Jack Thompson: Sony committing "Pearl Harbor 2"
by Ross Miller 
{ Nov 2nd 2005 at 4:45PM }
We know that many of you feel we should let the Jack Thompson thing
go—that we are doing exactly what he wants by posting all these stories. Well, some of what he says and does is so
crazy that we feel morally obligated to inform you about the newsworthy goings-on of our iconic anti-game activist. In
his latest press release, announcing his involvement in the "GTA cop killer" trial taking place in Alabama, Thompson
has possibly outdone himself in offensive language.
In his own words:
Oh, and certain regional governments in Japan have banned the sale of the Grand Theft Auto games to minors, but Japan’s Sony has no problem whatsoever dumping this garbage into American kids’ brains. Looks like Pearl Harbor 2 by Sony/Take-Two…
Yes, on the eve of the GTA cop killer trial in Alabama, Jack Thompson has accused Sony of committing a Pearl Harbor
on America. He even confirmed and reiterated
his highly offensive comment to GamePolitics: “The Japanese have for a very long time dumped pornography [violent video
games] into this country in a fashion they would not tolerate in their own country. It is another version of Pearl
Harbor.”
Jack Thompson also wrote a
letter to Japanese
ambassador Ryoto Kato, calling for the “hypocrisy” of the Japanese government to be remedied. Please keep your comments
clean and on-topic.
[Thanks, Ken C.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
drunkymonkey @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
The guy is a nut job. Plain and simple.
Grudge @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Your last line is the most important of the whole entry. I've seen far too many well-meaning fans degrade into a mess of vulgarity and personal attacks. It's really hard to support your side when all you say is "JT is a big poopyhead!".
Articulate, people. Show anyone thinking of agreeing with Mr. Thompson that you have more brains and tact than he gives you credit for. Speak your mind, state your case, but do it the right way. Let's hope your commenters follow your suggestion, Joystiq.
CapAmerica @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
How is Japan at fault? They don't make the games that he is going after, They just make the console. It's like blaming Sony for a kid building a pipebomb because they built the DVD player that they watched a 'How To build a pipe bomb' video on. The idiot should be going after the GAME DEVELOPER (not to say he should) not the console maker. God I just Hate this guy so much. It just shows he doesn't have a clue what he's talking about. This should turn out to be a easy win for the other side.
DJ @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Reminds me of the South Park episode: Chinpoke'mon.
SickNic @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Maybe we should let the japanese bomb JT....j/k
But seriously, everything he says seems to be controversal and just plain wrong. He says this stuff just to get attention. I don't know if he believes he is in the right or not, and frankly I don't care.
A bunch of professional people, whom partake and enjoy videogames, have come together to form Gamer's Voice.org. Doctors, pilots, soldiers, software developers...etc have joined this group to defend the name videogamer. (this was started to debunk Jack Thompson's claims that all videogamers are on drugs and retarded). If you feel you can contribute, then sign up! Click on my site's link up above. It's very early in developement, so only forums are up (This is NOT my site)
Videogamer's need a voice of reason, because the 15 year olds that are giving JT death threats are not making things better...
John W @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Jack Thompson may not approach things the right way, but he's got some good points. Let's face it, game studios are beginning to use *shock value* instead of *quality* to sell games. The more outrageous the game premise, the more likely Joystiq and others are to write about it, and to compliment it. Games like GTA, Condemned, Postal, etc., are trash, and shouldn't be made available to minors. I agree with Jack Thompson on that. He'd be taken more seriously if he'd stick to an objective discussion, instead of comparing things to "Pearl Harbor". We all just need to see the forest through the trees.
jc @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Why even bother giving this guy the time of day? We all know he just wants media attention... so don't give it to him.
Shame Ross, for going in for the easy-cheesy story. Like enough already. Let Jack crawl back under his rock without poking him with sticks.
Chiablo @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Jack Thompson is DA BOMB! I sure hope he doesn't go nuclear on Japan because of this.
