Thompson doesn't actually threaten suit in response, but certainly is threatening. It's a good thing though, because for all you non-law kids out there, or people who didn't receive the same training by watching The People vs. Larry Flynt, while people are protected from libel and slander they are not protected from parody, which this clearly is.
For fun, here are some great Jack Thompson quotes:
I can tell you that some crimes would not occur but for the violent entertainment. For the families of the deceased, that is the only statistic that matters.
Armies have been known to go on rape rampages after battles because the violence stimulates sexual aggression. How lovely that GTA weds sex and violence in the same game.
The heads of six major health care organizations testified before Congress that there are "hundreds" of studies that prove the link. All the video game industry has are studies paid for by them, which are geared to find the opposite result. Lawyers call such experts "whores."
You just watch. There is going to be a Columbine-times-10 incident, and everyone will finally get it. Either that, or some video gamer is going to go Columbine at some video game exec's expense or at E3, and then the industry will begin to realize that there is no place to hide, that it has trained a nation of Manchurian Children.
Thanks EA for the links.
"Lady don't take no shit. Insist to walk around like a woman."
4 comments:
Is it me or does it almost sound like Jack Thompson is rooting for a Columbine type event to happen. He really wants some mass murder to occur, hopes the kid has looked at a copy of GTA, so he can point at it and say: "See, I told you!"
Another thing that has always bothered me was how these kids get their hands on games like GTA. With a game with thatmuch controversy surrounding it there is so much security. When I picked up my copy the cashier embarrasingly said that she had to card me, I am 27. I was also standing in line behind someone who was picking it up for her kid. The cashier said that the game was rated mature and contained graphic violence, language and sex. The woman did not care and bought it for her what looked to be 12 year old. My point is, the people that are doing the complaining are the same people who went to Toys R Us and bought the gamne for their kid and then became appalled when they just pass by their kid and the f-bombs come-a-flyin'. I say lock these people up for corrupting a minor and leave the rest of us the fuck alone.
My parents would have bought me GTA at that age (or, rather, if they wouldn't, the issue would have been money). My parents let me watch movies with nudity, swearing, violence, whatever. That's fine. If a parent wants to buy GTA for a kid, that's fine. The store should be encouraged to warn the parent of the nature of the game.
Once you have that covered, the issue is over, IMO. If the games are accurately labelled and the stores are doing their part to keep them away from kids, and the advertisers aren't specifically targetting rated M games to young children (which is a problem), then there is no problem except bad parenting.
What I want to know is why can you get away with so more more, sexually, in a Rated R movie than you can in a Rated M game? What gives?
I think that it has to do with control one has over the game. If the sex scene is playable, people might deem it worse than just watching it on TV or the movies. I am with you though a little sex in games would not be a bad thing, especially with some of the hot ass characters in these games. I need a little Yuna on Riku action.
Gaming stores are doing a better job of restricting M-game sales to adults, but I'm still skeptical that it's reached a level where I'm willing to say we don't need some kind of fines for selling M-games to minors without an adult present.
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