A complaint by Jack Thompson has prompted Miami's transit authority to remove ads for Grand Theft Auto IV from local bus shelters.
Miami thus joins Chicago as the second major US city to pull GTA IV ads from its public transit system in recent days.
GamePolitics reported on Thursday that Thompson had complained about the GTA IV ads to Miami Mayor Carlos Alvarez. The GTA IV ads were apparently removed sometime on Friday afternoon. Hugh Chen, Miami-Dade Transit's deputy director of operations, told GamePolitics on Friday evening, via e-mail:
The posters were removed after a review of our approval process and contract... Be assured that the circumstances around placing and removing these specific posters were reviewed before action was taken. We are governed by our contract with our shelter contractor and County ordinances.
A spokesman for GTA IV publisher Take-Two Interactive said the company was still reviewing the situation. A spokesman for the ESA referred inquiries back to Take-Two.
For his part, Thompson wasted no time in crowing about the removal of the ads in a news release:
...Jack Thompson has today persuaded the Miami-Dade Transit System to pull all advertisements for the Grand Theft Auto IV cop-killing simulation game from its bus stops.
In the wake of this success, Thompson is proceeding to get all GTA IV ads pulled from all US transit systems since such ads clearly violate promises made by the [ESRB], found right at its web site, not to place “Mature-rated” game ads in venues that will be seen by teens.
However, Thompson's contention about the ESRB appears to be incorrect. An ESRB spokesman told GP on Friday, "Considering the overwhelmingly adult demographic profile of mass transit riders... the placement of GTA IV ads in these types of outlets would typically not be in violation of [Ad Review Council] guidelines." Nor do the advertising guidelines listed on the ESRB website appear to support Thompson's contention.
Thompson may be confusing the ESRB ad guidelines with a 2002 report on the marketing of media violence by the Federal Trade Commission which addressed limiting the advertising of M-rated games in media where children constitute a specific percentage of the potential audience. The FTC report notes that the video game industry has a self-regulatory standard prohibiting print ads when children comprise more than 45% of the likely audience.
In his news release, the embattled Thompson also alleged a conspiracy between the video game industry and the judge who presided over his nine-day trial on Florida Bar ethics charges last November. That judge's recommendation on Thompson's future status as an attorney is expected in August.
GP: Readers, don't forget to Send Us Your GTA IV Bus Pix (Before they’re all gone)...
Comments
Hm... maybe I should go gank that while I still can?
:)
Will send a picture later.
Why are people still listening to this guy? One of these days, we're going to get him thrown behind bars, mark my words.
Surely pulling this ad falls into this category. Take-Two are in a perfect position to bend Jack over and **** him so hard he'll be ripped in half.
Then when he loses he will be penniless.
If that's not grounds for a harrasment suit I don't know what is.
entirely off topic but ill bite for the sake that im bored....
No that assumption is incorrect,however the number that are turning away from religion as they hit college and start learning about FACTS(you hear me benn stien?)of basic geology,biology and genetics.
With those Facts in hand they can start to deconstruct all the myths their parents handed down to them replacing them with how the real world works,however some never bother to learn this and just take the path of least resistance/laziness aka religion.this is where current generation fundamentalists keep coming from as their entire argument is "if I don't understand it and it doesn't fit what the bible says It must be wrong".
good example of this is the evolution debate in which general religion fanatics attack evolution as if it is not true.This tactic is the incorrect way to approach it as we all know changes over time is a fact,the theory part of it is how it works(much how like gravity is a fact but how it works is a theory...science has a hard time playing absolutes as you can see)The creationist debate is everything poofed into mid air with all features intact but have no evidence to back it up,nor any testing to even point to that thesis to begin with.example:
scientific method=observation>thesis>testing>hypothesis>testing>observation>do everything possible to disprove all previous work>theory>testing>theory>testing>theory>and finally pass it along to repeat until the community feels its a fact.
religion=observation from a book>theory>no testing>do everything possible to prove it correct>plug ears during debate>continue to spew unverifiable thesis>profit
Religions a whole works on the same wavelength of talking out its side while ignoring everything else in order to self propagate its control of the minds of those who follow them.JT works in the same fashion,blurt BS out to get his way while ignoring any and all facts.
Personally i would love JT to show up on GTA4 release day just to see how badly the lynch mob tears into him...
I only have his ComCast and it does not work. I already tried to e-mail him.
