2006-05-09 - ESRB rating change revisited Options

[stargelman]

You knew this would happen.

You just knew it would happen when you heard that Oblivion's rating was changed by the ESRB on the grounds that "the game contains hidden nudity".

You just knew he would get involved to spread FUD.

It is also clear that Take-Two corporately and its senior officers, including CEO Paul Eibeler, individually, must now be prosecuted criminally for the knowing distribution of "sexual material harmful to minors" which is a felony in most states and nationally. The undersigned intends to work toward that end immediately.

...

Its popular and newly released Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has now been re-rated "Mature" and recalled by the ESRB because Take-Two and its co-publisher have been caught embedding nude figures and scenes in the game which can be unlocked with a code provided by the developer. This is not a modification or "mod" of the game by gamers. It is an unlocking of content that was put there by Take-Two with the unlocking code provided by the developer!

Go read Jack Thompson's press release over at Games First.

Maybe have a good laugh. Or maybe frown and understand that this guy is a serious threat to the gaming industry and all happy gamers, because there's enough people in influental positions that don't know any better or try to make profit of this and support his agenda.

Now, you probably haven't seen what the fuss is all about. Can't have that.

Oblivion's Harmful Boobs

[Nottheking]

I've been actively following what Mr. Thompson has been doing ever since last summer, during that whole "Hot Coffee" thing.

I have consistently been dissapointed in his overall behavior, and, although I hate to say it, his own "virtues." He is constantly inflamatory. He never does proper research. He's a sensationalist.

To sum it up, he's not a lawyer, but an ameteur journalist.

His attacks on the ESRB are entirely without merit, though perhaps, I cannot say 100% unwarranted; I was wondering how Oblivion got to be rated "T" in the first place, nude content or no.

He has clearly not done enough research, or even simply put enough rational thought to it.

I personally find my tolerance for him to have been entirely worn through. His actions are potentially dangerous, and through increasingly indirect means, could affect the entire economy, as the games industry is one of the hearts of the computer technology industry, and the computer technology industry is a unique, irreplaceble engine of the modern economy; no other industry has the potential to yield so much growth, and with much more stability than other major industries.

I personally think that it's time he get rebuked, like he's never been before. I know the sources to prove all of his points wrong. It's just a matter of time before he gets presented with them, with no way to slip through.

I do wonder, though; his actions against the entertainment industry in general have not been his only claims to being (in)famous. I recall that there were some incidents in his bid to become attorney general for the state of Florida, where he had another encounter with a famous Clinton administration official: Janet Reno, who served as the U.S. Attorney General during his administration. I recall that Mr. Thompson lost, but had been involved in a major smear campagin against Ms. Reno. Much to the point where it actually was HE who was stepping out of the lines of protected speech, as his comments were effectively slander.