Jack-Thompson
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Thompson responds to ESRB letter on Utah legislation
Last week, ESRB chief Patricia Vance urged lawmakers in Utah to reconsider a bill that would punish retailers that advertise an adherence to the game rating system when they fail to comply. Proving that we're still in Reality Prime and not some alternate, Cubs-just-won-the-World-Series history, disbarred lawyer Jack Thompson has responded with some of the old classics: Misleading information and scare tactics.First, let us say we agree with JT's point that he should be allowed to peruse the audit which claims a 94 percent compliance rate for Utah retailers (it does seem high). But scarcely can we nod our heads in agreement before Jack drops a line like, "Testimony in the U.S. Congress has established that the ESRB doesn't even play the games it rates! " No, Jack, it watches video of the games, because members of the ESRB are not Nintendo Game Play Counselors manning the 1-900 line in the late '80s. They're not trying to boost their Gamerscores, they're doing a boobies check.He then goes on to complain about the lack of ratings enforcement on the internet, which has nothing to do with the Utah legislation. Finally, Jack doesn't address Vance's most compelling point: Retailers who don't attempt to comply with the ESRB would be utterly unaffected. Lest you think we're nit-picking, we've put the full thing for you after the break. This may sound nutty, but it's almost nice to see that, after all these years, we're not just vilifying Jack Thompson out of habit.
ESRB president writes open letter to Utah parents and leaders
Now that the Utah video game bill, authored by disbarred attorney Jack Thompson, has passed the state's House of Representatives, the ESRB is taking the opportunity to write an open letter to the parents and leaders of Utah. Written by ESRB President Patricia Vance, the letter concludes that the proposed legislation seeks to fix a system that isn't broken. The letter proposes that instead of attacking retailers with the possibility of a lawsuit or fines if they sell M-rated titles to young gamers, that Utah should encourage and educate parents to utilize the tools and rating system that the ESRB already provides.Vance's letter states that a recent audit of video game retailers in Utah found they already voluntarily enforce store policies regarding M-rated games 94 percent of the time. Nationally, the Federal Trade Commission found that video game retailers went from turning away 15 percent of underage customers in 2000 to 80 percent in 2008. The letter notes this is higher compliance than those found in the sale of movies, DVDs or music. Read Vance's full letter to the parents and leaders of Utah after the break.
Utah game retail restriction bill passes House
HB 353, a piece of Utah legislation which enforces stricter penalties against game and film retailers who sell M-rated and R-rated content to "buyers subject to an age restriction or recommendation,' and which was authored by Rep. Mike Morley and former Miami attorney Jack Thompson, passed through the Utah House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 70 for and two against. It will now make its way to Utah's state senate -- should it pass there as well, it will go to the desk of Gov. Jon Huntsman to be signed into law, which will go into effect on January 1, 2010.The bill passed by an overwhelming margin after a number of amendments to the legislation were approved by the House. The amendments were largely tacked on to the bill in an attempt to lower the hackles of disapproving retailers -- for instance, one addition keeps retailers from suffering the harsher penalties if an underage customer lies about his or her age when purchasing a mature product. In response, we anticipate Utah's fake mustache industry to see a threefold rise in revenue during the next fiscal year.
Utah game bill one step closer, Thompson speaks to Joystiq
Whoever said being a Bar-licensed, practicing lawyer had anything to do with amending existing laws has clearly never met Jack Thompson. Thompson's most recent game bill, authored by Representative Mike Morley and Mr. Thompson, was resoundingly passed (at 10-3) by the Business and Labor Committee of the Utah House of Representatives yesterday. What does this mean for Utah residents? Well, nothing yet, as the bill is now headed off to the full Utah House of Representatives for consideration. If the bill goes into law, however, retailers of all varieties in the state (from big-box outlets like Best Buy and Wal-Mart to independent theater owners) will be facing a $2000 fine for every documented sale of mature-rated content to a minor. We wanted some clarification on the law and it's possible ramifications, so we went straight to the source. After the jump you can see for yourself everything Mr. Thompson told us about his recently penned bill.
