For those who don\'t know who Jack Thompson is, he is an anti-gamer person. Things with him and Hillary Clinton got really fired up with the Hot Coffee with GTA San Andreas. Here is the interview link, and the interview itself for people too lazy to click on the link:

http://www.netjak.com/review.php/1091

\"Jack Thompson first contacted Netjak around New Year�s Day, when he wrote me personally to object to how I talked about his Modest Video Game Proposal in my 2005 Year In Review. In response, I wrote an open letter to Thompson, and sent him the link. He again complained about the coverage, and invited me to give him a call and interview him. On Monday, January 9th, I left a message for Thompson and he called me back later in the day. Over the course of the interview, he was unfailingly polite to me, sure of his cause, and proud of what�s he�s done so far.

32_Footsteps: To begin, you stated in your email to me that nobody has met the conditions of the Modest Video Game Proposal. Where, in your opinion, did people go wrong?

Jack Thompson: Well, first, I stated that the game had to come out in 2006. I specifically said 2006 because I wanted to see a real game made, not an amateur one. I wanted someone to spend the time to properly develop such a game, and then release it. So far, that has not been done.

I also explicitly stated that it must be a company producing the game. I mean, anyone in a garage can throw together something vaguely game-like easily. That�s not what I want; I want a real game that people can play. The point I was trying to make is that the video game industry would never target itself.

Also, Paul Eibeler, president of Take Two Interactive, has not chosen a charity. I was very specific; it needs to be the charity of his choosing.

32_Footsteps: What about the reports that the proposal was a joke and a satire?

Jack Thompson: I never said the offer was not a genuine one. It is a satire, as Jonathan Swift�s original A Modest Proposal is satire. However, it was a genuine offer embedded in a satire. If the game is made and if Paul Eibeler names his charity, I will donate the money.

See, this is where I think your piece was unfair, to imply that I would deny a donation to some starving kids in Africa or the like over a technicality. Not going too deep into my personal beliefs, but my wife and I believe in a Christian obligation to tithe, and we fulfill that obligation. I believe people are dying for these games, and I made the proposal to shine light on this.

32_Footsteps: Has any company contacted you in regards to the proposal?

Jack Thompson: None.

32_Footsteps: The people behind Penny Arcade donated $10,000 in your name to the ESA Foundation after the initial story. What is your reaction to that?

Jack Thompson: First, you can�t donate money to charity in someone�s name without their authorization. I quibble with the notion that they donated that money in my name because I never gave my authorization. Second, part of my proposal was that Paul Eibeler had to state his charity of choice. He never did that; they just assumed for him.

32_Footsteps: What actions do you believe the creators of Penny Arcade have taken against you?

Jack Thompson: Well, where to begin? They�ve incited many sophomoric pranks, some really disgusting ones. One notable time, they got people to leaflet the area in which I live.

32_Footsteps: You have proof that they were the ones who specifically leafleted your neighborhood?

Jack Thompson: No, and I likely will never be able to prove that they were behind it. However, the pamphlet had very specific phrasings used on their site, so I know it was done by someone at least quite familiar with their site.

That has hardly been their only action against me. They have initiated complaints with the Florida Bar Association. They�ve taken to trashing me on Wikipedia. They flooded out my inbox � as you know, I�m no longer using my original email address. They are hypocrites about the First Amendment: they complain that I�m interfering with their right to free speech, but they use terroristic tactics to deny me of mine. They don�t want to get into a debate with me because they will lose; their position is bankrupt.

32_Footsteps: Do you plan on taking any further action against Penny Arcade at this time?

Jack Thompson: Not at this time. I called federal law enforcement on them last time, in addition to the Seattle police department. Nothing came of that � they�re not even actually in Seattle. For now, I don�t plan on any further dealings with them.

32_Footsteps: To switch gears, you�ve recently become a shareholder in Take-Two Interactive. You�ve compared this elsewhere to similar actions you undertook with Time Warner in 1992. You�ve been familiar with such tactics for over ten years. Why did you decide to invest in Take-Two now as opposed to a couple years ago?

