Thompson at it again: sets sights on new game, Bully

[CptStern]

Take 2/Rockstar to get another beating from anti-game lunatics


"Closer to home, Florida attorney Jack Thompson, an active campaigner who has in the past targeted aggressive e-mail campaigns at politicians and company officers he hopes to influence, is himself mounting an effort against the game--specifically, against certain game retailers as well as the game's publisher.

"A check of Internet web sites today reveals that Wal-Mart, GameStop, ToysRUs, and Amazon.com are all presently pre-selling the game with no questions asked as to age of the buyers," Thompson said in a statement.

Bully is currently unrated, but based on previews, most industry sources expect it to ship with an M rating, meaning it should be sold only to those 17 and older.

In another statement, Thompson asks Take-Two president Paul Eibeler to reconsider the game's upcoming release. "I and others are today calling upon you to stop the release of Bully," the statement, in part, read.

Also contained in the statement from Thompson is a reference to a demonstration slated to take place tomorrow in lower Manhattan, outside the corporate headquarters of Take-Two Interactive. According to Thompson, two busloads of Washington, DC schoolchildren will protest the game's release, though it was not clear what organization was promoting or funding the demonstration. "



anyone living in the Washington area should go down to the protest and mount a counter protest

 

[G-Dub]

Thompson, you are such a prick. I want to meet you in real life and make you hurt, bleed, and then die.

/end vent

 

[Lemonking]

aahhhhhhhhh man this guy is making me crazy

 

[CptStern]

foxtrot can go suck a lemon


thompson is such a grandizing hypocritical bastard who'll use children to further his agenda:

"According to Thompson, two busloads of Washington, DC schoolchildren will protest the game's release"



does he even know that in the game Bully you play as someone who's been victemized by bullies?

 

[DEATH eVADER]

does he even know that in the game Bully you play as someone who's been victemized by bullies?

I didn't till you told me :hmph:

 

[Raziaar]

Why the need for so many jack thompson threads? Geez. Make one Jack Thompson thread, and post all the bullshit in it. This forum is quickly becoming nothing but Jack Thompson topics.

 

[CptStern]

DEATH eVADER: ya I didnt know till I looked it up ...which is probably more than Thompson did


Raziaar: dont like it? dont post/read the thread ...easy as that

 

[VictimOfScience]

Thompson doesn't want this game released because HE IS THE BULLY and if enough people start playing this game, they will come after him! Well, according to his (and FAR too many others') twisted logic. I desperately want to go to this demonstration with a few cartons of eggs*.

*because my tomatoes need more time to rot properly for deployment. :E

 

[JellyWorld]

According to Thompson, two busloads of Washington, DC schoolchildren will protest the game's release, though it was not clear what organization was promoting or funding the demonstration "

$5 says the children were coerced into this. I doubt two busloads of children would volunteer to protest against a video game, probably the school or their parents made them do it.

 

[CptStern]

heeh "release the rotten tomatoes!"


does anyone live in the washington area? I'd like to hear what the local press has to say about the protest

 

[Laivasse]

Talk to your friends, get some more busloads of schoolkids, and go and beat up the scatty little kids who are showing up to protest. RRRRUMMMBLLLLEE!!!

In all seriousness though, who are these people that Thompson is pressurising? Presumably these senators/whatevers are bending to his will because they suspect that his lunatic views are representative of public opinion. They might reconsider their stance if they were to receive a swarm of complaints and counter-argument from us gamers, eloquently telling them how many people they are set to piss off if they implement stricter game censorship. A similar thing happened with that crappy 'Induce Act'.They are just popularity whores after all.

Can we have some email addresses so that we can flood them with our counter-protests? I'm not even in the US, but the principle is universal. After all, whatever putrid precedent takes place in the US eventually filters through to the UK, land of ripoffs, suckers and consumers who like to stand around and take it up the bum.

 

[VictimOfScience]

I think it says the demonstration is in lower Manhattan, NYC, so the media coverage should be interesting, especially since a day in the life of a NYC teen is either GTA or Bully--but in reality--so what exactly are these games doing to them that they aren't already doing or haven't already done?

I do hope the police take this time to try out those new Active Denial Systems on the idiot protesters or maybe those super low frequency "weapons" that induce nausea*...good times....

However, if the protestors are armed with this:

Gunslinger, a rapid-fire gun currently under development that will detect enemy snipers and automatically fire back at them.

then all of us with organic projectiles of our own better beware!

*Jack's voice, even in print, is enough to induce nausea in me, so its only fair.

 

[The Monkey]

I think I should e-mail him this.

 

[Raziaar]

Haha, I love monkeys.

 

[A True Canadian]

Don't you need a credit card to order online? Wouldn't that mean that the parents are giving the kids their consent by using their cards to pay for the Bully game?

Even if the kids stole the credit cards to buy the game, doesn't that mean their minds are already tainted? If that is true, the Bully game wouldn't corrupt their minds because the damage (stealing credit card information) has already been done. Additionally once said parent finds out that their card has been misused, won't they then discipline the kid that stole it? Won't they act like a parent and punish him?

I may be mistaken but (here in Canada) you aren't eligable for a major credit card (i.e. Visa, MasterCard) until you're 19; which is a higher age than the firmest rating a game can get.

