Lol, as if he could stop Halo 3. That's like putting your dick on a train track hoping it will stop the train! XD

YOu know even though ol Jacko wont do anything anyways he should realize that thretaning Bill Gates is a bad idea. He could buy out him, and his city. Not to mention that he could have thompson dead in a moments notice. Trust me with that kind of power you can off anyone

@ BlueWolf72

Exercise those reading skills.

""As you also know, Lee Boyd Malvo trained on Microsoft’s Halo to further enable him to become the remarkably efficient “DC Beltway Sniper.” That was reported by NBC News at the time and was noted in Malvo’s criminal trial.""

What is this with the argument that playing games in any way shape or form makes you compitent to use a weapon... I've played Halo and I suspect that if someone gave me a sniper rifle, i'd probably end up holding it the wrong way round.

Is it just me or do you become good at firing a gun by... firing guns... but that would be critising gun ownership which it seems even JT isn't mad enough to do!

@GP

thank you for not posting every petty email thompson sends you. i appreciate the integrity of this site.

if anyone really wants to hear everything thomposon does, you can just join his myspace (:

@ Melissa

At this point, Jack might qualify as a NATIONAL nuisance, but...

@ David Chapman

There's nothing wrong with your reporting of Thompson's activities, and certainly no need to apologize for doing so.

I assume Dennis' decision (please correct me if I'm wrong) is based on the following premise: news should be noteworthy. It should be relevant. As much as Jack Thompson likes to make noise, the Halo story will amount to precisely nothing.

It's nothing new. It's just Thompson shouting at the rain. He issues a vague threat (and sends copies to everyone he can think of) to a large "evil" corporation and then.... nothing. In a grandiose fashion, he's announcing to anyone who'll listen, "Here I am! Look what I'm doing!"

All he's doing is letting everyone know he's still around.

I'm not advocating not reporting on Thompson just to spite him, or to cut short his fifteen minutes. What I'm saying is that his impotent threats are not newsworthy.

If he files another abortive lawsuit or contributes to another doomed legislative effort, fine. Report it. It's news. These "I'm still important" emails? Not so much.

Well said David Chapman, well said. I may not agree with you reporting every tidbit of what Jack has to say, but I know others who would like to know. Even the minor sides, like this little fiasco, have their sharp edges.

I wasn't too thrilled to read this article, mostly because I'm tired of reading about Jack Thompson's little yips that are just there to annoy the gaming community. I'm really glad that GP won't report those yips (though the Wendy's nonsense was humorous). Let the dog howl, give us something to really gain our attention.

Well, first off let me say that I'm the guilty party who reported the original Game Almighty piece. I can guarantee you that Jack and I will never be on each other's Christmas card list, to say the least. In fact, when Jack sent along a copy of the letter, we were in the midst of a fairly heated exchange.

Now, I've had to think long and hard about whether or not to post a lot of the tripe Jack dishes out. On the one hand, I'm not looking to extend his fifteen minutes of "fame" any more than the next guy. On the other hand, regardless of how those of us in the industry may view him, there are still uninformed people who think he may have a point.

In the end, I decided that Jack's worst enemy is himself. As I told Jack during our exchange this week, I question his conviction and believe he's lost sight of his "purpose" while chasing down the spotlight. The man called into question my integrity as a journalist, claiming I had no interest in "fair coverage of an issue" after reporting on the Wendy's fiasco. And yet, with every story, I offered him a chance to respond, and even went so far as to offer him a chance to address the audience he is so critical of with an uncensored opinion piece. He chose to decline every time, turning everything into a personal attack like a bully on a playground.

Here's the thing ... the main reason that, as much as I disagree with him, I still report of Jack's activities: I tend to believe in the audience, and in their right to make informed decisions. See, while I may stand by my thoughts and opinions, I refuse to force them onto others. Unlike Jack, I won't dismiss someone out of hand simply for not conforming to my way of thinking. In fact, sometimes, I learn more from those who DO differ from my way of thinking. People need to to be able to make informed decisions. If that means letting someone like Jack get a word in edgewise, I have to accept that and hope that when people look at all of the information, they see just what type of person they are dealing with. As the old saying goes, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

Having said all of that, there's more

Well, first off let me say that I'm the guilty party who reported the original Game Almighty piece. I can guarantee you that Jack and I will never be on each other's Christmas card list, to say the least. In fact, when Jack sent along a copy of the letter, we were in the midst of a fairly heated exchange.

