Jack Thompson Says GTA 4 Mission Target is Him; Threatens to Block Release

Jack Thompson Says GTA 4 Mission Target is Him; Threatens to Block Release

September 18, 2007
Plenty of gamers would give their left arm to be included in Grand Theft Auto IV.

Miami attorney Jack Thompson, however, claims that he's depicted in the game and wants out. And he threatens to block the release of GTA IV if Rockstar doesn't comply.

In a document filed yesterday with a federal court in Florida, Thompson includes a letter written to Take Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick which reads in part:
I have this morning read with interest an article on page 80 and 81 of the September 2007 issue of Game Informer magazine which was generated when, according to its author, Rockstar Games "stopped by the Game Informer offices for an impromptu hour-long gameplay session with the Xbox 360 version of the game."

The showcasing play of the game to Game Informer revealed that the first killing mission of the "hero" of the game, Niko, is to kill a certain lawyer. When Niko comes into this lawyer's office, having used subterfuge to do so, Niko pulls a gun on the lawyer who says, "that the firm supports the second amendment and that 'Guns don't kill people. Video games do.'"

...The fact that the lawyer, killed on Niko's first mission, would bring up video games, makes it clearly a reference to me... This is not the first time Rockstar Games and Take Two have targeted me in this fashion. Take Two references to me as a bisexual pedophile on its corporate website...

GP: What's he referring to here? See GamePolitics' September, 2005 article Jack Thompson Accuses Rockstsar of... Parody. Thompson's letter continues:
You have until five o'clock P.M. this Friday... to inform me that you are going to delete the above references and any other references that could reasonably be construed to be references to me in Grand Theft Auto IV and any other video games that are pending release...

Now you have descended this low - using one of your games to threaten my physical safety... Failure to comply with the deadline... will result in my having to take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game which targets me personally... given the copycatting of violent games...

Comments

[...] Here’s the article from GamePolitics.com [...]
@Waffles
That's part of the point, I think. User-created content is the work of a single user while this GTA4 mission is the work of the actual company. There is a difference in the two but whether the latter falls in to the category of parody is up to those who practice law (JT excluded).
If JT really and truly wants to block GTA IV's release, which he promised he wouldn't do under their agreement, then he's defninitely rendered it null and void. No big surprise there.

And before he says anything, note that all we have is his say so - which is questionable to begin with. I doubt that Game Informer's article will be as specific.

Take 2 then is free to go after him. The smackdown they give him, combined with the one from the Florida Supreme Court, could be the one-two punch that knocks him out for good.
Haha, now that's awesome. Take it like the man that you aren't Jack, stop being such a pussy. You deserve ever bit of negative publicity you get your lying, crazy, massacre chasing, waste of a human being. I know you like think you're "holier than thou", but that's far from the truth. You're a scum bag asshole who practically abuses yourself forcing him to do your dirty work for you. Leave us alone, leave your son alone, leave video games alone, and just go and curl up in the corner of a nice padded room.
oh here we go again. good luck with that Jacko. They could put a parody of the pres in and as long as they dont use his real name they're in the clear. You know this. and you know its doomed to fail.
Waffles had it right. This is just as bad as the Mortal Kombat Kreate a Fighter cease and desist. Seriously, did this guy EVER go to legal school. His knowledge of it is quite lacking.
Dennis really hasn't left any possible arguement for Jack.

Goldenberg (the lawyers given name) is killed by Niko because he got on Mr McReary's bad side. Not because of his views.
@Jack.
actually, they didn't threaten you, nor your personal wellbeing. You just WANT people to take it that way.

Case in point;
1. I am going to kill Jack Thompson.
2. The showcasing play of the game to Game Informer revealed that the first killing mission of the “hero” of the game, Niko, is to kill a certain lawyer. When Niko comes into this lawyer’s office, having used subterfuge to do so, Niko pulls a gun on the lawyer who says, “that the firm supports the second amendment and that ‘Guns don’t kill people. Video games do.’”

Which of these is a direct threat on your life, and the only one that would bring any harm to your person?

But when you make statements like number 2, its first amendment protected speech. Like the whole "Paula Eibel" thing? The game you wanted to see?
@ Jadedcritic

"You know, I think you’re probably right. I sit here and try to think when he’s ever succeeded in blocking ANYTHING. He couldn’t stop Bully, couldn’t stop Manhunt2… Has he stopped anything at all? Since Cop Killer??? "

Heck, he can't even stop his son from buying Bioshock.......
Hear that sound Jack....?

That's the sound of you violating your court agreement and opening yourself up to litigation. I hope your wife has DEEP pockets, because you're about to empty her coffers. Unless of course you believe that signing that agrement was 'satire' so you don't have to adhere to it. Try telling THAT to any judge, it will probably get you contempt of court at the very least.
I don't recall him complaining about his depiction in The Matrix: Path of Neo.
With the slightly crazy and hectic day that today has been, this was just chuckle I needed.

Here's to Jack and his willingness to continually make an ass out of himself. It's like having front row seats at the circus.
Hey, JT, I'm going to put you into Street Fighter II. No, no, not you... Just a likeness with the name "Tack Jompson".

Oh, right, that's too much of a resemblance, I'll put you in Phoenix Wright, then. It's a more lawyer-suited ame. You'll be the replacement for Prosecutor Payne.
Ah, now Jack thinks he's in GTA VI. Thanks for guaranteeing GTA's continued survival, Jack. Notice that most anti-game legislation has failed at the State level, and that the ones that have succeeded in being passed are slowly being overturned? Calling for a ban only increases interest in the subject of the ban. How's Prohibition turning out? :P

I'm happy I live in Canada, where they're not trying to pin the blame on video games (or music, or D&D, or spanking, or time outs...) for all the ills of society.
What will be even more interesting is when Friday comes and goes and Take Two does absolutely nothing to change the game as it is. I then forsee John Bruce "Jack" Thompson filing a claim to block the release of the game due to illegal use of his image.

This will backfire on him for 2 reasons... maybe 3

a) Jack will violate the previous agreement he made with Take Two as he will be taking LEGAL action against a game's release (something the agreement clearly stated he wouldn't do for that would be grounds for Take Two to counter-sue and ruin him).

b) Take Two can prove Jack's full of it as all they have to do is prove that he is a parody and NOT the actual game-hating attorney.

c) Jack Thompson is sued, loses, and is FINALLY ruined. I can't wait to see it.

As the Genius Bakabon's father puts it:

"Kore de Ii no da!"

(Translation: "It's all good!")

~Otaku-Man
Sometimes i have to wonder if Thompson is just an elaborate viral marketing scheme.
OK, first thing - I do hate Jack Thompson. He is clearly the devil incarnate, and I am sure that he is responsible for all the evil and murder and self-touching in the world.
However, he's got a point here, although I doubt he has the mental capacity to do anything about it at this point. The lawyer described is an obvious reference to Jack Thompson. All this crap everyone keeps posting about pie-loving doctors and how there are other video game lawyers misses the point. There is *one* lawyer which has been giving T2 fits in public about violence in video games and how he has deluded himself into believing it leads to real life violence. There is no need to start a contest with JT over who can make the most absurd claim.
I don't know what the court order said, so perhaps I am wrong here, but I am fairly sure the judge did not order Jack Thompson to refrain from filing any suit against T2. At most I can imagine he was ordered to cease filing frivolous suits about violence in games and generally acting as a self-appointed guardian of the public. To do much more would be an *extreme* abuse of discretion.
Last, there is a big difference between, well, most of the examples above and what happened here. Free speech doesn't allow you to shout fire in a crowded theater, no matter how awesome and funny you may think the results will be. Further, just because it's happened before without incident doesn't mean that this is parody, it just means that other people don't have a broken humor detector. I'm not familiar with what happens to Michael Jackson or Gary Coleman or whoever in video games, so I can't comment, but again you are compelled to sue just because you have a cause of action.
It's different than TV, since (last I checked, anyway) South Park is not an interactive environment. I don't remember steering Cartman around and making him eat cheezy poofs, anyway. It's not user-created content. It is definitely funny, but that does not make it parody. The representation of him definitely is, and if it were left at that it would be a no-brainer. But the game not only allows you to kill the character, it sounds like you are *required* to do so. The argument that video games make violent people by virtue of including violence has been tried and failed. The argument that suggesting that a specific individual should be killed may lead to violence against that individual has also been tried, with much more success.
As funny as we all may find it, courts have a definite aversion to being mocked, and T2 looks to be abusing the court order if it is their intended protection from the consequences of this. They very well may have given this obnoxious little imp a means of achieving a courtroom victory, thus shoring up his ego and ensuring we all get to put up with him for a few more years.

Good job!
Hahaha, wow. Doesn't Jacky know by now that he has no power? And doesn't he remember that one little legal agreement he had with Take-Two where he's not allowed to attempt to bar them from selling their games? It's a free country and Take-Two hasn't broken any laws :)
BWAHAHAHA!!!! what a crybaby, wanker, wuss, moron, take your pic... if ever anyone deserved a good ribbing or roasting it's this guy
[...] More [...]
Nice to see other people remember that so called "satire/parody" offer.

For someone concerned about their personal safety and life being threatened, you sure do post your personal info at the drop of a hat, and you do not address others in a respectable manner. Have you *really* looked at yourself and the stuff you say/write?

While we here disagree with the likes of Grossman and Yee, we address them in a respectful manner because they in respect do the SAME! If they were as vile as you, we probably would address them in the same manner as they address us.

Too bad this is just one of those cases where the individual doesn't realize or want to admit how harmful their own personal actions are to themselves & others, and do NOT seek the professional help they need to improve themselves. And there are all sorts of medicines out there that can help with such matters, like stress....
Wow, over 300 posts, and only 2 from the man of the hour? I'm freaking shocked.

Really, there's nothing I can say at this point that hasn't been repeated at least 2 or 3 times: This is a work of satire at worst, and no relation at best, Jack is a doof, blah blah blah...

Honestly I was hoping for more JT-related gold in here, what with him believing this to be a death threat and whatnot. He openly mocks a guy who just had a heart attack repeatedly, but can't be bothered to post about how he thinks GTA4 is killing him, except to comment "HAY! I'Z DEBATIN' AGAINST HOMOS SOON! COME WATCH!"

Where's my comedy gold, JT?
It wouldn't be a true parody of Jack Thompson unless they made the lawyer racist too.

(Click my name if you have no idea what I mean)
Jack Thompson is to attorneys what Fred Phelps is to organized religion *rolls eyes*
[...] [._.]  [...]
Now in San Andreas you could slap a C4 on him and blow it up when he runs away far enough.
@Dennis, GP editors in general:

Might I make a suggestion (actually two):

First, I look for Jack's posts, so I search for "Jack Thompson says". Unfortunately, it's in the text of the headline, which causes it to show up in all of the trackbacks. So if I might humbly suggest not writing the exact phrase "Jack Thompson says" into a headline?