Thank you, thank you... I'll be here all night.
jack thompsons brain @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
"oh jeeezzz, i shouldnt of said that, oh well just sprinkle some crack on em and lets go"
Grudge @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
John W - You're mixing points. If you think the games are trash, fair enough. That has nothing to do wih minorsgetting their hands on them. That's not the fault of the developers, that's the fault of retailers and parents.
elbaso @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I disagree about letting the Jack Thomson thing go. While he is as crooked a lawyer as they come and probably thrives on publicity, I still think we need to call attention to his lunacy at every opportunity.
If we start ignoring him, and he continues to try to get on to 60 Minutes or any other television show, I worry that public opinion may start to hear his (crazy) side without hearing our (sensible) rebuttals.
Sense @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
#6
I agree with you, mostly. The only game on your list I take exception to is Condemned. I don't think this game is trash. Gruesome yes, but not trash. Think of it as an interactive version of the (Oscar nominated) film Se7en. Condemned isn't violence for violence's sake. It's a thriller/mystery. But I do think Rockstar gets a kick out of shock value. Just wanted to add my 2 cents.
And Jack Thompson is a yo-yo.
KirbyMeister @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Jack Thompson is zenophobic/japanophobic, now? We need to piss him off as much as possible so that he keeps talking to gamers instead of parents with his extremist moral crusade 'KILL THE JAPS!!!1111 ANIM3 SUXORz!!! lol!!11' crud thingy.
Olorin @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
The problem with this statement is that Mr. Thompson acts as if this is a deliberate ploy against americans by the japanese government. IF that were so, then why are you the only person that believes this Mr. Thompson? Or why hasn't the U.S. government officially stepped in, saying that it won't tolerate "these atrocious actions against are state"?
You relate the production of videogames by a country that makes a large amount of revenue off the sale of technological equipment to an attempt by the japanese during Wolrd War 2 to draw us into a war because WE were cutting off oil and gas supplies to their country. Please realize that what you have mentioned is simply wrong, and is insulting to both the japanese nation, and any person present at the Pearl Harbor base on that day.. Please, think before you speak.
Bananatree @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Pearl Harbor 2?
Sony isn't flying copies of Grand Theft Auto into people's houses. Irresponsible parents are.
Bananatree @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Pearl Harbor 2?
Sony isn't flying copies of Grand Theft Auto into people's houses. Irresponsible parents are.
Todd @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I know what JT is doing. I've seen it used in the company I work for many times by supervisors and managers. It's a slippery tactic that works for those that don't have much of a conscious. First you have to act like you’re concerned for something, particularly the greater good. Then you get angry and yell about how this greater good isn't being met because of "X" (can be anything, but usually its stupidity, or lack of something). Then blame somebody, anybody, a group, or a company. Then top it off with a statement that is meant to rattle some cages. Then say you don't have time to elaborate. When asked questions just repeat your self and get mad again. It's a simple tactic that gets results without requiring any knowledge of what you’re talking about. This man is a faker and everyone can see it.
Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
GTA is also on Microsoft's Xbox.
Johan @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I may be wrong on this, but doesn't SONY's US branch approve or deny US releases, not the Japanese branch? And isn't that US branch staffed by US citizens, to help ensure games that "make sense" or that are otherwise deemed "acceptable" by the general US public are approved for US distribution?
If this is indeed the case, Jack Thompson has just accused US citizens of an act of treason against the US, by framing a US release of GTA as a modern-day Pearl Harbor. JT better have impeccable evidence to back up this very serious charge, or issue an apology.
Nin10dude @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Pearl Harbor 2? What is Jack smoking?
He could make millions off of it.
bjlsurfer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Apparently Mr. Thompson has now switch from a war on video games to a war on videogames and other cultures. Personally, I think no person should be able to take swipes like that at other cultures and still be able to be called a lawyer. I'm just glad the man isn't a dictator- we would live in a world of devout white christians who have no right to be entertained. In fact, why don't we just ship all the minors off to Siberia so they won't see something offensive?
Edward @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
It's unfortunate, but it looks like JT is trying to leverage nationalistic values in the pending lawsuit. I haven't checked, but I would bet money that Sony is named as a defendant in the case he is trying. This is probably an effort to influence the possible jurors on the case, and may work if the people in the area where the jury is drawn from are already xenophobic/japanophobic. I hope that this isn't the case and the jury gets proper information regarding these issues.
