I don't believe this, he couldn't stop bully and he thinks he can stop one of the most hyped games in existence

Way to go, trying to ride Halo 3's mass hype.

Knowing the Halo franchise's community, Jack is in for a whole world of hurt by attempting to mess with such a high profile release.

Think they're bad on Xbox Live? Wait until they get news of this... It might get rowdy.

So can anyone in the know tell me what happens when he loses his license? Hes filed this suit presumably with the intention of acting for himself, but when he can no longer do this, will he have to forfeit?

Isn't there a law against waisting the courts time by filing "I-know-this-will- get-no-where-but-it'll-get-me-in-the-media-spotlight-so-I'll-do-it-anyway- cause-all-I-care-about-is-making-myself-look-good" cases? If there isn't then there should be.

Thompson should not be allowed to waste the courts time when there are more serious issues at hand. Try and do some *real* good with what little time you have left with your life, Jack.

Yes because pissing off some of the biggest companies in the world, and a man whos net worth is more than some small countries GNP is just a smashing idea. Seriously has jack accepted that he's done now and just want to go out with a massive bang? Because that's the only reason I can think of doing something this massivly stupid.

Jack honestly thinks he's still the anti-game bogeyman; that everytime he threatens to move against an upcoming video game, we're all going to shake in our shoes. "Oh no, Peter Cottontop is back! What are the chances he'll succeed... this time?" No, Jack. No. We're not scared of you. We never had a reason to be scared.

Also, there's something hilarious and ambiguously wrong about the phrase "rattling his saber".

@ Devestator3388: foreign corporation means they are incorporated in another state. Washington for Microsoft and Minnesota for Best Buy.

I nearly laughed up a lung when I saw Jack's complaint. Not because of his usual lies (which annoy me more than amuse me), but because he apparently thinks Halo 3 will not be out for another month.

Better work fast, Jacko! Use those lightning-quick massacre chaser reflexes!

I can honestly see that if Halo 3 is banned in Florida, Jack Thompson won't have to worry about people at Take 2 coming to get him...

Oh, thats not a statement that only gamers would do something like that. If the Dolphins (god forbid) make it to the Superbowl, and Jackie-boy here decides to get it banned because its a "public nuisance", I could see some chair jockeys getting up and finding where he lives. Then again, wouldn't be hard...the guy posts his personal info every 3-4 comments he makes.

Come on...Halo 3? Its not even that violent of a game! And who has ever said "Halo made me do it"? Go back to finding ways to keep your sanity, as well as your lawyer status, under control...because I know one is almost gone, and the other is sure to follow.

Actually, you know what? Forget that, he did go after The Sims 2 before, so this isn't as shocking now that I think of it, lol. But, it's still sad nonetheless.

@Iniquus:

"2)It’s so much more fantasy than realism, that you’d have to be mentally undevelloped/ill to be influenced by it."

... which would explain JT's problem with HALO 3.

@Seany-boy:

"Jack hasn’t written because good Christians are in bed by 10:30pm EST."

... that's just it, he's not a good Christian. (or human being, or lawyer, or sore loser.)

@Mnementh2230:

And even if it did, I was hoping Jack could tell me where I can acquire a real life version of the Spartan Laser? ... Yeah, I didn't think so.

I'm sure we've all heard the expression 'to bite off more than you can chew' but I think the sheer proportions of this stunt warrants a new one:

'since you're already choking on a whole turkey, might as well go ahead and try to down a great whale too'.



...Hey, that means Jack finally set a precedent!

Now there is something to 'HOOAH!' about!

Jack Thompson is a public nuisance. His release should be blocked in Florida.

Jack, Jack, Jack... You have brightened my day considerably. The comedy you create is hilarious. Especially because it is unintentional.

I would like to see the source for this comment:

"John Muhammad, knew the efficacy of the first Halo video game in this regard, [u][b]because the Army in which he served used this same murder simulator to train snipers to kill.[/b][/u] "

Or is just throwing random, made up BS ok right before you state "Under penalty of perjury, I declare the foregoing facts are true, correct, and complete, so help me God, this September 21, 2007."

@Black Manta

If only.. Although it does sound more ABC than FOX.

@steve

Causing undue stress upon others and encouraging people that disagree with him to commit suicide ("Go by a suicide game and get real good at it") is definitely detrimental to society.

This is probably going to get throw out off the bat, but in the hopes it does go to court I am going to love watching Microsofts gold plated lawyer robots legally rape Jt to death.


Thats a picture to go on your wall.

One hour to go Thompson. Tick Tock. But its starting to seem unlikely you will be able to stop the release. But that would be par for the course wouldn't it?

As funny as this is to me (being a non halo fan) I really don't think this will go anywhere at all...Jack has no grounds and this will not even make it to a hearing.

This is just him trying to make a big name for himself in the wake of some failures against videogames.

Well, you know, with all the hype surrounding it, it IS starting to seem like a nuisance now...I just want it to come out already so we can be done with the pre-launch hype. ;P

(I have nothing to say on the actual lawsuit because anything I want to say has either already been said or will be said by other commenters.)

HA! Not a chance in hell! He must be really off his nut! It comes out in three days, does he really think he is going to succeed?

Actually as soon as I bought my copy of Halo 2, all my neighbors suddenly were unable to sleep through the night, developed a chronic lung disease, and thought it was O.K. to frag each other IRL for funsies.

So I think he could really be on to something with this public nuisance thing!

Stuff like Malvo training on Halo or MS’s intention to sell Halo 3 to kids is merely speculation but the complaint is chockfull of statements Thompson knows to be completely untrue. That makes them lies.

What’s he lying about?

-The conclusions of the 2005 APA resolution
-The use of brain scan studies in Roper vs. Simmons
-The conclusions of college studies (most of which aren’t even brain scan studies as he claims)
-The reasons behind the ESRB (he claims its existence is an industry acknowledgement of harm)

Andrew Eisen

See, this is exactly why he needs to be disbarred. At this point, he's just throwing around his legal wherever he feels like it. He's either too bull-headed or too stupid to know he should just give up.

*legal weight...

I hate when I think faster than I type.