Jack Thompson: Back in 1992, I was involved in the battles over Ice-T�s �Cop Killer.� I invested in Time Warner then to convince them that releasing this song was a bad move on their part, and I succeeded. The strategy is to convince shareholders that their leadership is mismanaging their investment, and causing damage to the company. A couple years ago, when Take-Two�s stock was doing well, it would have been much more difficult to convince people of this. However, Take-Two�s stock has taken a serious hit over the past year. Now the damage is obvious, and the audience is more receptive.

32_Footsteps: What specific topics do you plan to bring up at the shareholder�s meeting?

Jack Thompson: I�m naturally going to bring up how Paul Eibeler�s activities have been criminal, and has put the company in danger of several class action lawsuits. The lawsuit in Alabama has the potential to completely take apart Take-Two. I�m also going to bring up Bully, which is a revenge fantasy and a murder simulator. The setting is Columbine. The setting is Paducah. I could go on for fifteen minutes on how many disasters have been brought about like this.

32_Footsteps: Considering that Bully hasn�t yet come out, do you think it�s fair to protest the game before its release?

Jack Thompson: Game Informer already has published screen shots of the game, and has done a brief write-up of what�s going to be in the game. Nobody can claim that they haven�t gone into the game�s content; it�s already out there. We don�t need to play the game; it�s irrelevant to the subject. It�s going in there, and children shouldn�t be playing it.

32_Footsteps: Have you made any plans to take similar action with other companies?

Jack Thompson: Not at this time. Back in the day, Eliot Ness didn�t go after the small-time criminals. Eliot Ness went after Al Capone. Actually, I must offer my apologies to Al Capone. He only targeted adults, corrupt adults with his crimes. Capone never went after minors.

32_Footsteps: How much have you seen of the Hot Coffee scene?

Jack Thompson: I saw a blurred oral sex scene. Beyond that, I don�t want to get into details. It�s irrelevant; we all know what�s in the scene, and kids shouldn�t be subjected to that.

32_Footsteps: You�ve certainly gained much attention in the media. How has the video game media treated you any differently than the mainstream media?

Jack Thompson: (Laughing) It�s been like night and day. The video game media has been belligerent and afraid of me. And I must say, I appreciate the compliment.

The problem is that they don�t listen to my message. Let the adult video games stay with the adults. We need to keep these games out of the hands of our kids. Take Two has been marketing these games to our kids, and they just let the retailers sell them to kids. They�re all wrapped up in this together; it�s like a conspiracy.

32_Footsteps: So you mean to say, if Take Two specifically refused to market towards kids, and instructed retailers to not sell games like Grand Theft Auto to minors, you would not object to the game?

Jack Thompson: Well, I�d still have issues with the game on moral grounds, of course. However, if they stopped their marketing towards kids and instructed retailers like that, I wouldn�t take any action against the company.

32_Footsteps: Do you find any value in any game or company?

Jack Thompson: Yes, there are plenty of wholesome, educational games out there. And there are good manufacturers out there. Video games are like any other technology � it�s neutral, capable of either good or evil. I don�t want to do away with video games. I just want to protect children from adult games.

32_Footsteps: To wrap up, any final message you�d like to get to video gamers?

Jack Thompson: Yes, put down the controller and get a life. Video gaming is an escapist activity and you�re being exploited by these companies. It�s not healthy; I worry about someone who would play Grand Theft Auto for ten hours a day. It�s a masturbatory activity, and it would be better if people put down the controller and went outside. \"

Here is what I think...
Put the damn suit up and get a F\'in life Jack Thompson. Your the one that keeps doing S*!t for no reason. No one came up to you and said \"Help me! I bought a M rated game for my 5 year old and he got HotCoffee\" (oh if you\'re a parent b!tch!ng about an M rated game and it has sex scenes in it then you should get a life, the game isn\'t ever going to go away).

Jesus, watching poor Jack trying to convience GTA gamers to stop playing GTA is like eating a crap load of razor blades and sh*tting them as salt.

THAT F*CKING ASSHOLE WE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES THAT WE WANT THE FIRST AMENDMENT IS FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION TAKE 2 AND ALL THOSE COMPANIES THAT MAKE GTA ARE EXCERCISING THAT RIGHT

Woah dude, please tap that little \"Caps Lock\" button on your keyboard. I feel you, but like, settle down lol.

yeah i just get like that when people try telling me what to do and try to pull me away from my video games and/or computer its even worse if somebody tries to stop my partys

if there would be a \"lunatic, the movie\" he would be the star player.