Second suggestion, and it's just my opinion: don't even allow trackbacks. They're useless linkspam to 99.9% of us, only useful in large part to self-important "blogerati" who think links are more important than content.
Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster for Jack Thompson. What a comedian. Every time he makes headlines it cracks me up.
Heads up to gamer idiots (sorry to be redundant):

Parody is one thing. Targeting someone who is a critic for copycat violence is quite another. Take-Two's deadline approaches.
@ CJ is that nessecary? i mean come on
I can careless about Gay rights you bnch of homo's. These types of games are played by the damn blacks and hispanic community who go and cpy cat shit rigt I freaking said it. I do as I please it needs ot be done. it would have been bette rot take a whole bunch of gays and kill thme off in GTA. TRUST ME ON THAT SHIT. More mature thne picky on Little old me..

Ironic ..
Jack... please, honestly, get off the imaginary horse.

You're only going to fall off...
You're so vain, you probably think this game is about you...
Well if Jack doesn't want to be in the game then can they put me in?

I'd love to be in a video game even if I was getting shot!
Also I have read that the JT on here is an imposter, I was meant to be talking to the real JT if he ever bothers to read what we say.
So Jack Thompson says take two parodied him by having a reference to a "bisexual paedophile" on their corporate website?

Poor Jack...imagine when he gets to court..

Basically he'd have to either a) admit the parody was nothing like him (and incur take two's legal expenses) or b) claim to be a bisexual paedophile (offering names of victims etc) and get arrested!!!!!
What's the character's name in the game? Might i suggest "Zach Johnson"?

I just hope nobody manages to shut him down completely, he's too entertaining...
Jack thompson....
U think u felt threatens ya???
Well, y dont i send a bullet into ur brain???
Problem solve....
There r alot of lawyer which r better than u ....
U such a puny little lawyer ....
What the hell!!!
U such a jerk....
Go to hell...
What does the game have to do with u???
If u r going to stop whatever game that got kill lawyer...
Y dont u try to stop the whole world???
Did u use ur brain to think???
I guess u only got pig brain which is stupid...
Cant even think ya....
If u really stop the game from publishing...
Well i guess u not only make enemy with rockstar...BUT the whole world!!!
@Erik

Am I a mentally handiccaped violent thug?NO.I play Bioshock,Gears of War GRAW 2 and pretty much every war game and what happened because of that? I had fun,hes threatening that fun so thats why I bloody hate him and his crusade.
@Mike

"Am I a mentally handiccaped violent thug?NO."


Don't say it, show it.
Who The fuck is Jack Thompson?
Im gonna write a flash game that features
FRAGGING a Guy named Jack Thompson over and over.
sue me.
If you can't take being in the public square....
hey guess what? Parody Rights.

how is it i know more about lawyering from watching Night Court?
hey guess what your not legally allowed to block the games!

you have fun getting your ass kicked in court AGAIN!
Yea, there's the right to parody covered under free speech.

And you know what, here's some other interesting facts:
- Jack Thompson is not the only anti-gaming lawyer around (although they are rare)
- Take Two will not relent to a 2 bit lawyer moonlighting as a crusader
What a jerk. Niko is no "here". He is the ANTIHERO. Use the correct names jerk!

Besides, he can do nothing if his name is not mentioned or if his figure is not used.
Good Lord! Not everything is about you, Jack! Contrary to your belief, the word does not revolve around Jack Thompson, Attorney.
Huh, I meant "hero"... sorry, my mistake :P
This is getting absurd. I think I understand why the state bar wants to examine Mr. Thompson's mental capacity; Jack's behavior is starting to approach the realm of delusion.

Are you a second amendment rights advocate, Mr. Thompson? For God's sake, you don't even fit the parody you're griping about. And even if you did, you couldn't file suit over it. If you could, don't you think the industry mucky mucks who were depicted in an FPS mod you called for would have sued you by now?
It was only a matter of time before this came up.

Does anyone think that Take two did this on purpose to get ole Jack to come out and try to sue them?

Knowing that they already had the settlement deal maybe they threw this in there to put the final nail in the coffin.

If that is true looks like T2 can use one of Jack's phrases to describe what they knew he would do. "So sad, so predictable."
OMG c0nsp1r4cy!!11!!
So now not only are video games not a form of speech in the same way as other protected media like movies and novels, but they can't even include satire? You know maybe this hasn't occurred to Mr. Thompson, but he isn't the center of the world. Other lawyers are out there trying to make a name for themselves by badmouthing video games.

The world does not revolve around you. In fact, outside of a small portion of the internet that seems obsessed with every little movement you make, most of the outside world doesn't even know who you are.
Didn't R* also parody him in Liberty City Stories? Or that might only have been speculation.
seems like a silly waste of time on jacks part, i keep wondering if he even has a law practice anymore?
Kinda reminds me of the ol' Jakcy tried to get Midway to "Cease and Desist" distribution of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon because of a user-created character which looked like him.
So the man is every depiction of a lawyer now?

Come on. Is he suing Law and Order for depicting him as a female lawyer for the state?
So now every lawyer that is somehow involved with video games is Jack Thompson. Last time I checked, Thompson wasn't fighting against the second amendment, like the lawyer in the game, he was fighting video games.

So the parallels between Jack Thompson and GTA IV's lawyer:
1) both are lawyers.

Thats it. Someone needs to give this man a clue.
Yes, I'm pretty sure that parody is a protected form of speech.

Furthermore, Rockstar could argue that this is a parody of the "Video games made me do it" defense that has been used in several lawsuits. It could be a parody of the current "Video games are evil! Worse than guns/drugs/abuse!" mentality that seems to be prevalent in todays older and out of touch citizens.

@Jack Thompson (for when he arrives with his next off topic post)
Assuming that a parody is of yourself seems like it might be another symptom of that Narcissistic mental condition that has been referred to.

"Now you have descended this low - using one of your games to threaten my physical safety…"
A little pixelated figure shooting another in an imaginary city on a screen hundreds of miles from where you live does not exactly threaten your personal safety, does it? Does the game contain your name/address/habits which might allow people to seek to harm you? I realise that you have plastered your phone number and home address all over your press releases, but Rockstar have not done that.

"Failure to comply with the deadline… will result in my having to take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game"
Which, as far as I remember, you are not allowed to do by judicial order?

" which targets me personally…"
Which you BELIEVE targets you personally. And even then, it doesn't so much "target" as "poke light fun at".

" given the copycatting of violent games…"
You are obviously referring to your theory of copycatting of violent games. Which has no proof to it. And which has been shot down once already in the Devin Moore case, I think you might recall that one, it was the one which led to your licence to practice law in Alabama being revoked and was the starting point the Florida Bar having to impose disciplinary action upon you. Surely you haven't forgotten?
There is no evidence that the lawyer portrayed in this first mission of the game is Jack Thompson, period. Jack Thompson could do nothing beyond complaining about it.
XD JT forgot about the no blocking deal he made with R*.
/yawn

He must have been starting to feel cold from the spotlight being off him. What a joke.
Jack Thompson is no threat to the video game industry, he's just a nuisance. His actions have never, and will never amount to anything against the video game industry. We've nothing to worry about.
You know I'm sure we'd really like it if Thompson was the only lawyer this deranged from all those hours of playing Sim Law Degree, but really, it's a broad scope.

Besides, Thompson doesn't have enough context. If this really is the first kill, maybe the line that the lawyer says haunts Niko and he continues to wonder whether his life of crime is the fault of playing Tetris in the '80s, and ultimately change his life to become a crusader against video game violence.

...or it's just a beta and is a mission that they just threw in there for kicks.

Besides, why would you trust a gaming publication, they're just a bunch of lying untrustworthy jackasses who're puppets of the industry, right?

And what are you doing reading Game Informer, anyway? Or are you annexing all your poor kid's stuff? You might want to check his wallet for an ACLU card, you're steering him in that direction.
EDIT: Damn place and the no edit feature!

Haha, now that’s awesome. Take it like the man that you aren’t Jack, stop being such a pussy. You deserve every bit of negative publicity you get you lying, crazy, massacre chasing, waste of a human being. I know you like think you’re “holier than thou”, but that’s far from the truth. You’re a scum bag asshole who practically abuses your son forcing him to do your dirty work for you. Leave us alone, leave your son alone, leave video games alone, and just go and curl up in the corner of a nice padded room.

By the way, parodies of public figures, such as yourself, are 100% legal, you can't stop them from using an anti-video game lawyer just because you happen to be the inspiration for it.
(Now you have descended this low - using one of your games to threaten my physical safety… Failure to comply with the deadline… will result in my having to take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game which targets me personally… given the copycatting of violent games…))

copycatting GTA to go over to kill you? You are afraid of a bunch of 17-40 year olds running over to your house and sticking a controller in your face while pressing R1 and O at the same time? And Where does it say it targets you? HEY!! Well this just proves it. Jack Thompson is the ONLY video game hating lawyer around. And this lawyer in the videogame has to be him on the sole fact that he is a lawyer and that he hates videogames.

No dice Jack. Enjoy the contempt of court charge.

- Warren Lewis
Wow way to jump to conclusions there Jack. You have no idea in fact no one has any idea thats its meant to be you except R* and GI guys who saw the game. I'm guessing that the person looks no where close to you otherwise GI would have stated that it looks very much like a game hating lawyer we all know.
Since Thompson is the only lawyer out there that targets video games, it's definatly him.
LOL.

...dude...

Let me state for the record that I've never been a huge GTA fan, I haven't liked the franchise since 3 really, and I'm an old enough fart that I remember 2. I was NOT planning to get the game.

That being said, oh yeah, if there's a Tack Jhompson in this game? You might as well sell me a pre-order right now.

Although frankly, looking at this article - he's reaching - reaching quite a bit. Lawyer in game + video game comments and he takes it seriously? Dude... hopefully he's not the only lawyer on the planet. (Geez, what an ego.)
"...You are afraid of a bunch of 17-40 year olds running over to your house and sticking a controller in your face while pressing R1 and O at the same time?..."

Then when he acts stunned and confused at what you're doing, you run over to his car and start screaming "TRIANGLE TRIANGLE TRIANGLE!".
Vanity - One of Satan's favorite sins (according to Devil's Advocate :P) and Jack Thompson is full of it... and himself. Jack, you'll be burning in hell unless you make some life altering changes very soon. Go find God and peace.
Guys, guys.
Video Games and the Second Amendment are both trademarked phrases of Jack Thompson. Come on.

Wait, no, they're not. This sounds more like an NRA lawyer, not Jack Thompson.

So Jack, this is, therein, clearly your weakass ploy, and I'm sure that Rockstar's lawyers, all of whom are bigger successes than yourself, will shoot your lawsuit down so fast you'll swear they were the Red Baron.

Paradies of public figures are legal; otherwise, how would South Park make money?