@Blackwolf:

LOL... with the way HALO 3 advertising is everywhere (I hear they're even teaming up with BK, as well as a NASCAR sponsor.) so maybe it is kind of a nuisance.

I suppose Jack's just as bored as we are waiting for the November funeral for his career.

I predict...


EEEEE PPPPP IIIII CCC
E P P I CCC
EEEEE P P I CC
E PPPPP I CC
EEEEE P I CCC
P IIIII CCC

FFFFF A IIIII L
F A A I L
FFFFF A A I L
F AAAAAAA I L
F A A IIIII LLLL.

How does picking a different game for the same lawsuit make it any more probable that it will succede? I am just totally floored that ANY ONE can take this guy seriously.

Wow...he must have nothing better to do, if he's going after a game that comes out in less than a week.

Woohoo PR suicide!~

Steven Byers, formerly Novacat

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Aha...aha

ow my lungs hurt

You know that song 'Windmills of your Mind?'


"Round like a circle in a spiral
Like a wheel within a wheel
Never ending or beginning
On an ever-spinning reel
Like a snowball down a mountain
Or a carnival balloon
Like a carousel that's turning
Running rings around the moon......"

I think covered my thoughts on this.

A PUBLIC NUISANCE:

1)…tend[s] to annoy the community,
Hell yes

2)injure the health of the citizens in general,
Am I the only one whose smacked their heads trying to grasp his idiocy?

3)or corrupt the public morals
F*CK yes, every word out of his mouth is either hatepreaching or corruption of christian morals to suit his ego and agenda


Ladies and gentlemen get a lawyer, because we have a better case than him on this.

Maybe it's been said a crap-ton of times in the old Bully discussions, but can someone try to declare Jack thompson as a public nuisance? Sure, he may not necessarily fit the legal definition, but damned if he doesn't fit the common sense definition.

Before Jack catches wind of this and starts posting, I just want to point something out.

Dennis has done a fine job here. He has made the entire document for the filing available, outlined the Public Nuisance law and what it is commonly used for, and has not degraded to petty name-calling. In short, his article is professionally written and not slighting anybody.

I just want to get that out of the way before Jack shows up and starts screaming that Dennis did it wrong, or something.

@Oni

nice prempt, though no one listens to jack anyway.

Dennis does a good job of covering stories in an informative and impartial manner, Ive only seen the odd comment in reference to jack that is neither abusive or stated as anything other than journalistic commentary.

Keep on truckin dennis!

Let me start this by saying that Jack Thompson is an insufferable fool.

That being said, he has an unfortunate point about the sale of the game to minors. However, outlawing the game in the state isn't even close to a reasonable or fair restriction.

A solution that Jack might actually succeed with would be to license retailers to sell mature games much like state liquor boards license point-of-sale distributors of alcohol. Give them a license, run inspections much like Jack has with his son every once in a while, and if an individual store fails, give them a warning, cite them, and eventually remove their license to sell mature games.

It's relatively (though not entirely) effective for alcohol. The only major hurdle he would have there is getting Mature-rated (noting of course that ratings are voluntary) games to be labeled as a controlled substance.

But, since in all of his career, Jack Thompson has yet to do anything even mildly intelligent, I think we're going to watch him bash his head into the epic wall that is Halo 3.

@Oni

Oh, Dennis certainly does do an excellent job, but according to Jack, unless you print his version of the facts, you aren't a journalist, or unless you got on TV, even so,he tried to get Dennis fired, twice, from two different papers, and there's the fact that anything linking to Jack's legal documents in his mind lead to porn sites is my guess.

As for my thoughts... *wipes blood form his forehead from ramming it into the wall* Is Thompson so masochistic as to want to get financially curb stomped by Microsoft. Wonderful logic, he couldn't stop a game that took place in a somewhat realistic setting, so he'll take on a game that takes place in locales that don't exist, AKA FICTION!!!!

It's official, Jack's psyche evaluation was completely and utterly biased, or he lied on it, to both. Personally. I'm betting on both, otherwise he wouldn't be so afraid of the BAR imposed evaluation, IE trying all he can to avoid it and push his hearing back.

Go Jack Go!

Jack a piece of advise if I may. You might want to do this early than the weekend before a game comes out. Cause I'm sure at this point in time the game has already left the warehouse and is on its way to the stores. A game like Halo 3 already has millions of pre-orders. By the time the court actually hears your case it will be too late as the game will be in the hands of all the fans of this game. Thanks for the entertainment though.

You know what Jack(attorney and you're not)'s problem is? He has too many allies.

You see, after utterly destroying of 2LiveCrew, Howard Stern, Janet Reno, Take Two, Sony, Midway Games, Rockstar, The Florida Bar, gays, and the two guys who made counter-strike in their basement, the entire American public rallied behind Jack(attorney and you're not) as our savior. He prevented our children from spiraling down into the cesspool of moral debauchery known only as 'rampant-video-game-trained-and-copycatted-mass-killings'.

After burying all the foul sources of corruption who were foolish enough to stand against him, Jack(attorney and you're not) was left with nothing but the adoring masses and no one to left to challenge his insuppressible legal prowess.

So what was Jack(attorney and you're not)'s next logical move? Simple. To take on the only breeding ground of pixelated evil left, THE corporation of all corporations - MICROSOFT! Yes that's right, Jack(attorney and you're not)'s next move is to siege the last remaining bastion of virtual evil.

The battle will long and bloody to be sure, but with the support of the adoring public, the sharpest legal minds in the country (next to him of course) and most importantly the divine blessing of the one true God of one true Gods, our Hero(attorney and you're not) will once again emerge triumphant against SATANSOFT and their ordnance of murder simulators.

Amen.

@kurisu7885

In Jack's opinion, or your own?

@kurisu7885

Valiant point. I agree. The vast majority of Jack's attempts have not been to stop vendors from selling the game from minors, but to in fact stop the game from being distributed at all, stating that the irresponsibility of the vendors is too great to allow them to inadvertently or irresponsibly sell the game to minors.