LGJ: Jack Thompson's Utah 'game bill'
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: Right on cue, after this week's previous LGJ, Jack Thompson's Utah bill finally made its public appearance. Surprisingly, the bill amounts to only 4 lines of text that will be edited into Utah's existing Truth in Advertising Act, a form of deceptive trade practice regulation. The entire relevant text of the statute is: 13-11a-3. Deceptive trade practices enumerated -- Records to be kept -- Defenses. (1) Deceptive trade practices occur when, in the course of a person's business, vocation, or occupation that person: (u) (i) advertises that the person will not sell a good or service labeled with an age restriction or recommendation to a person under the age restriction or recommendation; and (ii) sells that good or service to a person under the age restriction or recommendation. So what does this mean for the industry? I believe this bill has far more bark than bite, but it's more complex than a simple analogy. There are some potential consequences for electronic retailers based on this new potential regulation, but it also looks like this provision leaves a number of major loopholes that retailers can take advantage of. As the bill hasn't passed yet, this all may be moot if the Utah legislature opts against the regulation, but it's certainly worth analyzing in the interim.
Penn & Teller call 'BS!' on video game violence
Penn & Teller are taking aim at the video game violence controversy in an upcoming episode of Penn & Teller: Bullshit! -- an ongoing television series that debunks misconceptions and popular fads. Earlier in the week, Penn Jillette revealed the video game themed episode had begun filming, via Twitter. Guests interviewed for the episode will include Grand Theft Childhood co-author, Dr. Cheryl Olson, along with her husband and writing partner, Dr. Lawrence Kutner. Disbarred Miami attorney, Jack Thompson, will also be featured in the episode. A Penn & Teller producer told GamePolitics the episode would likely air during the summer, but did not reveal a specific date. We can only hope that Penn gives Thompson a suitable tongue lashing or that the magical duo makes him disappear. Either way, we're good.
LGJ: More game laws?
Each week Mark Methenitis contributes Law of the Game on Joystiq ("LGJ"), a column on legal issues as they relate to video games: It's early 2009, we've just elected a new President, and there are quite literally a mountain of problems to be addressed on Capitol Hill. Our economy has been in substantial turmoil for roughly six months, with some problems stretching back for years. Many states are at or near bankruptcy. This economic crisis has, by now, hit every country on the planet to some degree. So, our legislators have spent the last two months rushing to put together proposals to regulate video games. No, no one's undivided attention has been on the economy during this complete mess. Instead, since the start of the year, it seems there has been an explosion of potential new video game regulations, from Jack Thompson's bill in Utah, to New York, to the US Congress, to Australia -- just to name a few. And that's in addition to issues like the FTC's rumblings about DRM, which I've mentioned previously. While this boom in regulations and potential enforcement may be great news for sites like GamePolitics, it's potentially bad news for game developers and consumers, not to mention the taxpayers who are footing the bill for all of this. Of course, these laws are also coming from a number of different directions and under different theories, so I thought it might be a good time to give a short take on each and predict which directions things could be going.
Jack Thompson writes bill for Utah, tries new angle
Shockingly, Jack Thompson still has people who'll listen to him, as the disbarred former attorney has gained some traction in his crusade against video games in Utah. State Rep. Mike Morley (R) has presented a new bill, written by Thompson, which hits retailers with false advertising charges for selling mature games or films to minors. A previous Thompson-written bill in Utah failed.Speaking with a lobbyist familiar with media content issues, GamePolitics notes that this new bill, along with the state of Utah, is a little different than the last time Thompson tried his shenanigans. Even with Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's support of the game industry, the conservative wing of the Utah legislature has recently been reinforced and could pass a bill that might pass judicial review. However, as always, we know the ESA's lawyers are sharpening their knives and getting excited about all those billable hours if Utah passes anything. If the past is any indication, the ESA will win and Utah taxpayers will foot the bill.
