Eidos Interactive
Electronic Arts
Her Interactive, Inc.
id Software
Konami Digital Entertainment America
LucasArts
Microsoft Corporation
Midway Games, Inc.
Namco Hometek, Inc.
Nintendo of America Inc.
NovaLogic, Inc.
SEGA of America, Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America
Square Enix, Inc.
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
THQ, Inc.
Ubisoft Entertainment, Inc.
Vivendi Universal Games
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Inc.
Wild Tangent
Dear ESA Members:
Today, United States Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, with initiatives she will announce at a 10 am news conference in our nation's capital, is acting decisively in furtherance of what for her has been a strong leadership role on these issues since Columbine--a tragedy caused in part by the violent video game industry. Millions of American parents should be thankful to the Senator for striking back against what can be fairly called "Grand Theft Innocence" at the expense of our children by only some within your industry.
It has been my privilege, as a lifelong Republican, to provide facts--not feelings--about the reckless practices of certain members of this industry, some of which are Members of the ESA, in the midst of responsible fact-gathering by Senator Rodham Clinton's staff. The Senator is not a newcomer on this issue. She has been an abiding and loyal advocate for parents who oppose predatory, fraudulent practices by some within your video game industry.
I am happy to help the Senator, just as I have worked with Democrats like Senator Joseph Lieberman and Washington State Representative Mary Lou Dickerson, as well as with fellow Republicans, for what for me have been nearly seven years of effort to try to get certain companies within the video game industry to start acting like good corporate citizens. Senator Rodham Clinton is today at the forefront of an issue that is not partisan in nature, nor should it be. The Republican Party would do well to wake up and realize that Senator Clinton is about the work that needs to be done. Today is a mere extension of her years of commitment. This is not politics. This is leadership.
As a lifelong Republican who ran against Janet Reno, I can note that whereas the largest chapter of the National Organization for Women, located in New York, has had me address them regarding the misogyny and violence against women depicted in the Grand Theft Auto games, the supposedly "family values" Republican President of the United States, George W. Bush, has consistently turned away from parents who have asked him to speak out against the entertainment industry's assault on our children.
The evening in January 2000 that I appeared on NBC Nightly News to talk about the link between violent games and Columbine, Tom Brokaw asked then Governor Bush about that link and what he as President would do about it? George Bush simply said "Parents just have to be better parents." He should trying telling that to my clients in Paducah whose three daughters were gunned down by 14-year-old video gamer Michael Carneal, who trained on Doom to become a more efficient killer. What did they, as parents, Mr. President, do wrong? Was sending their kids to school their mistake?
George Bush, as Governor of Texas, gave a state tax break to Id Software of Dallas, the makers of Doom, after Columbine, for Heaven's sake, and it is his Department of Defense which has subsidized with taxpayer dollars the creation of violent video games for teen consumption at the Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld has increased funding for this taxpayer
Sounds like you have very interesting days, friend.
I do because I figured out a way to put a rearview mirror on the frames of my glasses. People say I look like a big nerd, but that's okay. When the borg come at me from behind, I'll be ready.
Comrade!
I thought I was the only one here who didn't like Family Guy.
We could... force 'em to um... only buy Microsoft stuff. That would teach 'em!
Who cares?
Electroplankton is being released stateside!
I don't know if this thing has the port on it for multiplayer. And besides, the wireless adapter requires a flat surface and the micro seems curved.
The SP is probably one of the most perfect pieces of production design I've ever held. It is beautiful and practical and the right size and everything. This micro looks like it's got DS's problem of buttons too close to the edge. Of course, there's nothing but edge to put them on.
See, I'm seeing something totally different in that image. Look at the neon signs.
1. Playstation is blue.
2. Nintendo is red.
3. The shop is called Game One. In blue and red. No green in that sign.
4. The open sign on the door? A blue "halo" absorbing the red lettering.
5. That car parked in front of the store is blue, with just a little bit of red on the gas door.
I think this picture clearly illustrates that Sony (the color blue) is going to be buying out Nintendo (the color red) and forming One Game company.
Or maybe I'm just looking at pictures and reading way the hell too much into them.
Only criminals and followers of that upstart from the colonies. What was his name again? Jeeesie? Josie? Yes, I know you're about to die. Enough saluting and on with the dying at the hands of imperial mechs!
I think it's really cool how you say "a few Buds" all casual and cool-like, and then make sure that we all understand that this is fancy, imported "Budiwar chezch beer ,not budweiser" (sic) so that we don't think you're some lowly plebian. In fact, it is we who are the lowly plebes, for when we hear of someone having a "Bud", we think of one of the most heavily advertised brands this country has to offer instead of a beer that few of us have heard of- a beer so good that its name should be capitalized even when the country it comes from does not get such treatment (or even correct spelling).
Truly you are a god among men. Thank you, Fidel Catsro.
I don't remember where I first learned about Snood, but I can attest to the cult mentality that surrounds it. It's the first shareware game where I grew up and paid the paltry sum instead of just finding a hack for it. And when I saw it was available on the gba I didn't hesitate to pick up a copy, glad to know that some guy just wrote a simple, fun little game and that it ended up on a cart.
"Game developers are in a losing battle against piracy."
What battle are they losing? I'm honestly asking. I keep reading that game publishers are making more money than ever before.
Is it the battle to make more money?
Because they seem to be winning that battle.
Is it the battle to annoy their honest customers?
Because they seem to be winning that battle hands down.
Or is it the battle to defeat people who want to not pay for their games?
Because that battle can't be won.
There will always be a scene dedicated to their zero-day downloads and the like. I'm not saying no copy protection is the answer, but requiring online authentication every time a session of entertainment software is run is laughably overboard.
"Some of them are still making games for peer group approval - that has to stop."
i realize this is a business guy making the statement, but god...
peer group approval is what gives us the crazy stuff like katamari damacy, warioware, and others. if that stops, we get stuck with nothing but incremental sequels to racing games, sports franchises, and the army men series.
The ps3's gonna have a hoobaflop of processing power. The neXtbox (or whatever) is going to be able to download content from the future. The revolution is going to fit in your wallet and come in yellow or green.
What are these things going to do besides juggle more polygons and present cleaner textures? Are we looking at new kinds of gameplay?
I remember being a little kid...
Yes, I know that now. But thank you for your pedantry.
I remember being a little kid, looking at Nintendo Power's codes section and wondering where all those codes came from. Did kids like me just sit there all day punching random codes in and seeing what happened?
Looks like someone figured out a way to do just that.
If it does, this guy will be all over it.
Their site's been acting up for over a week. I higly doubt this is a dotting.
For what I'm paying for the ink, I should most certainly hope so.
So I'm not the only one that can't tell them apart most of the time.
Probably not likely, but I'm hoping. There are a few frames from the end of the trailer that certainly look like a spot on vision of the great glass elevator. Too bad Dahl didn't write a third book, because then it would be a lock. Everyone seems to have such a damned hard on for trilogies these days.
It's functionality doesn't make it any less annoying.
I'm all for complete and total freedom to air all the profanity, nudity, violence and whatever else, but please...
Congress shall make no law...
and i get modded troll?