Believe it or not Jack Thompson and I email sorta regularly. Granted he usually emails me bizarre, over-the-top press releases (which I often don't post) and I respond with disjointed quotes from movies, which I hope will one day remove that last wobbly hinge of his. (No luck yet).
Last week Jack emailed me a press release entitled "Grand Theft Auto IV to Be Released April 29; Culture War Begins Now" and after my typical poking, I got on to the topic of the Mass Effect controversy and was shocked, literally out of my socks, to find him defending the game... sort of. Apparently, even anti-gaming crusader Jack Thompson found self-help author Cooper Lawrence (who he refers to as a man), uninformed and the entire controversy contrived. Hellooooo kettle.
To: Brian
From: Jack
Immediate News Release - January 24, 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV to Be Released April 29; Culture War Begins Now
To: Jack
From: Brian
I like your new glasses.
To: Brian
From: Jack
Wow, as usual you're grasping the real news here.
To: Jack
From: Brian
I'm surprised you haven't been looking into Mass Effect.
http://kotaku.com/348692/ea-fighting-mad-about-fox-news-but-still-no-correction?cpage=2#viewcomments
To: Brian
From: Jack
Why would you be surprised. I don't see any problem with it. The guy who shot his mouth off about it had no idea what the Hell he was talking about.
To: Jack
From: Brian
You mean you're OK with mass effect?
To: Brian
From: Jack
Of course. This contrived controversy is absolutely ridiculous. Report that, why don't you?
Consider it reported. Now where did my socks go?









Comments
Holy shit! Who knew Jack still had some sanity and sense. I guess being a lawyer and all he probably see this all as libel.
I have no idea what to reply with. Really at a loss...
WTF o.O;
Wait, what?
"I like your new glasses."
Wow, I love it. Perfect answer.
Sweet glayven... but... and how... what about the... *breaks down*
Somebody hold me... I'm scared...
I think you have the correspondance out of order name wise?
Jack is not crazy? *world explodes*
huh, this makes no sense whatsoever.
maybe he is worried about getting the literal boot and is trying to play the not really crazy card
Ok, after reading this twice, I realized that the To/Froms got switched at the fourth e-mail. But on the point, the irony. I'll go check if hell has frozen over.
See? Everyone is down to break off a piece of that hot alien blue sugar.
@WoodyNvincible: whoops, fixed. Thanks for that.
Huh? Jack is actually making sense now? Is the world done for yet?
Does this mean the Seas are going to boil now? I was planning a vacation- but that may set things back a bit...
Excuse me Satain, I just need to close this window. Pigs are Flying through it and it's starting to annoy me, Sorry oh evil one what were you saying? It's starting to get really cold down there? Hell is freezing over?
The universe just divided by zero.
Is this takes one to know one or what?
You see, Jack Thompson is actually a sensible human being. There is a huge difference between a game like Mass Effect and the Grand Theft Auto series. I don't usually agree with the extreme measures he'd like to take against the gaming industry, but I do agree with the fundamental (and obvious) notion of keeping Mature rated games out of kids hands.
I don't know what to say. I think I see frogs raining from the sky and hear the soft hum of locusts as they approach.
Yaaaaay Jack! Joining forces with enemies to fight against the power of even MORE evil!
O_O
Well, maybe he played Mass Effect
or maybe he watched Zero Punctuation's review
or maybe he doesn't care about sex, only violence
which would mean he's British
TO ARMS, TO ARMS, THE REDCOATS ARE COMING!
This is obviously a joke. *Checks calendar* Wait it's not April yet!?
the to/from are still the wrong way round
It's a conspiracy!!!
Nooo, don't trust him! He's "Altair" in disguise!!!
Huh. Well, guess it shows you that he's not ENTIRELY evil. I mean, most of the time it appears he's just taking on games made by Rockstar...
Perhaps there's a soft spot in his heart for games that don't piss him off?
Cooper's a man? I thought that thing about the penis was just a lie created to spam her/his books...
That's it, not it's spooky.. I wasn't surprised by Adam Sessler or EA... But this got me. I'm officially sleeping with the lights on and a shotgun in my clutch cause I don't know what's going to happen next.
He's still a douche.
Hell hath revealed herself and she is frozen!
The End is nigh!
Brainwashing begins in 5... 4... 3... darn too late!
JT is a hard man to understand. What's his shoe size btw?
Wait WHAT?
o_O;;
I... I... am not sure exactly how I feel right now.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
THE WORLD IS GONE BATSHIT CRAZY!!!!!!!
HAAAAAALLLLLLPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!
Excellent photo of Jack, BTW.
The weirder thing is that you two seem to have this casual sort of email friendship going on. It's heartening.
@Amuro1X: Agreed, but what Jack does isn't as simple as keeping the games out of kids hands, he's trying to stop them from being made altogether. I don't think a 5 year old should be playing GTA4 anymore then Jack Thompson does, but that doesn't mean the game shouldn't be allowed to exist.
@ShaggE: glaeven (where do you get a y from?)
and wow. glasses. nice.
"I like your new glasses" was inspired! Personally, I'd go for "You look like Snoopy and it makes me smile!"
Encouraging to note that America's most hyperbole-prone lawyer can still see sense from time to time.
Hell has frozen over and devils balls must be frozen to his leg.
Flirtacious are we?
THIS IS MADNESS?!?!?!!
EA, Jack Thompson, O.o what next ? This has been one weird new year
Soooo, what would your reaction been five years ago if someone had predicted that Microsoft's consoles would be outselling Sony's, EA and Jack Thompson would be fighting on the side of gamers, and a top selling game was in the fitness category?
Me? I would have probably asked you who Jack Thompson was.
@featherblade360: NO, THIS IS KOTAKU!!!! *kicks Featherblade360*
The sky really is going to fall today.
I can't help but wonder if this is all part of Jack's evil sinister plan.. somehow.
Wait maybe the "he" jack was talking about was not Cooper but the guy defending it. So he was saying he agrees with the Cooper and has no problem with what SHE said.
awesome! Go go Jack.
Reverse psychology?
I kept telling you, yes I did, didn't I, I kept telling you, telling you all, warning, the signs, the signs, i'ts coming, THE APOCALYPSE!!!!!!!1!!1!!!!!!11!!!!!111!
isn't he just referring to the original guy who blogged about it, rather than calling Cooper Lawrence a guy?
not that it would make this any less hell-freezing-over worthy.
Prozac must have kicked in
I still say he has baked bean teeth.