Sure the major retailers are not asking for age. But if the above logic is true, they don't need to.

* someone please correct me if I'm wrong *

 

[Eg.]

WHY GOD NEW YORK

we already have st.mark spalce we dont need more

 

[gh0st]

"A check of Internet web sites today reveals that Wal-Mart, GameStop, ToysRUs, and Amazon.com are all presently pre-selling the game with no questions asked as to age of the buyers," Thompson said in a statement.

WOW! What an absolute bastard! OH MY GOD. WOW! you guys are idiots. he wants to make sure that underage kids cant buy games rated above their age. for ****s sake.

 

[qckbeam]

WOW! What an absolute bastard! OH MY GOD. WOW! you guys are idiots. he wants to make sure that underage kids cant buy games rated above their age. for ****s sake.

In another statement, Thompson asks Take-Two president Paul Eibeler to reconsider the game's upcoming release. "I and others are today calling upon you to stop the release of Bully,"

I think you forgot that part.

 

[gh0st]

cant win them all. i disagree with some of the things he says, but some of the thing's hes trying to do are legitimate and long overdue.

 

[Jintor]

But if they modified their selling system so that their sells would be age-checked, would you still disagree?

Would Thompson still go after video-games? Yes, because his primary concern is not that videogames are being sold to people younger than they are rated. That's just his cover story. If he was really serious about the rating system then he would have started his campaign - or more importantly, continued his campaign - a lot earlier. There's a large gap between 'DOOM blamed for Columbine Shootings' and 'Sniper used Halo to train on' and 'GTA shows no worse than freely avaliable on internet'.

 

[DEATH eVADER]

I doubt two busloads of children would volunteer to protest against a video game, probably the school or their parents made them do it.

"kids, we're going on a school field trip today, we need you to wear these T-shirts and we also need you to chant"

Seriously, the kids will be about 5 or 6 years old

 

[el Chi]

Thompson is an idiot, no question. However from the first moment I heard about this game it seemed apparent to me that this is likely to be more an exercise in seeling units by courting controversy rather than making a decent quality computer game. It may have good gameplay for what it is, but neither Rockstar nor Take2 are stupid and they knew full well that there would be steep opposition to such a questionable title. And yes, I myself am wary of this game as I really don't think that it could be that fun - seems pointlessly thuggish if you ask me.
As for the protest - two busloads? What's that, like 100 kids? Seriously unconvincing if you ask me, especially seeing as the game WILL outsell the numbers of the protest. I'd stake a lot of money on that.
And finally, if the man wants to stop its release in the US, fair enough (well, not at all, but go with me on this one) but I find it offfensive in the extreme that this fool thinks he can control/argue against the release of products elsewhere in the world. So not only is he misinformed, self-righteous, over-protective (Woo woo! Here comes the nanny state, Mr Thompson!) and seemingly an all-round dislikable person, we can add grossly arrogant to that pretty little list.
Take note, Mr. Thompson - that's far from a good basis for a respectable human being.
/me jumps off even-higher-horse.

 

[CptStern]

But if they modified their selling system so that their sells would be age-checked, would you still disagree?

Would Thompson still go after video-games? Yes, because his primary concern is not that videogames are being sold to people younger than they are rated. That's just his cover story. If he was really serious about the rating system then he would have started his campaign - or more importantly, continued his campaign - a lot earlier. There's a large gap between 'DOOM blamed for Columbine Shootings' and 'Sniper used Halo to train on' and 'GTA shows no worse than freely avaliable on internet'.

I agree, he's got bigger fish to fry then just the ESRB

 

[Raziaar]

Bully is hardly an offensive name. He should be going after games named "Rape", or "Hate Crimes", or that one white power game that was mentioned.

 

[el Chi]

Bully is hardly an offensive name. He should be going after games named "Rape", or "Hate Crimes", or that one white power game that was mentioned.

That's an extremely good point! Why doesn't he!?
Let's see which is more offensive to the general populous: A game which simulates sex, or one that actively encourages you to commit murder against people based on racial hatred, that also endorses propagandist lies about people of other religions and racial backgrounds.
I would've thought simulated sex, to be honest. But maybe I'm just being prudish :hmph:

Thompson, you utter prick.

 

[CptStern]

ya but the hate games arent sold at wal-mart ...online distribution is peanuts compared to national exposure to millions of people ...I mean we're all gamers and even we didnt know the game existed

 

[VictimOfScience]

What frightens me most is that this guy's voice is being heard by so many people and the Evangelicals that helped this country get to where it is today :hmph: might hear him railing against graphic sex and violence for kids, etc. and then recognize his name on a very important ballot later....

Someone should make a Jack Thompson skin for CS/DM so we could all have our way with him. I made such a thread in the modelling forum, so maybe someone will get on it...I can't wait!!!

Boom!!! Headshot!!!*



*Legal Disclaimer - This is just a quote from a vid and is not intended as any sort of threat against Mr. Thompson, his family, his interests, or his friends.

 

[<RJMC>]

you americans should gight against this cuz this is against freedom of speech right?

them you should do something about this cuz maybe they will go against any other entertaiment

so I say this,fight back

or that one white power game that was mentioned

maybe he dont see nothing bad on that game

but hey someone should email about that game to jackass thompson to see if he go against it