To many in the video game industry, the two words "Jack" and "Thompson" engender horror and disgust.
Thompson, a self-appointed uber-critic of the industry, has spent the last few years railing away at games he deems too full of sex or violence. Never was he out in more force than during 2005's so-called "Hot Coffee" scandal, in which the monster hit Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was discovered to have hidden, but easily uncoverable, animations that mimicked sexual activity.
In the lead-up to the midnight Tuesday release of Rockstar Games' follow-up game, Grand Theft Auto IV, Thompson was at it again. (See GameSpot's review here: Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3).)
According to online technology news site Softpedia, Thompson wrote an e-mail to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick's mother (Take-Two is Rockstar's parent company).
"Your son last week was reported to have said the following about Grand Theft Auto IV," the letter allegedly began. "'We've already received numerous reviews, and to a one, they are perfect scores. My mom couldn't write better reviews...' Taking your son's thought, I would encourage you either to play this game or have an adroit video gamer play it for you. Some of the latter gamers are on death row, so try to find one out in the civilian population who hasn't killed someone yet."
In an e-mail to CNET News.com Monday, Thompson confirmed that he wrote the letter, but said he sent it to Strauss' attorney and not to his mother.
"I sent it to Strauss' attorney to make the point that if you drag your mother into your porn business pimping," Thompson told me by e-mail, "you had better be prepared for blowback."
There can be little doubt that the release of GTA IV will be one of the biggest events of the year in video games, both from a business and entertainment standpoint--and from the perspective of politicians, organizations, and individuals like Thompson seeking to derail the game due to what they expect to be an overabundance of violence and sex.
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Thompson, a self-appointed uber-critic of the industry, has spent the last few years railing away at games he deems too full of sex or violence. Never was he out in more force than during 2005's so-called "Hot Coffee" scandal, in which the monster hit Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was discovered to have hidden, but easily uncoverable, animations that mimicked sexual activity.
In the lead-up to the midnight Tuesday release of Rockstar Games' follow-up game, Grand Theft Auto IV, Thompson was at it again. (See GameSpot's review here: Grand Theft Auto IV (PlayStation 3).)
According to online technology news site Softpedia, Thompson wrote an e-mail to Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick's mother (Take-Two is Rockstar's parent company).
"Your son last week was reported to have said the following about Grand Theft Auto IV," the letter allegedly began. "'We've already received numerous reviews, and to a one, they are perfect scores. My mom couldn't write better reviews...' Taking your son's thought, I would encourage you either to play this game or have an adroit video gamer play it for you. Some of the latter gamers are on death row, so try to find one out in the civilian population who hasn't killed someone yet."
In an e-mail to CNET News.com Monday, Thompson confirmed that he wrote the letter, but said he sent it to Strauss' attorney and not to his mother.
"I sent it to Strauss' attorney to make the point that if you drag your mother into your porn business pimping," Thompson told me by e-mail, "you had better be prepared for blowback."
There can be little doubt that the release of GTA IV will be one of the biggest events of the year in video games, both from a business and entertainment standpoint--and from the perspective of politicians, organizations, and individuals like Thompson seeking to derail the game due to what they expect to be an overabundance of violence and sex.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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