Now, I've had to think long and hard about whether or not to post a lot of the tripe Jack dishes out. On the one hand, I'm not looking to extend his fifteen minutes of "fame" any more than the next guy. On the other hand, regardless of how those of us in the industry may view him, there are still uninformed people who think he may have a point.

In the end, I decided that Jack's worst enemy is himself. As I told Jack during our exchange this week, I question his conviction and believe he's lost sight of his "purpose" while chasing down the spotlight. The man called into question my integrity as a journalist, claiming I had no interest in "fair coverage of an issue" after reporting on the Wendy's fiasco. And yet, with every story, I offered him a chance to respond, and even went so far as to offer him a chance to address the audience he is so critical of with an uncensored opinion piece. He chose to decline every time, turning everything into a personal attack like a bully on a playground.

Here's the thing ... the main reason that, as much as I disagree with him, I still report of Jack's activities: I tend to believe in the audience, and in their right to make informed decisions. See, while I may stand by my thoughts and opinions, I refuse to force them onto others. Unlike Jack, I won't dismiss someone out of hand simply for not conforming to my way of thinking. In fact, sometimes, I learn more from those who DO differ from my way of thinking. People need to to be able to make informed decisions. If that means letting someone like Jack get a word in edgewise, I have to accept that and hope that when people look at all of the information, they see just what type of person they are dealing with. As the old saying goes, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

Having said all of that, there's still more "behind the scenes" adventure that went on prior to and after the article went up on Game Almighty. That's a story for another day (no, really ... it's actually going to be a story on another day). In the meantime, I still have to stand by my decision to let Jack have his say ... and let the readers decide for themselves what to think and what to believe.

Okay, time to step down from my soapbox.

Later all,
David

There's nothing original to say about JT any more. All he does is insult and attack without basis, even when the olive branch is extended to him. I get tired of these stories of him sometimes, too. If we all just ignored him, every single game site, we could start something.

Perhaps we should throw what he throws at us. Or even half would still make us look like the humane ones.

Korrd;

My point is still the same though. What's the difference in waiting a day to report it? It's still being reported. No high and mighty viewpoint will work in defense of it.

I think you may be right there Flipfox, he lets an awful lot of 'violent' games go under his radar if they aren't selling in large quantities...

I wonder, which is more violent: the current buzzword "ultraviolence", or this new, flashy "hyperviolence" Mr. Thompson mentions in the letter. :)

Megaviolence! Hyperviolence! UUUULLLLTRAAAAA VIOLENCE!
(Props to Killer Instinct)

You know, if Roger Moore started walking around saying that he really WAS James Bond and that he was licensed to kill and had all those cool gadgets in real life, people would assume that he had simply lost the plot, no-one in their right mind would suggest that playing the role of James Bond drives you nuts, in this case, James Bond merely defined the parameters that Roger Moore went nuts in.

It's the same with computer games, just because someone goes nuts 'in the style of' a computer game, that in no way suggests that the Computer Game was the cause.

Does he really think microsoft, MICROSOFT is going to listen to him? Especially when he asks to get rid of Halo 3. It can (and has) been argued that the Halo series single handedly kept Microsoft alive in the console wars. Halo is so big that Microsoft can easily send out an army of fanboys to dispose of Thompson, by promising them each a copy of Halo 3 with an extra feature that sends out powerful 300,000 amp shockwaves to anyone who calls them noob and then blame the whole thing on the hitman games. Actually that won't be necessary (unfortunately) since Microsoft has it's own personal evil lair full of lawyers who jump at the opportunity for fresh meat.

Jokes aside, did Thompson really think his empty threat would work or is he just trying to rile us up?

if jack took MS to court it would be like collosus stepping on a ant. JT is not going to take MS to court because it would crush him, no he's going to sit on the sidelines and fling out vague threats.

@beacon80

halo in my opinion was overrated by the ESRB. it could have gotten away with a T rating because of the low gore, plus the fact that you are not killing people in the game, instead you are killing aliens and stuff.

It's Halo, one of the most ridiculously overrated games known to man (next to Final Fantasy VII). If Jackie Boy wasn't thrown into this bit, I wouldn't be inclined to care.

However, I'm sure there will be a lot of Xbox Live fanboys raving and drooling about this through the wonders of voice chat in due time.

Click here for a funny comic I found in the NeoGAF forums the other day.


