Jack Thompson responds to Rocca as we Zen on Take Two

by Alexander Sliwinski { Apr 22nd 2007 at 2:30PM }

After the break we have a video of Jack Thompson responding to IGDA Director Jason Della Rocca's quote about him being a "massacre chaser." Particularly choice moments are when Thompson calls Della Rocca an "idiot" and "jackass" on national television. The anchor concludes the piece, "Clearly on a campaign, we appreciate your sharing, attorney Jack Thompson."

Something worth thinking about as this Thompson "jacklash" continues, we sorta passed over a major event this week: Thompson can't mess with Take Two anymore. This was part of a settlement reached between Take Two and Thompson following a string of lawsuits going back to the Bully case. GamePolitics has the terms of the settlement in a handy PDF download. The big question is if Thompson can't go after Take Two's GTA IV or Manhunt 2, the VT Massacre angle isn't quite going his way, then what is there left to go after? Any violent game Thompson could decide to take on would probably pale in comparison to the carnage in either GTA IV or Manhunt, which he legally can't attack anymore.

So, take a deep cleansing breath and ponder: Without the ability to go after Take Two anymore -- what can Thompson do?

Tags: controversy, jack thompson, JackThompson, jason della rocca, violent video games, zen

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Mr Khan @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:39PM

No More Heroes is the obvious choice, but not nearly mainstream enough to garner the attention

What other game depicts the killing of realistic people in a realistic setting?

Chris Putnam @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:45PM

Looks like the same old crap. At least that last video had merit for how the anchor didn't let Jack get away with some of his usual bullshit.

Mike @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:46PM

Violent videogames dont cause violence. Millions upon millions of violent videogames have been sold yet violence has not dramatically increased; violence has been high throughout history and it is possibly lower today considering how many more people are in the population.

SuperSneaky @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:48PM

Question: Without the ability to go after Take Two anymore -- what can
Thompson do ?

Answer: Go fuck himself.

ncxcstud @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:49PM

Anyone else notice that Thompson didn't have the same 'fire and determination' that he used to until he was confronted about a story that insulted him?

Raynre @ Apr 22nd 2007 2:57PM

I eat shrooms in my basement and jump down the toilet to go jump on turtles.

Super Mario made me do it...

Jake11 @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:13PM

awesome picture

Ben @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:19PM

Wow. He just compared video games to terrorism. He has no clue what he is saying anymore. He's pathetic.

robothouse @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:19PM

Talk about a fuckin ego trip.

"I'm trying to save lives!"

Bill nye @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:19PM

Las Vegas should start taking wagers on how long it will take for Jack Tompson to go postal.

Michael Kingston @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:21PM

He's obviously the obsessive one. Most of us can go a day without thinking a videogames. JT is like a dog with a bone with this subject. He seems to think he's come kind of superhero out on a crusade against what he thinks is evil. He has obviously been too influenced by American movies hat depict America saving the world for a so called "greater good".

orAngeMicro @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:21PM

Old Jack hasn't been getting this much airtime since the early 90's. What the hell is going with the media. Are they really starving this badly? They're just willing to put old Jack 13 times a week.

Bradley G. @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:24PM

This IDIOT is pretty stupid.

Ikitsumatatsu @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:27PM

Did anyone else feel bilious when JT asserted (around minutes in) that "killing people [is] what the military is supposed to do"?

Ikitsumatatsu @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:28PM

Ugh, read the bit in parentheses as "around two minutes in". No idea why I missed that out.

Twist @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:28PM

This guy is such a broken record. He gets on these shows and says the same things over and over even after it has been proven that he is just making shit up. They found no video games in the VT shooters dorm room.

If anyone was to jump on national TV and call JT a jackass or an idiot he would be filling a slander lawsuit against them so fast that their heads would spin. Jason Della Rocca should at least threaten to do the same.