I wonder what Jack's view are on parents who buy this mature rated game for their own children? Should their children be placed into protective custody?

ya, what's funny, my friend is the manager at our local movie gallery (think blockbuster). I went in today to rent eternal sonata to tide me over till tuesday, he told me the truck with all their copies of halo 3 had come in that morning =)

Okay, let's summarize:

1)It's days before the launch.
2)It's so much more fantasy than realism, that you'd have to be mentally undevelloped/ill to be influenced by it.
3) He's trying to take on Bungie and Microsoft.
4) He's doing this in the middle of his current bar case (considering that he's had complaints about this).
5) It's days before the release.

If we could sell tickets to this, we'd make a fortune. This is going to hurt his reputation, such as it is, and his cause very much. It just makes no sense. I know we don't expect it to, but this is just rediculous.

-Mike Schwinger

Yeah, I'd say sarcasm. ^_^

Not even going to bother reading his complaint, this is just hilarious. If he cared about how frivolous this was, he wouldn't have even bothered-- he's obviously just attention-whoring at this point.

Sorry for double post, we need an edit function (one with a time limit, if nothing else!)

It just occurred to me all he's going to succeed in doing is generating even more publicity for an already-anticipated game. Go go free advertising!

If there was ever a video game franchise that actually DID promote worthwhile values, it'd be Halo. For crying out loud, Halo's violence is on an entirely different level from the likes of GTA. I guess this kinda thing should be expected after Jack started criticizing even the military . . . but, c'mon.

I'd say this is a new low, but we keep seeing one every time his name pops up on this site.

whats up with thompson and best buy? did he get fired from there a while back or what?

I just read the word document and it says the following:

"THE FACTS
8. Defendants Best Buy and Microsoft are presently selling, for delivery commencing on October 25, 2007, the violent, interactive video game” entitled Halo 3."

I thought Halo 3 came out this month? Oh man, Jack is so far up his own ass, he doesn't even check release dates anymore for the games he tries to ruin. Ultra-Fail! :p

@Adaptor

That's closer to Guitar Hero 3's release.

Halo 3 is a video game that allows the virtual reality player to rehearse violent acts resulting in the death of one’s virtual victims What the fuck?! you In a war jackass.

i dont even get mad at the things he does anymore. I just laugh.

9. Halo 3 is a video game that allows the virtual reality player to rehearse violent acts resulting in the death of one’s virtual victims. Lee Boyd Malvo, the younger of the two “DC Beltway Snipers” was trained on Halo to kill residents within Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. His “mentor,” John Muhammad, knew the efficacy of the first Halo video game in this regard, because the Army in which he served used this same murder simulator to train snipers to kill. Malvo learned well on Halo. What the fuck. Halo is not an army game jack you cocksucking fuck. god damn he has lost it.

I doubt the judges will get past the first few paragraphs, seeing as he called both Best Buy and Microsoft "foreign companies."

And Dennis, did you convert this into a word file or is that how you found it? Because that would be the best in irony if he used word to 'destroy' Microsoft.

He's not playign with Blank Rome anymore, though they certainyl are a formiddable law firm. Microsoft's legal department is very large and well funded and Halo 3 is going to be a high priority. He's likely to get a big countersuit for filing nusiance suits.

Ace of sevens

Wow He is going to be gangraiped leagaly.

If he survies this I think He will go after assasins creed. But he won't.

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/25269.html
Oh the hoorror oh noes.

Excuse me? The army trains on Halo?! Go ask anyone from the miltary if that's true, Jack. I bet it will be quite a while before they stop laughing.

Y'know, I think Jack will succeed in this. I'm sure of it.

Oh, look! A flying pig! And there's Satan buying a snowmobile.

@ Baine

"Defendants Best Buy and Microsoft are presently selling, for delivery commencing on October 25, 2007, the violent, interactive video game” entitled Halo 3.”

*snicker* BFFF, HA HA HA HA HA! I honestly think that JT doesn't know when Halo 3 comes out! HA! What a dumbass!

Oh this is just plain ridiculous. The game is being marketed with the ranks of a blockbuster movie. It's rated M, the game industry equivalent of an R rated movie, and while it's ambitions are lofty for what it expects on opening day, it is possible to compare this to R rated movies that have gone the distance to become big blockbuster hits. While they may not have had as many tie ins, they have come a long way and are now well known favorites among the general adult public.

Or at least cult favorites.

Let's see:

Predator - Rated R
Alien - Rated R
Die Hard - Rated R
The Matrix - Rated R

Yes, the friggin' MATRIX moviea were Rated R! And that was a blockbuster hit that's still fresh in everyone's minds!

The content in Halo 3 is hardly that much different from the above movies. You got Master Chief, your all-around "Bruce Willis". By that I mean that he's a bad ass guy that gets the job done no matter what it takes. He's cool like that. We got intelligent aliens as the enemies in Halo, akin to the suckers from Predator, Alien, and with a nasty "battle against the humans" war just like in the Matrix.

The hype machine has tie-ins up the wa-zoo! It's own Mountain Dew flavor, promotional cups and items at Burger King, 7-11, and more! Midnight launch parties at Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, Circuit City, GameStops a plenty...

...and this MORON thinks he can stop it!

He has so little ground to stand on with this, that he somehow has NEGATIVE ground on this one.

1) The content in Halo 3 is nothing short of what would be found in a Rated-R humanity vs. aliens blockbuster movie. Nothing sexual or pornoraphic.

2) Halo 3 has MICROSOFT behind it, with enough money set aside for legal contests that it can BURY anyone.

3) Halo has two games before it. What makes Halo 3 worthy of a block as opposed to Halo 1 and 2?

4) If someone swears constantly in an Xbox Live game, WITH the statement that content may change in an online game BECAUSE of this very factor issued by the ESRB, whose fault is it for this foul mouthery? The game maker, or the game player?

5) How is a promotional tie-in through PRIVATE corporations worthy of being a nuisance in the PUBLIC domain?!

6) Halo 3 has no gambling.

Frankly, Halo has set more of a precedent than Jack the wanna-be Giant Killer. If he actively pursues this, he is going to be stepped on like a bug by Microsoft.

Take-Two's been known to push the edge. MS, not the way Take-Two has.

This could be the final nail in his career coffin.

And I can't wait to see it! :D

See yah Jack! It's been miserable knowing you.

~Otaku-Man

XD Jack you make me ROFFLE. I can't wait to see this FAIL like everything else you have tried to do.