So what? GTA's so popular that Jack Thompson can't stop the sales from skyrocketing. If anything, they'll be more buyers who will buy it just to spite him.
JT's tactic will only work if said game was an indie title that desperately needs recognition.
So JT took down the bus ads. Big deal. Like those things actually work.
Speaking of which, I think I'll go GTA IV poster hunting today.
Him crowing about an achievement here is like a person boasting about stopping the tide because he has taken a spoonful of water out of the ocean. But that's Jack for you, the King Canute of modern times, railing and screaming at the tide while it pays him no attention and continues on it's way.
I know, how about a nice wholesome ad for Hostel 2. No?How about a Saw 4 ad, I bet that'd be more appropriate. Hmm, nooo, let's advertise The Hills Have Eyes 1 and 2 unrated there, I bet THAT'S kid friendly.[/sarcasm]
Which sort of sums up Thompson entirely really...
Don't forget who we're talking about here
And doesn't this contravene the same laws or regulations that the Chicago situation did?
For those not up on their latin, "The law disregards trifles".
The trifle, of course, being you, oxygen-waster.
You took down some ads. No one cares.
Sometimes I'm convinced JT is a fictional enemy created by T2 for the sole purpose of creating free advertising through sensationalist news stories about murder simulators :P
"I will first say that I am shocked that the Miami-Dade Transit would pull advertising for a video game simply because some shrew of a lawyer, Jack Thompson, threatened legal action or bad publicity. Thanks for putting up a good fight. Maybe next time, MDT might actually bring courage and integrity to the ball game. Does the MDT even realize the kind of misconduct Mr. Thompson is being sanctioned for by the Florida Bar? The MDT allowed an asinine lawyer, who once submitted pornography in a court docket (viewable to the public), to censor an ad which contains no obscenities. How does that happen?
Now that I've expressed my feelings about this decision, as a public citizen, I want to know the specifics. I want to know exactly what county ordinances the ads violated. Obviously, the advertisement was deemed suitable upon submission. What caused this decision to be overturned? I sure hope that MDT has a pretty damn good answer otherwise, it might just look like MDT bent over for some hackneyed ambulance chaser."
I'm sure everyone here wants to know what city ordinances the ads violated.
Or...someone ELSE might have complained about them and he is trying to take credit for it.
Think about this unlikely scenario. Something happens and a Rockstar/Take Two game is not released Wouldn't he try to cash in on the credit for having the game not released. In the form of a press release? Several press releases.
- Warren Lewis
Why did they give this man a victory?
The fire was almost extinguished. Almost. It was almost gone guys. ALMOST GONE!
But now, now an oiltanker has fallen on top of it.
I already feel sorry for myself. Sorry for the pain I am going to feel in the future when the results of this hit me.
Get prepared for alot of nonsense
I find the Bible obscene, but you don't see me confiscating JT's copy
I was kinda thinking the same thing. If there were a collective number of complaints, then the MDT's actions might make a little more sense. And I can't disagree that Thompson would try to take credit, or attempt to act like he is a key role when it comes to something he's interested in. (Points to the EA/T2 takeover volunteering).
Still doesn't change the fact that this whole situation is pretty dumb. I've seen plenty of R-rated movie posters on bus stops. How could a poster scar you for life unless you grew up as sheltered, sugar-coated, overprotected child that hasn't even experienced so much violence as a paper cut?
What worse about this though is that I know Thompson is going to try to use this as some sort credibility flaunt the next time he's on FOX NEWS.
"YOU THE KILLER TRAINED ON INTERACTIVE SIMULATORS CALLED 'VIDEO GAMES' THEY HYPNOTIZED HIM"
"I WROTE A BOOK ABOUT VIOLENT GAMES AND IT GOT EDITED FOR VIOLENCE"
"AND THERE WAS THIS ONE TIME WHERE THERE WERE VIOLENT GAME ADVERTISEMENTS IN THE MIAMI DALE TRANSIT, AND I GOT THEM REMOVED BECAUSE THE MDT KNEW JUST HOW VIOLENT THE GAME WAS AND THE VIOLENCE AND THE KILLING WAS THE VIOLENCE TO MURDER AND THE KILL AND GAMES AND VIOLENCE KILL MURDER KILL VIOLENCE.....
