Turns Out Bully Isn't A Public Nuisance After All...

from the no-one's-shooting-up-schools-because-of-it dept

Fri, Oct 13th 2006 4:40pm — Mike Masnick

Yesterday we wrote about how a Miami judge ordered Take Two to run through their new game Bully to see if it was "a public nuisance", as claimed by Jack Thompson. Apparently, it didn't take long to realize that (as every single reviewer has stated), the game is just a fun, amusing social satire, rather than anything really violent. With that in mind, the game has been cleared for release. Thompson is not happy. Even though he had said that if it turned out that the game really wasn't bad he would admit he was wrong, he's apparently now complaining that he didn't get enough of a chance to see the game himself. Either way, it looks like Jack Thompson continues to do his work at Take Two's best marketing executive. The game is getting plenty of publicity heading into its US release date on Tuesday.

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Stu, 13 Oct 2006 @ 4:51pm

Jack Thompson marketing executive
As much as I enjoy and respect Techdirt . . . .

Don't complain about Thjompson and his ilk while giving him exactly what he wants - media exposure (and free in your case).

If you don't approve of his tactics, as I don't, stop help making him successful.

I don't want to believe you keep doing it to crank up some cheap traffic - so stop with the Thompson already.
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- mmrtnt (profile), 13 Oct 2006 @ 5:07pm
  
  Re: Jack Thompson marketing executive
  I have to disagree. Of the half dozen or so sources I read daily, this is the only one that regularly reports the wacky antics of America's favrorite video-game lawyer.
  
  Keep 'em comin'.
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  - DittoBox, 13 Oct 2006 @ 6:29pm
    
    Re: Re: Jack Thompson marketing executive
    'nuff said.
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- WePlayMegaMans, 24 Oct 2006 @ 1:43pm
  
  Jack Thompson conspiracy theory
  Just maybe Jack Thompson and either Rockstar or Take-Two are in bed with each other. Every time I see this dope's name in the headlines, it's always accompanied by the name of the video game he is bashing/protecting us from/promoting. (Take your pick) I own a copy of Bully which I'm currently playing and also own all 3 Grand Theft Auto releases for PS2. Bully is alot like GTA, just minus the blood, sex, drugs, guns, profanity..... Wait.... Bully isn't ANYTHING like GTA. So why is Jack Thompson trying to get it pulled off the market? He says it's because of the message it sends to kids, and maybe he's telling the truth. I can't help but notice how everytime Jack tries to warn us about how dangerous these games are, he either willingly or unwillingly promotes them as well. In game clips, sound bytes, still in-game photos, sounds like an ad to me. If you show kids there is a video game n which you can play the roll of a high school bully, it won't matter what kind of political garbage accompanies it, kids will want the game. It is up to PARENTS to decide if these games are appropriate for THEIR children. We know Jack Thompson wants these games off shelves. Does he want them to land in the trash, or in your living room? Please respond. Tell me if you think this might be true also.
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Anonymous Coward, 13 Oct 2006 @ 6:22pm

gamepolitics.com
joystiq.com

just to name 2.
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rijit (profile), 13 Oct 2006 @ 6:35pm

Thompson needs to retire
Jack needs to give up and go home.
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Otakusensei, 13 Oct 2006 @ 6:42pm

Freedom of the press, write a letter to the editor if you don't like the coverage. Seems to me like they are well within their scope here. If you don't like it, well, no one's forcing you to read it, are they?
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Sohrab, 13 Oct 2006 @ 7:44pm

that guy is a joke. I wonder if anybody actually buys into his BS
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me, myself, and i, 13 Oct 2006 @ 8:00pm

to sohab
well, apparently the law makers do
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Teabaggin, 13 Oct 2006 @ 8:10pm

'well, apparently the law makers do'

Actually, if you RTFA, they don't.

As long as Jack keeps making a buffoon for himself, I say keep the spotlight on him. He's leaking credibility.