Also JT needs a history lesson. He was alive when it happened and I wasn't so how come I know about Charles Whitman and he doesn't? That was almost as bad as the shooting in Germany that he likes to mention so frequently and it happened many years before video games were invented. And the 1986 Postal Working shooting in Edmond, Oklahoma was almost tied with Whitman in deaths. There are crazy people in this world who do crazy thing and they don't need violent media or games to push them over the edge.

Twist @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:31PM

Ah crud my links got stripped out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Going_postal

Trace @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:31PM

Is Counter-Strike violent? Sure.
Should certain people not play it? Definitley.
Do video-games make people violent? Not at all.

I play Counter-Strike (Source) a fair bit. I probably play a lot more than Cho did. I wonder how Jack Thompson would respond to the fact that even the thought of holding a real gun makes me utterly terrified? Not to mention even firing it into the air, or at a target...

Surely playing Counter-Strike has made me a cool and efficient killer... no?

Trace @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:35PM

Actually, I would love to debate the issue with him, on national television. It would be fun to watch Thompson try to grasp at straws for how to counter my arguments.

Granite @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:41PM

I don't think that interviewer was very hard on him. And I think her comments about him being on a campaign weren't negative. He was speaking very passionately towards the end of the broadcast, and he words seem to reinforce that. He is clearly on a campaign, yes. A campaign - in his eyes - to stop violence.

This was a fairly level-headed interview. There were no hard-hitting questions asked. And she did not even reprimand or chastise him for using curse words on a news broadcast.

My favourite interview with Jack following all of this was when he was on Hardball with Chris Matthews, and Chris was luck "Sorry Jack. But I'm not buying what you're selling." (paraphrased).

That was a good interview. This is more of the same. Jack talks. The talking head interviewers smile and nod. Ratings go up as parents tune in to see what their kids "are capable of" because they bought them Half-Life for Christmas.

Shmil @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:43PM

manbearpig is real i keep telling everyone and i'm being super serial but no one is taking me serial! its not fair i go through all this trouble to warn people about manbearpig but no one believes me!

E.J. @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:45PM

I love how he says and thinks that Rocca and others like him are "paid to go after [him]".

Truly delusional.

Judd @ Apr 22nd 2007 3:49PM

There are so many mistakes the come out of his mouth and no one seems to catch it. He said that before Monday the worst school shooting in world history was in Germany. Nope. While the news has been saying the worst school shooting in U.S. history, those words have been carefully chosen. The worst attack on a school in U.S. history was the Bath School disaster in which 45 people were killed by explosives. That was in 1927. You gonna blame that on videogames Jackie-boy? But the worst shooting that I can think was only a few years ago, where over 10 times as many people were killed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis

is @ Apr 22nd 2007 4:14PM

My worry is that his next target will be the wii. Watch out EA, your superb use of motion in Godfather may may make you a prime target for Jacks insane rampage.

Hes gonna be pissed when he sees what Manhunt 2 will be like on the wii, but not be allowed to go after it.

GoonieGooGoo @ Apr 22nd 2007 4:49PM

Next on Thompson's hitlist.....PUPPIES!!!

Nintendogs induces children to poke puppies with sticks ala the DS Stylus

NeoteriX @ Apr 22nd 2007 5:05PM

Is this Counter-Strike thing even true? I thought the facts came out that he didn't even play video games.

Rubang B @ Apr 22nd 2007 5:49PM

So the question is: which game is Wacko Jacko going to bathe in free publicity next? I hope it's No More Heroes; more people should know about that game.

potatojones_83 @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:05PM

"Not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer, but noone would deny the link between the two."

So smoking and video games are the same....HOW?!?!?

That's like comparing a zesty chicken dish to Shakespeare's play "Twelfth Night". It just doesn't add up. Try again, dude.

mike @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:17PM

So this guy 'trained' on counter strike wow that virtual gun really helped him..... the reality is he bought a 'REAL' gun probably trained at a shooting range and did not learn that from counterstrike

mr mobius @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:23PM

He'll try and make shit hit the fan next for metroid prime 3 or halo 3.