"I seem to have lost my train of thought."
mayor@miamidade.gov : Mayor
hch@miamidade.gov : Transit deputy-chief
hkapoor@miamidade.gov : Transit director
So two major cities won't advertise on buses. There are dozens of others that will. Yeah, you may threaten to get them pulled elsewhere, but knowing your track record, odds are you won't get very far. You only got your way because it was your city and your state. I don't think other city legislatures in other states will be as inclined to listen to you.
And even if they don't, so what? It will still be advertised in magazines, comic books, the internet and television. And the news media's reporting on it is giving the game more free publicity than Rockstar and Take 2 could ever hope for, and your own antics are aiding and abetting them. You ought to know that prohibiting something only makes people want it more. How incredibly dense are you? No, don't answer that.
Judge Tunis in requesting an extension has granted you a stay of execution. Obviously you're enjoying it. Make the most of it, Jack, because your days as a "moral crusader" are now numbered.
It's all very easy getting the advert removed from places which aren't going to make money from product sales. God knows it happens in the UK often enough. But you'll never stop game shops from announcing they have the latest must-buy title, will you?
Assume the general American public is misinformed/ignorant, and then you figure in all the people who did not have video games in their early years, and that's a lot of people who would be sympathetic to Johnny Bruce Thompson.
Or, as was speculated earlier by Cecil475, it could have been some other people complaining and Johnny Bruce Thompson just tried to take the credit for it.
Here's to hoping Florida and all its stupidity sink into the ocean a lot faster, now. This is beyond retarded, this is just pitiful.
Gaming Industry 100
Well done Jackhole. You're so close to absolute victory.
Even more fun, all those public "announcements" warning parents about GTA IV is free advertising.
That wouldn't surprise me. Jack is known to be quite an opportunist.
Even if they take down some ads, this wouldn't change much. If they "reviewed" the poster before removing it, they must have a good reason (much better than Jack's letter).
Which reminds me, I didn't encounter any GTAIV ads in Québec (beside in the video games specialized shops). I see advertising only on Québec-made products (with a few exceptions) and tobacco warnings.
Dennis, I'd like to know what Jack said about the conspiracy. Something of the like "They're all after me since I predicted Columbine and I'm going to destroy them all. (Evil laughter...and chokes) I'm getting to old to be that nasty." This would be an interesting read (and something interesting to add to the still-growing pile of evidence against him).
No double standard there at alll...
This is exactly what these agencies need. People actually questioning the rationale for why something is being done. If they can't come up with a satisfying answer, I would imagine that Rockstar could potentially sue them for large amounts of money. I can only assume that since its from public transportation that if they were sued and lost or setteled that we, the taxpayers, would be paying for this misstep.
I'd like to see that go on Thompson’s "win" column. "Increased taxes due to my own stupidity." Har har...
@ Kincyr
The Bible is in an incredibly graphic and mature book with stories of murder, war, adultery, torture, slavery, kidnapping, incest, and much much more. That’s a fact. I'm a Christian myself and will heartily agree that the Bible contains a multitude of very adult themed stories.
Yet, Christians teach their children what is in the bible from the time they are born. In elementary school they are exposed to these very adult themed stories and even encouraged to learn more and dive deeper into the scriptures.
By Thompson’s own rationale, he should be vehemently opposed to selling the Bible to minors.
If GTA is so powerful as to ruin kids by seeing a poster in that "lawyers" eyes then he should be sectioned. And prefferably shot.
I don't think the best writers in the world (and despite their success, I say T2's don't come near that level) could come up with a personality as beyond messed up at Thompson. And even if they could, I could not see anyone in the world capable of acting it out so perfectly. :)
Honestly a case of "truth is stranger than fiction".
Jack, we are witnessing your future. After you get disbarred, you'll turn into a crotchety old man who resorts to "get those damn kids off my lawn" tactics such as this and believe it to be holy vengeance brought down on the wicked.
What's next for you? Getting rid of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue throughout the state of Florida? It's important to have goals.
http://www.instituteforlegalreform.com/states/lawsuitclimate2008/
Watch Jack get disbarred and suddenly Florida shoots up 15 spots
@You See: A Lurker
I would assume they did, I doubt R* will just sit there and say "oh well" I'm pretty sure those ads weren't cheap.
April 26th, 2008 at 8:38 am
I’m becoming more and more worries about the games industry, why are the consumers having to protect it? When are they going to start protecting themselves? It’s not like they don’t have enough money or lawyers.
"
exactly.. i just dont get it.
