Jack Thompson on Manhunt2: It’s a Training Device
By Andrew on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 12:08 AM PST In Gamer Life, Games, Games Industry
Video game developers don’t want people to have fun, they want them to kill.
This, according to Jack Thompson.
Thompson recently referred to the upcoming Manhunt 2 as a “training device,” which presumes that the game was created with the intent to teach those who play it how to kill people.
Aside from being absolutely ludicrous, one has to take into the consideration the meaning of the term “training device,” which assumes that the purpose of the game isn’t to have fun, but rather to go out and murder.
I think it’s a safe assumption that the game designers were looking for yet another way for gamers to get their jollies, not create an underground army of assassins.
Jack, is anything useful going to come out of your mouth, ever? I feel bad enough giving you press as it is.
So, where did you get this information from? What’s the source? Who was Jack supposed to have said this too?
I only ask because I’d like to read more about what he meant, rather than your basic attempt at figuring it out.
Very poorly written article that doesn’t even attempt to get to the meat of the story.
Agreed.
Has this author ever trained as a news writer/journalist? It’s pretty poor.
You could both try to look for it before complaining. I’m sure you’re not too busy to spend 2 seconds typing into the google search bar.
And regardless, the point of this author’s ramble was to basically call Jack Thompson a tool. Worked for me.
Sorry guys, I forgot to post the link in the article.
And if you’re looking for integrity in journalism, you came to the wrong site.
All we guarantee is that we don’t make things up.
Well … its is Jack Thompson… there is no point in investigating Anything that moron says…
***Comment Deleted***
Folks, we make it a point to make our comment system as easy to use as possible. Naturally this gives people the ability to post whatever they choose. However, please refrain from personal attacks on other posters. State your opinion, and allow others to state theirs.
Ron Whitaker
Gaming Today
FileFront.com
Good grief. Joystiq referred to it as “murder simulator” as did GamePolitics.
Nobody ever said that Take-Two wants someone to train on this and kill anyone. Are you people daft. You’re really reaching now. How desperate can you get.
The “training” function comes as an unintended consequence. Ever hear of that?
Kind of like playing tennis and getting tennis elbow. Do you play to get the tendinitis? No. But stuff happens. Grow up, kids, and learn how to think.
Jack Thompson
Again, this is ludicrous. Stop going after the developers and start worrying about the retailers and parents. If a minor gets a hold of this game and is playing it, it isn’t the developers fault. They don’t produce this game with the intent of it getting sold to minors. You have to wonder how they got the game in the first place. And the point is most of the time it’s because the PARENT has bought the game for them. It isn’t up to the government or anyone else to decide what is inappropriate for someone’s child. That’s all the parents responsibility.
“Nobody ever said that Take-Two wants someone to train on this and kill anyone.”
You did when you focused on the Grand Theft Auto series.
“Grow up, kids”
hate to break the news to you Jack, but not all gamers are kids.
He will never stop. what is the next game complaint? Sometimes u have to take your ball and go home. Those allegations dont mean jack squat!
Jack Thompson is just a scumbag conservative attourney who gets waaaaaaaaay too much press for being a moron. I’m sorry, but jack, most of your complaints reach… i wont even say way into left field…….. lets try aisle Z9 out in the parking lot. With a title like Manhunt, most people would assume that the game isnt going to be all flowers, bunnies, & singalongs. If it was, I wouldnt waste my time. The games get the high ESRB ratings that they do because they are NOT meant to be played by children. If some moron parent buys their 10-year-old the game, thats their problem, not mine, not yours, and not the developer’s. Get over it man, the sooner you sober up, the better.
It’s much easier to find something specific to blame for a crime, such as video games, than to look at the social life, family relations, and life in general of someone who committed a crime.
It’s easy to spot a game at a crime scene and blame it for the crime because it takes next to no investigating and it instantly draws media attention thanks to people like Jack Thompson and because games are a relatively new form of media that mostly kids and teens use.
What’s harder to do is to actually figure out how the crime happened. How could someone unstable manage to get access to a gun? If they were that unstable, did it show in their day to day activities and why didn’t anyone try to help them out before it was too late? Was there a history of violence and abuse in the family? Was there a substance abuse problem? That takes too long to answer, there was a game in his room and it might’ve been his roommate’s but it’s probably the game’s fault anyway.
You can’t go from a stable person who knows the difference between a game and real life to a murdering psychopath because of a game. By that logic, violent movies, books, and music turn people into criminals. Violent crimes have actually been declining since the 90s, when games started to become more mainstream.
But still it’s easier to listen to the sob story of a family ruined because their child could do no wrong but was corrupted by a video game. There already is a ratings board for games and a big M and a picture of a crazed lunatic with any assortment of weapons on the cover of a game should be a big warning flag for adults who actually keep track of their kids. Hopefully despite the lazy parents who don’t watch their kids and unstable people who don’t get help in time and have access to weapons we won’t see any real blows to gaming.
I beat up three old people and a small child after playing Wii Boxing at a friend’s house. Oh, save me Jack Thompson, save me! I’m obviously incapable of making conscious purchasing decisions for myself! I need an asshole publicity whore to convince politicians to take away free choice and opinion!
As an aside folks, while I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack Thompson really did spend his time trolling game-related forums and news websites to speak up on whatever bullshit issue catches his eye… I remain skeptical of a poster claiming to be him, especially on a site like filefront news that doesn’t require any sort of registration.
eat my shhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t think anyone takes Jack Thompson seriously anymore.
mmmmmmmmmaaaaaannnnnnnhhhhhhhhuuuuuunnnnnnnnnttttttttt rocks both of them