Jack Thompson, GamePolitics discuss God's wrath on Take-Two
Jack Thompson. Just when you thought that being disbarred was sure to cause the man to cut back on his theatrics, here comes a story from GamePolitics that is sure to go down as a "classic." In an email exchange between Thompson and GP's Dennis McCauley, the former attorney states that Take-Two's stock tumble is divine vengeance, and he also has some choice things to say about Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick.The exchange should be read in its entirety to grasp what dealing with Thompson is like, and to get a better idea of why the Florida Bar decided to strip him of his license to practice law. Some may find Thompson's statements regarding non-Christians to be offensive. Heck, many Christians might find his statements offensive. This is an opportunity to read Jack Thompson "raw."
Jack Thompson pays Florida Bar $42K
Former anti-games attorney Jack Thompson has paid $42,525 to the Florida Bar, reports GamePolitics. The figure represents the Bar's cost to prosecute Thompson during his disbarment proceedings. So, not only was he disbarred, but Thompson ended up paying the people that took away his livelihood.The real beauty in this story is how the information became public. The Florida Bar didn't leak this -- it was John Bruce Thompson himself that sent out an e-mail this morning, complaining the Florida Supreme Court hadn't yet cashed the check. Even while teetering on the precipice of irrelevance, Thompson still makes a good story.
Top 5: Get Up, Stand Up
Coming off perhaps the longest election of all eternity, one aspect that stands out for me is the relentless demand for voting. Particularly for young people, the act of voting transcended the realm of obligation and became more of a societal requirement. 2004's "Vote or Die" campaign resurrected itself as "Don't Vote": a series of videos where celebrities tell us to be apathetic about voting ... and then hit us with a psych! You just got sarcasm'd! In reality, the "Don't Vote" videos are giving the viewer a wink which nonverbally says "we're messin' around; go vote, you moron!" Inarguably, such campaigns have been successful. The youth turnout was very large in 2004 and even larger this year. 24 million of them, in fact, aged 18 to 29 showed up, which is an increase of 2.2 million from 2004. While it's great to see participation in our political process, one wonders about the old newspaper to voting question, which goes something like this: "About half the population vote and about half read the newspaper. Let's hope it's the same half." Indeed, I question who is the better person: an uninformed voter, or an informed abstainer. On the other hand, perhaps pressuring us into the voting booth is justified: by voting for or against a candidate, we're investing ourselves in those individuals. Thus, we follow their progress and learn as we go. Whether the ends justify the means is for someone wiser than me to decide. Which leads me to gaming. Gaming is both entertainment and an art-form. It's evolved from an experiment by college researchers to a hobby for electronic enthusiasts to a distraction for bar patrons to a culture for children before finally reaching its final stage of metamorphosis: a global juggernaut larger than film and music which appeals to an incredibly diverse group of folks. And as it becomes more relevant in our society, those of us who follow it closely should feel a responsibility to stay informed and take action when appropriate and/or necessary. Last week I presented a list of items that divides gamers. Here's the Top 5 issues that should leave you standing shoulder to shoulder with your gaming comrades. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
A look inside Gears of War 2's arcade
Players who have wandered around spilling blood on the Day One mutliplayer map in Gears of War 2 might have noticed the retro "Playland" arcade in one of the corners, but have any of them checked out the amount of detail that's in there? It's pretty impressive. There are a lot of throwback games referencing 1980s - 1990s coin-op fare, a Thrashball machine and even "Swee Ball," which looks like Sera's version of Skee Ball.Check out the gallery below and read on for more.%Gallery-36688%
Former ESA Prez: Game journalists made Thompson
With the recent news of his upcoming disbarment hitting every RSS feed from here to infinity the gaming world was focused on the professional failure of Jack Thompson but have moved on. On the other side of the fence, former Entertainment Software Association president and frequent Thompson punching bag Doug Lowenstein has sent a letter to Kotaku asking them and other gaming journalists to reflect on how we helped to create the Thompson hype machine.We can't but help but agree with Lowenstein in some way. However, with Thompson at the forefront of some of the biggest controversies the industry has seen in the last few years it would have been difficult to report on the issues without mentioning his name.Would ignoring someone really make them disappear? If that were true then the entire Konami presentation at E3 2008 would have been a ghost show. Amirite?