Oh god, He makes me so ashamed to live in Florida.

He's like that drunk uncle that visits every thanksgiving and ruins everything.

*bangs head on the desk*

make the stupid stop. Please Lord in Heaven make the stupid stop.

.....*sob*......WHY!! DOESN'T HE SHUT THE HELL UP AND GET A LIFE?!?!......*more sobbing*

Oh, and Jackie Boy files so many damn complaints it's a wonder that they still have trees in Florida.

@Paul:

You forgot to add "and don't forget to say 'HOOAH!' and see if you'll still be able to walk out under your own power."

Can anyone answer my question for me I have here.

Isn't Microsoft alot more ferice when it comes to lawsuits and such? I know they are powerful...but....unlike Take-Two to try to settle an agreement(that doesn't seem to be working for Take-Two) with Jack to prevent him from pestering Take-Two as much....

Won't like...Microsoft slam Jack with lawsuits or something to hurt him legally back for pulling this?

I dunno if I'm explaining this right.

Will Microsoft be more legally ferice then Take-two when it comes to legal slander such as this in attempts to hurt microsoft?

If anything Thompson should be declared a public nuisance.

Sorry for the double post but won't also JAck's attempts from last year set some kind of precdent (of himself the individual.) from last years?


As to say like courts will have records of his attempts barely a year ago to pull the same exact stunt?

As in they know who Jack is and know what he might be up too again.

As to say the court might think. "This guy again? He tried this last year."

Will there be any kind of documents from his last attempts to fimilerize themselfs with Jack....in a way that might work agianst him?

Hi guys! I just got back from seeing Resident Evil 3. When I got out of the theatre, I decided to pop into my local jolly ol' Gamestop to pre-order Halo 3. But lo and behold, the salesclerk told me that I had to be ****18**** to purchase any M-rated game. So what was Thompson saying about minors (even 17 year olds like me) being able to buy games while their parents weren't around?

That's the way it is at most major retailers Sean. At both Best Buy and Target, in order to make a purchse of an M rated game, you have to give them your date of birth and ID. Granted no everyone will abide by this but the computer that's connected to the cashregister prompts them for this information and won't go past it until those fields are filled in.

But yeah this is a losing battle for Mr. Thompson, and not a particularly smart battle either.

[...] He just cant stop himself. Now he is on the warpath against Halo 3.... Thompson hopes to have a Florida court declare Halo 3 a public nuisance and block its sale in the Sunshine State Once again, Thompson is basing his claim on a Florida statute which defines public nuisances as that which:

Considering how his legal "battles" go, I'd be surprised if he could tie his shoes.

@MacBoy

At least he's helping keep the courthouse warm.

Hey Jack? did Take Two get rid of the lawyer mission?

ugh... why does jack thompson have to exist?

Yeah, cause that's what Halo needs, more fucking publicity.

Excuse me while I go OD on Hale 3 Mountain Dew...

Um.....can anyone answer my questions?

>_

I am disgusted with Jack Thompson; that he would reduce such a series to nothing more than a nuisance. Halo is one of the few games that deserve respect for its literary value.

HandofCrom brings up a good point: Jack is trolling for the other team. That doesn't make me hate him any less, though.

Macaronugh Said:
… why does jack thompson have to exist?

You should get down on your knees and thank god for Jack Thompson, if someone more competent took his place the Game Industry would be in trouble.

"Daddy"

"What is it now son"

"What is with the that big hole over there?"

"Well son I think it is time that I told you about The Dark Times"

"The Dark Times?"

"Years ago there was this very self-serving called Jack Thompson. Now Jack Thompson had one main goal and that was to become the most famous racist, arrogant, fascist, censor of them. His method was to spead an untold amount of FUD thoughtout all known media. But soon everyone realize that JT was nothing more then some nut job that couldn't get a real job even with a law degree and that crater was maded by his ego taking physical form then crashing into Earth.

"Wow what noob..."

SMACK

"YOU NEVER MAKE FUN OF NOOBS LIKE THAT AGAIN SON OR ELSE!!!"

"Sorry Daddy I didn't know he was one of those people"

*Quote* “Under penalty of perjury, I declare the foregoing facts are true, correct, and complete, so help me God, this September 21, 2007.” –Thompson


OUCH! If god actually listened when people said stupid stuff like that Thompson would be dead buried and burning in Hell RIGHT NOW. also that said Thompson is a liar who is trying to make a name for himself, ENJOY PLAYING HALO3 IN FLORIDA GUYS!!! WOOOOOT!!! SEE YA ON LIVE!!

If there is any indication that Jack Thompson is struggling for attention, it's this. Halo 3? Common. It's just getting sad now.

@Citizen_Snips
"You should get down on your knees and thank god for Jack Thompson, if someone more competent took his place the Game Industry would be in trouble."

Anyone with competence would know that videogames do no more harm than film, literature, and music.

For some reason I have a vision of Jackie boy chaining himself to the doors of a Wal Mart and screaming about how bad Halo 3 is. Then the mighty hand of Bill Gates comes down and introduces Jack to the new sensation known as legally binding documents (Seeing as Jack probably has not seen a court issued legal document in his sorry career) and the two large officers of the law that get to deliver it. Who else wants to bet that he tries to resist?

I said it before. I'll say it again.

Jack Thompson's law license deserves the same fate as the Xbox Live account of that Halo 3 thief (or Halo 3 Epsilon beta player).

In other words....

"To Mr. John Bruce Thompson:

Your law license has been suspended. You will not be able to practice law until 12/31/9999.

The Florida Bar Association

P.S. HOOAH!"

Jack hasn't written because good Christians are in bed by 10:30pm EST.

Allrighty, here's a quick 1-to-1 on Jack Thompson's latest batch of lies and misrepresentations...

?Halo 3 is a video game that allows the virtual reality player to rehearse violent acts resulting in the death of one’s virtual victims. Lee Boyd Malvo, the younger of the two “DC Beltway Snipers” was trained on Halo to kill residents within Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. His “mentor,” John Muhammad, knew the efficacy of the first Halo video game in this regard, because the Army in which he served used this same murder simulator to train snipers to kill. Malvo learned well on Halo.