Go bitch in the corner you jackass.
Wow, I guess this mean that Keith Richards can sue Johnny Depp for his Jack Sparrow character. Face it Jackie boy, you're no threat any more...just a nuisance.
Right... so, because some lawyer in a game said that video games kill people, he automatically assumes it's him...

And he claims he has no mental problems.

Ehh, I had no intention to buy this game in the first place, I'm not really into the whole GTA thing... except for Vice City, that's the only one I'm interested in.
"…The fact that the lawyer, killed on Niko’s first mission, would bring up video games, makes it clearly a reference to me…"

Because we all know that you're the ONLY lawyer in the country who's allowed to mention video games. Get off yourself already, and just.. go away.
oKAY, NOW THIS SHOULD BE GOOD.
Wow! Just Wow! Jack reads Game Informer. I thought he only trolled the internet. I guess we are all wrong. Other than that, I see nothing surprising about this developement.
And one more thing, and I'm sure it's going to be brought up at some point but... isn't Jack forbidden from trying to block the release of a game by Rockstar, under the terms of his settlement?
@Maxed Pixelante.

Yes. Yes he is.

But when has a little thing like the law gotten in his way before?
Well, if anything, JT certainly brings the latest games to the front page for free advertising. I think more folks wouldn't know or buy the games hadn't JT mentioned them in the first place.

Way to go JT, you just increased the sale of this game by 20%+!!!!
I have a hunch that Jacky Boy would have raised a stink about this game whether or not it "personally threatened him." Now we just have to sit back and watch as Jack Thompson makes a huge ass of himself once again in his crusade against the "evils" of video games.
Oh, goddammit...
I read the full leter and he said that he google the quote and found that it has been attributed to him. I did the same, and could not find any site that said he said it. any one else check this?
@E.Zachary Knight.

Yeah, I did the same, and couldn't find the quote except for here.
Talk about a paranoid human being. Jack's comments in this article are based on vague assumptions.

He also has no sense of humor.
“Now you have descended this low - using one of your games to threaten my physical safety…”

Jack, here's a novel concept, try to wrap your feeble mind around it: EVERYBODY HATES YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE AN EGOMANIACAL ASSHOLE. Any threat to your own safety, real or perceived, exists not because of GTA IV, but because of your big mouth and bad attitude over the years. You don't see threats of violence against Leland Yee or Dave Grossman, do you? Believe me, if you do indeed have some kind of beat down coming in your future, this GTA IV parody came along WAAAY after the scales had been tipped.
Hm, I need to go get some popcorn. Jack always fails, but this is going to be a failure of epic proportions! Oh and Jack, the copycatting thing has never been proven neither in a court of law nor in a scientific study. It is your own erroneous pet theory. And your pet theories are bupkis in a court of law.
"EVERYBODY HATES YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE AN EGOMANIACAL ASSHOLE."

This isn't so far off. And it's not just the crazed video gamers saying it either. David Walsh publicly denounced you, and you're supposed to be on the same side! You seem to have a long history of not getting a long with people. Why does it seem like every person you work with is incompetent or an industry shill? At some point you have to think that maybe the problem is you.

Good luck with the Bar investigation.
"Guns don't kill people, video games do!"

I'll admit, that's funny. Rockstar does have a singular wit. Almost good enough, but not quite, to make up for the 4th iteration of a sandbox with shiney-er graphics that -by all accounts- GTAIV is.

If the first time is funny, the second time is silly, and the third is a swift kick in the ass, what is a fourth time? Oh yeah, instant best-seller because of the hype and notoriety. Hey, Jack, you want to stop R* from making another GTA? Here's a tip, STOP MAKING IT FAMOUS!
First of all, I want to make it clear that Dennis McCauley got this from the court file.

Secondly, this is not "parody." This is targeting. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Take-Two's part.

GP: That's true. Jack did NOT send this one my way. Which is odd, because he DID send something about a gay rights debate he wants to have down in Miami (um, Jack is against , in case you were wondering). I have zero interest in that story because there is zero video game connection.

So why didn't he send me this very relevant story?
Weak jack, weak, even for you this is trying to make a mountain out of a grain of sand.

Remember rockstar us and the sane part of the world know videogames do not lead to violence so this isnt in any way threatening you, its parody.

Guess what parody and satire are protected speech. just like your mock offer to charity is protected.
@Murry

Oh no doubt, ever see South Park season 10? There's an episode where what is obviously a version of the president pretty much offs a guy execution style in the oval office to cover up that the government "is responsible" for 9/11. Considering that Matt & Trey probably aren't making new episodes from cells in Guantanemo - I think you're probably right.
simple enough for Rockstar to just say it's not him, “that the firm supports the second amendment and that ‘Guns don’t kill people. Video games do.’”

note the use of the words THE FIRM, Jackie has an independant practice and is not part of any firm, as such this character is not a direct take on him and he has no ground to stand on
One more thing: If Dennis McCauley were inclined to be a real journalist and "fair" he would make available the entire letter as the full context makes clear not the parody but the targeting, but such fairness, such journalistic ethics, would be asking too much of this "news" site.

GP: Ummm... the entire letter IS available. It's linked from the article.
You go near that game, and Jack, Take-Two is going to crucify you.
"Threaten my physical safety" my ass.

This was not a death threat, Jackass. They could care less about you because you can't touch them anymore.
*yawn*

It's not even a JT lookalike, merely a lawyer who blames video games?

Jackie boy, you're not THAT unique...

Maybe you should think about trademarking "video games made me do it". Then maybe you'd have a stronger case than the small chance in hell you actually have...

@jadedcritic

"There’s an episode where what is obviously a version of the president pretty much offs a guy execution style in the oval office to cover up that the government “is responsible” for 9/11."

Although that one wasn't really a threat against the president... So not a good example.
Actually I don't hate Mr. Thompson at all. I pity him. I've been the bitter angry guy in the past and it wasn't any fun at all. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to stay that angry all the time.

What makes me indignant is his cavalier attitude towards tactics like lying and character asassination.
I just read his letter. So let me get this straight, You, JT, think theat the game is referencing you even though:

A. You said yourself that you never uttered the quote "“that the firm supports the second amendment and that ‘Guns don’t kill people. Video games do.’

B. the lawyer the hitman takes out is named "Goldberg (of Goldberg, Ligner, and Shyster)"
http://www.gtaforums.com/index.php?showtopic=293408

C. The "hilarious response was actually a reference to the game, not Game Informer:
(From the site linked above) "After taking a seat, the interview began, As Goldberg chatted it up, Niko stood up and pulled a gun on him. This action was met with hilarious response on Goldberg's part."

Funny how you could also reference FOX News as a quote for your silly saying at th end, yet when you mentioned "copycatting of violent video games that is know by everyone" you couldn't even reference one source.
sorry about the double post but to Mr Thompson, go for it, i'd love to see them bury you.....again
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I might actually buy this game now. And when I complete that mission, I will remember this article and laugh at the absurdity of it all.
OH LAWD A LAWYER BEING KILLED IN A GAME WHO SAYS VIDJA GAMES SUCK

BAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Thompson, you're more amusing and lulzworthy than any GTA game. Keep it up!
We got past 50 comments and Jackie hasn't tried to "put us in our place"! C'mon, can I get a hooah?
"Failure to comply with the deadline… will result in my having to take necessary and proper means to stop release of the game which targets me personally… given the copycatting of violent games…"

Wow. He truly believes the whole copycatting thing, doesn't he? I guess I haven't let that sink in quite enough.

So he's going to drag Take-Two back to court, totally breach the settlement, and get his ass legally assassinated, all because he's scared to death of a theory that no study has ever been able to prove? Oh, this is going to be fun show.
Isn't prior constraint illegal?
I think that TTWO/R* should take him on, as Jack Thompson would be breaking his agreement with Take Two and Rockstar and would get a 3rd lawsuit placed against him.
Wow. The only response that JT could come up with is that Dennis did not link the whole letter. Oh wait, the letter is linked. I guess the only thing left is to complain that Dennis is not a real journalist.
Er, this from the guy who offered a reward if a developer made a video game where you kill an employee of Rockstar's family?
How dare they include a parody of Jack Thompson in their game!

The only thing worse than that would be something like offering to donate money to charity if someone made a game where someone hops a plane from LAX to New York to reach the Long Island home of the CEO of videogame company (Take This) in order to get "justice" by taking out this female CEO, whose name is Paula Eibel, along with her husband and kids urinates onto the severed brain stems of the Eibel family victims, just as you do on the decapitated cops in the real video game Postal2.

But that would be just sick for someone to make such a modest proposal...
@Jack Thompson

"Secondly, this is not “parody.” This is targeting. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Take-Two’s part."

Then you have absolutely no idea what parody is. If your logic was correct, the police organizations of three states can sue Take Two, several celebrities, radio personalities, several soft drink companies, toy makers, sports organizations, rival game companies, , hell, three state governments could have sued Rockstar by now, but they haven't, mostly because they aren't full of narcissistic idiots like you.

Face it Jack, you have no case. Screenshots or STFU.
"One more thing: If Dennis McCauley were inclined to be a real journalist and “fair” he would make available the entire letter as the full context makes clear not the parody but the targeting"


As Dennis pointed out the entire letter is available. Click the damn link. Secondly reading of the entire letter does nothing to further your point that it is "targeting" and not parody, so perhaps you should break it down here in your own words. Third, beyond the point that you and this character are both lawyers I fail to see what connection you are going to make. Prepare accordingly for failure.
This seems like a stretch to me. Lawyers (as characters) are a core element in crime dramas because they represent the public's perception that our legal system is corrupt and broken. In game characters making video game references, both pro and con, have existed since GTA III (if not earlier). These references let Rockstar make fun of themselves, and the greater industry and public opinion at large.

It seems flawed, if not purely self indulgent for Jack Thompson to assert these claims. Unless the character in question features mister Thompson's likeness (on a photographic level), I don't see his other assertions holding merit.
@Quad9Damage

At the risk of defending the devil - he's not totally without cause. Gamers are like any other group of people we have our good ones, and our bad ones; and there's very little doubt in my mind that over the course of decades of his sidewalk-puppet-shows he probably has recieved what could be called legitimate harrassment/threats. No doubt they've only served to reinforce his perception of himself. Of course, that's got nothing to do really with the subject at hand, and is hardly Take2's fault. There's actually a quote in GTA2: Vice where one of the characters says "Just because I think everybody's out to get me, doesn't mean they aren't"

What I'm basically trying to say is that Jack taking some precautions to protect himself doesn't strike me as unreasonable. Where it becomes offensive really is that he's long since gotten to a level where ALL gamers are guilty until proven innocent, and that's just offensive.
one more thing:
if Jack Thompson were inclined to be a decent human being, he wouldn't continually make personal attacks to make up for his inadequacies.
I think there's an old saying:
If you can't take it, don't dish it.

With all the verbal abuse John Bruce has dealt, all the false and fraudulent claims he's made, all the lies and deceit he's committed, a simple parody (yes, parody as John Bruce's name isn't referenced and the comment is a direct statement that John Bruce has only really implied through his ignorance and lies).

