Jack Thompson Blames T2 Woes On Divine Retribution

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Jack Thompson Blames T2 Woes On Divine Retribution


Disbarred lawyer Jack Thompson has written an open letter to Take-Two Interactive [http://www.take2games.com/] Chairman Strauss Zelnick in which he claims the company's tumbling share price is the direct result of God's righteous anger.

Thompson ESRB [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/86463-Jack-Thompson-Disbarred-UPDATED].

In his strangely civil letter, Thompson claims that God is "not amused" by Zelnick's antics and attributes the company's decline in value to nothing more or less than divine retribution, not just because of the games Take-Two publishes but also because of the shabby fashion in which Zelnick has treated Thompson over the years. He is also, as usual, unable to resist mentioning his 2005 appearance on 60 Minutes. The letter, in its entirety:

Dear Strauss:

I hope this missive finds you and your family well. As you will recall, when we met in New York for a couple of hours on May 15, 2007, I mentioned to you that unless Take-Two cleaned up its corporate act (stopped marketing and selling its Mature-rated games to minors), there would be a wicked price to pay.

Since then Take-Two's stock has gone from $26 to $7+ per share. I think God has put the world together in such a way that your company's wrongdoing has made this fiscal reckoning unavoidable. Scripture says so.

At this time of new beginnings in the calendar year, I would strongly urge you, once again, to take the simple steps necessary to stop the marketing and sale of your company's Mature games to kids. As you know, you sell them directly to kids with no age verification at Take-Two's Rockstar site.  You refuse to tell retail vendors that if you catch them selling your Mature games to kids then you will withhold product. All of this was both do-able and smart, but you have refused, despite my urgings.

I have been your company's and its shareholders' best friend in all this since I appeared on 60 Minutes in the spring of 2005, but you chose to characterize me as your company's enemy, pledging to destroy me, and now the piper is being paid. God is not amused.

The harm you and your agents have done to me is predictable, as Jesus told his disciples: "The world hates you because it first hated me." I'll be fine, as God promises that "All things work to the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." I am called, are you? Jesus says, "I knock on the door, and anyone who answers, I will come in." Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, calls you even now.

Please repent of your company's sins. God will reward both it and you. Shalom, Jack Thompson.

The almost-pleasant tone of the email is belied by comments made by Thompson in an email sent to GamePolitics [http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/12/26/jack-thompson-says-he-will-lead-shareholder-revolt-oust-t2039s-strauss-zelnick] on December 26, in which he called Zelnick an "incompetent, reckless goofball" and said he was gearing up to lead a shareholder revolt against the current management team. "TTWO is today trading at about $7 per share. Zelnick blew it. Thompson today bought a bunch of Take-Two stock at the $7 figure," Thompson wrote. "The reason Thompson has done this is to lead the effort by Take-Two shareholders to dump Zelnick. It is long overdue, and there are already rumblings that Zelnick's tenure at Take-Two has been a disaster, as anyone still holding stock that could have been sold at $26 and is now worth $7 and falling, can attest."

Thompson failed to mention how much Take-Two stock he purchased, but the amount is likely trivial. He has in fact been a Take-Two shareholder for three years, although he only invested a token amount in the company in late 2005 so he could rightfully attend the annual Take-Two shareholders meeting.

It's hardly worth pointing out that Take-Two's woes are far from unique in the current global economic crisis, and while questions about Zelnick's business acumen in his steadfast EA [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/83592-Zelnick-Says-Take-Two-Strategy-Vindicated-By-GTA-IV] may be relevant, Thompson's rantings quite clearly are not. His letter, and his threats about a shareholder revolt, are noteworthy only because they cap off the year in which Thompson was finally brought to heel by the legal profession. We will no doubt continue to hear from him in the future, but as the book closes on 2008, so too does it close on our Jack.


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Jumplion

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Mar 10, 2008
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What the hell!?!?!

Shalom, Jack Thompson.

He did not just say Shalom! That is our word, you have no right to use it! You sin against the torah! And no i'm not overreacting!.....screw you Jack Thompson!

I was going to say something about JT, but I forgot in my blind rage/laughing tears at him actually saying Shalom. As if saying Shalom actually makes you a saint, puh-leaze!
 

bodyklok

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Feb 17, 2008
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I never liked Jack Thompson but just out of interest how does he consider him self a friend of T2 and is Jewish or christian I don't know that much about ether of those religions but I thought Jewish people said Shalom.
 

