A little news for us gamers: Ol' Jacky T is back.

Started by Wolfy, September 08, 2010, 08:51:35 PM

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Wolfy

And by Jacky T, I mean Jack Thompson, everyone's favorite well meaning, bumbling ex lawyer. :D

You know him! You love him! You Hate him! You love to hate him! Whatever your preference, it seems he's back. This time campaigning against EA's new Medal of Honor Title, even going so far as to write a letter to the Secretary of Defense to get this 'tasteless monstrosity' stopped.

Quote"With all respect for everything else on your plate, but as someone who has represented the surviving family members of such videogame-caused massacres, I personally urge you, as Secretary of Defense, to do what is necessary, proper, and legal to stop the release of Medal of Honor on October 12 on the basis that it poses a demonstrable danger to our troops by providing a training tool for those who wish to kill them," Thompson wrote. "I would also strongly suggest that the Defense Department find out who these Special Ops people are who have acted so foolishly in this regard [by consulting on the game]."

"Finally, I believe the full weight of the federal government should come down upon Electronic Arts and the videogame industry's Entertainment Software Association for their allowing, presently and fraudulently, despite promises to Congress, the widespread pre-sale of this adult game to minors throughout the country and around the world," he concluded.



Thoughts, Opinions? Mighty Elliquiy must have something to say about this.

Brandon

Bleh, that guy annoys me. Objectively the video games industry has done everything in its power to keep violent video games out of the hands of minors and still keep its sales up. EA nor any distributor has a right to tell any privately owned business what they can or cant sell. Certain retailers do go the extra mile by refusing to sell such games to minor and even warn adults that such games arent for kids. The only thing else the industry can do is refuse to distribute said games to companies that ignore the ratings system but wouldnt we be getting into free speech issues then?

The industry has even gone so far as to make lockouts built into consoles that can prevent a system from playing a game of a certain rating and above.

Really what more can the industry do?

At some point it has to fall on the parents (I think it already should) when is that point for him and this other braindead evangelical or political groups?
Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Noelle

Hahahahahaha. We could only hope our enemies would be so lazy as to receive their training from an EA video game. It would be a dream come true.

sleepingferret

Video games as training tools?  Only if they were more virtual reality like and not having the "players" sitting at computers or TV screens with game consoles.  Controllers and the old keyboard and mouse isn't going to teach anyone practical combat skills.

Jack is another lawyer out to make a case....and a big deal out of something that doesn't really mean a whole lot.  People like him should honestly find more constructive use for their "talents" or at least their law degrees. :P

Wolfy

Actually, he's not a lawyer...well, not anymore. :P He was disbarred.

sleepingferret

Hmmm... well I suppose that some good news out of this.  At least he or someone else will have to foot the bill to some other "idiot", if he wants to turn it into a lawsuit or whatnot.

He can protest all he wants for all I care.  It's a never ending battle about video games and violence...same with TV and movies.  Personally, people themselves need to take responsibility for their actions, how they raise their children, and of course society itself needs to not downplay violence (or publicize it in the media so much).

Brandon

Video games in their current form as trianing tools for todays soldiers is a moronic idea. I can tell that poor Jack has never served in any law enforcement or military occupation. I would guess hes never fired a real weapon either. In the case of video games with controllers or keyboard controls the interface is entirely different. If the player sprints down a 50 foot span he doesnt feel tired, if a player aims a reticle at a persons body and fires he see's recoil in the weapon but he doesnt feel it (no not even with the vibration settings on those things never get the recoil right). Without physical feedback and physical exertion it just doesnt work to train a soldier physically

As a mental tool, video games can help train soldiers to better deal with the chaos of real combat, giving them experience in making intuitive priority decisions like which soldier to shoot first and where, how to respond to artillery coming down around you, or the necessity of keeping calm when setting up or stumbling into an ambush. 

As much as a game can mentally prepare you for combat it can not IMO (and Im speaking from experience here) help deal the morale afterthoughts when the bullets stop flying. Everyone handles it differently, some people like myself just point out they were trying to survive, others have partial or serious mental breakdowns from taking another persons life, still others begin to revel in it. Its highly variable and nothing can indicate how a person will respond in that siutation till after its happened

The only thing I think Video games can excell in is recruitment. If a recruitment game were made to explain the military lifestyle and a general run down of the hundredsof different jobs in day to day life (both in the rear and in the field) as well as 3d settings of military bases, quarters, etc that give a basic idea of the envroment (with the ability to explore)  then I think they could be superb tools in that regard.
Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Nyarly

Quote from: Brandon on September 09, 2010, 02:49:08 AM
some people like myself just point out they were trying to survive
Brr... I don't even want to think about the implications...

Hunter

Quote from: Brandon on September 08, 2010, 09:12:31 PM
EA nor any distributor has a right to tell any privately owned business what they can or cant sell.

I'd disagree.  A distributor can always stop selling to any business, especially one that doesn't meet standards.

Brandon

Quote from: Hunter on September 09, 2010, 10:18:28 AM
I'd disagree.  A distributor can always stop selling to any business, especially one that doesn't meet standards.