SHOULD Rockstar give in? Pah! Doesn't matter. There are ways to get the same comment across, making such a claim seem just as stupid as those who DO say it or even imply it in reality. So, no, it wouldn't be a big loss. Nor would it be a "win" for John Bruce because, in TRUTH, it would prove beyond any shadow of a doubt his FALSE claim that he supports Freedom of Speech. Way to go John Bruce! Let the world see you for the liar and fraud you really are! Woo hoo! You go boy!

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software
@ Jack

A threat is when someone tells YOU directly or in some cases indirectly that your life is at stake. It must name you and be sent to you. This does not name you. It does not aim its message at you. If anything this bit is a character assasination of the whole "video games are evil" debate. They could have easily used a politician for this, its just that they have a more personnal relationship with certain lawyers.

I suggest you look up the definition of paradoy and satire. Then I suggest you actually study some law for once and learn why those are protected speech.
@GP

you know, the in comment rebuttals are quite amusing dennis, and kinds make up for not banning jack, thanks for the laughs.

Its funny to notice jack jump from point to point, does he even know youre answering him?
@jadedcritic

He's basically a mix of Edgeworth and Von Karma. He villifies EVERYONE on the opposite side on the off chance they might really be psychopaths, much like Edgeworth got every defendant guilty on the off chance a killer might get loose, and like von Karma Jack is building up so much bad karma it's coming back to bite him, hard.
I love the end of his pleading: "Govern yourselves accordingly, or else".

Gosh Jack, they teach you that in lawyer school? I hope BLANK ROME crushes you. BLANK ROME.

How's the ol ticker doing now, Jack?

Oh, and Janet Reno.

How about now? You goddam nut.
So, where was JT when Capcom released Phoenix Wright?
I don't see how satire and parody rights don't fall under the rights of developers, as many games have both in them. Television parodies games all the time as well, so if JT really has a problem he needs to merely create a skit about Rockstar games in such a way that it reflects his distaste, the violence, whatever. Without resorting to slander, which might be hard to pull off. Smartly written, there is not a thing T2 or Rockstar could do, and they would laugh all the same. There have been countless GTA spoofs online and on television, including the famous Coke ad seen in theaters/TV/Web that does more to make parents think about the games their children play than a word he will ever say. To be parodied or spoofed is the American way it seems.

Honestly, do you think the Daily Show could exist without that freedom? Editorial cartoons, comic strips, sketch comedy shows, stand up comedy acts, and so forth? It is one of those things that may make the target upset and resentful of their portrayal, but that is when you turn the momentum. For example, Rudy Giuliani was getting hammered on SNL for a while, and then who shows up dressed in drag? That's right, Rudy Giuliani himself. He had a sense of humor about it and likely got more support off that appearance than many speeches given. So, JT wants to change public opinion of him, make the skit, and then appear in a skit. If he parodies himself, while at the same time ribbing Rockstar he will have shown he has a sense of humor and is a human being.

As a footnote, and in regards to people thinking there is no proof of important and powerful people being spoofed in videogames, one need look no further than NBA Jam: Tournament Edition's secret characters. Fully covered in magazines, online, and probably by some news outlets the secret players included: Bill Clinton F1, B, F2, I, F3, L, F4, JUN, F5, 3,
Hillary Clinton F6, H, F7, I, F8, L, F9, NOV, F10, 6, and Prince Charles F6, C, F7, H, F8, A, F9, MAY, F10, 4. If the Clintons and British Royalty can be use for satire and/or parody, I do not think there is a lick JT can do about his own supposed inclusion. Especially if it is as vaguely just a second amendment lawyer as it seems. But if you must JT, go ahead and pull Hillary off the road trip of debates, and get Bill and Prince Charles to submit to the courts also. But wait, they will likely testify AGAINST your argument and show how they may not have liked seeing themselves slam dunk basketballs half and full court with a RAZZLE DAZZLE. It is one of the prices we pay for living in this land called America and being in the public eye.
also, way to misuse the 'too clever by half' saying jack.
Anyone else going to load up on ammunition as soon as possible before completing this particular mission?
Hm, I read his letter to T2, and all I can think is, "Nah, I'm not really into Pokemon."
Yes, but that's just me.

And it's not for Thompson. Actually it's only for foxes.
@ Jack Thompson

Doesn't this scene evoke some kind of debate over the measure of violence in society?

In GTA IV, a law firm who claims that violent games are responsible for violence are taken out by a plain, ordinary, non-game influenced protagonist. From the inside, it points out the terrible point that (a) guns have a bigger habit of launching bullets than games do, (b) the person behind the gun makes the choice to pull the trigger (and the way that trigger is pulled) rather than a video game, and (c) there are more reasons for violence than "I saw Sonic do it".
Highlights the idea that violent people do violent things under their own cognizance, rather than being zombies to violent media.

To look at it all from outside of the game, we see a game in which a violent act is being committed by a video game character, which brings irony to the whole affair.

But to say the attorney in the game is you explicitly, without possibility of it being based on someone else, or simply it being a representation of the IDEA you put forth, is a tad egotistical.
Jack, you can claim it's targeting all you want. but here's the funny thing, you have to prove it in court. and even then the chances of "blocking" the game are about the same chances you had to block bully, NONE.


also: how is it targeting you? your just a lawyer, last time I checked you weren't part of a firm. the only way it could be targetting you is if you worked at a firm. and I'm pretty sure you would have rubbed it in our faces if you were working for a firm.

get your facts straight and then speak.
Chris,
To be honest, it throws me off too.

John Bruce's posts show up way back in the field, long after I've read up to a certain point, so I have to go back and look.

Plus GP tacks on his responses to some comments, rather than quote them, which means going back also.

Now, if there were a nice little GUI that could auto pull comments and highlight new (even if they were just released from hold) or edited comments (such as when GP adds their comments to someone else's), that would be great.

Nightwng2000
NW2K Software

GP: for some reason, his posts get caught in a moderation queue. Don't know why. I suspect he may be using a proxy server or something. I've asked him, but it's like talking to the wall. No response.

So... his comments don't show up until I get around to clearing them.

The secret good news is that we're exploring a re-design of GP (but you didn't hear that from me - LOL) ...and I am asking the developer for nested comments.
@David

Isn't egotistical Jack's middle name?
How great would it be if the lawyer character's name was something along the lines of Tack Jhomson.


Watch out Jack. Fictional characters are coming for you.
@DCOW

You know, I think you're probably right. I sit here and try to think when he's ever succeeded in blocking ANYTHING. He couldn't stop Bully, couldn't stop Manhunt2... Has he stopped anything at all? Since Cop Killer???
Jack Thompson Said:

"One more thing: If Dennis McCauley were inclined to be a real journalist and “fair” he would make available the entire letter as the full context makes clear not the parody but the targeting, but such fairness, such journalistic ethics, would be asking too much of this “news” site.

GP: Ummm… the entire letter IS available. It’s linked from the article."

Dennis, I think the answer here is obvious. He's got "you didn't post the entire letter" written in a file somewhere and automatically copy/pastes it whenever a story is written about him.
Good lord Jack, get it through your head that you're not actually important enough for any of us to physically harm. You're not worth facing jailtime over.

Now, first and foremost, parody is protected, regardless of what you believe in the la-la land in your head. They can have this in the game, as they are not targetting you for harm. Your "copycat" theory was shot down in the Devin Moore case, and it's shot down here. Why? You have no proof, just and outlandish theory.

Secondly, you're not allowed to attempt to block sales of a Take Two, Rockstar - or whatever moniker they're going by today - game. You're actually legally blocked from doing so. I wouldn't be surprised if this letter was taken as exactly that by Take Two.
Also, I should have added this - Jack, will you stop trying to insult Dennis' integrity and standing as a reporter. He, at the very least, has the decency to use facts, as opposed to you and your willingness to twist facts.
AHAHAAHA this mission sounds awesome, i cant wait to play it over and over and over and over and over....
I think I know what my favorite mission in this game will be then. Care to comment Jack?

-Auto
Jack Thompson said;

"First of all, I want to make it clear that Dennis McCauley got this from the court file.

Secondly, this is not “parody.” This is targeting. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Take-Two’s part.
"
It IS parody... and you know it.

Crowing victory already, huh, Jack? I'm checking your track record and I have to ask, are you retarded, or just unable to count?
Its so hard sometimes to believe jack is a real person, how can any human being be so idiotic and morally bankrupt? so fecitious and childish while keeping a law lisence? How can such a man exist?

I have faith in humanity, but it really stretched the benefit of the doubt when Jack comes along spouting nonsense and drivel like its divine intervention.

@nightwing

It can be a pain looking back for jack comments but dennis has made it clear its due to the system, I dont know what the rumoured change would do but I hope it will be interesting. in the meantime the setup is unavoidable and by no means problematic.
The really interesting thing here would for Rockstar/T2 to not sue him for monetary compensation when he is found guilty of breaching the terms. Instead ask for community service, specifically selling videogames in several busy chains, with their full cooperation to show him how it really is. With the condition he can not deny sales of M games to youth if their parents are the ones paying for it and standing right there. He cannot deny how some parents really are then, and it will let him have a taste of the joy that comes from giving a child a game their parents said was OK even though it was rated M. I wonder if he will somehow slip up after 300 hours on the job and sell to a kid that looks old enough because he stopped checking IDs religiously.

It won't change his mind on who is to blame naturally, but it surely will make him think about opening his mouth in a negative and slanderous fashion in the future. What he is doing IS slander, as he ignores the evidence to the contrary, puffs himself up on opinion rather than fact, and targets only one company who he has promised to "take down" many times. Farmer JT is basically targeting one pig in the pen because he doesn't like the way it grunts or defecates around the yard. What do you expect a pig to do? Every grunt and fecal expulsion will not be letters and numbers, grammatical exercises, or PG fairy tale adventures... At least some of the other critics are trying to make sausage of ALL the developers more equally, and not merely focusing on T2/Rockstar. They won't have much success in the end, but they know what the actual score it a whole lot better.
You know honestly I likely would not have made the connection between Jack and this Goldberg character if Jack hadn't made a stink over it. The only one targeting Jack is Jack.
[...] [._.] [...]
*yawn*
okay Jack might be time to either up the medication dosage or cut it in half. The video game industry isn't out to get you, they couldn't care less about you, you started the fight with R* and Take Two and now they can't use lawyers in their games because they're parodying you? Uh might want to read those first amendment laws again. Where under it, public figures are completely legal targets. Honestly it's gotten to the point where when I read about Jack I don't even bat an eye any more, this is what he does. Quick someone set up a camera on the back of a truck and start driving, I want to watch him run after the truck for 30 seconds of airtime as an "expert".
Don't worry Jack- your behavior is enough for people to want to shoot ya.