Fuzz @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
The Japanese Ambasodor??? Are you serious?? Time to be afraid .. because I'm sure he isn't quite aware as the rest of us how big of a nutjob ol' Jackie is. He might be actually taken seriously . .for the first few minutes, anyway. wow.
J (The other one) @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Well I got to admit, I love me some anime and if I was a cartoon I'd put a hurting on some Anime-Booty Cheeks. I'd have the Sailor scouts and a couple other of Anime's finest sluts ready for a freak fest in a heart beat. I am so glad they "crammed this down my throat" LOL!!!!
wildweasel @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I can't help but agree with #11.
And another good point from #16 - plus the GTA games have also appeared on the PC. PC's are, primarily, an American invention - Microsoft designs the OS, Intel produces the CPU, and other US companies handle the production of their respective components - and voila, 100% Made In USA computer system. Capable of running a native port of GTA. Every bit as violent as the PS2 version.
#20, I wouldn't be surprised if the ambassador merely brushes him off - because if he doesn't know who Jack Thompson is, or even if he does, he's probably not going to take him too seriously if he reiterates his "Pearl Harbor 2" commentary. Not only is that just asinine, but it's also a disrespect to Japan as a whole.
Shannon @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
#6, John W.
Plenty of Quality games come out. They just don't sell, so if a company is going to release a Psychonauts, or a GTA, they are going to go with a GTA, because it's going to earn them a profit. While games like Pyschonauts, and Beyond Good and Evil, continue to fail in the profit department.
Tim @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
And those two planeloads of flowers Japan sent over for Rosa Parks' funeral, that was JapS.A.R.S. Attack 4!
I am Striker @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
"Oh, and certain regional governments in Japan have banned the sale of the Grand Theft Auto games to minors, but Japan’s Sony has no problem whatsoever dumping this garbage into American kids’ brains. Looks like Pearl Harbor 2 by Sony/Take-Two…"
Umm..Sony dont control the distrabution of games, a govermental board controls cencorship. Sony dont have a moral responsibility the parents and also goverment do, when they allow their kids to play mature-rated games, saying otherwise is irresponsible. Take-two is american and is not affiliated with sony, they are seperate companies.
Bobafet @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
If GTA was a developed by a Japanese developer, released only in the US, only available on Sony's console, his comments would STILL be out of line and offensive.
It's not like GTA isn't avaialble for the Windows or Xbox, only system its not available in Nintendo (a Japanese company).
Instead of commending the Japanese for banning the game (albeit only in certain regions) he instead makes racist comments, really bizzare. Further evidence that Jack Thompson a clown, honestly the game industry couldn't ask for a better anti-game spokesperson.
Miguel Camarena @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Is this guy for real? What the #%*# is wrong with him?
Andrew @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Mmm, well.
Even if you do agree with Mr.Thompson on this subject (which anyone has the right to, even though I myself do not) you must admit that he could have used a bit of a less offensive statement or comparison. Comparing what Sony is doing to Pearl Harbour is extremely offensive. I think we all know that he is capable of more then that, and not only were those comments an offense to Sony, but they were insulting to his own intelligence.
Please grow up Mr.Thompson.
charles George @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
If anything, the games industry is highly insulated from shock value. I have never seen game sell, or be rated highly, purely on shock value alone, and there have been few attempts recently. Maybe State of Emergency, Manhunt, BMX XXX, Postal 2 and the man game. Manhunt might be the only game there that did even remotely well, not coincidently it is probably the best of the bunch.
GTA isn't marketed on shock, GTA is marketed on freedom. Condemned isn't mareketed on shock, condemned is marketed on atmosphere and melee combat.
JimyD @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Jacko "The Wacko" Thompson needs to find a new ambulance to chase.
Nick Slabaugh @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I don't have many clean comments on this topic, but I'll try.
Extremists like Jack Thompson are tools used by a political faction to further their goals by making their moderate measures seem comparitively sane. Examples of such "lesser of two evils" behavior can be found with Hillary Clinton, Jesse Jackson, and Rush Limbaugh.
It is a questionable tactic, to be certain, but one that is regularly employed by any number of interest groups. In many cases, the extremists themselves are unaware of their being duped.
The solution is not to get angry; rather, the solution is to recognize Jack Thompson and his ilk for what they are and fight back with logic and the law instead of vitriol and indignation.