His whiny rant against the judge in the case is the best part.
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Dom, 13 Oct 2006 @ 8:23pm

I might even buy a copy of Bully, I haven't bought a PS2 game since the latest SSX game. Looks quite fun to play.
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Arganis, 13 Oct 2006 @ 9:08pm

The real public nuisance is Jack Thompson.
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Frink, 13 Oct 2006 @ 9:22pm

"he's apparently now complaining that he didn't get enough of a chance to see the game himself"

Out of respect for Jack and his hard work he should be offered a copy of the game for purchase at a discount.
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Reboots DaMachina, 13 Oct 2006 @ 9:32pm

Re: Jack Thompson marketing executive
What a bully...
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2006 @ 9:19am

monday we will see the exclusive review of the game before it comes out... by jack thompson
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Cynthia Garcia, 14 Oct 2006 @ 1:02pm

Re: Jack Thompson marketing executive
Well there is a nice little online comic called CTRL_ALT-DEL who had this to say about Mr. Thompson, "Quit picking on gamers, we out number you and the people who think like you" I myself am a gamer. I am 39. I own one consol game and a computer. I have been playing violent games for over 15 years now. I am also a mother and I do not allow my children to play games not intended for children. I watch what my children play and I don't need Mr. Thompson to do MY job of being parent for me. I do quite well myself. Oh, and I vote every election.
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sadisticfreek, 14 Oct 2006 @ 1:37pm

only if...
Only if more parents would accept responsibilty for their own children and stop blaming the media, Jack Thompson wouldn't even exist.

"Maybe at that point they’d start using their time and energy to write letters about things that matter, like genocide victims in the Sudan, the false “war on terror”, or hell, something more “selfish” like their rights as American citizens being taken away in the name of “protecting freedom”." -- American McGee

The quote isn't about Jack Thompson, but it can apply to him. Wasting his time on trivial things when he could be using his time to try to change things that really do need to be changed. But what's the point in that... at least gamers, like the people behind Penny Arcade, try to make this world a better place by giving to charities... what has Jack Thompson done for anybody?
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CHASER7016, 14 Oct 2006 @ 3:44pm

Media STUNT
Bully never heard of until it's all over Google News and other online publications.

Great PR stunt Take 2! I bet that guy is getting paid under the table.
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El Conquistidor, 14 Oct 2006 @ 10:32pm

Stomped!
haha, Jack Thompson's evil plan to downsize video games has once again been thwarted! Whst's next, Myst?
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Matthew, 15 Oct 2006 @ 6:54am

Ok, if its not video games
Then what is with the big increase in violence this year?

One news source says that it is increased gang activity and younger members. Maybe so, but one cannot discount the pressures of inflation, taxes, unemployment, and fear-mongering of our government. I have witnessed very heated exchanges over gas pumps. I have family recently laid off, I have friends struggling due to the housing industry's roller-coaster joy rides.

A gang didn't shoot up the Amish schoolhouse. A gang didn't take hostages in a Colorado high school. A gang did not shoot two kittens at a Minnesota high school. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15266666/)

Gangs are real and they are a problem. However, it seems that people are just snapping. Maybe money's tight. Maybe they felt the end of the world was near. But one thing is certain; Jack Thompson is not the answer and he needs to be satirized until he goes away.
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Amos, 15 Oct 2006 @ 10:09am

He makes me laugh and laugh
Just try to read his letter to the judge without laughing:

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/jack-thompson/thompson-verbally-attacks-judge-207578.php

Did you know that video games are the same as nuclear weapons in Iran?
"What you conducted in your chambers, Judge, was the equivalent of Iran leading UN weapons inspectors around the country taking them to places where the illegal activity was not occurring."

This guy should get his own show on Comedy Central. Although I'd probably become homicidal if I had to be exposed to him on a regular basis...
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Kempatsu, 15 Oct 2006 @ 9:40pm

Maybe Jack Thompson will pull a Uwe Boll and start boxing/pwning n00bs
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chris (profile), 16 Oct 2006 @ 12:35pm

jack thompson is an ambulance chaser
video games are a multi billion dollar a year industry and there is no landmark precident freeing deveopers and distributors from liability. he smells the money and wants a bite, plain and simple.

you want thompson and his ilk to disappear? get a judge to take a real stand in a case.
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Sarah, 25 Nov 2006 @ 10:29am

Is This Really the Message We Want Sent to Kids?
Is this video game "Bully" really what we want to be showing kids? Schools are fighting so hard to prevent bullying and this is just working against the progress that they have made. Some say this video game is just fun and amusing. However, I'm betting that the people saying this were not the ones getting bullied at school and don't know what it feels like.
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- sorpaqq, 14 Sep 2011 @ 10:20am
  
  Re: Is This Really the Message We Want Sent to Kids?
  I know this is an old thread but I just had to comment. I don't understand how a game that actually discourages bullying and has you standing up to bullies and protecting the weaker kids from them is working against the progress schools have made, quite the opposite actually. I mean, are you seriously saying that the game is bad simply because it is called Bully?
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