Why hasn't anyone killed Gary Coleman in real life? He was in Postal 2...
And we all hate Thompson, all over this land!
And we all hate Thompson!
It's because he's not yet banned...
You know, if you're tired of Thompson comments coming up someplace you've already read and it wasn't there, you can just use ctrl+f. That works pretty well, and he always signs his posts 'Jack Thompson' which makes them nice and easy to find.
Oh this is too rich. I swear to god I hope this goes to court, just so I can see Jack get bitch-smacked by a judge... Again.

Guess what, Thompson. You're hardly the first anti-game lawyer to pop up. Take-Two is take a jab at a very well known sterotype; the 'let's blame games' figure. Unless I see a carbon copy of your ugly face on that figure being shot, you don't have a case. This is just more of your incessant high-pitched whining meant to make us all sick to our stomachs from hearing about you. Get over yourself, Mr. Martyr.
@BlackIce

I don't hate Thompson. I don't hate anyone. I just don't agree with him and find problems with his knack for taking attention away from serious social problems facing this country. His crusade is one fueled by a moral opinion, not scientific fact. You may hate whom you like, but that too is a waste of energy spent in better avenues. ;)
@Zerodash

"Don’t worry Jack- your behavior is enough for people to want to shoot ya."

Careful! He could claim you're threatening him!

I swear, November is so close and yet it feels so far away...
@DragonBomber

I enjoy making up songs about people I hate. Also, if you don't hate you've left a part of life unlived.
I hope this situation means the end for Jack, although I seriously doubt this is the last of him.

Jack Thompson Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 10:27 am

First of all, I want to make it clear that Dennis McCauley got this from the court file.

Secondly, this is not “parody.” This is targeting. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Take-Two’s part.

way to defend your claim Jack. If he is going to argue with journalists he needs to learn that simply repeating his claim that it IS targeting, will not suffice. Defend your claim with sound evidence that the game play you saw was targeting rather than parody, otherwise be quite.
Good luck with that Jackhole.

I shall dub thee: Jack "Don Quijote" Thompson
Jack Thompson doesn't like video games and will attempt to stop another GTA game.

In other late breaking news candy is delicious, kittens are cute, and Jack Thompson isn't so good at this whole "lawyer" thing.
[...] Via: GamePolitics [...]
Jackhole, did you miss taking your paranoid schizophrenia pills yesterday?
If mocking Whacko Jacko was against the law, I'd have had the chair by now. Has anyone else depicted him as a superhero with a douchebag on his chest?

The chair. Bzzzzt!!!
Yes jacko is using a proxy. In fact the proxy he is using is btunnel.com

We know that because several weeks ago he posted a link to youtube but he wasn't smart enough to realize that the anonymizing site makes the url include btunnel so when he posted the link to youtube it was really a link through that site. Since we know that he used that site at least once, and we know that his real ip address wasn't unblocked, it makes sense to assume that he uses that site post here.
[...] anything goes in Liberty City, Jack. Deal with it.  Link to this | E-mail this | Digg this | Post to del.icio.us Published Tuesday, September 18, 2007 11:36 AM by tylertodd Filed under: Controversy, JackThompson, GTA IV [...]
Sorry Jack but I don't think the connection to you is strong enough for you to be able to say undeniably that it is you. There are plenty of other anti-game lawyers and while I'm sure in most peoples minds it is a direct poke at you it is just as easily a go at the whole game/law/constitution battle that wages continuously. But hey, don't feel too bad, there are a few of us (non-Americans mostly I imagine) that see the unconstitutional argument to be completely counter productive. If both sides would tone it down a bit I'm sure everyone would get what they want.
YOu know, since he hasn't tried to sue G4 for parodying him, and since he hasn't sued Comedy Central for south Park making fun of his religion, his argument is null and void.
Since when is being an attention-whore douchebag who is addicted to seeing his face on television or name in the news a RELIGION?

...and ..is he like the Pope of it?
@Coyote Sharptongue

I was talking about christianity, which he does a good job of mocking on his own.
I'm confused.

Isnt GTA 4 in new york and not in florida?

In otherwords it happens compleatly away from jacks home, so in no way could it be jack.


But if in jacks world parody is illegal, should he not get himself arrested for parodying himself?
Anyone have any pull at GI? I'd like their impression if they think the lawyer is in any way similar to Jack, rather than Jack's paranoid rantings.
@ kurisu7885

Oh....in that case...how about..

"Every time you play a video game god masterbates a kitten"

Or something of the like? I read that somewhere, maybe it was the internetz.
I hope the name of the lawyer in the game is Tom Jackson. haha.
*yawn*

parody = protected. Sorry, you loose.

Oh and im so not surprised hes anti gay rights.... hes most likely anti-rights for anyone apart from people like him.
"Secondly, this is not “parody.” This is targeting. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Take-Two’s part."

Jack, the only way this could be targeting you is if you can prove that T2 specifically tried to target YOU with this video game. Which I don't see any evidence if, by the way. All I see is a layer who just doesn't hate video games, but the second amendment. That could be ANYONE, Jack. I'm sure you're not the only lawyer in the world who hates video games. Otherwise, this is a parody. PERIOD.
I'm on Jack Thompsons side... this time.
Targeting would be if the name of the lawyer was Jack Thompson (which it wasn't), the lawyer looked exactly like Jack Thompson, the whole premise of the scene was to kill an "Anti-violent videogame" lawyer.
THEN you MIGHT be right about targeting Jack.

But what you do now, is actually making stuff up to blackmail T2. Since you have no basis to stand on, you run the risk of breaking the terms of the settlement.

Oh, and Dennis, why haven't we heard anything from the Florida Bar, concerning his possible disbarment ?
If there was a game called "Jock Thumpson: Game Raider" similar to the Panty Raider game, but with a twist of trying to eradicate cities full of game stores by busting into them and taking out the supply of filth (vigilante style), then perhaps JT would have have a case. It would be easy to find someone else named Jack Thompson, or even the same exact name he has to legally be the basis for the game, but it still would be close unless the game character looked exactly like him. That would be a sweet game actually, given that you get to create your own custom character. Also get to choose your side, pro, anti, neutral. Or more like the AD&D continuum, with chaotic lawful and chaotic evil players running around the sandbox towns. Some players could also be the game store clerks with weapons under the counter, wall-mounted lasers, trap doors in the floors and other fun mishaps to keep the enemies away. Other players could be deliverymen dropping off truckloads of games, or bike couriers passing around promotional copies of games. Just think about the possibilities of such a game.

@BlackIce

I hated enough in the hells of Junior High until I got the muscles and weight to defend myself better. I let that rage go when life stopped being a horrible experience for me however and I realized how little I gained from it. I can still be angry, just not hateful. ;) When I was full of rage I could beat doors down off hinges. So I know quite well the experience, thanks.
what a moron haha
you know guys, your just getting him all riled up. hes probably trying to for gp to give him your email so he can track you down and throw you in jail for making fun of him.
@Jack
Seriously Jack, STFU your old news. no one cares about what you think anymore. go ahead and break your settlement. your just pissed that the guys at penny arcade actually care about other people. thats were this all started. they proved that gamers are not selfabsorbed killing machines, and that makes you a retard. enjoy the contempt of court charges. Also, stop accusing Dennis of being a crappy journalist. this is one of the most factual news sites i have seen.

@all GP patrons.
I say we need to just completely ignore him. when JT stories are posted, read them, laugh at them, tell Dennis hes doing a good job, and leave it at that. when he stops getting the spot light, all this will go away. if we do that , his posts on here will amount to "WHY ISN"T ANYONE PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO ME?!!!!
@GP nice job on all of your stories. i enjoy reading all of them. keep up the good work.
there's 3 days and a few hours until the deadline! I'm so giddy! I only know EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN.

Thompson won't follow through. He tried that with bully, didn't work. He should know that there is nothing to change, so that he can't have anything done.

also: jacky boy, please work on your writing skills, they are degenerating.
The document mentions a "new Bar complaint" from Take Two. What's he talking about? How new is it?
jack is an ass
wow......It sounds like this guy has become ultra-paranoid like coke addicts do
@ Max

Why? He's the first one to draw the comparison. There's a few previews around which mention this scene, and not a one of them draws the conclusion that it's a parody of Thompson. Most other people didn't either.

Only good old Jack, who see's what he wants to see.
normaly i dont reply to these, but wow, this jack fellow seems to be a bit on the delusional side. i mean with all due respect, even if rockstar was poking fun at him, could you really blame them? jack is bringing this on himself by blowing stupid stuff like this out of proporsion. if he is so concerned about violence, why doesnt he speak out again war? video games should be the least of his concerns. what about fathers who take their kids hunting? does shooting a deer not give kids an idea of violence? or the stuff they watch on the news, or television in general. frankly they are going to learn about it at some point, either way. the only people who would take any violence they see in video games to an extreme, are people who are already unstable. and frankly, maybe 'unstable' is why jack takes it to such an extreme.
Um no.

You don't ignore Jack Thompson. The tantruming three year old being ignored bit doesn't work with this guy. He's a couple of power pellets short of a pacman game if ya get my drift.

You ignore Jack and he feels vindicated, like he WON something, and that makes him bolder to where he acts out even harder.

You can't ignore him. Instead, do what I do.

Photoshop pictures of him in that little glass pane as he gets sucked into the Phantom Zone.
The thing that never ceases to amaze me about Jack is his stubborn arrogance. No matter how bad his track record, he thinks he's always right. Well, he's not always right. Quite the opposite, in fact. And point of order, I cannot for the life of me recall a time Jack has EVER been proven right about ANYTHING. So where is all this arrogance coming from?

My theory? It's all a front of denial. Let's face it: we only know Jack from his press releases, TV appearances, and blog postings. We are not privy to his private life at home, however. For all we know, Jack ends his days curled up in a fetal position crying himself to sleep over what a spectacular failure he knows his life and career are. But is he about to let us see that side of himself? Of course not. So he puts up a brave, macho front that he's always right and will eventually have his way, even though he knows better.

Of course, this is all just speculation. He could also just be a nut.
Jack is a real "shoot from the hip sort of guy". Unfortunately he also doesn't remove the gun from the holster, or even point it away from his foot. He doesn't bother gathering trivial things like "evidence". All he needs is a hastily born opinion, a fifth of Jack Daniels, and a barely coherent letter written in Microsoft Word and he is ready for some litigatin'!
@gamebrain89

JT's tangent reality just gives me ideas for games I will never have sufficient coding skills to produce. But in my head they play wonderfully. So in this real reality I should thank him for being such a moral hypocrite. Thank you!
Another day, another windmill for Jack Thompson to charge at. He must be practically giddy, he has an excuse to bring more lawsuits against Rockstar. After all, for a while I figured the only people listening to him were GP posters.
My money says JT tries to argue attempted entrapment or something similar. "Take-Two knew I'd respond, so the tried goading me into violating our settlement." Which will just get thrown out because proving that would be nearly impossible, even if it were true. Just a hunch though.....