Time to work on that resume, Thompson disbarred in Florida
While not pertaining to the Xbox 360 specifically this piece of news is important to gamers who are tired of defending comically-inaccurate statements lobbied at their favorite titles from a certain Florida attorney; or should we say soon-to-be-former attorney. Joystiq reports that the Florida Supreme Court has finally decided to disbar John Bruce (Jack) Thompson after being found guilty of 27 out of 31 violations of professional misconduct by the Bar association. Documents filed by the court maintain Thompson, "has demonstrated a patter of conduct to strike out harshly, extensively, repeatedly and willfully to simply try to bring as much difficulty, distraction and anguish to those he considers in opposition to his causes." In response Thompson has filed an emergency motion against seventy-seven defendants including the Florida Bar association, this despite the first filing posed against him that he may only file a motion in the Florida Supreme court through another attorney in good standing with the Florida Bar acting on his behalf. Lawyer or not, we wouldn't expect Thompson to hangup the gaming hate anytime soon. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Gallery: Jack Thompson disbarred doc
Jack Thompson disbarred in Florida
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Disbarred_Jack_Thompson_Attorney_At_LAWL'; Attorney, er, former anti-games attorney Jack Thompson has apparently been disbarred by the state of Florida. It's been a long time coming, but the Court has finally decided that Jack Thompson should "be permanently disbarred without leave to apply for readmission to The Florida Bar."Mark Methenitis, an attorney who pens Joystiq's Law of the Game, writes us, "While I know a lot of people in the industry truly dislike Jack, I hope people show a bit of respect for a man who has just lost his livelihood. I also hope people realize that this doesn't mean we've heard the last from Jack. I wouldn't be surprised to see him start his own nonprofit group to continue to advance his viewpoint."We spoke with a representative for The Florida Bar and asked if the association had any further comment. She responded, "We feel the documents speak for themselves."Check out all the relevant court documents in the gallery below. (View in "High Res" if you don't want to squint.)[Thanks, Sam & Ballistic]%Gallery-32721%
Bury the Shovelware: Tenchu Dark Secret
The fall from grace. Unless your heart is nothing more than a cold, shriveled lump, you probably don't like to witness a once-respectable series slowly degrade. It's happened to many franchises. Often the decay is gradual, with gamers slowly noticing a decline in quality and is correlated with slumping sales. Other times a single misstep can throw an entire series against the ropes and nearly into submission. Either way, it's never pleasant to witness failure. Well, almost never. What was once a prominent pillar in the stealth world has been slowly regressing into mediocrity. The Tenchu series was one of the first and most successful entries in the emerging stealth-based genre of the late 1990's. Though games involving evasive maneuvering over combat had been around for awhile, they truly flourished in 3D. From the onset, Tenchu was there. Peered with and rivaled against other top-notch franchises such as Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, the word "Tenchu" was synonymous with heart-thumping, adrenaline-pumping sneaky gameplay. But everything eventually dies. And the Tenchu series received a terminal illness in the form of Tenchu: Dark Secret. Unless somebody steps in and performs some sort of miracle, we might have to talk to Tenchu fans about video game heaven. It's where all game franchises go when they pass away. All of Tenchu's friends are there, like Golden Axe, ToeJam & Earl, and Ecco the Dolphin (Sega, please prove me wrong on these).
