Well now, a host of other influential figures - including a former First Lady of the US no less - have added their voices to the debate, and they're all united in their distaste for Hot Coffee. The best (and most unintentionally hilarious) rant of the anti-Hot Coffee crowd goes to one Jack Thompson, a Miami-based lawyer and a fierce critic of violence in videogames. In an open letter to members of the Entertainment Software Association, Thompson didn't hold back on his feelings, firing off some vicious (and startlingly personal) shots at the ESA president, Doug Lowenstein.
Thompson accused the association of failing to act quickly enough on the issue of the Hot Coffee mod. Lowenstein's approach in dealing with the problem, says Thompson, is 'to demonise critics and to engage in ad hominem jihads intended to obscure real concerns about real industry abuses.' But wait - it gets even better.
'His extremism has painted a bullseye on your industry,' Thompson huffs in his letter, before adding somewhat dramatically, 'Doug Lowenstein has the brush and Take-Two has provided the blood red paint.' Hmm. He continues, 'If those of you who understand that any technology can be used for either good or for ill and that 'responsibility' is something that adults are supposed to exercise in all walks of life, even in the entertainment industry, then get rid of this highly paid thug and replace him with someone with sense.'
However, Lowenstein isn't only a 'thug' according to Thompson, who also claims the ESA president has 'never met a pixilated [sic] prostitute he didn't like.' There's some rather catty swipes made towards Lowenstein's refusal to sit down and discuss the issue face-to-face, with Thompson saying, 'Doug Lowenstein travels with his own private make-up artist. Did you all know that?' Righty ho then, Jack.
'Obscuring personal and industry warts is a full time job for this man,' adds Thompson, before coming up with the letter's coup de grâce: 'When Hitler invaded Russia, opening up an Eastern offensive on the eve of winter, Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill noted that 'Hitler must have been rather loosely educated, not having learned the lesson of Napoleon's autumn advance on Moscow. Your Doug Lowenstein is similarly 'loosely educated' about the United States Constitution.' We're no experts on slander, but we'd be tempted to put a small wager on Mr Lowenstein's lawyers being called into action in the not-too-distant future.
It's not only Thompson that is raging against the ESA's action (or lack thereof, if Thompson is to be believed). Infact, a certain Senator Hillary Clinton has contacted the Federal Trade Commission, demanding action on the Hot Coffee issue.
In a statement addressed to the FTC, Clinton (sounding a little less rabid than Thompson) writes: 'We should all be deeply disturbed that a game which now permits the simulation of lewd sexual acts in an interactive format with highly realistic graphics has fallen into the hands of young people across the country. I therefore urge you to take immediate action to determine the source of this content and the appropriateness of the M rating.'
In the statement, Clinton repeats her plans to introduce a new law that will see retailers fined a cool $5,000 if caught selling violent or sexually explicit games to minors.
For their part, the ESA issued a statement in response, which claims that any such legislation would be 'Unconstitutional on its face as it amounts to government enacted restrictions on creative and artistic expression protected by the First Amendment.' The ESA does acknowledge Clinton's concerns however, though in the statement fervently deny that there is a causal link between violence and videogames: 'Indeed, one federal court after another has dismissed as unpersuasive and flawed much of the very research Senator Clinton cites in support of her bill.'
As for the ESA's response to the rantings of Jack Thompson: 'We don't comment on anything Mr. Thompson says or does.' Touché.
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