Wow, Jack's an iditot... @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Dumping "porn" on us that they don't want?
Last time I check, my local video store didn't have bestiality porn on the shelf next to regular videos. Jack may want to go do a fact finding mission in Tokyo to see what exactly Japan's consumers are fed in terms of "pornography" both violent and obscene. Jack'll think he lives in a conservatory afterwards.
Japan has some of the most hideously weird crap over there. Both video games and DVD's. Hell, look at the Joystiq post for PSP's that sold you panties.
And I never had a problem spotting copies of GTA when I was in Japan. It was on the shelf along lots of other ultra violent games.
kb8618 @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
man this guy is crazy, y is he accusing sony, they didn't make the game, GTA is on xbox and PC aswell but all i ever see him doin is accusing sony.
Fuzz @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I say give him as much attention as possible. Get him all rielled up. We know he's a maniac, so if he get's realy cheesed off, he's bound to blow a gasket, and the ensuing maddness will be far more entertaining than any video game! Watch him go completly nuts, I say.
Alejandro Quan-Madrid @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Have you ever heard something so racist you don't even know how to respond to it? Like it was something out of a movie. You don't even get angry about it. you just look at it and say, "damn, that was racist."
BlackYoshi @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Coming from the same guy that says the Qu'ran tells you to kill non-Muslims, I'm not really shocked by a comment as idiotic as this one.
Jago @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
"Have you ever heard something so racist you don't even know how to respond to it? Like it was something out of a movie. You don't even get angry about it. you just look at it and say, "damn, that was racist.""
HA HA!!! Dave Chapelle said the same thing in one of his recent stand-up special.
Me <3 Dave Chapelle
Chinagoldfarmer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I believe there's a Ctrl+Alt+Del comic that depicts a person ripping their face off in consternation. That illustrates my feelings on pretty much everything Jack Thompson says. It's hard to feel anything for his low-key attitude he employs every other week, when it's simply to sucker-punch us with amazing rhetoric like this.
Halo Spammer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Jack Thompson should be ignored forever...
Rob @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
"Your last line is the most important of the whole entry. I've seen far too many well-meaning fans degrade into a mess of vulgarity and personal attacks. It's really hard to support your side when all you say is "JT is a big poopyhead!".
Articulate, people. Show anyone thinking of agreeing with Mr. Thompson that you have more brains and tact than he gives you credit for. Speak your mind, state your case, but do it the right way. Let's hope your commenters follow your suggestion, Joystiq."
We do have more brains and tact than he gives us credit for, but that's the problem with fanatics: they don't listen to anyone, even the well rounded arguements.
Articulate? How about Jack Thompson is the Joseph McCarthy of the 21st century? How about Jack Thompson is a sycophantic cretin who has an extremely bad habit of skewing reality? He says all these influential people back him, but it's only a sliver of what he makes it out to be. How about Jack Thompson is a racist, pretentious, puerile symbiote that feeds off of the sludge left in the wake of people who refuse to take responsibility for their actions? How about Jack Thompson puts gum in the Freedom of Speech's hair? How about if Jack Thompson is looking to ban violent material, why doesn't he take a look at the Bible? He calls himself a warrior of "His" righteousness, yet people who have died in the name of religion absolutely trumps the amount of people that who blame death of video games.
All of this has been said before, several thousand times. The man still responds with some immature comment, so why bother? Putting out elaborate, colloquially flowered arguments haven't work so most people drop the semantics and call it like it is: the guy IS a poopyhead.
It's pretty obvious that gamers aren't the brainless zombies that he makes us out to be, but he doesn't see that, and he doesn't want to.
I'd rather the man drown in the rancor of others at this point and personally I'd rather dissociate myself from people who buy into the cause of a man who hyberbolizes to the extent mentioned in this article. I'd rather dissociate myself from people who buy into the cause of a man just because he shows up on CNN in a suit and articulates.
So, in closing, sometimes you have to call it like it is: Jack Thompson and his whole cretinous lot are, in fact, big poopyheads.