Im sick of having to fight for the industry from attacks by narrow minded hypocrites like JT with no support from the industry itself.
Take two grow a pair and get this unconstitutional decision overturned its utter BS
i think everyone should email the adresses above though for the transit company its ridiculous. The ads had NOTHING violent or sexual or offensive about them.
It reminds me of that crappy M&M's racing game "APPROACHING THE SOUND BARRIER!" as the speedometer reads 20mph.
If that is indeed true, then yes, Jack's royally boned himself now! Like I say, the Karmic chicken always comes home to roost. ;)
Even if not, like I was trying to say before, Jack may have won this battle, but he's ultimately going to lose the war.
Jack Thompson says:HTRCXJSCTksyudujcbaskduiyzFBkcuaysiufcgahaghgah! (Video games are bad, m'kay.)
Mental note however not to move to the Miami-Dade area.
I'm not sure I'd want to move to a State where a fair percentage of Teens think that drinking bleach prevents HIV and that smoking weed is a contraceptive to be honest ;)
Ah... protecting the children from reality, what damage it does...
I forgot what the suit was called. But we all knows he's went against his slience deal numerous times! This is one of them.....I don't think T2 will act out on his man again.
Would seeing a bus stop advert of a guy standing there and the words "Grand Theft Auto, April 29th" be that big of a draw to you? Would you suddenly think, "My God! I must have that!"
No, probably not. In fact, if you've never heard of GTA it probably wouldn't even register as a game advert unless you looked closely and saw the 360 and PS3 logos.
Now, let's pretend that you're a 12-year-old who has heard of GTA. Do you honestly think that bus stop add being there or not is going to influence your desire for the game in any way?
No, probably not. If you want it, you're going to want it whether you see that ad or not. If you don't care about GTA, that poster sure as heck ain't going to change your mind.
So, exactly what's the point of getting these ads removed?
Andrew Eisen
I read that in a forum a minutes ago, and I´m looking if that is real.
http://gamerush.zoomshare.com/files/news/002565_Jack_Thompson_sends_lett...
"Dear Mrs. Zelnick:
Your son, as you may know (or maybe you don’t know), is Chairman of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., whose most popular video games are the Grand Theft Auto murder simulator games banned in some countries but sold to children here.
Your son last week was reported to have said the following about Grand Theft Auto IV, due to be released Tuesday, April 29: “We’ve already received numerous [GTA IV] reviews, and to a one, they are perfect scores. My mom couldn’t write better reviews…” Taking your son’s thought, I would encourage you either to play this game or have an adroit video gamer play it for you. Some of the latter gamers are on death row, so try to find one out in the civilian population who hasn’t killed someone yet.
What you will see in your son’s game, if this iteration of GTA is anything like its predecessors, is incredible interactive violence aimed at police officers (whom you can shoot in the head and see the blood spray), innocent bystanders (whom you can run over with your car just for the heck of it), and of course the plentiful female prostitutes you can have sex with and then filet with a knife or stomp with your feet in order to get your money back. Experts note that the recent plethora of cop killings is caused in part by your darling son’s entrepreneurial energy. There are three policemen dead in Alabama because of Grand Theft Auto. I was on 60 Minutes about it. I hope Strauss has provided you with a flat screen tv to see the grief of the bereaved families that fills the screen.
The pornography and violence that your son trafficks in is the kind of stuff that most mothers would be ashamed to see their son putting into the hands of other mothers’ children, but, hey, your son Strauss has recently assured the world that he is “a Boy Scout, everybody knows that.” I’d love to see the merit badges that Scout Troop handed out. Is there a Ted Bundy merit badge? If so, your loving son deserves one now. It should be red and green, for obvious reasons.
With Passover having just come and gone, it is appropriate to note the following from the Old Testament, Proverbs 22:6:
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Mrs. Zelnick, did you train up your son, Strauss, to make millions of dollars by pushing Mature-rated video games to children? Any kid can go right to little Strauss’ corporate web site and buy GTA IV with no age verification. Strauss is even marketing the new Grand Theft Auto IV on World Wrestling Entertainment tv shows seen by millions of kids. If you trained up Strauss to do this, then shame on you.
But maybe the explanation for your son’s corporate sociopathy is to be found in Old Testament Proverb 29:15:
“The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.”
Maybe you, Mrs. Zelnick, were so taken by your handsome son that you spared the rod and spoiled the child. That would explain why he has brought you, by the way he presently acts, “to shame.”