-Mike Schwinger
@DragonBomber

Uh.. I can do that... I just need to be wearing my.. *runs*

Seriously though, you just can't help but hate the man/feel sorry for him.
First of all, I want to make it clear that Jack Thompson should apologize for thinking this is newsworthy.

Secondly, this is not “targeting.” This is parody. Big difference. This is rather foolish on Jack Thompson’s part.
Man That guy sucks ass.
You're absolutely right, Jack. This isn't "parody."

It's PARODY, in big capital letters, underlined three times, and thrown at your face by an MLB pitcher.
OBJECTION!
JACK THOMPSON you are so gay.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
add me PSN GTAmanx
*popcorn* *soda*

Let's see how long this goes on before T2 invokes the settlement agreement and sues Thompson into the ground.
@BlackIce

I don't feel sorry for him really. I feel ashamed sometimes that people like him are given any societal weight or credibility above trained doctors and other researchers whose jobs is has been to judge the medium of video games and media in general to decide their impact on youth and adults. I feel ashamed to know he gathers headlines, yet the real plights of youth in America goes unheard or ignored by politicians, parents, and the media. To see the years of his education and talents go wasted on this crusade and know he could have been an actual champion of children really depresses me sometimes. If only the children would write him letters to tell him how they feel, and what they really need changed to insure their positive futures. Like Santa Claus, only hopefully with less references to PS3 and Wii. Teachers and parents around the country should write the man to give them their opinions, though I imagine the ones supporting games shall likely be burned or used as evidence that their minds have been corrupted. *shakes head*

"I call Little Susie Allen to the stand. Susie, that is a bible. Do you swear not to make the baby jesus cry by lying? That's good hon...ok! So, when did you first begin playing with murder simulators?"

I OBJECT! donotwant
I'm on vacation and come back to this. Brilliant!
I thought the last case Jackie-boy lost against Take Two ordered him to sieze all future attempts of holding back the launches of Take twos products, that being through lawsuits or any other means?
Wow.

Anyone else have the urge to offer Jack's son $50 a day just to follow him around with a tape-recorder to hear what other rants spew from him that never actually make it to the public eye. Come on, think about it, if this is what he thinks will get a reaction, imagine how awesomely ridiculous everything Jack discards as too out there must be ... I bet it would be great to listen to some of the crackpot theories, if this is what he throws out as "sane."

@Dennis

Your patience is astounding. I'm nominating you for Sainthood.
@GP
The secret good news is that we’re exploring a re-design of GP (but you didn’t hear that from me - LOL) …and I am asking the developer for nested comments.

Really? Nifty ^_^ that developer would be my new favorite person.
jack thompons is stuped because he riery think that rockstar would put time and efered into putting him in thire game.!!!!! jack thompon=gay
PSN GTAmanx
Sorry Jack, but public figures are subject to parody. Larry Flint proved that in the US Supreme Court. Take 2 still has those pesky First Amendment rights that make America great.

Suing Take 2 over this would be the same as a class-action suit by gamers against you for defamation of character.
Aaaaaand my spellcheck just vomited up a couple of vowels and some blood. Thanks a lot Chris.

I just find it amazing that Jack Thompson STILL has the ability to pull the strings and waste tax payer money like he does. He should be finded for the trite and petty childish crap that he puts through the legal system everytime he gets his tail feathers ruffled.
@Iniquuis

“Take-Two knew I’d respond, so the tried goading me into violating our settlement.” Which will just get thrown out because proving that would be nearly impossible, even if it were true. Just a hunch though…..

You have to admit - that would be delicious irony. Seeing as how a couple weeks back he was trying to goad what's-her-name.. Gena Feist? I seem to remember an exchange of letters where he tried to email Strauss Zelnick, something about age verification and she rebuffed him - which of course ended up in "Are you crazy/stupid?" I don't remember the exact choice of words - but he was obviously trying to pick a fight and she was obviously trying to find a polite way to tell him to sit down and shut up.
Chris - please stop using gay in a negative way like that.
Jack, you need to get laid. Have fun in court.
It is targeting Jack.....for parody. Which is protected under free speech.

You lose.

"Conejo Says:
>how is it i know more about lawyering from watching Night Court?"

Because Dan was The Man.
Lmao Oh well at least i dont have to worry about Wacko Jacko Asking for my email addy...Seeing as how he really thinks im a "Girl" now as for this whole "gTA is targeting me" seriously dude find a freaking hobby and learn to enjoy life and laugh on occasion....

I mean besides make an ass of yourself on here and use your son to your advantage do you do ANYTHING that you get enjoyment out of (sorry idiot attempting to "destroy take two" doesnt count and well its not going to happen jack so move along and find something else to complain about (how about tv or music.....I know how about you target disney channel because it promotes children to date by showing High school Musical 1 and 2 (laugh at me if you want but its a damn good movie...ok and ashley tisdale is hella hot) or better yet jack why not attempt to take down wwe and vince mcmahon for having The D-Generation x angle all that time and teaching the "children" on it do crotch chops and yell out "suck it" because of course as you mentioned quite a few times and i know once when raw was still on spike tv you claimed that it was a show watched by "millions of children"

Of course that is bullS**** and well any one can really call it of course except you since you seem to have the iq of stimpy from ren and stimpy...

Now jack Take two and rockstar are not "targeting you" as you like to think that they are its simple parody and as usual Moron Boy if you dont like it then dont pay attention to it and seeing as how you feel that all "gamers" are just seriel killers in training (curious jack seeing as how i've probably aquired around close to probably over 1 million kills in all of my ps2 gta games in the entire time i've owned them i havent killed anyone so i guess we can call your idea there about that BullS****

Now execuse me jack i have things to do and people to see

Seriously jack get a life and a hobby i have a suggestion for you why dont you start watching wwe monday night raw

You may really enjoy the angle of hornswoggle being mcmahon's Bast*** child...come on jack watch it its like a Soap Opera For men.....

Oh and one more thing

GET LOST oh wait you already are...

Hooooah

*starts to blast "kiss the girl" from ashley tisdale*

later moron boy

Hilaryduffgta
Jack's number 1 fan and Last time i checked i wasnt a female
@chris

Are you a Homophobe? Because I can understand your use of the word "gay" in context then. However, I really don't have a problem with Homosexuals, Bisexuals or strange looking sheep. Niether does any civilised person on this website, so please, Shut Up.
@Jack Thompson:

>>> First of all, I want to make it clear that Dennis McCauley got this from the court file.

That's good to know, Jack, because you do have a habit of widely cc'ing pleadings and filings that are never, you know, filed. One might even say you deliberately misrepresent the status of your filings in implying that you actually filed them with the court. That's a bad thing, Jack, in case they didn't teach you that in lawyer school.

It'd help if you just posted PACER links, and maybe I can find some fellas at groklaw who haven't gone over their quota to pull your entertaining little epistles, rather than chase down another dead-ended fantasy filing.

By the way, have you noticed that I'm baiting you? You're more entertaining than any video game when you're mad.


(how do I quote, BTW? Is it bbcode for italics or something? There isn't even a preview for me to try it)
I actually want this game more now.

And how would he block all of the sales? (serious question)
Afterthought: Before JT calls me gay, I am sraight and there are thirty people who can testify to that.
"# Minisnor Says:
September 18th, 2007 at 1:30 pm

I thought the last case Jackie-boy lost against Take Two ordered him to sieze all future attempts of holding back the launches of Take twos products, that being through lawsuits or any other means?"

This isn't the end-all. If, for example, Take Two or Rockstar used his ACTUAL likeness in a game without his permission and refused to remove it, no judicial order can prevent him from seeking to block on the grounds that his ACTUAL likeness is used.

In that case, Take Two/Rockstar/whoever has used someone's likeness without permission and by making a profit is depriving someone control of their own ability to market themselves.

As that violates other federal laws, a regional judicial order cannot trump established legal precedent, if not federal copyright law, and he could sue.

That said, it appears they do not use either his name (an inherent trademark) or his actual physical likeness so he can't without first proving that they are CLEARLY (in the eyes of a judge/jury). If he can convince said judge/jury that they are clearly and obviously referencing him, Take Two must obtain a signed release to use that likeness or remove it from the game.

Ya follow that?
GP,

you could remove the unnecessary homophobic rants of Chris, please?
"control of their own ability to market themselves"

Who else had an image of a hooker spring to mind then? Classic wording.
This pretty much summs up Jack : http://jacksoul.ytmnd.com/
I hope no one is confusing me with the other chris, the difference seems to be a link in the name.

Maybe I should have invested in some more originality to avoid dopplegangers.....

@Blackice

Oh trust me, jack wont bother with witnesses, since apparently hes against in some gay rights debate he seems to be picking up a new enemy. Next he'll likely accuse games of turning youths into homosexuals.
Someone in Star Ocean 2 has my name.

Time for me to sue them for irresponsibly representing me as some unlucky dumbass with dragons on his back and a fascination with barrels.
That's the point, Ashton. They used only your name. They didn't also use your profession AND your publically stated beliefs.

Is Thompson right? I don't think so. But it does give him an argument and that is sloppy. on Take Two's part.
@chris

Just stick something on the end of your user. Like I did.

Jack never bothers with witnesses does he? Unless they tesify in his favor. Which they do. Sometimes.
By Jack's own logic, Gary Coleman and Michal Jackson should both be dead right now, since they both were targeted in video games; Mr. Coleman of course being in Postal 2, while Jackson, fittingly, finds himself in the Space Channel 5 series.
You know, I'm thinking about it...

Jack has to argue this one, even if he know sit'll fail. If he doesn't, then it'll be the silver bullet against his own argument. "If people copy video games, then why didn't you try to stop this obvious parody?"

Doesn't make it any less crazy, though.

-P
I see it like defending a trademark. If you don't at least put forth the argument - even if you lose - you lose the right to argue the point another day.
He's still an idiot, though.
@JT:

You seem to think the world revolves around you. My advise: stop staring at the GPS.
“One more thing: If Dennis McCauley were inclined to be a real journalist and “fair” he would make available the entire letter as the full context makes clear not the parody but the targeting, but such fairness, such journalistic ethics, would be asking too much of this “news” site."

Jack, the rest of the letter doesn't matter. You say they are targeting you. Your proof is that a New York lawyer who works for a firm that supports gun rights but not video game rights is a facsimile of you. But he doesn't look like you, doesn't live in the same area of the US as you, doesn't work from home (he's clearly got a "real" job), and doesn't claim he's a god warrior.

He's just a lawyer who doesn't like video games. The judge who reads your filing with either shake their head at the stupidity, or laugh out loud. Either way you've got nothing.

The fact that they may or may not be engaged in sending lewd gifts to your wife, or whether you are at "war" with them doesn't make the lawyer in the game any more you than had they come out and said "THAT IS DEFINITELY BASED ON A CERTAIN LAWYER WE HATE". It's still protected under parody.

