PA vs. Jack

Wow, this whole Jack Thompson episode is really escalating. Jack sent a letter to the Florida Bar Association (basically a threat that he would sue them if they tried to disbar him) in which he refers to gamers by the term "pixelantes." Well, it didn't take long to get a shirt out that is sure to be a hot item on my Christmas list.

It seems that Jack finally realized he is in over his head. He's called for backup. I, for one, look forward to the Legion of Doom's response.

I know this stuff is all posted on the Penny Arcade site, but seriously, I don't think it can get enough attention. Gabe says he'd rather have Jack as the voice of the "anti-violence in games" crowd than some smooth talker with half a brain, but I respectfully disagree. Jack's public persona is that of a raving lunatic, and in my opinion, that draws attention away from the valid parts of his argument. Games like Grand Theft Auto should not be in the hands of thirteen-year-olds. If an adult wants to play it, that's fine. I personally didn't think it was the game for me, but I'm often accused of standing too deep in the Lawful Good area of the alignment chart.

My point is getting lost here. A smooth talking spokesman with half a brain could probably get people to come to a reasonable compromise. Parents need to understand that buying the hottest new release for their kid without any kind of research is a bad idea. While most games don't have any content kids couldn't see in a rated R movie, most parents probably don't want their kids in the theater for those kind of shows. I don't know that regulating video games is such a good idea, (after all, it's not illegal for movie theaters to sell kids tickets to rated R movies) but some education so parents can make a smart decision would be really helpful.