1.) Halo: Combat Evolved can't train you to snipe. Sniping takes place outside 300 yards (most armed conflict takes place inside this range, thus the reason the US Armed Forces use a .223 caliber round - they don't need the extra range of other heavier shells). Shooting in Halo 3 rarely if ever went beyond this range, and the 4x magnification the scope on Halo's sniper rifle gave you merely made the images 4x larger, and did not increase the image's resolution.

Beyond this, aiming with an analog thumbstick is in no way representative of aiming a real rifle. Fine muscular control is needed for shooting targets accurately at ranges beyond 100 yards, and Halo cannot teach this, nor the proper breathing techniques for consistancy.

Furthermore, the two went target shooting together a number of times. If you've ever shot a real rifle, you know the only way a video game can prepare you for real shooting is by increasing your hand-eye coordination - something done equally well if not better by a paddle-ball. Perhaps we should declair those a public nuisance?

The role of Microsoft’s Halo in the “DC Beltway Snipings” was reported on NBC News and was introduced into evidence in the trial of Lee Boyd Malvo.

It was also insubstantial in relation to the REAL SHOOTING the two did. This doesn't help your case, its just fluff.

The proof as to the causal nexus between violence simulation video games and real-world violence is legion

No it isn't. There is some coorelation, but the same coorelation has been shown for sports like football.

but one of the more notable proofs is found in the August 2005 Report of the American Psychological Association that establishes the direct causal link between violent teenaged video game play and teenagers’ aggression.

Again, this is the same aggression that can be shown after a good rough game of football. Also, it goes away 15 minutes later, just like in a good game of football. Nice distortion of the facts there, Jack, but it won't fly when another lawyer skims the same research.

The recent U. S. Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons, which struck down the juvenile death penalty, cites the brain scan studies similar to those coming out of Harvard, Indiana, and Michigan State Universities that prove that these violent games are processed in a different part of the brain in adolescents and teens than in adults, and it is the sector of the brain that leads of teen violence copycatting these violent games like Halo 3.

Many of those studies didn't use brain scans at all. Again with the misrepresentations and lies.

The video game industry itself acknowledges the peculiar harm of “Mature” games when played by anyone under 17, as the Entertainment Software Rating Board, by the agreement of the entire industry, age rates video games and agrees not to sell “Mature” games to anyone under 17 because of the public safety and health hazard such sales pose.

Um... no. There's been no such admission by the industry. There are things that are age inappropriate, yes, but no "health hazard" has been identified or acknowledged. Another swing and a miss.

Two weeks ago, undersigned’s 15-year-old son was able to conduct a “sting” on Best Buy. He walked into a Best Buy store and purchased an extremely violent “Mature-rated” game with the clerk, despite the agreement by Best Buy that this would not happen, selling it to him without checking any age ID. There is no question that this is not an isolated incident and it will occur as to Halo 3 sales. In fact, Best Buy is pre-selling Halo 3 at its corporate Internet site at www.bestbuy.com to anyone of any age with no age verification.

Obviously the clerk in question needs to be re-trained. HOWEVER, the sales on the website has built-in age verification: the credit card necessary to buy the game itself. If someone under the age of 17 has a credit card, they obviously have the trust of their parent or guardian to use it responsably - it is in the end their responsability should the minor use it irresponsably. Bottom line, the credit card necessary to buy the game IS parental consent.

Defendant Microsoft is creating a demand for this ESRB-rated “Mature” game, according to recent news reports, by aggressively marketing the game heavily to teen boys to assure it will be the best-selling video game of all time.

They market to the appropriate age group. If the minors have interested or concerned parents, these parents are in the end responsable for their children, their spending habits, and their gaming habits. I shouldn't have to explain this one to a lawyer.

Both defendants claim that they are not selling and are not going to sell this Mature-rated video game to anyone under seventeen, but such sales are occurring and are intended by these two defendants to occur. Both companies should be held to the very standard that they themselves say is appropriate and that they say they are honoring but are in fact breaching.

Prove they are breaking it intentionally. Go on, prove it. You'll need to do that in order to win the case.

You can't.

To sum it all up, you're a lying snake, distorting the truth to push your crooked agenda and boost your sagging ego. All you're doing is providing Microsoft with some free press. Way to go!

Jack is a punk.

Jack is a hypocrite.

Jack is a bully.

Jack is a loser.

I think he is playing the odds game; if he files enough lawsuits, one is bound to stick. What is he, like zero-for-everything?

Even roaches can figure out when they can't climb out of the bathtub. Is this guy really not as smart as a roach?

Wait, I just had a thought....Best Buy made an agreement with JT to stop selling M rated games to minors (need reference), but in the R*/TT agreement, JT agreed to stop harassing R*/TT AND anyone who sold their material (i.e. walmart, best buy, etc.). So, technically, his little 'sting' (along with intent to harm a minor (using his logic)) is a violation of the agreement made between him and R*/TT. Any thoughts on that?

"Under penalty of perjury, I declare the foregoing facts are true, correct, and complete, so help me God, this September 21, 2007."

read the official complaint and you'll see that many of Jack's "facts" are in fact untrue.

"Defendants Best Buy and Microsoft are presently selling, for delivery commencing on October 25, 2007, the violent, interactive video game” entitled Halo 3" - WRONG, it's a September release.

"The proof as to the causal nexus between violence simulation video games and real-world violence is legion, but one of the more notable proofs is found in the August 2005 Report of the American Psychological Association that establishes the direct causal link between violent teenaged video game play and teenagers’ aggression." - WRONG, this is not a fact. The report emphasizes possible links and potential links, it never confirms that real evidence exists. here's the report - http://www.apa.org/releases/resolutiononvideoviolence.pdf

"The recent U. S. Supreme Court case of Roper v. Simmons, which struck down the juvenile death penalty, cites the brain scan studies similar to those coming out of Harvard, Indiana, and Michigan State Universities that prove that these violent games are processed in a different part of the brain in adolescents and teens than in adults, and it is the sector of the brain that leads of teen violence copycatting these violent games like Halo 3." - WRONG, an article written by Aronson, Jay D. in the publication Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. 2007 May Vol 13(2) 115-142 states that "first and foremost, no definitive link between brain structure and deviant behavior has been established"

"The video game industry itself acknowledges the peculiar harm of “Mature” games when played by anyone under 17, as the Entertainment Software Rating Board, by the agreement of the entire industry, age rates video games and agrees not to sell “Mature” games to anyone under 17 because of the public safety and health hazard such sales pose." - WRONG, the ESRB has never "agreed[s] not to sell 'Mature' games to anyone under 17..." The ESRB simply tells consumers the rating of video games and why its rated such. To remind everyone, submitting a game to the ESRB to be rated is a voluntary process, so it is incorrect to say "...by the agreement of the entire industry..."