ZeroCorpse @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
1. Rockstar isn't a Japanese company, as far as I know.
2. Jack Thompson is an A-1 Nutboy.
3. Japan bans violence, but allows bizzare sex. Show Jack the arcade games where you use a finger pointer and the object is to jame the finger in a big plastic butt. I'm sure he'd have a heart attack if he saw some of the games the Japanese youth are playing.
4. Japan also bans guns, by the way. Tell Jack that the problem isn't kids becoming crazy from playing video games, but crazy kids playing video games in a country where having lots of guns is treated like a sacred thing. If the kids didn't have access to guns, they wouldn't be shooting people. Of course, if the kids had parents who took control of what their kids watch and play, we wouldn't need to talk about this at all.
5. I can only hope Japan sends ninjas to kick Jack Thompson's butt after he spews such xenophobic B.S. and stands by it. He is a jackass of the highest order.
dsppd @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Because Jack Thompson means serious business. I don't give a damn about this guy anymore. Let him be as stupid as he wants to be. When he's on his deathbed, he'll realize how stupid he acted. And if he doesn't realize it, then he's truly lost.
Nizam Rahman @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I say fight fire with fire. Let's get another wacko from the games industry to have a debate with Jack Thompson. Dave Perry and John Romero comes to mind...
But seriously, we need a figure that can stand up to this nut. That's why people like Penny Arcade needs our continued support. We can sign petitions all we want, that's not going to even register in Thompson's sense deprived mind.
But come on... And industry that generates billions and billions of dollars annually can afford to hire some ninjas to 'take care' of him, if you know what I mean...
But you know, big videogames industry players can afford to get a lobbyist in capital hill. It is afterall a multibillion dollar industry.
epobirs @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Thompson demonstrates a wildly irrational argument here. How are the acts of those regional Japanese governments any different from what has happened in the US, notably in California. Sony is not a part of the government in either nation. All this means is that a product produced to run on Sony's platform has encountered restrictions in its availability to minors in both the US and Japan. You could say the same about any number of other media properties, such as explicit movies.
None of that even remotely adds up to a military action by one nation against another or even so much as conspiratorial behavior. To imply it does is deeply insulting to both nations and Sony.
Note also that he claims Japan is selling explicit products in the US that they don't offer to their native market. The exact opposite is true. Japan casually offers itself material that is unknown to most Americans outside anime fandom and that most US retailers wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole due to the extremity of the content. Yet the per capita violent crime rate in Japan remains much lower than the declining rate in the US.
Now that Johnny Cochran is dead, it appears Thompson is the leading purveyor of the 'Chewbacca Defense,' where an argument is made that is so completely irrational and irrelevant that uninformed listeners experience cognitive dissonance and are suckered into accepting the arguer's conclusion.
Alternatively, Thompson is suffering from a severe form of neural degeneration that is robbing him of his faculties. It's very hard to believe anyone making such bizarre claims and arguments could have been given a degree by any serous law school.
In either case the likes of Thompson must be confronted and exposed. It is unacceptable that his ravings, whether contrived or driven by madness, be allowed to influence public policy.
The 13th Duke of Wybourne @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
GTA has nothing to do with SCEJ. Nothing at all. Once again he shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the industry in general, and in this case total ignorance of the inner workings of Sony Computer Entertainment.
What a numpty.
London Web Designer @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
Take Two (a US company) is responsible for GTA, not Sony. And Jack seems to have very convieniently forgotten that GTA is also published for Microsoft's Xbox (another US company).
Not sure how many of you heard his interview on the Chatterbox Videogame Radio Show http://www.chatterboxgameshow.com but Mr Thompson but he had some very interesting racist remarks about the scottish team at Rockstar North... something about them sitting around wearing kilts and drinking whisky all day.
The man is clearly just a racist bigot - a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
I am Striker @ Dec 18th 2005 10:09PM
I didnt hate him before with his meaningless crap now I officially hate him. Now he's turning so low for attention, he's starting his racist speech. We could ignore him, but he's gonna go on forever and some people may support him for illogical, blame "someone else idea for thing i dont like or my problems" ideals. Honestly someone should give him live-debate, I'm tired of this shit its totally getting outta hand. And Penny Arcade is criminal enterprise cause they argued with him. This guy insults 12 year old kids who email him and claims to help them. And when someone out smarts him he claims to be "harassed". Video Games dont kill, Jack Thompson does!