Judge recommends permanent disbarment for Jack Thompson
GamePolitics has obtained a copy of the judge's recommendation in the Florida Bar's disbarment case against renowned anti-game violence (or just plain anti-game) attorney Jack Thompson ... and it isn't good. Judge Dava Tunis, who Thompson has referred to as "mentally impaired" and "a raving wild woman" is recommending permanent disbarment in the case, where the Florida Bar had asked for a 10 year suspension of his ability to practice law.In addition, Judge Tunis recommends that Thompson be assesed a $43,675 fine for the legal costs incurred by the Florida Bar. In May, Thompson was found guilty of 27 out of 31 charges made against him in a misconduct suit brought before the court.[Thanks, Randall]
Jack Thompson: "I guess my "mistake" was not killing 3000 people to make my point"
He fought the law and the law is winning. Jack Thompson, hot off the heels of a Florida Bar recommendation that he be disbarred for ten years for 27 violations of professional misconduct, is again testing if the pen is mightier than the sword. In a letter written to Chief Judge Federico Moreno, Thompson claimed his recent trial was a mockery of the system and demanded a fair trial."We find yesterday that enemy combatants at Guantanamo are to get more due process from federal judges than what I am to have. I guess my "mistake" was not killing 3000 people to make my point ... I demand a hearing," Thompson wrote in the letter to Moreno.Judge Moreno responded to the shocking letter by dispatching two U.S. Marshals to the home of Mr. Thompson. "The purpose of that visit was to intimidate and harass me," Thomson wrote to Moreno following the incident.As the Florida Bar continues to seek disbarment for the controversial lawyer, Thompson is now seeking a meeting with the House Judiciary Committee in Washington to complain that the Justice Department is harassing him.Jack Thompson is famously known in the gaming community for his stance against violent videogames, particularly titles from Take Two Interactive; publisher of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto franchise.[via Game Politics]
Florida requests 10 years disbarment for Jack Thompson
The Florida Bar this week requested that embattled attorney Jack Thompson be disbarred for ten years based on the 27 misconduct charges he was found guilty of last month. Thompson was reportedly not there to hear said request, as he had walked out during the trial. According to a GamePolitics report, the attorney (acting as in propria persona) was not allowed by Judge Tunis to read aloud a lengthy objection that he had prepared. Thompson then questioned Judge Tunis' status as a judge and left the court room. Just to clarify: a request for disbarment is not an official punishment – the final decision is left up to Judge Tunis to decide.In other news, a federal lawsuit filed by Thompson against the Florida Supreme Court has been dismissed with prejudice, meaning that he cannot file it again. Thompson still has two other lawsuits pending related to his ongoing Bar trial.
Behind the Curtain: Don't be ashamed
Picture the scene – you're at a family gathering, or maybe you're meeting your significant other's friends and family for the first time, and the conversation turns interrogative. Questions are asked about your hobbies; what you do to relax and how you spend your spare time. What do you do? When put on the spot like that, it's natural for gamers to feel trapped, to feel like admitting to playing MMOs would be tantamount to admitting to a rather kinky fetish or confessing that you've got a rather embarrassing disease – it might not be catching, but there's a chance that you'll get some funny looks, and you may just lose some credibility points. What about job interviews and applications? These invariably have a point where questions are asked about you hobbies and leisure time. While there are good arguments that putting down strong examples of guild leadership might work in your favour – owning up to the fact that you play an MMO upwards of 15 hours a week might not be the smartest thing career-wise. Don't get me wrong – I am proud and happy to be a geek and a gamer, and I've never wanted to be anything else; the wall above my desk sports a rare Akira poster I picked up on holiday France a while back; I own the complete boxed set of the original Transformers series; and much of my wardrobe consists of t-shirts from ThinkGeek and the Penny Arcade store. People ask me what I do in my spare time, and I look them straight in the eye and tell them that I'm a gamer, and while I'm not ashamed of it, I can't help but wince a little when I see most people's reaction to it.