There’s another mother you would do well to talk to. Mrs. Crump in Alabama had a son who was a police officer. He’s now dead because a teenaged boy unwittingly trained himself to kill him on Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. She has a grief she carries every day that only a mother can know.There are other such mothers in the heartland of America whose inhabitants your son simply sees as commercial targets.
Your son, this very moment, is doing everything he possibly can to sell as many copies of GTA IV to teen boys in the United States, a country in which your son claims you raised him to be “a Boy Scout.” More like the Hitler Youth, I would say. Happy Mother’s day, Mrs. Zelnick, which this year is May 11, two weeks after your son unleashes porn and violence upon other mothers’ boys. I’m sure you’re very proud.
Sincerely, Jack Thompson"
Serously: that man is a real asshole.
To clarify, Thompson did not send that letter directly to Zelnick's mom. Although the letter is made out to here, he sent it to Take-Two.
Andrew Eisen
he DOES know the bible is one the most violent books ever written right?
if children read the bible at church then what's wrong with a little GTA?
is it because it's religious, therefore it's ok?
how many people have died because of religion?
Also, does he have a right to talk about someone's son like that? what did his son do? oh yeah, he bought a M-RATED VIDEO GAME! how old is he? 14?
My prayers go out to that boy...
He really said that? Jesus Christ, what a $#!$##$$$**bag! I love the "unwittingly trained himself to kill" line. Unless he was already intent on killing, why would he use this so called "training"?
It's one thing to pull an ad that's situated near a hospital and a children's park. But taking this complaint nationwide is not only delusional, but will undoubtedly give GTA IV even more publicity.
Thompson, this is important so listen up: Stay home with your wife while she recovers. She deserves your attention much more than some non-violent, non-pornographic advertisements.
Yeah, but he'd probably just represent himself. And you know what they say, "A person who represents themself has a fool for a client."
And as we all know, Thompson is the fooliest of the fools.
I'd ask to take a look at it, you'll probably find the Ten Commandments replaced with 'I CAN DO WHATEVER THE F*** I WANT, AND SCREW THE REST OF YOU! HOOAH!'
Getting the game's tame posters removed for a highly publicized game that gets released on this Tuesday accomplishes nothing.
Hmmm, didn't the last time something like this happen the courts ruled that the mass-transit was being hypocritical in allowing advertisements for R-RATED movies and "mature" TV shows? And someone remind me, didn't Rockstar get their money back on it, maybe even to the extent the advertisements ended up costing them nothing?
Here is to looking forward to more LOLs in the upcoming days/months...
If you have been following what he has said and done for a while --like the Bully case, the alerting the FBI to that Dick Chaney Hunting flash, all his rambling about some massive conspiracy involving everyone, preemptively going to get evaluated for "sanity" by a Dr. of his own choosing, etc -- it all makes sense...
its time for your medication
Post this board somewhere on your property.
And I second everyone's opinion: The man is a total asshole.
But I'm really looking forward to picking up my copy of the murder simulator du jour on Tuesday.
hence the medication =p
If I start rattling off e-mails by the dozens, killer faxes and lawsuit threats restrain me. If I appear on Fox News then get a priest ASAP!
So basically he just pulled a "stop it or I'll tell your mom"
A truly infantile jerkass.
The power of not being insane compels you! The power of not being insane compels you!
Well, ostensibly, he’s using the old Japanese “how can you bring so much shame to your mother” technique but realistically he’s just seeking attention.
It’s the same thing with the bus ad crusade. Thompson’s not stupid; he knows the endeavor is pointless and won’t accomplish anything. He does it just to keep his name out there.
It doesn’t matter to Thompson what people think of him, as long as people are thinking of him.
Andrew Eisen
Today, the Miami-Dade Transit System. Tomorrow, the world!
take two needs to stop this before it becomes a trend everywhere .
"You are one sad, strange little man."
Put a bloody END to this garbage, NOW, Judge.
Is somebody going to have to leave this control freak Neanderthal, out in the wilderness, without a RIDE, just to get him out of our hair? It can bloody happen, if that's what it takes.
Personally I think a bigger story would be to challenge the ruling and win on grounds of discriminating against games as a media. Thats the kind of story that would reach hundreds of thousands.