Ranooth

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Mar 26, 2008
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So now he wants all Christians and Jews (im guessing Shalom is a Jewish term, i have no idea on religions) to hate him as well as gamers. Well this twat has balls, il give him that.
 

klc0100

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Feb 29, 2008
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The world being in economical meltdown has nothing to do with it..no it was god.
 

sirdanrhodes

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Indigo_Dingo said:
I'd just like to say, on behalf of Christains everywhere, this man doe not speak for us, and cannot be used as a representation of us.
Good, if he did, then screw freedom of speech, I'd hate Christianity. Luckily, as you've pointed out, he isn't a representative.
 

AceDiamond

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At this point I think if we just stopped paying any attention to him he might just implode under the weight of his own insanity.
 

Dapper Ninja

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Aug 13, 2008
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"Scripture says so"? Is that the exact wording he used? Does he really think that there is a passage in the Bible that says anything about Grand Theft Auto or Take-Two? And he thinks that he is Take-Two's best friend? Either he has a split personality in which one side is the the evil, angry Thompson we know and the other is fed lies by the evil side, writes letters and lives under a rock, or he is very, very stupid and oblivious. Possibly both.
 

Baby Tea

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Sep 18, 2008
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Indigo_Dingo said:
I'd just like to say, on behalf of Christains everywhere, this man doe not speak for us, and cannot be used as a representation of us.
I'm glad this was the first post.

He certainly doesn't speak for all Christians (If any), though he speaks as if he speaks for God. His level of pretentious, self-righteous chest beating apparently knows no divine limitations.

Too bad.
 

Jumplion

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bodyklok said:
I never liked Jack Thompson but just out of interest how does he consider him self a friend of T2 and is Jewish or christian I don't know that much about ether of those religions but I thought Jewish people said Shalom.
Ranooth said:
So now he wants all Christians and Jews (im guessing Shalom is a Jewish term, i have no idea on religions) to hate him as well as gamers. Well this twat has balls, il give him that.
"Shalom" means one of 3 things depending on how you use it; Peace, Hello, and Goodbye. And now you know! And knowing is half the battle!
 

SomeBritishDude

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Nov 1, 2007
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Now that Jack Thompson has no power, he just makes me laugh. He's a furious little old man jumping up and down shouting "blasphomy" and "think of the children!" in a squeeky shrivled little voice that no one can hear.
 

Aardvark

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Sep 9, 2008
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AceDiamond said:
At this point I think if we just stopped paying any attention to him he might just implode under the weight of his own insanity.
Agreed. Now that he no longer has power of attourney, we can close our eyes and ears and purge our fragile minds of the memories.

God meddling in world economic affairs... reminds me when the wall street gangs were gathered around that golden calf, praying for economic salvation. I was waiting for some old weird beard to start throwing stone tablets at them from on high.
 

Royas

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Apr 25, 2008
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Why are you wasting time and bandwidth covering this nutter's activities? JT is a small little nobody who is just clamoring for attention. Please, for the love of Bob, stop giving it to him! No more Thompson stories, it's like publishing stories on the ramblings of the bag lady down the street!
 

mhitman

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Sep 10, 2008
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Indigo_Dingo said:
I'd just like to say, on behalf of Christains everywhere, this man doe not speak for us, and cannot be used as a representation of us.

And doesn't Blasphemy seem a tad more sinful than selling violent games to minors?
I do think it is... but we all must realize that Jack Thompson is f**king crazy
 

Omnidum

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Mar 27, 2008
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Royas said:
Why are you wasting time and bandwidth covering this nutter's activities? JT is a small little nobody who is just clamoring for attention. Please, for the love of Bob, stop giving it to him! No more Thompson stories, it's like publishing stories on the ramblings of the bag lady down the street!
I guess it's for teh lulz.
 

fix-the-spade

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Feb 25, 2008
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Indigo_Dingo said:
And doesn't Blasphemy seem a tad more sinful than selling violent games to minors?
Not really, one is being a mouthy idiot, the other is giving kids things they shouldn't have.

Not playing ball with EA is the best thing Zelnick has ever done, given EA's 'patchy' record with take overs...