@Mnementh2230

you beat me too it.

still, my analysis is worth reading also.

@ Kincyr
"Anyone with competence would know that videogames do no more harm than film, literature, and music."

I think you'd be severely disappointed if you truly believe that.

I can’t help but to notice that Jack primarily concentrates the bulk of his efforts against the largest video game releases (e.g. Bully, Halo 3, GTA, Bioshock, etc) despite the level of violence, yet seems to overlook smaller, “ultra-violent” PC titles that are released. With that, I am left thinking that: Jack simply wants the publicity that comes along with attacking the larger titles, he has a personal vendetta against the video game consumer community, or a combination of both. Either way his masquerading this as a moral crusade is starting to be shown for its true, ugly intentions. For shame, Jack!

John Muhhammed left the military before the 1st halo was released. How the Fuck did he Train on it in the army? How the hell would he know of the effacacy, so he could use it to teach Malvo?

Jesus Jack, are you that damned stupid?

for some reason i felt like this would almost be appropriate (dont ask me why).

http://www.geocities.com/dm_stormwind/JT_TrueNature.jpg

You know, if there's a company familiar in the ways of mass litigation, it is Microsoft. What with their very well paid "Legion of Lawyers" at their disposal, each with more legal credentials and intelligence than what Jack has in his little finger, and apparently raised by ravenous packs of wolves. Jack may have thought it was fun picking on Rockstar (and failing at that). But honestly, Rockstar is the equivalent to a guppy, and Microsoft is the Great White.

He should consider himself lucky if the MS L.o.L. leaves anything intact. Especially if they consider him even the remotest of threats.

But right now, all he's doing is driving up their sales. Why not more publicity?

You want to know how confident I am that Jack is going to fail for the umpteenth time? I'm so confident that I will go on the record right here and now that if Jack actually succeeds in getting the game to be a public nuisance, I will hearby get rid of all my video games and related materials, give up atheism, and join the military to fight in Iraq while calling our current president the second coming of jesus, which is how 26% of the country views the guy.

That, is how confident I am.

Ok, I'm sorry Mr. Thompson, I usually paid not much heed to your rants or suggestions before...

but Halo 3 as a nuisance? That's one of the most ridiculous suggestions ever. Sure, I haven't played this one yet, but chances are it's not going to be that much more violent than the previous two, and those ones had about as much violence as a moderate PG-13 movie (in fact, I'm to this day still baffeled as to why Halo earns its M rating). In the main game, there's no dismemberments, no malicious killing, and only little splats of blood on the floor/walls.

You've site only 1 incident where Halo was a factor in violence, and that was the DC Sniper case. Even that portion wouldn't account for the shot accuracy and gun maintenance. According to your claims, I should be a highly skilled assassin. I can't fire a gun to save my life. Stuff like that needs real world training.

If it's the multiplayer you are after, then I'm surprised Cowboys & Indians, or Cops & Robbers didn't incite gun violence, but it's practically the same thing.

The main difference between Halo and Doom (as I am certain you are going to bring up Columbine) is that in Doom, you pretty much kill anything that is on the screen. In Halo, you have a certain set of objectives, teammates, and story elements. Running and Gunning and no strategy will ultimately lead to failure.

September 25th. October 25th. Eh, it's an honest mistake.

Of course, Thompson made this same release date mistake last year when he tried to get Bully declared a public nuisance.

Creature of habit, I guess.

Andrew Eisen

lol i just noticed this in that complaint he filed, its says:

"He is licensed by and in good standing with The Florida Bar and has been since 1977".

WTF? isnt he up for disbarment by the florida bar?

So if people like the sniper train in video games to be experts. Does that mean that after I play a game like Phoenix wright Ace attorney that I will be an expert lawyer?? Seems like there is a little bit more involved then just moving a stick or a mouse to aim. And feeling a little bit of a vibration in the game. I have fired a gun a few times but never plan on owning one. Or shooting someone with one. I personally do not like guns. When I play games or watch violent movies I know they are not true and know its just an act on the screen. I also know that bad things happen. If I saw anything violent like what I see in games or movies I think it would be a different story.

I'm not sure I understood JT's comment at all. We don't know if the arbitor dies, commander keyes died in the first game, and where the hell did you here that third bit? Last I checked, AI can't have sex. I'm calling bullshit on this one. And like people haven't died in like five hundred or so other games. He's grasping at straws at best here. He doesn't stand a chance.

@ Mootyslayer:

"So if people like the sniper train in video games to be experts. Does that mean that after I play a game like Phoenix wright Ace attorney that I will be an expert lawyer??"

You'd be far more qualified that John Bruce.

How is it that no gamers in Florida have contacted the FBI yet to file criminal charges against John B. Thompson for conspiring to deprive them of their civil rights while acting under the Color of Law? Let alone contact lawyers to file civil suits.

Take2 used this charge somewhat successfully to leverage a settlement in a civil case not to long ago. If it worked for them, why shouldn't it work for average citizens whom the courts have said repeatedly have the right to purchase games?

Good luck to you Mr Thompson. I really hope this trial happens for you. Because we all know what happened last time. And Microsoft will NOT make an idiotic deal with you like Take Two did.

Good luck to you in the future Mr Thompson, I am severely worried about your well being when you are no longer allowed to practice law or be allowed any attention in the public circle.

Good luck to your children Mr Thompson, I only hope that your wife makes enough money to support your family.

and lastly Good luck to you Mr Thompson, I hope that once this is over, you will be able to live a life worth living instead of trying to point out how everyone else is living theirs wrong.

I just thought...