Just like you advocated the murder of a CEO Paula Eibel of a company called Take This in a proposal for a video game. But that was just parody, right?
Jack, will you represent me against Take2? I want to sue them because I am a 6' 1" white man, with brown hair and I do a lot of walking on city sidewalks.

I have been terrorized for YEARS because the GTA games allow people to drive cars and run over people that LOOK JUST LIKE ME! I am sick of this terroristic threatening, and promise of painful harm upon my person. I want it to end, so I want to sue so I do not have to suffer any longer.

You are nothing more than a bully, hypocrite, and punk.
what a cry baby!
"That’s the point, Ashton. They used only your name. They didn’t also use your profession AND your publically stated beliefs."

That still wouldn't matter.

If a doctor in GTA said when you killed them, "I like pies!" should every publically pie-loving doctor feel the need to sue Take Two? This is a spin on the whole "Games kill people" theory, and Jack Thompson is obviously not the only hearse chasing, game hating lawyer.
Jack,

In the past you have stated that you are "in a cultural war" against the video game industry and that your faith allows you to "do what was necessary" to win that war. Yet when Zelnick tells you the same thing, you cry foul?

Let me get this straight:

1) Accusing the Japanese of instigating another "Pearl Harbor" = okay.
2) Referring to people as "worse than Saddam" = okay.
3) The constant labeling of video gamers in general as "on drugs," "sociopaths," etc. = okay.
4) Basically, any slander against someone that doesn't agree with Jack Thompson = okay.

But, what might be a parody of Jack (or might not be) in a video game = not okay.

Jack, you set up the rules in this fight years ago, and now you're on the losing end. Suck it up, crybaby, and go chase some more ambulances while you still have your law license.
My whole point there was not to take his side, Ashton. It was to point out that Take Two screwed up by giving him an excuse to make waves. Was that necessary for the game? Nope. Does it give him an excuse to make waves and SEEK to get that agreement thrown out? Yup.


By baiting him, they just caused themselves that little bit of grief. He is wrong, but they are not innocent.
The point, however, is that the only thing linking Jack Thompson in real life to GTA lawyer is Jacks own twisted mind. Take Two, knowing full well that they couldn't use his likeness, name, or any actual attributed quotes, made a lawyer which said something vaguely Thompson-like - if you do try googling it, it's only versions of this story that have that quote from him.

It's pure parody, and unless Take Two actually has a Jack Thompson alike in the game (which would still be protected under parody law, though on slightly shakier ground), he doesn't have an argument.

Don't listen to what Thompson says, absorb the facts surrounding the case. It's the only way to stop yourself being sucked into his own "virtual fantasy world."
What kind of professional LOSES a court case and then afterwards instead of graciously walking away writes childish and petty letters to the Judge who sided against him?

How is this man allowed within the legal system?
"It was to point out that Take Two screwed up by giving him an excuse to make waves. Was that necessary for the game? Nope. Does it give him an excuse to make waves and SEEK to get that agreement thrown out? Yup."

True, but JT making waves and seeking the abolishment of that agreement was an inevitable event, anyway.

"By baiting him, they just caused themselves that little bit of grief. He is wrong, but they are not innocent. "

This is true. However, while I don't like Take Two, I like Jack even less. Even if the included content was an actual dig at Jack, I enjoy seeing him seethe. Sorry if that sounds a bit immature, but he's filled my inbox with flames before and I personally like it when he goes on tirades. :P
[...] Jack Thompson Murder Simulator - Today, 19:19 GamePolitics.com
Jack:
Please stop. Devote your remaining years to something that isn't a knee-jerk fear-based response to a kind of media you are simply too old and apparently also too stupid/stubborn to ever comprehend in a way which actually engages reality. If video games really made kids into murderers, we'd have a lot more murderers roaming the streets than we do. If you want to help society, speak out against the awful parenting and teaching going on every day across the U.S. Kids that are RAISED by TV and video games as opposed to responsible adults are of course going to turn out pretty fucked up. The solution is not to try and change the media landscape, the solution is to give youngsters the tools they need to deal with what they see. You WILL NOT succeed in your misguided attempt to damage the gaming industry. We are younger. We are smarter. We are all going to outlive you. Face it, you lost before you even started. Give up. Just give up. You're pretty good at getting your ugly face on TV, why not use that in a positive way to promote alternative education like Montessori or something? All you're doing with stunts like this is making yourself a laughingstock to people smarter than you.
Anyone remember "A Modest Video Game Proposal?"

You know, the game Jack Thompson wanted to have made that depicted someone murdering "Paula Eibel"? Hell, the name actually resembles "Paul Eibeler," and that's not even the case with GTA IV.

If anything, T2 could have a nice countersuit against the creative works of JT here...
I agree completely Ashton. Hell, originally I was just pointing out that Take Two "MAY" have given him grounds to do so. highly irresponsible.


But very funny too. If they keep it up his arms may start flapping with such righteous indignation he achieves Low Earth Orbit.
Let me get some popcorn and soda too! This going to be fun!
Jack, go ahead, try to block GTAIV, null & void your agreement with T2, and GP will be sure to cover T2's legal team annihate you in court, then followed up with the Florida Bar (finally) disbarring you. Why don't you set aside your ego, leave quietly, and save face... for once.
I wonder when jack will learn to just let it go. I know i will enjoy that first mission and the rest of the game. Because it is just a game. Stop QQin
I suppose it's only natural that Jack should try to drum up publicity with (yet more) legal threats he knows are meaningless, what with the end of his career (and the peeling veneer of legitimacy it affords him) imminent.

Good luck getting airtime, debating appointments or plugging your worthless book once the Bar are finished with you, Jack. :)
Wait he comes up with something as disturbing as A Modest Video Game Proposal and then when he gets involved in a parody he becomes a little nancy? Seriously. He needs to get over it.
I'm looking forward to the day he is disbarred.
@Arkly

The only way would be to destroy the discs at the distribution plant or to block the trucks from leaving, which neither he can do legally.
anyone want to start a pool going on when this will cause jacky boy to finally lose his law license............

of course there will be no money involved and its mainly for bragging rights so take a thought to it....


Lmao See Duffy does come up with a good idea here and there
jack thompson is a fuckin pussy ass bitch


grow a dick and deal with it
@hilaryduffgta

Be Quiet:P
@JT

Similar to your claim here, I feel violated by your continual accusations of my behavior just because I play games. In fact I feel threatened continually is any remark that negatively portrays gamers. If you stab us, do we not bleed?
@blackice


Ha Ha Duffy does not be quiet Just kidding
@DragonBomber

Thats such an awesome game idea that I'm considering the options to make it. Thinking along the lines of a 2D RPG game for simplicity, gonna pop out good old RPGMaker after work and have a go at it, see what I come up with.
@kitsufox


Which Street Fighter 2....Super street fighter 2 or champion Edition???
hey dennis could you contact t2 for us and ask where they want the gift baskets sent and what they want in them (cause if they take jacky to court i vote we seriously send them gift baskets)
@cullarn

A-ba ba. Muffin Baskets.
hmmmmmm if i get into jury duty on the 24th i can throw in a few bucks for that


But wouldnt Jack just complain about that...oh and this whole "nooooooo Rockstar is targeting me again" sounds just like it did when lcs got released and they did that parody of whatever it was...had the game but dont recall it

Jack's just a whiny Bitch
Famous people get killed all the time on South Park, Family Guy and Robot Chicken. And then they're exact likenesses identified by name and everything.

That's not even a case, let alone bringing down the entire company.
[...] Jack Thompson on GTA IV - Get me out of here! GamePolitics.com
has jacky ever complained about south park or does he not care for television

better yet did he even make a scene during the time saints row was released..

seeing as how that game makes gta look like an episode of Muppet babies (man i miss that cartoon)
ooh! He gave a deadline!

So what major action is JT prepared to take if his demands are not met by this deadline?

Go troll on some more internet forums?

Why wait for the deadline?
@ hilaryduffgta:


Champion Edition. See how he fares against the originals.
Hmmmmmm Lets see here *looks into my crystal ball*

I see Jack coming into gamepolitics on friday and posting "Sorry children but if any of you kiddies thinks you are going to purchase Grand theft auto 4 Im sorry to inform you that your Toys will be taken away" and he'll also say "Kiss take two goodbye" followed by a "hoooah" and maybe end it with a "get lost already,oh wait you are"


This Attempted reading has been Brought to you By HilaryDuffGta and Vanilla Coke Zero...Just work it!
the parody of Jack Thompson on Liberty City Stories didn't reference him as a bisexual pedophile, it referenced him as someone who wants to ban the Internet because he Googled "children's watersports" with the SafeSearch off. Jack referenced HIMSELF as a bisexual pedophile by calling us "kiddies" and demanding our personal information.
Been ./'d. Here's my post there.
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/18/1633248

Take Two makes a game where a New York lawyer who works for a firm that believes that "guns don't kill people, video games do" gets killed. Jack Thompson doesn't live in New York, doesn't work for a legal firm, and has never uttered that quote, and I'll bet the lawyer in the game doesn't even look like or sound like him.

Jack Thompson proposes [wikipedia.org] a video game where a CEO of New York-based "Take This" called Paula Eibel gets murdered for creating violent videogames. Lawyers who work at "Blank Stare" are also massacred. Paul Eibel was the CEO of Take Two at the time, and their headquarters is in New York, as is Blank Rome, the legal firm that they employ.

Jack's stuff is parody (his claim), but GTAIV is a death threat?
@kitsufox

Champion edition was a good one...That reminds me too i need to find that Jt Caw for smackdown vs raw 2007....

Woops i guess i shouldnt have said that since now i'll get a deadline!

Damit
I look forward to the day where Jack Thompson says;

"Video games are training our kids to be killers! They are the DOWNFALL OF SOCIETY! THEY ARE PROGRAMMED EVIL!"

So I can look him firmly in the eye, and say with all honesty.

"Shut the fuck up and get me my fries."
[...] Outspoken anti-games lawyer Jack Thompson has decided that a representation of a 2nd amendment lawyer in GTA IV is a mocking version of him. He has declared that if the representation is not removed he will attempt to block the release of the game. [...]
@coyote sharptounge


Well Then dammit my frontal lobes Must be disconnected because i've played so much gta that i should already be a deranged killer......

Hmmmm Maybe my JoJo The high road cd has magical powers that keep me from getting crazy thoughts....or it could be one of my play cd's....


Oh well at least i'm covered now!!!!

Hoooah
When he loses his license? I can just see him down town with a cardboard sign.

"Will make insane accusations about current video game for FOOD"
JT is just being paranoid as always ;) .
Maybe he will try to get a job with wwe.....


i know he can go on there and adopt hornswoggle
nah no muffin they slap jacky round in court we need to get baskets from a chocolatier
As is stated above...

Parody: a protected right.

Case closed...

One of these days one of these blatantly illegal attempts by Jack will get him stripped of his license...
@ Jack Thompson

Not everything is about you!

