Thompson warns against sales of GTA IV to minors

360 News | Writes letter to Bill Gates.

US lawyer and anti-gaming campaigner Jack Thompson has apparently written to Bill Gates, asking the Microsoft head to personally make sure Grand Theft Auto IV doesn't find its way into the young, vulnerable hands of minors.

It was announced at E3 last year that Microsoft's Xbox 360 would be getting Rockstar's widely-anticipated, free-roaming crime opus on the same day as the PlayStation 3 (October 19th for PAL gamers). The news was viewed as a considerable coup for Microsoft, due to the fact that previous titles in the Grand Theft Auto franchise had only ever appeared first on Sony platforms.

Yet with the Microsoft machine set to host GTA IV from launch day this time, Thompson clearly believes that Gates has a role to play when it comes to stopping kiddies getting hold of the game. In his letter, Thompson requested to Gates that he should, "have your lawyers contact me in order that such sales will be prevented," adding that, "I and others will endeavour to stop Microsoft from participating in any fashion, directly or indirectly, in such sales to minors."

All of which is probably a fair point - if the game turns out as expected, minors shouldn't be going anywhere near it. How much control Gates can exercise over the situation is another debate entirely.

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37 Comments

Crestfallen

5 years ago

Kids whose families can afford a 360 don't commit crimes.

ObsoletE

5 years ago

Quote

How much control Gates can exercise over the situation is another debate entirely.

a lot, i would think, afterall he owes me several thousand dollars from all those emails i'm forwarding, and he's tracking. and if he can do that, he can do anything.

Eyce

5 years ago

This just in:

The ESRB, US Judicial System and Microsoft combined their efforts earlier today to warn against reading of Jack Thompson's "angry" letters to major figureheads of their respected Industries, claiming that readers may die of laughter at the wild claims that reflect Mr. Thompson's believes.

No injuries of people banging heads on desks or falling off chairs have been reported as of yet.

Gtpod

5 years ago

Because of course, kids don't have parents to buy games for them. In my mum's class of 5-6 year olds, most of the boys have San Andreas and love it, and I'm sure they'll have GTA IV when it's released. Does Thompson expect tracking devices to be installed into children to make sure they're not playing these games? The day he actually makes a decent point will be a sad day for gaming. You may say it's picking a popular target, but come on, whining to Bill Gates saying "oh daddy, please help stop the naughty Rockstar from letting children play their bad-people game" is just pitiful.

I played GTA when I was 8 and I turned out ok.

Not killed anyone... yet... but if I do, I'll blame it on videogames just to fuel Thompson's engine a bit longer.

ObsoletE

5 years ago

GTPod wrote

I played GTA when I was 8 and I turned out ok.

Not killed anyone... yet... but if I do, I'll blame it on videogames just to fuel Thompson's engine a bit longer.

i plan on blaming The Wiggles.

Marka

5 years ago

Not this douchebag again.

Karai Pantsu

5 years ago

I wish there was some way to involve the whole Internet in a group effort to not post any news, forum discussion, or otherwise talk about JT. I'm pretty sure he'd bugger off once the attention stops...

Still, I guess this get's more attention than even the fugliest of Myspace pages

Se7en

5 years ago

Karai Pantsu wrote

Agreed. "have your lawyers contact me in order that such sales will be prevented" - Because he's such an authority.

El Taco

5 years ago

Some retarded little kid in GT yesterday kept going on about how good 50 cent Bulletproof and then decribing what you do in it and how the people attack. Proves that parents should be more carefl with their kids gaming choices.

And then he did the same for Tekken

that was funny.

ugh the boot

5 years ago

So what the hell is Bill Gates supposed to do...go to the frickin' counter and make sure all the clerks are checking ids?

I bet there is nothing Bill Gates wants more for the 360 than Gta IV. It's currently their big thing that they stole exclusivity from Sony. Rockstar are probably being cherished by Microsoft.

Qbert

5 years ago

With all the hype he's generating I'm begining to think Jack is hired by Rockstar as a publicity machine or something!

Karai Pantsu

5 years ago

That'd make an excellent conspiracy theory, Qbert, until you take into account the massive losses that he caused them pushing forward the whole 'hot-coffee' thing. Still, I like the way you think

Spanca

5 years ago

Why write to Bill Gates alone? It's not a Microsoft/360 exclusive. Similarly, why write to either Sony or Microsoft anyway, it should be a matter for retailers.

Jellyfish

5 years ago

Spanca wrote

Why write to Bill Gates alone? It's not a Microsoft/360 exclusive. Similarly, why write to either Sony or Microsoft anyway, it should be a matter for retailers.

Because Jack is a Picnic Basket short of Picnic.

NeoSanity

5 years ago

Well Bill Gates is retiring, as is he doesn't control much of the Xbox doings, nor does he have more influcent outside finaunual ones on Xbox. I think it's Steve Balmer or someone who takes care of that.

For a lawyer Mr Tompson isn't very smart.

magrat

5 years ago

Spanca wrote

Why write to Bill Gates alone? It's not a Microsoft/360 exclusive. Similarly, why write to either Sony or Microsoft anyway, it should be a matter for retailers.

He's already tried suing retailers with GTA and Bully, and got nowhere - the problem he has going after retailers is that retailers are under no real obligation to prevent or restrict game sales under the ESRB system, because are no laws to prevent the sale of ESRB rated material to minors.

Microsoft are one of the members of the ESA who developed and run the ESRB ratings (mind you, practically every big name in gaming is) so perhaps he's trying a different tack by going after them. Maybe what he's thinking is that by highlighting the interesting chain of events where a company develops content, submits it to an association it is a member of for classification, and then lobbies against the enforcement of the ratings it has developed he might be able to get the ratings enforced.

But who knows really - I doubt he does, he gives the impression of somebody who loves hearing the sound of his own voice. Some of the lawsuits he throws around are just bizzare. Maybe that should feature him in the next Phoenix Wright game heh, bet he'd love that.

Se7en

5 years ago

NeoSanity wrote

The irony of the ironical statement.

Jellyfish

5 years ago

Because he's not a lawyer anymore?

NeoSanity

5 years ago

nikack wrote

Because he's not a lawyer anymore?

Yes because he's definatly a barrister

Spanca

5 years ago

Does the American legal system have the same divide between solicitors and barristers? Those aren't terms they use over there.

magrat

5 years ago

Spanca wrote

Does the American legal system have the same divide between solicitors and barristers? Those aren't terms they use over there.

No, they have a fused legal system which does away with the seperation of duties between solicitors and barristers. They just call them attorneys or lawyers.

Se7en

5 years ago

nikack wrote

Because he's not a lawyer anymore?

No - Mr "Tompson" isn't very smart.

renegadesx

5 years ago

This guy likes to blame all of society's problems on video games, and its always the developers fault, never the fault of the parents who buy the game for their kids, the parents are responsible loving christians

magrat

5 years ago

renegadesx wrote

This guy likes to blame all of society's problems on video games

Well that's the trick isn't it, it's a lot easier to blame video games and see them as the cause of the problem, rather than look for the underlying root causes of say gun violence, school shootings, violence against police. I would imagine that somebody from a happy and caring family who feels loved and supported is not very likely to go on a killing rampage through his local school after playing a few rounds of Battlefield 2.

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Grand Theft Auto IV

Pre-order or buy:
PALGN recommends: www.Play-Asia.com

Australian Release Date:
  29/04/2008 (Confirmed)
Standard Retail Price:
  $119.95 AU
Publisher:
  Rockstar Games
Genre:
  Action
Year Made:
  2007

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