Andrew Eisen

My guess is since he can't directly try to stop the release of GTA4 now, he wants to try and incite a scare int other company making one of the consoles it will be on.

Two things:
1) Didn't Bill Gates retire?
2) Halo is ultraviolent? I haven't played 2 or 3, but the first game was rather tame as far as FPS's go. IIRC, low amounts of blood, no gibs.

thompson is all talk. dont be afraid of this loon. ive read part of that letter on another site and in it he claimed that he was "successful" in the past at what he was threating to do here with halo. however im sure you guys know how that spat with bully went down in the end so his definition of "successful" is serverly warped.

Thompson's letter picked apart:

http://spong.com/article/12693/Jack_Thompson_Halo_3_We_Check_Facts?cb=65...

After many years working as a computer operator, I have suddenly decided to work toward a Political Science degree. Once I have that degree, I wish to enter law school and become a lawyer. I hold the naive ideal that I might help make America a better place through my actions in the courtroom. I honestly believe that most people who enter law have the same ideal when they start out, as well.

In Jack's case, I'm pretty sure that ideal has been warped and twisted to the point where he's an incoherent mess. In a few years, we can expect him to shout at random passers-by, threatening law suits and subpoenas for actions that have occurred entirely in his mind. Then, in ten years, his wife will make the heartwrenching decision to put Jack in an Assisted Living complex, as his speech will be comprised almost entirely of gibberish, with sprinklings of legaleese to spice things up.

Weep not for Jack Thompson, for his mind is already dead.

Due to the increasing stupidity of Jack's actions, I seriously think Jack Thompson has a brain tumor. And it keeps getting bigger.

"According to Malvo himself, John Mohammed was the Beltway Sniper, not Malvo."

Yeah, I remember that. In the Maryland trial, Malvo admitted he lied about being the shooter in the Virginia trial in order to try to save Muhammad from the death penalty, in the hopes that it would be harder to achieve the death penalty for a minor.

Didn't work though, as Malvo got life, and Muhammad got the death penalty anyway.

Meh, MC would wipe out JT, but that would just prove that gamers are violent.

Cortana, On the other hand..would pwn jack in court (intellectual skillz ftw!!)

Has JT always been this incoherent? I don't think he would have written papers like this in law school.

Matt: "man writes letter" is not news, particularly when the man in question sends out multiple letters and press releases on a daily basis.

If he acts on his threats or if Microsoft makes some kind of significant response then it will become news - until then the other gaming sites are just using Jack to increase their readership, and he is using them to increase his notoriety.

Gamepolitics has taken the stance of "don't feed the troll" with regards to Jack, and tries to only report stuff about him when it has actual substance. I can respect that, since it means I'm not constantly subjected to his insane rantings.

If I want insane rantings, I can call the ex-wife, or read a conspiracy site.

He's just bitter that he can't sue Take-Two that way anymore due to a settlement agreement. That means he can't take down GTAIV. So, he moves on to the next highest profile target: Halo 3.

The man is going for all the publicity he can get, pure and simple. He knows that if he did bring a suit against the game, Microsoft would obliterate him.

[...] GamePolitics.com covers the story I mentioned yesterday about Jack Thompson targeting Microsoft, and offers more insight into why it seems to be Mr. Thompson simply media whoring again. [...]

why can't jack just die in a random accident already?seriously any legal action he takes will be a joke int he eyes of his peers.

I saw the story in firehose I think. SOme random idiot writes the headline, some stupid editor approves the head line, slashdot rolls on. Either that or it was done intentionally to get page views.

Ok my first problem is.... Bill Gates probably pays someone to read his email. Why should he deal with Outlook?
Secondly he probably has the best SPAM filters in the world, so it's probably not even getting through to his Deputy Undersecretary of Email.

Thirdly what legal action are you going to take that threatens a man who could buy Florida?

"Vague Legal Action" is gunna be my new phrase of the day. I have to find a way to use that in a conversation at least once now.

And as for Jack going after Bill and Halo 3? Well, if he pulls anything, Microsoft will crush him like a little legal bug. Seriously, this is nothing more than for JT to get some attention and attach his name to a popular game in a vague attempt to make himself feel better since he can't talk smack about Take Two and the Counterstrike alligations aren't panning out.

Dennis,

I hate to say this, but since "Bully" didn't come out on the X-Box the point you made is kind of moot. Maybe Jack is chalking that up as one of his "victories."

Gates...

oh, good times....