March 22, 2007
Last week GamePolitics broke the news that troubled game publisher Take Two Interactive had filed suit against anti-game activist Jack Thompson in Federal District Court in Florida.Late yesterday, Thompson sent out e-mails containing a copy of his response to Take Two's suit as well as a counter claim which, among other things, alleges the Grand Theft Auto publisher is at the center of a vast conspiracy to deprive Thompson of his civil rights.
Referring to Take Two in the court filing as "thuggish pornographers," Thompson charges that the company violated federal RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) statutes, commonly used to prosecute organized crime syndicates.
Among Thompson's claims:
Take-Two has, since July 2005, been at the center of an effort to violate Thompson’s civil and constitutional rights... In addition to... extortion (intimidation) of Thompson... Take-Two has committed other predicate RICO acts, including but not limited to fraud, distribution of obscene and/or sexual material harmful to minors...
Additionally... Take-Two, through its Blank Rome lawyers, sought in Alabama to tamper with a witness in a pending criminal case, according to that witness’ lawyer.
Neither the witness nor the lawyer are named in Thompson's filing. The Alabama reference would be to the Strickland vs. Sony case in which an 18-year-old GTA player killed two police officers and a police dispatcher. Thompson represents the families of the victims in a $600 million lawsuit against Take Two, Rockstar, Sony, Wal-Mart and GameStop. The judge in that case, however, revoked Thompson's pro hac vice (visiting) admission to the Alabama Bar in November, 2005.
Later in the 37-page filing, Thompson adds perjury and obstruction of justice to his allegations against Take Two. He claims that Take Two has "collaborated and conspired with third parties to commit these racketeering activities." As alleged by Thompson, these "third parties" include many influential video game websites and publications, including this one as well as Kotaku, Joystiq, GameSpot, IGN, Penny Arcade, EGM, Game Informer and Spong.
Thompson also claims that game industry groups including the ESA and ESRB are involved as well as consumer group the Entertainment Consumer Association (ECA). The ECA is the parent company of GamePolitics.
GameSpot has more. Read Thompson's filing here (37-page pdf).
Comments
That could be the source of it all, y'know. From what I've read, his wife is by far a more brilliant attorney. If she truly believed in what he was doing, you would think she'd lend a hand. Or at least proofread his lawsuits.
I didn't see anything really bad until, just incorrect retaliation, until his counterclaim begins. Wow. This is a person who refers to TakeTwo's attempt to protect their rights as the most imcompetent thing he's seen in his years as an attorney...then he comes out with this.
I'm not sure how professional it is in legal circles to demonstrate racism in documents like this. Shortly after he criticises the games for showing African Americans in a bad light (no worse than movies/tv), he attacks "the technologically adroit and morally challenged cultural Neanderthals in the Edinburgh, Scotland, software design studios of Take-Two’s Rockstar Games. "
I hope an official that reads this has relations in Scotland and reads about what happens over there: "What else would one expect of Scottish sociopaths sipping their single malt Glenlivet in between brainstorming software programming sessions?"
Toward the end he accuses them of sending sex toys to his wife who has undergone cancer treatment! This is laying it on a little thick I think, and in the worst case is a libelous and slanderous accusation of harrassment. I do not condone this behaviour in any way, but perhaps Mr. Thompson should look at his own actions in making himself such a figure of ridicule and hatred when assigning blame for this. This is a man whose son dislikes him due to his behaviour, how does he think others are going to react when he stereotypes a massive section of the population and then lies about them and their passtime. This is a man who mocked and insulted a community who had lost a member due to suicide, I feel so sorry for his family that he has brought all of this upon them.
He refers to the Hot Coffee material as containing anal sex. I'm no expert on this subject or anything, but how can he tell? Any pictures I've seen have featured the non-anatomically correct models from the game (sometimes fully clothed) simply moving beside each other in a way that looks like sex. I believe that the reason he refers to it as anal sex in particular is that he wants people to believe it is disgusting and is probably hoping for some backwards bigot judge to equate it with (gasp) unholy gay behaviour!
I can't see this going anywhere. If complaint of conspiracy by Thompson was thrown out before, then this has no hope as it's an even grander, even more complicated and even more unbelievable accusation! Seriously, when people have had enough of you trying to harrass them and take action, and there are already (what is it, 6?) different complaints against you to be processed by the courts, and there exists a public record of all the stupid and offensive things you have done, the last thing you want to do is claim to be the victim of a grand conspiracy. That is akin to someone being found covered in blood and holding a knifewith several stabbed people around and saying "this is a conspiracy by the police, the media, and everyone else in the world".