But seriously, if we aren't going to put this control-freak Mama's boy down for the count, we should all just move to Communist China... As long as you don't bother anyone or have female children, the govt there is too busy murdering your neighbors to be arsed with what you're doing, Let's just move over there, be quiet, and see what happens to Jack when he sends the courts photos of gay porn, and offends and sues the judges.
Go for it Jack, go to China and do your shit. See what it gets you.
And don't bother with your wasted, idle, sissy threats on me; you can't touch me legally, and have way less power over me physically, I mean WAY less.
If you want to be your mother so badly, just go for it, but leave the rest of us out of it.
1) Child sees ad for GTAIV
2) Child, impressionable as he is, wants game
3) Child goes to purchase game, either by self or via adult
Fair enough. Pity he forgets 4):
4a) Child is refused service at checkout after failing to provide valid ID
4b) Adult, knowledgable about GTA, refuses to buy game for child
4c) Adult heeds warning/advice of checkout clerk and chooses not to buy game for child
Oh yeh wait, not a perfect world. Sigh.
4d) Kid ends up playing the game somehow; nothing bad happens.
Andrew Eisen
I think we found the one capable of winning the competition
Seriously, they should make a show!
...Really? Are we in Bizarro World?
Yeah. Rob Schneider would have even less of a chance of winning the biggest douche in the universe award
wonder how many parent groups would go nuts over that tho....
But would he cash it, knowing where it came from?
*shakes 8-ball*
"ALL SIGNS POINT TO YES"
(Everyone knows he'd throw morals out the window for the sake of a paycheck.)
"Cop Killing Game"
And
"Breaking the ESRB's advertising laws"
as a means of hyping up sensationalism and getting what he wants.
Only us as gamers know what he really wants, and that is to limit the exposure of GTA 4 adds to kids.
But really, if a parents does not want to buy GTA 4 for their kids, all they need to say is NO.
Advertising is only effective when people say YES to it and with their own choise.
I feel that the Bus Transit companies should be aware of who Jack Thompson really is, and to know that his Lawyers Lisisnce is soon to be suspended from the Florida Bar.
Also the Videogame Industry needs to stand up and fight for it's own right not to be pushed around like this.
If they do nothing, that just encourages more people to be just like Jack Thompson knowing that the industry would just do nothing and they get away with this.
All I can say is JT... whata'douche.
I would watch a video of that just for entertainment.
Anything to hurt sales, or to make him feel better about his repeated failures.
@Condemned 2 fan
I wonder how many would be obscenities and threats.
"H,hey, HEY!!!, don't you go in there, ooooh, you'll be in jail by the end of the night industry thug!!!! I can see the bloodlust in your eyes!!!"
Likely get asked away by police after trying ot steal and destroy people's copies of the games.
Doesn't this violate Rockstar's constitutional rights? Check out Metromedia, Inc. v. City of San Diego, 1981:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0453_0490_ZS.htm...
Actually the trend is the opposite, church attendance among young people is up. More young people today say they believe in God and have at least some spiritual faith than at any time in the last 20 years or so. The high point of agnostic, atheist youth actually came in the mid 1970's.
What IS down is the number of (Thank God) is those who ascribe to JT's "my way or the highway, if you don't believe exactly as I do you're going to burn in hell" fundamentalists.
I guess its the difference between having FAITH And spiritualism and adherence to dogmatic religion.
@ Kurisu7885
You are correct about how he would more then likely act if he did do something like that at a midnight sale because of what he did in the past. The best thing to do with a person like Jack Thompson is call the police because it is hard to legally deal with a maniac like that until a judge does something.
I am so mad that the officials in Miami acted so pathetic by pulling down the ads instead of telling Jack Thompson to stay out of the situation.
''
lol... what...?
Its wrong to advertise GTA in wrestling ad breaks... wrestling...
grown men slamming each other into the floor, hitting each other with chairs, planks of wood etc to the amusement of a large crowd in the name of 'entertainment'...
so he has no problem with REAL HUMANS actually being violent toward each other... but the bare advertisement of a game that contains violence is innappropriate (no violence is actually shown in the ads, just that the full game does include it)..
the only defence he can possibly have is the 'well wrestling isnt real, so its not reaaaaaal violence...'
yeah fictional violence.. and GTA is what... oh yeah.. fictional violence. Except 10 times more fictional and 10 times less suggestive because it contains polygonal models rather than humans...
man JT infuriates me with his bizaare logic and 3rd person talking.
@JT come and have a go if you think your all powerful!!
