Thompson & Son At It Again... Says Junior Bought Halo 3 at Target

I might be giving him too much credit in saying he's familiar with The Art of War. He might know a few of its lessons - like being careful not to confront someone's strength but rather probe for weaknesses, and emotionally upsetting one's opponent. His tactics look to be all offense, though - no defense, no balance to his approach. One of the key lessons of The Art of War is that war - when done properly - is an intellectual process more than a physical one. Battle is about bringing the right troops, with the right preparation and mindset, to the right place at the right time; if you do this then you have virtually guaranteed victory before battle even commences. JT shows a manic willingness to throw down (in court, that is) with anyone and hope that his legal skill will carry him through the day; he acts more like a warlord than a general.

hang about i thought jack had got halo 3 banned

how on earth did his son by it?

If Thompson is so worried about kids and violence why is he teaching his own to break the law? What's the point in trying to protect everyone's child when you willingly put your own up on the chopping block.

Sounds like poor parenting.

Attacking yet another sizable company and expecting to get money and attention from it..

Y'know, these little stings of his might get more attention if they mattered. Target doesn't threaten to fire their employees and the managers on duty if an employee sells an M-rated game to an under-aged customer like GameStop does. More importantly, all the ultra-retailers, like Wal-Mart, Target, and BestBuy are so huge that one little incident like that couldn't possibly harm them.

Besides, it's the retailers choice to enforce the ESRB ratings, not the government or the local courts. But, we all know this, even JT knows this. More importantly, JT should know that it's HIS responsibility to raise his child and filter the media he's exposed to.

[...] So Chuckles decided to rock out another “sting” operation. He previous sent his son in to a Best Buy to pick up a copy of BioShock. His son isn’t yet 18, which is what he’s trying prove. However, he’s going after 2K Games for the problem instead of Best Buy. 2K Games doesn’t control a retailer’s action. They brand the game as mature and it’s up to the retailers to enforce the sales. The new “sting” operation involves Halo 3. [...]

@Hackangel

"You know, I decided to “do” a “sting” of my own (I made phone calls). I called the nearest Best Buy and Futureshop and they both asks for Ids when selling M-rated games."

lie: a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth; a falsehood.

So you called the store and asked "Do you check IDs for M rated games?" Brilliant. Also, Clinton did not inhale, OJ was innocent, and The Sims contains full frontal nudity including labia and pubic hair.

If I worked at a game store and a stranger called and asked "Do you check for IDs?" I'd say yes instictively, whether or not it's actually true. Because if I didn't, and it was the regional manager on the other end, I'm fired.

That doesn't mean when a kid goes up to the counter with a copy of Halo 3 he is actually carded by the same employee.

I'm not sticking up for JT: I've watched kids at Best Buy slink away from the counter, disappointed that he couldn't buy Crackdown because he wasn't 17+. But don't be so gullible as to think that the gamer being paid slightly above minimum wage at Best Buy is above telling a little fib to ensure his job is safe.

@ Salen

Exactly what i thought.

Again, THIS IS NOT NEWS!

Stop giving this horrid man air time!

I'm a developer at Krome.

I currently have itchy balls because Krome doesn't pay us enough for me to afford beer and steak every night AND calamine lotion. It's one or the other for us!

That's game slash politic related... are you going to report that???

Or do I have to write you an email about it?

If Sun Tzu was here, he would yell at Jack Thompson for the latter's tactics in achieving his goals. Yeah, so the game retailer clerk sold an M rating copy to a minor. Big deal. Is that even partly victory already?

Besides, that was only the kid's side of story. We don't even know if Thomspon's kid pulled a tactic like showing a fake ID or something just to say he's 17. And granting w/o accepting for the sake of argument, how will this benefit Jack? In my point of view, this is like an empty threat to that PhotoShop "cease and desist" thing. Nothing will happen and Jack just wants to be noticed by the public.

Hey if Jack says he is the lord Jesus Christ does that make it true?