I think he is stuck in a permanent game of 52 card pick up.
I'm not quite sure where the link to this and a conspiracy comes in, all I can think is that he is incapable of seeing people on message boards and forums as real human beings with real feelings who take real offense at real insults.
Basically, one of two things are happening, either Jack Thompson is insulting people, and the odd 15-year old idiot is calling him up and making threats, allowing JT to trace them through his caller ID facility, or T2 are paying 15-16 year olds to phone Jack Thompson and make death threats whilst sacrificing their clean criminal record for the sake of video games as part of their organised crime syndicate.
I really don't see the second option being the least bit likely.
According to him, the whole civil rights thig was when he was a "student mayor" whatever that is. Sounds like it was a college project. That to me hardly counts as being a Civil Rights crusader.
He repeatedly invokes the late great Ed Bradley, making it sound almost as if he was a personal friend of his (also trying to get sympathy on his side by mentioning his cancer including the "excrutiating pain" and fever). Other than JT's word, is there any evidence that he had a sympathetic ear w/ Bradley? Or that Bradley indeed agreed with him? based on JT's history of lying and exaggertion, however, I doubt it.
JT also makes much of his wife's illenss and that somehow Blank Rome knew about it, going as far as to accuse them of foreknowledge about this so they could deliberately serve the papers to his incapacitated wife and 14-year-old son, somehow knowing of her condition. Newsflash: having had experiernce with the court system, the court DOES NOT CARE what state you're in when they serve you your papers. They serve them when they want to, even if you're dead! ("Have you no decency" indeed! I recall myself on others asking that very same question of JT!)
Finally, JT makes it seem somehow that this is related to the impending purge of T2's board of directors, and that the stockholders plan to fire Blank Rome along with it. That this move is somehow some sort of last-ditch desperation ploy to "handle" him as he puts it. This sounds plausible, but how likely is it? As dissatisfied as the stockholders may be, i somehow doubt they'd throw the baby out with the bathwater and jettison Blank Rome as well.
Just a few points to ponder. Any thoughts?
“Just for my own clarification, the FTC did not find any “fraud and deception” on Take-Two’s part correct?”
From: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2006/06/grandtheftauto.htm
“The FTC’s complaint charges that the companies violated the FTC Act by representing that San Andreas had been rated “Mature” and assigned certain content descriptors by the ESRB, but failing to disclose to consumers that the game discs contained unused, but potentially viewable, nude female images and disabled, but potentially playable, software code for a sexually explicit mini-game that the ESRB had not rated.”
So yes, the FTC did find Take-Two’s actions deceptive. The punishment? Basically “don’t do it again.” Of course, we all know that at the time, disabled and unplayable code was not considered pertinent content required to be disclosed to the ESRB. We also all know that the mini-game is in no way “sexually explicit” and even if it was, there were already “Strong Sexual Content” and “Nudity” descriptors on the box. How is this deceiving the consumer? Oh well, I wouldn’t expect the FTC to understand something they took 10 months to investigate.
Andrew Eisen
- Jack Thompson
"Take-Two has, since July 2005, been at the center of an effort to violate Thompson’s civil and constitutional rights…"
- Jack Thompson
Wha.. wha.. what?
HOOAH!
see you guys later
+1 get.
Since when was the sex in GTA-SA of the 'backdoor' variety? Is JT seeing something the rest of us didn't (he obviously hacked his own copy of the game to know this)?
Bully again and once again the 'homosexual sex' throughout the game claim. Erm, where?
The removal of Testicals in Manhunt 2 seems to get him all going... I'm starting to see a pattern here.
I'm now at the bits where JT says he has many successes against the games industry (but fails to list them) and all the stuff on studies proving that games make kids violent... same old same old.
It's a fun read though, worthy of inclusion in his next book - Jack Thompson: The Fall and Fall of a Hack Lawyer
Anyone who can imagine a Consumer group, an Industry group, and several privately owned web-sites to all be in some kind of organised collusion with each other obviously has very little grip. You only have to spend five minutes reading an X-Box vs Playstation thread to realise that gamers are like cats, too many in one place and they simply won't agree out of sheer stubborness.
There is no Q in the FLORIDA in the title of Jack Thompsons counter-filing.
