Jack Thompson shows how smart he is on Fox News

by David Hinkle { Oct 24th 2007 at 11:15AM }

As if Fox News has been a beacon for intelligent discussion and sensible thinking throughout the years, it still manages to surprise us every now and then. Take the Cashin' In segment presented above, for example, which brings on "anti-violence activist" Jack Thompson to discuss the Manhunt 2 ban in Europe and the debate as to whether it should be banned here in the States. Jack claims that there are different acts of fraud going on with the game and the ESRB (o ... kay?) and that the game surely didn't have enough time to be altered from an "Adult's Only" to "Mature" rating. Last time we checked, Jack wasn't a game designer or programmer, so we're sure he has no clue when it comes to game development (or much else, for that matter).

The rest of the video is pretty much your usual Fox News fair, with each side yelling at each other and no resolution to the conflict made, so if it's your thing, hit up the video above.

[Via Go Nintendo]

Tags: esrb, fox, jackthompson, manhunt2, rockstar

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Collin @ Oct 24th 2007 11:22AM

When will this guy realize he helps sell more of the games he complains about than he stops?

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Rob Howard @ Oct 24th 2007 11:35AM

I disagree with this posts attitude towards Fox News. It allows conservatives to actually *have* a voice on TV, contrary to every other news network. It's a valuable counterbalance to everything else out there.

Jason @ Oct 24th 2007 11:43AM

My favorite part is when the Fox News moderators starts yelling at the other guy about how parents can't possibly control themselves what their kids do. Yeah, THAT'S "fair and balanced".

Edge @ Oct 24th 2007 11:50AM

Who is their right mind would put this weak wimp up against Jack-Ass? This wasn't an interview. It was t-ball!

Some people have a pathological need to dig themselves a deeper hole.

CJC @ Oct 24th 2007 11:52AM

I was going to play devil's advocate defend Fox news here, but I just remembered when they called Mr. Rogers a bad guy. So, you know, screw THAT.

James @ Oct 24th 2007 11:57AM

In their actual *news* segments, I usually like their content, but a lot of their programs do wind up like the other commenters say -- everybody yells at each other (past each other, more like) until they run out of time. I think the reason the tone of the article grated on me is that I can't remember the last time I saw a show on *any* network that wasn't exactly the same. Nobody does reasoned debate anymore, it's just talking points and people screaming at each other. The whole process bores me at this point.

That said, I wish I could watch this (our office discourages streaming media) -- I'd love to see what kind of moron invites JT to talk in the first place.

Brendon @ Oct 24th 2007 12:09PM

@#2: Brilliant sarcasm.

Powergloved Belmont @ Oct 24th 2007 12:09PM

Don't you just love how Jack just keeps talking so that nobody else can get a word in. He talks in loops, and doesn't really make any points at the end. How can he keep doing this and keep getting recognized for it?

Geez, I'm all for the ratings system and I agree some games are just too violent for kids, but the responsibility IS the parents and store clerks. So stfu Jack Thompson and quit sticking your nose in other people's business.

James @ Oct 24th 2007 12:11PM

Follow-up: I found it hard to believe comment #5 (about FNC calling Mr. Rogers "evil"), so I looked into it. Here's what I found:

http://tinyurl.com/yo687r

I'll reproduce the comment here:

"Fox News didn’t make the accusation that Mr. Rogers was evil at all- A professor of Louisiana State University named Don Chance did, and the story was picked up by the WSJ here:
http://tinyurl.com/2mwgd5

Fox News morning host were **making light** [emphasis mine] of Chance’s implications that Rogers was evil.

For many people, you mention the number one cable news channel, and they go ballistic with Bush derangement syndrome."

Yet again, people see "Fox News" and a bad idea in the same sentence, and it fits with their preconceptions (damn bible-thumpers and their illegal war for oil!), so they assume it's true. Well, it's not. Simple as that.

Gareth Williams @ Oct 24th 2007 12:20PM

Did I actually read someone sticking up for Fox News???

Jesus, you must realise you are a rare breed.

Possibly the worst news channel of all time - and I'm not saying any of the other are much better...they may all be equally as bad.

Fox News is a Pentagon front for crying out loud. It has Generals like Tomy Franks working there for them - selling war lies. It's sick.