\'neogh said mkay

haha naa if there were a partyer the movie or a XTREME the movie about people jumping off of ladders and roof tops and things like that id be star

Actually we only have freedom of speech. If we had expression people would be killing others and getting off by saying that it was art and constituional. The freedom of expression does not exist and speech is only partial.

He needs to shoot himself, literally.
If he were to ever read this I have this to say to him. Videogame is not a dirty word. I don\'t know what your theory on this is but I honestly don\'t get your logic. If animation is so bad for people then why don\'t you attack cartoons. The content has already been warned so in all honesty the reasons people buy it are
A. they are older than 17 and like the idea (by then it isn\'t that big of a problem)
or
B. THe buyer is a good kid who\'s mom knows He/She won\'t snap once they play it (My case)
My whole point is if videogames are so bad then why don\'t people snap after playing super Monkey Ball. Simple because the game means no harm. I actually rented a game Need for Speed: Most Wanted it is based on illegal street racing, yet at the beginning they had a girl come out and deliver a short speech that says not to street race in real life or you might suffer persecution by the law. THe people are warned these ones who snap and go psycho aren\'t alot of us 1 in 1,000,000 perhaps. The people are warned and most that have these M-rated games that snap are people who tricked their parents into it. Besides the fact the Hot Coffe scandal had to be downloaded before it could be used nullifying the threat SEVERLY. Also most gamers do have a life and over 90% of us have jobs or arent old enough yet but will get one. Why rake us over the coals when we aren\'t breaking the law and we aren\'t trying to hurt people.

[Edited on 16-1-2006 by Black Dranzer.exe]

The other day I talked to a kid who was doing a report on violent video games and stuff, and this is what I said to him:

There was violence before video games. Video games aren\'t real. They don\'t come out and tell you to kill someone. No, they don\'t. You could argue about it all night, you\'ll get nowhere. When you play video games, you are getting the chance to play someone/something else\'s life. People who want to kill others after playing a rated M game obviously aren\'t, excuse me, shouldn\'t play video games. I mean, think about it. If you are going to want to kill people, you aren\'t in the place to play video games... get some help. People who play video games want to just have some fun, laugh, and live the life of another.

Ok, San Andeas... You see, until Hot Coffee, them politics didn\'t give a sh*t about it. Why should they? They have the rated M thing on it, that explains it all. It says on it \"Not suitable for kids\". Well, if your parents are lazy ass people who don\'t take care of their kids, thats their fault. Normal parents would take care of their kids and what they do.

After Hot Coffee, things got fired up. But, just think about it. Kids who are under 17 probably wouldn\'t even know how to get Hot Coffee without the codes there are now. Not everyone can go into the PC game to find things that weren\'t supposed to be put in the game. If it wasn\'t for that guy who found Hot Coffee, people still wouldn\'t care about San Andreas. Why should they? I know I would never have found out there was Hot Coffee before it was found out. I mean, do you expect a 12 year old to find Hot Coffee? No, they would be too lazy and quit before they even start. I could go on, but I got to go... Anyways, I hope you get a good grade on that paper.

I\'ve never really said anything on the matter, since I don\'t really play the kinds of games Jack Thompson seemed to be opposed to earlier. But come on, now he\'s calling all video games a waste of time? I\'ve drawn a lot of education from games over the years; most of my vocabulary and also most of my greatest ideas, even in my art, come from the games I play. Not that my art is anything spectacular, but you know, it\'s the greatest of my skills I can name off-hand. Besides the ability to draw Faust on anything, which is easy cheesy in the first place.:lol:

Yeah, Jack Thompson, er, not the best guy about video games.:P...

There are some games that are just stupid now though. Oh yeah, BULLY! This is the kind of game we want our kids playing! No negative themes to relate to our kids there or their particular age group! Absolutely no immitatable acts of disregard to the well-being of others!

For the record, I doubt Charles Manson ever played a game more violent than Pong.

Hey I use that for De-stress sessions. :rofl:
The truth is he is incredibly prejudiced but do you want to know why?
Because many gamers return his comments with hostility which enables him to label us as having violent personalities which is the total source of arguements. I fyou want to stop this problem don\'t return his comments with Flames.