Jack Thompson Burnout: Can We Stop Now?

[FunkyJ]

Seriously, he has moved from mildly threatening through loveably zany and into irrelevant. Don't lay this on us. Please write about things that matter to the development of gaming as an industry, a medium, and a culture, and quit pandering to an audience that can get amusingly sensationalistic junkfood elsewhere.

I think that's the point.

Look at Game Politics for example. (Yes, I'll name names!)

Every single day they have a post about Jack Thompson. It's gone BEYOND news to being a carnival.

Game Politics is (apparently) a well respected website for news, and if they're reporting on this maniac every day then other, bigger news sites are going to think that Jack Thompson is important.

I'm not saying stop reporting about him altogether, but determine what is newsworthy.

 

[whandall]

Thompson Thompson Jacky Thompson JT

Ok, hopefully I punched my card. Anyway, I hate to say it, but there are some reasoned, cogent arguments out there for censoring, or limiting access to violent videogames. I want these arguments to go away, for people to stop thinking about them and to instead look at something shiny over there. I don't care if videogames cause pancreatic cancer in mice, I want access and varied product.

'ol Jack is one of the best things to happen to the videogame industry. If you are going to have a champion out there dedicated to wiping out your product, make sure he is wearing a trash bag as a kilt and screaming random trivia while pushing a shopping cart full of aluminum cans. Lets put him on the front of every game box.

 

[Arbre]

Of course there are good arguments in a bit of control over what really ends in retail, or how it is sorted. But things get so mixed up, put on such extremes, emphasized to the point where it gets whiter than white, or blacker than black, and all common sense fails.

As for Malygris' point, I can't agree with it.
Forums will never be as important as the headnews of a well respected website. So you can always moan that site members post a Jack Thompson thread on a weekly basis, they're often seen to mirror what the site - they belong to - does.

Look here. Escapist had a couple of news about that twat of Jack Thompson. Do we, as members, post that many new threads about Jack Thompson?

A bit of superb logic now:
Google returns 71,300,000 entries for "video game" (use of the brackets). Huh, the first entry is a link related to Manhunt 2's violence.
The same strict research for "jack thompson" gives 1,660,000 entries.

This means Jack Thompson represents roughly 2.3% in comparison to what "video game" represent on the very respected googlemetrics.

2.3% is too much.

Jack Thompson.

 

[Russ Pitts]

Hmm. So many mentions of his name and yet, he still hasn't sent us a letter threatening to sue. (No Derek Smart is he.) How about a Photoshop challenge?

 

[Copter400]

...Sweet zombie Jesus.

You are so right.

 

[Arbre]

Zeus won't be pleased... that said, we first need a good batch of Jack Thompson pictures.
I think we also need to find the video game's equivalent of the Black Knight [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjEcj8KpuJw].

 

[the_carrot]

"Know your enemy" When he becomes wholly irrelevant and stops influencing people, then he will be. There is crap media, and thoughtless sensationalism, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Melaisis]

I think this will really hit home for a lot of viewers. I concur, of course, with the content, but as long as the industry needs such a willing scapegoat* who's obviously so far past the line of logic that he certainly can't have any points which may actually mean anything people will pay him attention. Right?

EDIT: *Jack Thompson

 

[Triggerhappy938]

I think Mad old Jack has gone from being the worst thing to happen to the video game industry to being among the best things to happen to the video game industry. Radical anti-video game politics will always be associated with him, and as such, will be discredited by default. It works well for us.

On a side note, Jack Thompson.

 

[werepossum]

We now bring you a rebuttal from Jack Thompson.*

"Jack Thompson is ecstatic about this latest libelous and completely unfounded attack on Jack Thompson. Jack Thompson considers this the greatest gift Jack Thompson could have been given. You may rest assured that Jack Thompson will soon deliver an incredibly masterful and god-like filing showing how completely kangaroo-like your behavior is, and Jack Thompson will not rest until Jack Thompson has been properly compensated for the damage to Jack Thompson's reputation and practice from this libelous libel against Jack Thompson."

* This satirical reply is in no way associated with Jack Thompson. Jack Thompson. Jack Thompson. (Inaudible muttering...)

 

[Deathbird]

I bet Jack Thompson secretly loves GTA...

 

[rougeknife]

I bet Jack Thompson secretly loves GTA...

Course he does, it gives him attention.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Thing is, I think the further he moves towards complete self destruction (and he seems pretty damn close already, the less anyone will report on him, as really most people writing articles are writing them because he actually could pose some threat to the industry.

As he moves ever nearer making Bonzo the clown look like a more creditable lawyer, the fewer and fewer column inches he'll get, but probably the more gleeful forum posts he'll spawn.

I guiltily admit to really enjoying hating him and all he stands for, and venting regularly when he shows up on sites tho.