Anyway......the arguement was like a cartoon debate. Pointless.

RogerS @ Oct 24th 2007 12:35PM

Talk about children being able to buy a adult game... You know what's really pathetic? A guy on my base ball team is so wipped that he has to get his wife's approval on anything and everything. So he can't buy this game unless he tells her first and she okays it. He can't do anything unless she approves it first! She even made him get a vasectomy!!! The guy literally has no balls! So he won't be able to buy this game unless he sneaks it and hides it or his "mommy" will be mad at him!! How sad is that?

Zdub @ Oct 30th 2007 9:31AM

What I don't get is, he mentions kids can go into places and buy games without parents. How is that the ESRB's fault? The ratings board for movies is similarily done, and I was carded to buy Dreamcatcher on DVD once. It's not the ESRB, it's the retailer who needs to take responsibility for checking the age of the purchaser. And if a parent buys the game for their child, it's the parents responsibility to decide if the kid is mature enough to handle the game. I've played videogames since NES and I've gone through college and graduated and everything, I'm a good citizen, and I've never even once got into a fight with anyone.

Another BS comment is how he says kids can buy it online. You need a credit card to buy online, and you need to be 18 to get credit cards. How does that work?

Idiots at Fox can't even think to bring up these points.

Zack W. @ Oct 24th 2007 1:29PM

Eventually all great societies and empires fall. As long as the silent majority caters to the will of the boisterous minority, our society will continue to downgrade. I can remember back to elementary school when we would have Christmas and Halloween parties. Now that is a true rarity. Even now in the office where I work this goes on. We used to have a Halloween party. A couple of years ago, a woman started working here and said that she could not come if it was called a "Halloween" party. So now it is an Autumnal Luncheon...how lame is that? Where have we gone astray? Why is it that if someone whines loud enough, all the good things stop. Now it is like the words: videogames, Christmas, God, etc. are dirty words. We cannot refer to them outside of private circles without someone saying they are offended. Who gave this guy the right to control what we do? Did we elect him into some sort of office and tell him to "Please, oh please take the joy from our lives. Your stick up the butt way of life is the better way to go." Makes me want to yell. People get offended...fine...as a matter of fact, GOOD! They have the right. That is one good part about the US. They and everyone else have the right to hate/like whatever they want. If they don't like it, don't participate! Also, if stores are selling to minors, they need to be fined. That may fix it. Don't outlaw it, just treat it like cigarettes. If it has a specific rating, you got to show some ID. And parents who give into the will of their whining children and buy these games for their childern should have some sense beaten into them. Otherwise, their kids will grow up into Jack Thompson and have their fingers on the button (the one that kills joy.) Huuuuu....sorry folks, but that felt good.

Wedge @ Oct 24th 2007 1:35PM

I'm conservative. And I understand that Fox does have a more conservative voice than the other cable news channels. Whether that makes is fair and balanced with the others all liberal, or makes it way-right-wing and the others balanced is...I suppose...partially a matter of one's own social and political views.

Given that I'm a conservative, I think that Fox is more balanced and traditional than they are 'hard-core-right-wing.' But again, that view is partially a function of where I'm coming from.

But still...I don't understand that needless Fox bashing comments. Is it because it's the trendy thing to do? Is it because of a fear of a traditional viewpoint? Is it because of a disdain for the traditional viewpoint?

Don't be a big fan of the channel if you wish. That's your right. But why be so hateful?

And, try to be fair to the truth. While Fox News isn't as critical of the Bush administration as some, they're clearly not "The Pentagon." Some...some...of the commentators have been and continue to be critical about certain aspects of the Bush adminidtration.

And by the way, to assume that the background of commentators on a network guarantees a presentation slanted in whatever direction they come from is to indict all media outlets...because everyone has a background, and every media outlet has some people on staff from notable and partisan backgrounds.

Anyway, I guess I'm saying that I come to this site to get videogame news...not to have my intelligence...and perhaps by extention my beliefs, ridiculed.

Continue to do so if you choose. Honestly. No sarcasm. It is indeed a free country and within limits people are allowed to voice their opinion.

I just find it unfortunate that people with traditional views are cracked on...even when talking about pixels and polygons.