WHAT IF HE GOES AFTER BRAWL NEXT!

Massively hyped, and a game where you *gasp* fight people.. It all fits!
Noooooooooooooooooooo- oh, wait.

He doesn't win his cases.

Nevermind, then.

[...] According to GamePolitics, Jack Thompson has his sights set on taking down Microsoft’s biggest gun: Halo 3. He’s apparently trying to claim the game wil prove to be a public nuisance and corrupt the public morals. [...]

Halo is another game I can't stand, but I really can't see how Jackie is going to go anywhere near it.

Besides, Microsoft is one enemy that can only be beaten by the US Supreme Court, not some dickhead lawyer from Florida.

Hehe.. Hahaha. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

This is a worldwide release... even if he was remotely sucessful in getting a stay on it. Why will anyone in else care?

All Jack has done is now drawn the ire of Bungee, who happens to be financially tied to the most sucessful and wealthiest company on the planet. If Jack pisses of Microsoft... well, have you ever seen a bug beat a windshield?

I really don't see how the Florida Bar or Microsoft are able to tolerate any of this BS...

But, I guess, any publicity is good publicity in the eyes of MS, especially when it comes to Halo 3...

Mr.Thompson is aware that Perjury is an offense right?

I mean, he's litterally just walked into a counter-suit.

Has anyone though of getting Jack declared a public nuisance? I think that case would have some merit.

@BlackIce, Leftie

he targets the halo series because of the dc sniper incident which one of the two gunmen was allegedly "trained" on halo while under the instruction of the other gunmen. if you look at the games thompson has called out in the past you can see that just about every of them was somehow connected to the people who did shootings. doom and columbine, counter strike and VT, devin moore and GTA SA, etc. you dont really see him picking out just any violent game at random, he has to be able to connect it with something real otherwise it would be ignored because there is nothing to provide an example from.

in other words, he seems to only target games that have alleged connections to real-life incidents. again the main reason he does this is because in most cases, like the dc sniper, got huge media attention when it was happening as well as freaking out 99% of the public. so obviously his bullshit accusations would get airtime one way or another. throwing out the name of a specific game opposed to throwing out a general range or genre of games is easier to pick apart and make a more "convincing" theory.

ifor example, f he was to say "oh well he played games" instead of a more specific idea such as, "ultra-violent halo made him do it", it would make it sound like hard evidence that supports what he said exists and therefor his theory is more convincing to the uninformed.

if he was to constantly generalize it would make whatever he says sound more like a theory and only a theory to other people due to the lack of detail given, compared to a more specific one which would sound more like a "fact".

So basically he's being more of a stupid fuck than usual.

I'm the new spokesperson for Engergizer. I'm replacing the bunny. ;) See below as to why:

John B. Thompson, Attorney at Law
1172 S. Dixie Hwy., Suite 111
Coral Gables, Florida 33146

September 22, 2007

All State Attorneys General [Sent individually addressed letters]

Dear Attorney General _________________________:

I bring to your attention an ongoing fraudulent, deceptive, and illegal, trade practice occurring in your state. It targets children, and it poses a grave public safety hazard.

Major retailers such as Target, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart are selling violent and sexually-laced “Mature-rated” video games to kids under the age of 17 in violation of industry promises to abide by its age-keyed game rating system. Here is how it works: The Entertainment Software Rating Board, owned and funded by the game industry, puts a “Mature” rating on the most violent and most sexually-laced games. This rating is an admission that such games are inappropriate and harmful to anyone under 17. The ESRB and the retailers then promise the public and government officials, at the state and federal levels, that they will not sell ESRB-rated “Mature” games to anyone under 17.

Are the promises being kept? Are the games being sold according to the age ratings? The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly found that these major retailers are still selling these “Mature” games to kids of all ages. Best Buy, for example, was caught by a sting in Miami this past week selling a violent “Mature” game to a 15-year-old despite Best Buy’s nationally ballyhooed policy of checking the age ID of “anyone appearing to be 21 or younger” in order to avoid sales to anyone under 17. Best Buy’s policy is an utter sham. It is designed to persuade parents to let their guard down.

But it gets worse. All of the above-noted retailers, along with others, are selling these “Mature-rated” games to kids of any age via the Internet at their corporate sites, such as at www.bestbuy.com, with no age verification during the sale! Age ID software is available to Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart, and they refuse to use it, despite the success of such software in verifying the age of customers, with the inputting of government ID data, for on-line sales of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. Best Buy doesn’t want that.

So, these stores are telling the public that they are “family friendly” and not selling these adult entertainment products to minors while at the same time flouting the game ratings system and selling the games to kids.

Finally, why does this collaboration among the game makers, the game retailers, and the industry-captured and -funded ESRB matter? Because brain scan studies (MRIs) at Harvard University, Michigan State University, and Indiana University all prove that kids process violent video games in a different part of the brain than do adults, and this neurobiological differential leads to violent, copycatting behavior.

But don’t believe me. Believe the American Psychological Association which issued its formal finding in August 2005 that violent video game play by teens leads to increased aggression. Believe the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roper v. Simmons, striking down the juvenile death penalty. In doing so, the High Court cited brain scan studies that prove the neurobiological brain development differential that accounts for emotion-driven dangerous behaviors by minors. This is not junk science. This is hard science.

If you don’t believe the APA, there major universities, and the US Supreme Court, then believe All State Insurance, which recently took out a full-age ad in The Wall Street Journal explaining that teens drive the way they do because “they’re missing a part of their brain.” the ad, attached hereto, is at http://www.allstate.com/content/refresh-attachments/Brain-Ad.pdf.

Ever since “Columbine,” American parents have known of the role that violent video games have played in mass murders authored by teens. That is precisely why the video game industry, including its retail distribution network, is lying to parents in your jurisdiction about its “safeguards” to limit the sale of adult games to kids. It’s a sham.

I have worked with both Mitt Romney and Hillary Clinton to do something about this problem, which shows the non-partisan, non-ideological, broad spectrum concern on this issue. I drafted Louisiana’s “Video Games Harmful to Minors” statute that was passed by both Houses in that state unanimously. It was signed into law by Governor Blanco, and it was then struck down by a liberal federal judge who never talked to the parents at Columbine nor to the FBI which has identified the role of violent video games in school shootings.