I'd honestly love to see him try and take Nintendo to court for Zelda or Metroid. If games make people violent, how come no1 has went on a killing spree in Japan with a samurai sword and blamed Zelda or Prince of Persia etc?

Video games if anything are an outlet, and there are so many killings and gun crimes committed each week by people who have never played a game past pong, yet they don't hit headlines because less people were killed. The fact is it is easier to kill the 2nd and 3rd people than it is the 1st.

I can understand Thompson wanting there to be less killings, but he is going the wrong route. Video games are not the sole cause. I just searched youtube for a thompson video and 1st to come up was an interview with him, a person from x-play, and a person from gamedaily.com being interviewed, and the other two brought up how there are far more appalling things said on tv, in rap, and in films, than in games.

Darren J @ Apr 22nd 2007 9:01PM

"Thompson can't mess with Take Two anymore. This was part of a settlement reached between Take Two and Thompson..."

Direct quote from the settlement agreement:
"Nothing in this paragraph shall be contrued to limit in any way Thompson's right to criticize the content or distribution of any such game. Further, nothing in this paragraph shall be constued to prevent Thompson from acting as counsel for third-party plaintiffs in actions in which such plaintiffs allege individual harm."

I'm not a legal expert, but that's pretty obvious that he can still mouth off all he wants, but he just can't sue them anymore. I hate Jack Thompson, but read your own links Joystiq.

mr mobius @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:34PM

One last point - if gaming made people want to commit acts of violence on other people in real life, surely Jack Thompson would either not be alive by now, or would have had attempts made to take his life.

James @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:34PM

Hear that?

That's the sound of JT apologizing for calling Rocca "idiot" and "jackass" after it turned out he was right and the killer didn't have any video games.

WHY DOES THIS GUY NOT HAVE CANCER YET???

samfish @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:37PM

Damn...I was hoping he'd give Manhunt 2 some publicity. It'd have done wonders for the Wii's sales.
Oh well. No More Heros probably deserves it more anyways...but it's art direction is probably too out there for JT.

Lord Chako @ Apr 22nd 2007 6:40PM

It is same as Shirly Felps Roper (who is also a attorney, go figure). She (her father and family) blame homosexuals for EVERYTHING wrong in the world. According to her, September 11th happened because god is punishing america for its acceptance of homosexuality. The tsunami that killed all those kids in indonesia a few years ago, homosexuality. Every soldier that dies in iraq is a result of god punishing america for homosexuality.

She came and talked at my college (class on diversity), and everytime someone counter pointed her, she would ramble off on some "scripture" that she could twist to her advantage. Of course she had her daughter there in the class with a labtop (even though we had computers in the class) looking up bible quotes that she could spout off on. It is the exact same schtick as Jack. Just instead of violent games, it's homosexuality.

Jack Thompson, Shirly Roper (Westboro baptist church) are just as delusional as Cho.
I think it is when people stop listening and they stop getting airtime, is when we should really be scared.
These kind of people don't just fade away, they eventually lose it.

POOLSCLOSED @ Apr 23rd 2007 4:41PM

The Hsu-Moore interview was a lot more entertaining.

Luke Stapley @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:30PM

What can he do now that he can't mess with Take-Two and has a media backlash?

Keep writing unconstitutional laws that fail and make taxpayers pay for the cost.

Noxat @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:36PM

Most definitely there are certain psychopaths out there who should not be playing violent video games. They also shouldn't be watching violently suggestive TV or listening to violently suggestive music. The question is, HOW can you determine who these people are? Simply suppress everyone's freedom? And what happens when such measures of suppression themselves begin to cause violence? Blame withdrawal effects from all the violent media? Blame fast food?

School shootings like this are simply a symptom of a much larger disease upon society. To try and peg all the blame on violent video games is to miss the forest for the trees.

sheppy @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:49PM

"Next on Thompson's hitlist.....PUPPIES!!!