Also, at the end of the article it said "In his news release, the embattled Thompson also alleged a conspiracy between the video game industry and the judge who presided over his nine-day trial on Florida Bar ethics charges last November." He's trying to use the whole GTA IV ad controversy to try to paint himself as a victim and gain sympathy. I think he thinks that if he can get people to feel sorry for him he won't be disbarred.
I don't know about the rest of you, but August can't get here soon enough for me. I can't wait till the gaming industry is rid of that asshole.
FUCK!!!
I guess if he tried to expand his focus, his efforts on stopping violent games will thin out from being ineffective to worse.
thing is he does not give a shit.
this is about rockstar and it always has been.
its his vendetta.
It's like claiming a victory against someone who beats the crap out of you, but breaks a nail doing it.
I hope it will be a good irony one.
We'll see what happens then. All I can say is, the more angry we get at Jack, the more fuel we add to his fire.
I mean, I love Monolith, they're a great dev. team, and the F.E.A.R. series has thus far been superb. It's also been more bloody and violent than anything I've ever seen/played in any GTA game. Monolith is working with Warner Brother Games now, so why doesn't Jack go after Monolith? He could attack the movie industry AND the gaming industry at the same time!
Again, I love Monolith, and I can't wait until Project Origin comes out :)
My point is that GTA IV isn't the worst game out there.
And then there is the main reason Jack focuses on Take-Two's Rockstar, it is the only company that has made as much noise and gathered such attention from the media.
I mean no one has said a thing about Gods Of War, nor much about the lackluster Postal series anymore.
There hasn't even been much attention made to those games he has attacked, like Mortal Kombat's Create a Kombatian(I think it was?) character creator allowing people to make characters in whatever likeness they want, some flash games, Halo 3, and probably a few other recent "not Rockstar" title related objections I can't recall off hand.
I couldn't even trigger any other examples, but browsing GP's previous stories, I find the following claim that T2 was in trouble over Bioshock:
http://gamepolitics.com/2007/08/19/jack-thompson-shocked-by-bioshock/
Big trouble is on the way for Take-Two
Hmm, I think we have heard that one countless times before.... Especially the WRESTLING bit.
The only "main stream" thing he has managed to say something besides their GTA/Manhunt/etc games, was about "Valve's" Counter Strike. Yet even that isn't getting him much main-stream attention these days, almost like the media realized the games were not really the "sims" others made them out to be... Then again, these days people are more interested in the "cartoony" TF2.
You have just given Rockstar the biggest amount of advertising money just can' buy.
You Dickhead.
This post is a reference to Zelda 3. IF you don't understand it, play the game.
T.O.S. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!
Shadow: KNOCK IT OFF!!!
Found the comment itself, but for some reason I can't post links:
http ://gamepolitics .com/2007/08/15/dr-phil-invited-me-says-jack-thompson/#comment-144717
Did you do something, Dennis?
1) Ads on buses; or
2) Endless reporting in all media outlets as to why said ads were removed from busses.
Even when GTA 'loses' they win. Win all the way to the bank.
Genious.
He'll file a harassment suit against that someone. Sadly, if he did, I'd have to take his side. I pray it never happens.
Gives me an idea. When he's disbarred, send him an e-mail saying only two words. Two words that gamers everywhere have always despised seeing.
G A M E
O V E R
"You get NOTHING. You LOSE. GOOD DAY SIR."
Give me his e-mail address and I'll do it. That would be funny as hell
I'll add this too: Considering that selling Mature games to minors is NOT illegal, this is a pretty moot point to make. The video games industry takes it upon itself not to sell M games to minors - it's in no way illegal, so they have every right to do it.
EDIT: @DavCube
Input that as well as Grandpa Joe's response, the "you're a monster" one. Those two lines are why I never have and never will like that movie. Regardless, directed at JT, those work very well.
EDIT2: OMFG 2 strokes of inspiration in a row! PLEASE FORGIVE THE MULTI-POSTS, DENNIS!!!
@DavCube
Dude! Also have the Grinch song, "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch!" because that would be neat! Plaster JT's face over top of Jim Carrey's Grinch-Make-Up Face! Someone make a YouTube video of that!
I have to sme the same thing. Congratulations to him. I am sure that this is what he has been waiting for since he first started this whole work. And I would also like to add a little piece of advice. I think he could ever make things even better by accepting the help of payroll services.