If you see a Q there, you are clearly part of the conspiracy!
*for once, is speechless*
Dennis??
What did he say?
:: Looks at articles about the Ohio case about the kid with over 100 charges against him and how the prosecutor wants John Bruce to help set up counseling and rehabilitation for the kid. ::
:: whistles in astonishment ::
:: wanders off in a daze ::
nightwng2000
NW2K Software
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You do it to yourself, you do
And that's what really hurts
You do it to yourself, just you
You and no-one else.
'All Take-Two would have to do is submit each game to a court of law to see if it contains material harmful to minors or if it does in fact constitute a nuisance of any kind under Florida law.'
That's precisely why they are suing you Jack, because there is no compulsion whatsoever to do that, they don't 'have' to do it, only in your mind do you think this is so. What happens if someone decides to sue every film that comes out 'just in case' it has hidden content? Do you realise how utterly stupid, expensive and chaotic that would be?
The man is clearly a danger to not only everyone around him, but himself as well.
No Jack, don't worry... the nice men in white coats are here to take you to a wonderful room with soft fluffy walls where nothing at all will hurt you. The straight jacket and muzzle are just to make sure you are happy and all snuggly-wuggly.
I really hope this case gets some serious and wide-spread mainstream media coverage though. It won't, but I can hope... Maybe then more than just gamers (who are already involved in the vast conspiracy against him) will understand how completely insane the man is and... (please, dear god, please)... STOP SUPPORTING HIM OR LETTING HIM REPRESENT THEM IN COURT.
JACK, YOU HAVE NO CASE, GET OVER IT, YOU LOST, GAME OVER, YOU'RE FINISHED!!!!
What fucking bullshit. Take-Two wants to be able to sell its games PERIOD. It DOES NOT WANT ITS GAMES IN THE HANDS OF CHILDREN.
The ESRB 'M' Rating does NOT mean that it is harmful to minors, it means that it may be harmful to those not mature enough to handle the content. I would much rather have GTA in the hands of a mature 13 year old (yes, there is such a thing) than in the hands of a 30 year old psychopath.
Go fuck yourself, Jack. You've lost this already.
The remaining 37 pages are the clear ramblings of someone afflicted with rabies, spewing lies, half-truths, misquotes and wild conspiracy theories with no evidence to back them up. I wish I worked for Blank Rome right now, because this one is a slam dunk.
How long into the hearing before Jack is held in contempt? Should we start a pool?
I call dibs on hour 7 after commencemnt.
His reponse is basically to repeatedly state that they are trying to sue him for a case he "hasn't even brought yet!" which is precisely the point of the action, something that seems to elude him. He states opinion is fact, giving his usual rants about gamers being trained to kill on games and talks about his '60 minutes' interview a good half dozen times.
This is quite a concise collection of his greatest hits. If the Judge sits down and reads through all 37 pages there is no doubt that Jack will have harmed himself before the case even starts. I reads like the ramblings of a madman. I genuinely suspect this could be his swansong.
He's as bad at math as he is at law.
Also, he contends that he wasn't trying to get Bully removed from the shelves completely. I'd have to look over his initial nuisance suit, but this seems to be a falsehood as having something declared a public nuisance would in turn have it removed from store shelves, would it not?
Jack is trying to position himself as an innocent victim here ("I'm only trying to help the children!") but he's going to get hung by his own hatred, bile and invective that he's spent the last several years spewing at Take Two in his self-fellating press releases.
I'm hoping Niero decides to cover this one.
What I find most interesting though, is his complete misunderstanding of retail sales. He repeatedly (30 times at least) accuses TT of "distributing sexual material to minors". Maybe he doesn't realize it, but TT doesn't sell games to anyone under the age of 18. How do I know this? Because there's not a single Gamestop, EB, Bestbuy, Walmart, Kmart, etc. anywhere on earth that is owned or solely managed by a minor.
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2725010
Interesting points are :
2:06 -> 'I'm out to Shut down Rockstar'
3:00 -> About Janet Reno
6:37 -> Jack declaring that all schools are lying about violence levels.
8:10 -> Jack being pwned on his David and Goliath reference
-Auto
God doesn't walk around pretending to be Jack Thompson
That woudl eb ALOT of people.
Does anyone have a sound clip in which Thompson claims that he is "out to destroy Rockstar and Take-Two"? I know he's said this dozens of times in print, but I think that an audible admission would likely contrast with the docile person he claims to be in the lawsuit.