I have concluded that we don’t need more laws. We need officials with the gumption to enforce the laws that are already on the books. A fraudulent and deceptive trade practice that is resulting in the sale of adult products to kids must be prosecuted, and now is the time for you, in your state, to do so. No federal judge can thwart your efforts. Fraud is fraud, deception is deception, and this reckless industry is impaled by its own lies.

I will work with you to prosecute the outrageously fraudulent, deceptive and dangerous trade practice of an entire industry which says one thing and then does another in the marketing and sale of its violent, sex-laced, “Mature-rated,” adult video games to children via retailers in your state.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Sorry for the double post... already mentioned by -neveranything-
But obviously that's two people that agree

Please PLEASE stop impersonating Jack Thompson. Why ? Because it will proof him right about gamers.

Anyhoo, Jack is an attention whore, so this will come to nothing.

Hey Jack, did you know you don't kill humans in Halo? Of course you didn't.

Why hasn't Jackie posted yet? This isn't like him..

Usually he comes around to entertain us some more.

For those saying there's nothing sexual or pornographic in the Halo series, ever heard of the .ASS error?

Yeah, thought so.

gp any chance you could get microsofts (and of course bungies) response to this?

@ Samsoneffect

Maybe, it's because, in Jack's opinion, that nobody trained how to kill on Gears of War. Gears of War had violence, blood and gore, but you don't hear him preaching about how bad Gears of War is.

Apologies for the double post.

And yet, the BLOODLESS Bully, he says was WORSE than all of those, just because it was set in a school. He tried to preempt that, why not Gears of War, or better yet, why did he wait until Halo 3? Why didn't he try to nip it in the bud and get an injunction on Halo 2?

LOL,
Seriously, Jack I have a real question for you. Would you be willing to bet on the outcome of this? Cause I am willing to put up my yearly paycheck against the the money you will owe Microsoft for legal fees, that you will lose. And before you state that it is a waste of time cause "gamers couldn't possibly have a job or make money" know that i am employed by the US military. And please stop saying hooah. You haven't earned that right, just like I haven't earned to right to put Attorney as part of my name, cause I didn't graduate from law school.

Another soldier.. wait, that's only 3 I know of.

@Cullarn
I can guess it will be something akin to 'fuck off JT'.

I dunno what Army JT's talking about; I never trained on Halo.

Yes, because all the guns i've seen are controlled with a xbox controller. And does he seriously think that any military uses Halo to train soldiers?

@ Blackice

Yeah, I was kind of going for big 3 or CNN. Oh god if he was on MSNBC that would have been gold considering!

But even on Fox news they we doubting him. I remember on his appearance there the newscaster (can't remember his name) ended with, "Jack Thompson: an expert who specializes...uh, terribly...in these crimes."

In hindsight at the end I should have had him go out also saying, "I predicted Columbine! I was on 60 Minutes! I was interviewed by Ed Bradley!" But I was writing off the cuff and there's no way I can go back and add that. :(

This will fail.
Pure and simple.

AHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA... still laughing

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

Well jack responded (or dennis finally cleared his response) aged ago.


I think its the best one so far he criticises dennis for saying its a ban on all games where he is only trying to ban sale to minors (which is jacks goal all along).

But as dennis aptly states, nuisance laws do not make age differentiations, thats right folks, Jack doesnt know what the f*ck he is talking about, and has to get schooled on law by the folks here at GP.


Jack thompson, you fail at law.

ooohhh not just windmills this time

and dont even get me started on his claim of sui juris (In civil law the phrase sui juris indicates legal competence)

wow....
and we thought we'ed seen it all
i've been following this crap since hot coffee and it's hard to imagine that it's got this fucked up.
i really wish this stuff was televised, i'd watch everyday.

(BTW dennis, you got a kickass site here)

Has anybody had Jack declared a public nuisance yet?

@Soul

Thats exactlly what every gamer is tring to prove to Jack he will never ban a video game in his life,HE IS PATHETIC.

[...] Source : Gamepolitics [...]

There is only one reason he's throwing a temper tantrum over Halo 3. because it has been so heavily prostrated by marketing and advertisements, across multiple fronts, meaning that it is very much in the minds of a lot of people -- gamers and non-gamers alike. Jack is simply trying to bend this momentum to his will, and at the same time, get his face in all the media again, preaching his hate-filled anti-game drivel everywhere he can.

What's happening, is he's helping Halo 3 get even more coverage, albeit the equivalent of a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of money thrown at the advertising departments by Microsoft to push Halo 3 already.

spanky, I think you were looking for:

"Jackhole, would you kindly go to hell more quietly?"

I just wish the "would you kindly" would work as well as in a certain fantasy world.

According to the article, Florida statutes define a public nuisance as that which:

"…tend[s] to annoy the community, injure the health of the citizens in general, or corrupt the public morals"

Anyone in Florida want to file a suit to have Jack Thompson declared a public nuisance? He definitely tends to annoy the community. The "injure the health of the citizens" clause may be hard to justify, although I'd imagine some people have been injured falling out of their chairs laughing at Thompson's behavior. Luckily, the definition uses OR instead of AND. Finally, I consider asking the government to take over parenting of children with respect to video games a corruption of morals.

Wow...

@steve:

I second, third, fourth, fifth, all the way up to 9000th this suggestion.

The judge in the Bully case, in my opinion, dropped the ball. He should have just said, "Games are free speech. The public nuisance law does not apply to video game retailers. Case dismissed." Instead, he turned it into a circus.

Hopefully, in this case, Microsoft's lawyers countersue Jack into dust.

"It is websites like this that prove that games like Halo3, Bully, and Pac-Man cause physical and mental harm to the publics that have to endure their existence. My life and likely hood have suffered insurmountably due to gamers reactions to my VERY SERIOUS accusations against afore mentioned gaming gamers games."

Don't point the finger at us, Jack. You started this the day you made your "very serious" accusation that all gamers are worse than Saddam Hussein. You've spend your whole life planting these seeds, now you're reaping what you've sown.

If you can't handle the pressure, get out. Would it /really/ hurt you to be peaceful and happy for once in your life anyway?