Damian G. @ Oct 24th 2007 1:46PM

Great video, but normally Newshounds is a terrible group. They frequently slice and dice FOX News clips to create bias that does not exist (not that I deny that bias can and does exist, I'm just saying NH is a bad messenger). To wit:

http://homepage.mac.com/mkoldys/iblog/C1049953760/E20071006223119/index.html

And for the record, I despise Thompson and think Hoenig (the libertarian guy) rocks. Actually, I think that the host knew that Thompson was getting schooled and was trying to reduce his deserved pimp-slap by Hoenig. For balance and all that jazz.

And Jack? IGN detailed the differences between the A-O and M versions. R-tard. http://wii.ign.com/articles/819/819465p1.html

sn1per420 @ Oct 24th 2007 1:49PM

you know, no one has EVER found scientifically that violent video games cause adolescents to become more aggressive. The most they can say is that there's a correlation, but that's because aggressive people would tend to play more violent games. It doesn't work both ways. By the same logic, I could say that the kids who have shot up their schools ate regular meals, so that MUST be what caused them to kill people.

But hey, what do I know, I'm just saying what I read from the words of a MIT professor: http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

LV426 @ Oct 24th 2007 10:44PM

1) Fox is a necessary counter balance and I for one WILL stick up for them as much as the next news network (that still isnt much, though. they all suck).

2) They DIDNT come up with the crap about online purchases, Jack did. He's the idiot, not them.

and 3) He's probably up there because 2K or Rockstar paid them to let him on. After all, didnt someone here say he's a walking ad for them at this point? And we all know Rockstar strives in controversy.

Brian @ Oct 24th 2007 2:21PM

Jack Thompson is a jackass. The MPAA is in charge of rating its movies too.

Plus, its being sold online to children of all ages... TO PEOPLE WITH CREDIT CARDS. You have to be 18 to get a creditcard Jack.

zochmenos@aol.com @ Oct 24th 2007 7:45PM

First of all, the Fox News comments are just what people say when they write about Fox News. Nothing more than a pre-written bit just to make it easier on the writer. Just like when your local news says "don't forget to check your kid's candy" each Halloween, every year, for your entire life, because it's October.

Secondly, of course Jack Thompson is wrong...isn't he?

No link between anything violent and the content in video games, is there?

But how then can people be posistively inspired by video games? Can they?

When you hear the theme music to some old gem (let's say, the music from Crateria on Super Metroid) how does it make you feel? Well, if it makes you feel anything at all you have proven Jack's point. Do you know anyone who cried when Aris (Areth) died in FF:VII? I do...

Gaming does create an emotional response. So why then do we resist the idea that it could thereby "nudge" someone into violence? Because we like video games. Simple as that.

Look, I am no fan of Jack Thompson, but he has more of a point than anyone on a video game website will ever accept. Thing is, people ARE responsible for their own actions regardless of what inspired them, but we have created (our parents, that is...) a society in which someone else is always blamed for everything.

Let me put it this way... As long as you expect someone to stop people from smoking, saying racist comments, passing kids who can't read so they don't feel bad, banning foods (trans-fats) that "make" us fat, and forcing car makers to push hybrids because we'll melt the ice caps on ourselves you have created another Jack Thompson.

pinoyjun11 @ Oct 24th 2007 10:19PM

jack-ass indeed... video game retailers ask for ID before buying an M rated game...

Patrick @ Oct 24th 2007 11:25PM

When people "argue" with Jack Thompson, all they do is sit there and don't get one chance to say a thing. Jack Thompson says a 5min speech every time he is interviewed, slightly tweaked to fit the topic. If you noticed the other guy in the video tried all he could to talk and he barely got one word in. I think that Fox needs to restrict to how much he talks and let the other guy get a turn. Oh and no way in hell video games cause violence in the real world, and parents can control what games their kids play.

Daimyo Nintendo @ Oct 25th 2007 9:53PM

You sent your son to do reconnaissance!? Jack what kind of douche are you! You turned your son into a douche!