I cant wait until they take away your license to practice law.
@Kitsufox_FOX:

"Oh, right, that’s too much of a resemblance, I’ll put you in Phoenix Wright, then. It’s a more lawyer-suited ame. You’ll be the replacement for Prosecutor Payne."

Payne always loses, huh?

-P
*puts on The D-Generation x tune*

Ok i guess jack's gone for a few days now!

back to peace and quiet
So that's what JT mett up with Zelnick for. (Read the letter) "You said you were in a 'war' with me and that you would do 'whatever it takes' to win that war.
Zelnick's already won the war.

Jackie is the cleanup.
In Russia, game play YOU!
:: Gives GP a neutered Tribble for the unofficial good news. ::

...

:: Then whacks GP on the back of the hand with a metal braille ruler for tacking the note on nightwng2000's post after I said it annoys me. ::

:)

Nightwng2000
NW2K software
If Jack Thompson's argument had a leg to stand on, South Park would no longer be on the air from all the lawsuits. Parody is protected.
If Jack Thompson was really in the game, he'd get his son to take the bullet for him...
"@all GP patrons.
I say we need to just completely ignore him. when JT stories are posted, read them, laugh at them, tell Dennis hes doing a good job, and leave it at that. when he stops getting the spot light, all this will go away. if we do that , his posts on here will amount to “WHY ISN”T ANYONE PAYING ANY ATTENTION TO ME?!!!!"

Well... no. Then he'd think that everyone's afraid of him, and that he's won. A sample size of 0 of 'people who oppose me' is just as good to him as his sample size of 1 of 'minors who buy adult material unhindered.'
Yea honestly ignoring jack usually makes it worse because then he gets an attitude and will usually post more and start to get cocky and start his usual bs of "whats wrong children are you scared of losing your toys"

and trust me im not kidding i've seen it before enough times
I should hope anyone referring to JT as a punk knows the actual definition, along with jocker. They are used both in prison environments and the hobo culture, if that gives you a clue. Just a small FYI for anyone new to the historical use of the word.
What an F'ng retard. I'm offended by the portrayal of fat people on the simpsons. Homer Simpson is a parody of ME! WAH WAH! Take them off the air! WAH!
Chances are in a couple days or weeks he'll attack something else and put this incident on the bottom of his "To Sue" pile. Jack never seems to follow through with any of his "threats."
Out of curiosity, why are we keeping him around again?
The mental image of Thompson sitting at his desk and reading Game Informer makes me chuckle.
I want to see JT sue R*, for a couple of reasons.

1.) It's not a targeting when the lawyer in question doesn't look like him, and the quote used is not specific to JT alone.

2.) JT can't block the game according to the R*-JT agreement froma while back.

3.) I want to see more work on JT's block go down the tubes when his license gets yanked.

@ApokalypseNow - that was FUNNY!
For fuck sake YOU CAN'T STOP THIS GAME FROM BEING RELEASED! You've tried countless times and you've failed at just about everything you've ever attempted so shove those goddamn treats right up your ass.
Threats, sorry...
Maybe if the character appeared as a big baby that cried all the time Jack'd have a case. That sounds exactly like him.
I am wondering why John Boy didn't sue Rare for using his likeness for one of the bosses in Conker. You know, the giant piece of shit.
Oh, and I personally love the mis-use of "too clever by half" in the full document. The Cambrige International Dictionary of Idioms defines "too clever by half" to mean "to be too confident of your own intelligence in a way that annoys other people". My own experiences in a former British colony confirm that definition. It actually works against him in the document - by use of that idiom, all he does is say that Strauss is annoying him.
@John, Doe:

This is getting absurd. I think I understand why the state bar wants to examine Mr. Thompson’s mental capacity; Jack’s behavior is starting to approach the realm of delusion.

*Starting to approach?!* We passed the 'Now entering Delusionalburg - Population: Jack' sign a long time ago.

@arowe87:

"So now every lawyer that is somehow involved with video games is Jack Thompson. Last time I checked, Thompson wasn’t fighting against the second amendment, like the lawyer in the game, he was fighting video games.

So the parallels between Jack Thompson and GTA IV’s lawyer:
1) both are lawyers.

Thats it. Someone needs to give this man a clue. "


I'm surprised he hasn't sued Capcom already, but then they don't make GTA... well they do in Japan, (at least they published some of the games there) but that'd be even less possible to prevent the sale of, even if he could. Then again, Phoenix Wright is a far better lawyer than Jack could ever hope to imagine to dream about even think about studying to become so...

@Black Manta:

Take 2 then is free to go after him. The smackdown they give him, combined with the one from the Florida Supreme Court, could be the one-two punch that knocks him out for good.

Indeed... nevermind blowing his foot off with a shotgun via this tactic... he's switched to the BFG9000 to vaporize his entire lower half this time. :P

@BaronJuJu:

"He must have been starting to feel cold from the spotlight being off him. What a joke."

Well he'd better get used to it, once he's relieved of his license... :D (14:57... 14:58... 14:59...)

@Austin Lewis:

"But when has a little thing like the law gotten in his way before?"

Or logic? Or Common sense? JT has no use for such outlandish concepts. (Mommy and Daddy must've paid his way thru Logic 101 and Common Sense 101... in addition to Practicing Law 101)

@chris:

"Guess what parody and satire are protected speech. just like your mock offer to charity is protected."

Just like Jack's a parody of a 'REAL' lawyer? :P

"Its so hard sometimes to believe jack is a real person, how can any human being be so idiotic and morally bankrupt? so fecitious and childish while keeping a law lisence? How can such a man exist?"

Just another of life's great mysteries, I suppose

@tony

"sorry about the double post but to Mr Thompson, go for it, i’d love to see them bury you…..again"

Wonder if he'll need any help moving out of his law offices this christmas? Not saying I'm offering to help, I'm just wondering. :P

@Quad9Damage:

"So he’s going to drag Take-Two back to court, totally breach the settlement, and get his ass legally assassinated, all because he’s scared to death of a theory that no study has ever been able to prove? Oh, this is going to be fun show."

I guess the series finale of "Jack Thompson: Half-Assed Attorney" might come sooner than expected, huh?

@E. Zachary Knight:

"Wow. The only response that JT could come up with is that Dennis did not link the whole letter. Oh wait, the letter is linked. I guess the only thing left is to complain that Dennis is not a real journalist."

Well Jack isn't a real lawyer, so they're even. *rimshot*

@DragonBomber:

Reading some of these replies, actually reminded me of those hidden characters in NBA JAM... you didn't see any of them file suits against Midway. (Not that I can recall, anyway.)

@Erik:

"Jack is a real “shoot from the hip sort of guy”. Unfortunately he also doesn’t remove the gun from the holster, or even point it away from his foot. He doesn’t bother gathering trivial things like “evidence”. All he needs is a hastily born opinion, a fifth of Jack Daniels, and a barely coherent letter written in Microsoft Word and he is ready for some litigatin’!"

LOL... see my 'BFG' comment. :P

@BlackIce:

"Jack never bothers with witnesses does he? Unless they tesify in his favor. Which they do. Sometimes."

Yeah, but they're all imaginary, aren't they?: "I call to the stand the ghost of Dave Thomas."

And re: muffin baskets -- Don't we still owe that poor receptionist one?

@Dog_Welder:

Like I said, he'd flunk Logic 101 if it weren't for mommy and daddy to bail him out.

@carl:

"Maybe if the character appeared as a big baby that cried all the time Jack’d have a case. That sounds exactly like him."

Couldn't agree more. :P
He so deserves this. He wants to be in the spotlight, hes certainly got his spot in it. He completely brought this on himself. If he didnt use his screwed up logic to make a name for himself, he wouldnt be in this. Rockstar is known for its parodies and if he had any brains, he wouldnt have attacked Rockstar and Take Two. I dont see anyway some hick "lawyer" (and I use that loosely) has any chance against a monster legal team from the corporate atmosphere. And frankly, I cant wait to see how many different ways I can kill the idiot.
I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but the article was in this months Gamepro... not game informer. I just reread it.
Jack,
How come you were not this upset at your likeness being used as the King of All Cosmos in Katamari Damacy?
I think Jack needs a change of direction. So, because all of R*'s in-game lawyers are Jack, I ask this of R*:
Make a JT character, who is a lawyer for a large firm. Make him successful. Make him well liked. Make him moral, sane, and thorough.


Killing is not done by thinking. If it was, we'd all be dead.
[...] Submitted by Matthew Bearup The latest story running on Gamepolitics.com has an entertaining twist. It was revealed in the September issue of Game Informer Magazine that the first mission of Grand Theft Auto IV’s morally grey hero (Niko) is to put a hit on a famous lawyer who opposes video game violence. So of course it’s no surprise that famed attorney Jack Thompson (who has a long history of persecuting Rockstar Games on the count of their violent games) has taken this as a jab at him. Mr. Thompson has demanded his likeness be removed from the game, as follows… The showcasing play of the game to Game Informer revealed that the first killing mission of the “hero” of the game, Niko, is to kill a certain lawyer. When Niko comes into this lawyer’s office, having used subterfuge to do so, Niko pulls a gun on the lawyer who says, “that the firm supports the second amendment and that ‘Guns don’t kill people. Video games do.’” [...]
@Paul:

I wonder whatever happened to my other post (was a doozy, reply post) but anyway... if it weren't for his previous lawsuits against the likes of 2 live crew, I'd almost be inclined to believe it, myself.
[...] All around douchebag Jack Thompson goes after GTA IV. Again. Published in video games, GTA, Jack Thompson, Rockstar Games and TakeTwo Interactive. original article [...]
Unlike Jack, I've seen the scene in question - the lawyer doesn't resemble Jack (unless Jack has suddenly become fat, dark-haired and bearded), he runs a high-class law firm (as opposed to being in private practice) and he's marked for death because he's got incriminating evidence on a corrupt cop and plans to expose him - something Jack could never, even in his wildest fantasies, achieve. The video game quote is just a nervous reaction when Niko pulls a gun on him, and it's the only reference to games that the guy makes.

Face it, Jack: You're just not as important to Take-Two as they are to you. Get that through your head before someone catches you in the act of boiling Strauss Zelnick's daughter's bunny while screaming "NOOO! He loves MEEEEE!"
What the hell was Jack doing reading an issue of Game Informer?
I pre-ordered GTAIV.
Now that I know this, I can't wait to finally get it next year.
Any game where we get to kill a "likeness" of a mentally ill lunatic like Jack Thompson...woo.
I mean, Grand Theft Auto is amazing already, but now it's just superbly amazing.

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 11/23/09 at 07:56am
DarkSaber: http://tinyurl.com/yl2vfw6 Here's the link, good for conspiracy theories.
Posted 11/23/09 at 07:42am
JDKJ: Leaders never follow. Followers never lead.
Posted 11/23/09 at 06:48am
DarkSaber: Anyone been following this Hadley Climatic Research Centre server hack story?
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:48pm
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:41pm
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Posted 11/22/09 at 08:44pm
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
Login or register to post shouts