As I understand the American business system, the way it works is a company creates the game and gives said game to distributors. The distributors put the product out to the stores. So the distributors are basicly middlemen.

Brandon: What makes him tick? - My on's and off's - My open games thread - My Away Thread
Limits: I do not, under any circumstances play out scenes involving M/M, non-con, or toilet play

Serephino

But... but.... if we don't take immediate action parents will be forced to.... parent!  Oh, the horror!!!!!!!!!!  /sarcasm

I've heard it all, and it's an excuse.  I held a gun for the first time when I was 4.  My dad had taken me bird hunting with him and he was teaching me gun safety.  He taught me never to aim at anything I'd regret shooting.  I shot a gun when I was 17.  I don't remember there being an X button to reload, or a laser to help me aim.

To say that shooting zombies on a screen with my boyfriend will prepare me for combat is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.  A game controller and a real gun are two very different items.  Using a real gun is easier I think, except for aiming, though I'm not a gamer.  Plus, the games don't mimic reality in the slightest.     

The other day my boyfriend had me take him to the mall so he could buy more Xbox games.  The clerk had to verbally tell us that the games he bought were rated M.  It's a new Game Stop store policy, and we talked to him for a bit because the store wasn't busy, and we all agreed that it was stupid for him to have to do that.  But the reason for it is that parents have this annoying habit of buying the games their kids ask them for without looking at the rating.     

Wolfy

Indeed...I was in our local Family video, and I managed to overhear a kid who had to be like, 10-12....asking if they had Mafia II. You know, the game with Playboy Pinups as Collectibles.

And his parents weren't anywhere in sight, though I'm guessing they would have let him get it anyway.

>_>

Serephino

I used to play the mmorpg Conan, and you had to be 18 to play it because there was some female nudity.  Basically, you could take the tops off of your female characters and see tits.  If you took their pants off they had thongs on, so I don't get the huge deal... but whatever...

Anyway, my boyfriend told me stories he'd heard about parents calling up the game company and having a bitch fest because their kid saw naked female breasts.  Of course that led to the accounts being banned because their TOS is the player must be 18.  My boyfriend downloaded the game, from Steam I think, and had to click on a little 'yes I'm 18' box and do some cell phone verification thing. 

I ordered the CD's online, and it had a warning in bold letters that the game was rated adult because of violence and sexual content, and by ordering I was confirming that I am indeed at least 18 years of age.  It was a pay to play, so of course I had to set up an account with a credit card.  It baffles me how a kid could get access to this game.  The parents would have had to just hand over their credit cards with no questions asked or something. 

Wolfy

Said kid probably heard of the Tits thing, but conveniently had a small bit of Amnesia when he told his parents why he wanted to play.

Florence

Thompson is either the most stubborn idiot on the face of the earth, or the world's most persistent IRL troll.
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Callie Del Noire

Quote from: Finn MacKenna on September 15, 2010, 03:45:04 PM
Thompson is either the most stubborn idiot on the face of the earth, or the world's most persistent IRL troll.

I think he and Rev. Phelps are a bit.. 'neuro chemically fucked up'. They have to be.

Oniya

Quote from: Serephino on September 09, 2010, 10:15:10 PM

It was a pay to play, so of course I had to set up an account with a credit card.  It baffles me how a kid could get access to this game.  The parents would have had to just hand over their credit cards with no questions asked or something. 


I used to work for an ISP, and you had to enter billing info (credit card or checking account - there was an extra fee if you used a checking account) when you set up the account.  I'm not at all surprised that kids know how to get hold of their parents' credit cards.  All it takes is an un-watched wallet or purse.
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Wolfy

Indeed..it wouldn't be the first time a child has stolen and used their parents credit card to see tits...or play an MMO...or buy things inside said MMO.

Especially when they are still a grasshopper of Google-fu.

Sabby

I followed his case pretty close, the disbarment and professional misconduct I mean. I won't get into it (trust me, the details make him a lot less funny. Like, 'he should be in jail' less funny :P) but really, there is a clear pattern to his antics. This pattern is suspiciously similar to beating a dead horse.

Any letter he sends =

"Hello xxxx I am Jack Thompson. I have attached a 46 page attachment of my credentials, written by myself. xxxx is coming out, and since I represented maybe 3 people in a misguided court case and was on the news once, I am clearly an expert on xxxx and it's impact on our children. If you do not do as I say, woe and despair will ensue. 

Any research into my credentials outside of my own extensive self review will look very poor, but everyone I've ever met is brainwashed and conspire against me. My disbarment was an attempt to silence me. I am a martyr. The fact I've won no case in my life makes me a martyr. Here is some attached gay porn to somehow stress my point.

Please stop xxxx, before children are exposed to it. America's parents are not responsible. The following links are connected to gay pornography websites that children can access by lying about their age. Anything people say about me is wrong. I was on the news.


Jack Thompson, recovering Attorney at Law."

This has ALWAYS been his pattern, but the only thing that sticks out with this, Wolfy, is who he's contacting... Jesus, it's like he just doesn't care any more xD This is going from 5 to 11 in one step.