Jack you're such a douche, didn’t even let the other guy speak, why? Cuz your wrong Jack. If wal mart and Target are selling it to kids then deal with fucking wal mart and target! You cant ban a game because it is being sold to minors, you must punish the store even the assholes on ebay selling a game like this without getting verification of age. If I was selling manhunt 2 on ebay I would NEED PROOF that the person buying it is the right age..why? Because I have morals, a conscience, I know what is right and I care about people rather then the god dammed might dollar. ( A note to all the douche bags on ebay selling Wii's and PS3's "HA you suck no one is buying them, your are idiots for buying 20 Wii's or PS3's and trying to sell them! You can still buy them in store and without the mark up prices on ebay.") If they are selling it to kids then that illegal sue walmart and fire the clerk!

I am free to chose what I want to play and what I want to buy

I am just happy Jack has no voice in Canada, I am safe from you here Jack FUCK YOU JACK I AM BUYING MANHUNT 2!

Daimyo Nintendo @ Oct 25th 2007 9:54PM

Bocom @ Oct 25th 2007 5:03PM

@18:

What the hell?!

He doesn't have that many points, as CLEARLY evidenced by this video. He doesn't understand anything, or so it seems.

Look, I've played video games, violent and non-violent, all my teenage life and from around 6-8 years old. Have it affected me? Yes. But not in a bad way.

For example, I love blood and bodies exploding in a game like Unreal Tournament 2004, but I feel disgusted more than 99,5% of the times if it is in real life. Why? I know that in video games, it is imaginary, that's why.

Jack Thompson insults ALL OF US because he thinks that we have mental diseases. He thinks that we are all murderers, who kills everyday, for the thrill of it. This is not true. Why?

Killing someone in real life is horrible. It's disgusting. It's one of the worst things mankind is possible of doing. But when I kill something in a video game, then what the hell am I killing? I am sure as hell not killing a human being, I am merely just sending bytes of information that the computer processes into a death animation. THIS is where his points fall down. If you kill something in a game, then you are called a murderer.

If you kill someone outside video games, then you are sick. Killing someone in a videogame, unless you are truly sick, does not give you ideas on how to kill someone.

And video games SHOULD create emotions, because movies and books do it so damn well, so why shouldn't games? I know I was on the brink of crying when Aerith died, but that whole scene was meant to be sad! And even now, hearing that theme brings a tear to my eye, not from sadness or hate for Sepiroth, who murdered her. But for joy and good memories of a, from my point of view, truly great game. Jack Thompson wants us to play "Teletubbies Exicitingly Awesome Trip To The Land Of The Pancakes" and make us seem like we are dumb!

Jack Thompson is an asshole, there's nothing more to be said about it.

Short summary: If you are mentally sick, then yes, you will be affected by video games in a bad way. If you are not, then you probably WON'T.

Zan @ Oct 26th 2007 4:58AM

ROFL, so funny.

LV426 @ Oct 27th 2007 10:23AM

....I almost want it too... because Jack wants it band, I almost want to get it......

However, when everyone was playing Manhunt, I was into the Suffering... so there.

UltimateQ @ Oct 27th 2007 9:46AM

"Kids are buying this on amazon" Jack Says. So now kids underage have credit cards to buy stuff from amazon... Yeah that makes sense. GOOD LOGIC JACK.

Mr Khan @ Oct 27th 2007 3:22PM

Personally, i don't mind Fox News much. For actual news, they're as good as any other source. Hannity & Coulmes does tend to lead towards Hannity, but that's just because he's a very abrasive personality. Fox News just comes across as insulting to the other side, very often. Geraldo being the greatest offender

At least they don't promote the public humiliation of the criminal like MSNBC does... (To Catch a Predator, ick)

Serious Kano @ Oct 31st 2007 9:31AM

He should get a show on TV where he shows how you can buy adult games, movies, alcohol and cigarettes when you are underage. And after that he can explain why it is the fault of all these things that children are able to buy and play them and not the shops and the parents.

MetroidJunkie @ Nov 17th 2007 9:54PM

Ok, so little Jimmy could goto his friend's house, who has a careless parent, and play it there. However, he could also look at porn over there or pretty much do whatever he wants if that Mother over there is careless.

Archdoom @ Jan 12th 2008 9:16AM

Lovely, unbiased "news" there from Fox, sounds like A Current Affair or Today Tonight in Australia. Anyway, The way I see it, the game could be used to stop people from committing violent acts, they can work out their anger by directing it towards the "world" of the game, instead of the real world.