Good for Junior. Assuming that Papa lets him play it, he will probably love it.

Jack must have a pocketful of cash. BioShock, Halo 3? At $60 a pop, his poor kid BETTER be able to play them. Unless Jack likes to Hoarde them for himself...

I'm surprised Target had copies of Halo 3. Would have thought they would be sold out.

yes, because doing this at one store out of thousands of others, and it not being the only store to carry it, makes it successful. that is like going out to catch a lowly drug dealer (not arresting him by the way) just pointing him out and saying "see! I found one! war on drugs is over! HOOHA!"

nice job JT, you must be proud

Considering that the source is Thompson himself, I think Thompson's lying.

@ BearDogg-X

I agree with you. I also think that Jack Thompson is lying, just like he is lying about how he is going to shut down Best Buy. This new press release Jack Thompson is saying (about his son buying Halo 3), is more of his "Antigamer Propaganda".

Thompson fatigue? I make you money every time you do a story about me and you love it. Look at the number of posts on Thompson stories. That converts to hits at you site, which increases your ad revenue.

What a liar you are.

GP: As you know, there ARE NO ADS on GamePolitics... I make no money based on traffic.  We had plenty of traffic during the 18 months that you were banned.

And I'm a liar?

Hey, Jack! How many stores did you have to go to until you found the one where the poor underpaid clerk, having been inundated with Halo 3 purchases all day, managed to forget that one crucial step?

Why do you keep thinking this is a victory against the game industry? It was a Target employee, not a Bungie employee, that sold that game to your son, and human error does sometimes occur.

@ Jack

The very fact that you think yourself a "crusader" for good, and then you turn around and consistently use your own child in the twisted little games you like to play goes to show one thing - what a complete and utter amoral twit you are.

I also call into question "first try," as you, sir, are a well known liar, more than willing to twist facts to your own needs. We've said it before, and we'll say it again - come November, you're out. Oh sure, you'll cry foul and conspiracy and any other number of things.

But by that point you'll also have turned everyone who may have been a friend to your cause against you, spreading the half truths and turning things to suit your own purpose as you do. No one will back you anymore. Just think on that.

Tune in tomorrow when JT forces his son to go into the back room of a sleazy video rental store to rent "Shaving Private Ryan" so JT can send it to a supreme court justice.

Oh what a barrel of yuks this man is, contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Now whilst I don't disagree that he shouldn't be sold this game, we have to use the following process.

1. What evidence does Jack Thompson have, other than his word, which we know is less than accurate and truthful most of the time. Did he video it? A receipt on its own doesn't count.

2. Did Jack stand with him as he purchased the game, or was he in a different location? Standing with him as he makes the purchase is essentially agreeing to the transaction.

3. Did he use the "Lil Jackie Visa" or did he use cash? Where did a 15 year old get the cash from to be able to purchase this game?

4. Why is this game rated mature in the first place? It is rated 15 in the UK. Maybe we're just far too liberal for Jackie's liking.

5. Were the $20 bills real money, or did he replace Andrew Jackson with a picture of a gay-orgy?

And the big question

Why haven't these stores in Florida got a photo of Jack and Jackie Jr with "DO NOT SERVE THESE PEOPLE" behind the counter? I certainly wouldn't serve anyone with that wild stare and obvious instabilities. He might cut himself on the edge of the CD as he tries to taste it.

Come on Jack, you should know words alone aren't enough, you need some evidence. Video proof. You word against Target and the minimum wage employee is just not enough.

But, at least Jack is taking on the right people, the retailers and not the games themselves, regardless of the legality of the enforcement of age ratings.

Whenever I hear these stories I'm inclined to believe that JT's mostly telling the truth - JT Jr. was successfully able to buy an M-rated game. What I usually question is how many times it took him to succeed. If he went to ten Targets and got carded at all of them before getting lucky on try #11, we'd never hear about tries #1-10.

Once again a 15 year old has purchased a M rated game with his parents permission. I still can't find the scandal in that fact.