Nintendogs induces children to poke puppies with sticks ala the DS Stylus"

Considering the man called The Sims 2 a pedophile trainer, this wouldn't be tooo far off.

WhatIsThatThing @ Apr 22nd 2007 7:51PM

People actually watched the DOOM movie?

Grant @ Apr 22nd 2007 8:41PM

Here's something pretty amazing. I love video games, i love first person shooters, i love light gun games, and i have played them for the last 10-13 years.
Yet when i used a handgun the first time, i was no more accurate than my sister(who is an officer) the first time she went shooting, and she never played video games outside of bubble bobble and tetris.

Simply put, do i know about tactical assualt situations from FPSs and a fair amount about guns just from video games? Sure, but i could know a whole lot more just from a few books about firearms and military tactics. Or even the internet.

To say video games trains people to do these things, it's like saying your buying a new house because you spilled something on the carpet, it gets the job done, but it's not the easiest, smartest, or most efficient. Just because these people are obviously mentally disturbed, doesn't mean they are stupid, they wouldn't use something inefficient or ineffective for the biggest event of their lives.

Also, saying the military uses simialr things to train is completely wrong, because they use them for interactive situational training, the same thing could be learned from books, and learning the proper tactics per situation, none of which would apply to any school shooting.

To blame video games for these things is to take the blame off the individual and say that they are not CONCIOUSLY planning to kill people, and that they can not control their actions and video games does this to them. I would half believe that if the guns were lying around and these people had dimentia, but to go drop around $600 in guns and ammo as a college student, that takes planning.

Jack thompson is not a dumb individual, he knows what he is doing, he probably knows everything that i have previously mentioned, and despite that, he continues.
That my friends, is what makes him the most pathetic waste of life of all.

Danger @ Apr 22nd 2007 10:38PM

Thompson might have to gun after his own family, they most likely feel neglected by now, maybe he can gun after a worthy cause, like who knows, funding for homeless or something of a mildly decent cause.

http://www.burnedbytheman.com

Philip Butterworth @ Apr 22nd 2007 10:49PM

yeah i train on doom flying skulls are a serious problem and i have to keep my heart rate down while I fire the bfg 9000

shey @ Apr 22nd 2007 11:31PM

video games contribute to the problem, but the media in general is 90% responsible...

i can go online and watch an innocent person get their head cut off by terrorists! lets boycott the internet! but does that contribute to violence in jacks eyes? nope... its all video games...

i can go to the store... buy a rated R movie like the devils rejects or hostel... and that does not have a system stopping someone under 17 from buying it? does that have innocent people being slaughtered... yep... but does that contribute to violence in jacks eyes? nope... its all video games...

i watch the news and read the paper everyday, they show dead bodies and glorify the violence.

violence influencing/desensitization
video games = 1%
media in general = 99%

orAngeMicro @ Apr 22nd 2007 11:42PM

i wonder what old jack did with the copies of gta that his kid illegaly purchased. someone should sue jack thompson for allowing his retarted boy to buy "pornography." i hope jack's kid gets constantly harrased at his school, gets his head dunked in toilets.

Tom @ Apr 22nd 2007 11:49PM

Basically all he said in the video was that mentally insane people shouldn't play violent video games. Hmmm, I agree with him for once.

Tib Xero @ Apr 24th 2007 2:48AM

You know...I grew up with the original NES, and I seem to remember (God knows why) spending a stupid amount of time "Training" on Burger Time. Yet I don't work at a McDonalds, nor a Burger King or Wendy's even. I "trained" on Exitebike but I'll be damned if I go near a motorcycle, or try any racing stunts. I "trained" on Bubble Bobble yet I have never droped Acid. Most imporantly, I "trained the hell out of the Mega Man series and yet my arm can't shoot nuffin and my dog can't turn into shit. The day that happens, I'll proudly walk side by side with Jack Thompson and show that "Training" truely does effect us in real life.