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Jack Thompson calls Manhunt 2 Wii a murder training device, Florida lawyer agrees

Posted Jun 11, 2007 at 3:15PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Wii Tags: Florida, Fox News, Jack Thompson, Nintendo, Wiimote

M-rated games coming to the Wii are expected to be criticized and contested. Manhunt 2, in particular, is receiving much word from anti-game lawyers. In an interview by Fox News, Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum talked about the game's Wii version requiring players to slash and stab using the Wiimote.

When talking about violent video games and lawyers, it's almost inevitable to include Jack Thompson's name. This time, he's the one who sparked the issue by sending a letter to McCollum and Florida Governor Charlie Crist. The letter said:

Florida retailers are scheduled to sell a very violent video game called Manhunt 2 which will be available, remarkably, for Â“playÂ” on the kids-friendly Nintendo Wii gaming platform. The Wii device does not utilize traditional push button game controllers but instead utilizes hand-held motion capture devicesÂ… It is a training device.

Let's not go into the idea that JT is looking for backup on his endeavors. Crist still haven't taken a position, but McCollum took the story. The interview with him expressing concerns is expected to be aired sometime before Manhunt 2's July 9 release.

Like what he did with Bully, Thompson is already suggesting beforehand that the game be considered public nuisance. How he contests a game he probably knows nothing about aside from a few screenshots and videos, we may never know. Heck, it's not even out yet - same reason why his attempts against Bully failed. Who knows if a harmless game like Trauma Center would have doctors poking each other's eyes out if nobody played it yet?

Meanwhile, McCollum's office took notice of the fuzz. His Press Secretary sent Game Politics a letter that read:

Attorney General Bill McCollum is concerned about any games which may instill violence in children, particularly games that encourage children to engage in violent behavior, even in simulation. He believes it is important to help protect children from influences which may introduce violence into their lives and stresses the importance of parental involvement in the efforts to keep these influences out of our homes and away from our families.

Looks like Super Smash Brothers Brawl will take some heat too, since it encourages kids to beat the crap out of their friends and throw them out the stage. Nintendo is not fazed, stating that games simply have different audiences just like movies, televisions, and books. Don't let the kids touch Manhunt 2, problem solved.

Via Game Politics

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So now adults will finally have games that they will enjoy more on the wii, and then people want them cancelled??? I'm sorry, but games are games, and real life is real life.

"Looks like Super Smash Brothers Brawl will take some heat too, since it encourages kids to beat the crap out of their friends and throw them out the stage."

If this really happens, I will sell the wii, and never support Nintendo again.

# . — Guest 2007-06-09 16:53

I create a game and name it "Murder Simulator."

The whole point of the game would not be creative ways to murder people, but creative ways to torture people.

I would include a cheat code to unlock Jack Thompson as a victim.

I would bet it'd be the highest selling game in video game history based on principle alone.

# I'll have it on the ps2! :D — senjutsu 2007-06-09 18:44

It's the "jack thompsons" who are "training killers" since someone will kill him one day, and it's gonna be a gamer! mouhahaha, *joke (he'll die after a loooong and useless life

)

# sighed — Guest 2007-06-09 19:27

because of those damn game freak people, now we just only buy game that rated for our age

(I am 16 and want to play scarface, when I tried to buy it, they said I am not old enough. miim

# ugghh — Guest 2007-06-09 20:49

Things like this are just stupid for 3 reasons.

He is talking like Wii is only for kids, ITS NOT, its for everyone.

There is a reason that ESRB ratings exist, to stop 9 year olds from getting their innocent hands from games like this.

People who will play this know its not the real thing, games and real life are very different and people know it.

Although personally i really dont like these kinda gory games, i still think people should have the right to play them.

# lol — ld_ruiz69 2007-06-09 21:31

I'd definitely buy that one

# And so he strikes again — ld_ruiz69 2007-06-09 21:33

Just because its a game doesnt mean kids will play it. Of course there will be a few, but most parents wont let their kids play that game so whats the fuzz?

# Nintendo have it right! — Guest 2007-06-09 22:11

"Nintendo is not fazed, stating that games simply have different audiences just like movies, televisions, and books. Don't let the kids touch Manhunt 2, problem solved"

Exactly!

# Stop. — Oraichu 2007-06-09 23:36

People are giving them too much attention.

# hah innocent — Guest 2007-06-10 06:33

any 9 year old i've played in an online game swears more than I do.

# beat me to the quote — Guest 2007-06-10 06:36

couldn't have said it better myself

# ... — Guest 2007-06-10 08:21

jack thompson is just an attention whore with attention herpes

# er... — Guest 2007-06-10 10:25

Jack Thompson is like a *****roach. He exists but we don't know what significance he has.

# I'll finish it — Guest 2007-06-10 11:10

Jack thompson is stupid voilent games don't cause real voilence i'm proof I'm 13 i'v played Mgs1,2, and 3 I've also played RE4 and god of war and my parents let me so I'm proof oh and the wii is for everyone

# Idiocy — Guest 2007-06-10 11:23

How long until rockstar makes a game about lynching lawyers staring Jack Thompson. I mean how can he even know what this game is like its not even out yet. He just needs to stop stealing plublicty from Rockstar.

# ... — Guest 2007-06-10 11:56

that is like the coolest tag line for a system ever its "wii's not just a system... And this is not just a game... It's a murder training device..."

thats soo cool way to go nitendo

# Man... — Guest 2007-06-10 13:07

I heard those are worse than crabs on a dirty hookers :O!

# Hi — Guest 2007-06-10 13:27

I'm a pile of *****, a douche bag and I am gay with Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum

# Hi — Guest 2007-06-10 13:29

I'm a pile of *****, a douche bag and I'm gay with Crist and McCollum

# Idiot. — Guest 2007-06-10 13:40

why would you sell your wii and not support nintendo if one of its games is criticized?

# ... — Guest 2007-06-10 13:53

i believe that was sarcasm... don't get your little panties in a twist. although JT is a *****ing moron...

# you know what rockstar should do — Guest 2007-06-10 15:37

They should hire Chuck Norris and make him beat up Jack Thompson or something.

# well i say — darkgeekrocker 2007-06-10 15:39

that having man hunt on the wii isnt the smartest move for the"family friendly" console.

and duh the kids wont get the game...parents or grandpa will get it so they will have fun in a more mature way...but are they going to keep the mature game out of reach of the child? i highly doubt it, at most the parent will set the game next to the wii or leave it in, whats stoping the child?

dont get me wrong, i think jack thomson takes this WAY to serious, i am just stating its not hard for a child to get a hold of a game...also plz dont give me any crap about you being mature (21-40) any having a wii...because to have a wii at said age with no family is just psychologically disturbing...BUT if you have a girlfriend, its the best gift to have fun and learn how to work together.

# Hello — Guest 2007-06-10 15:55

The only game i wont complain about on the wii is a game that involves inserting the wiimote up my ass.

# don't misunderstand me — Guest 2007-06-10 16:07

I play video games because they are fun I play games like the legend of zelda and mario but I do play voilent games I don't feel affected by them at all I tell that I won't do anything stupid like what Jack Thompson says kid would do but i don't just play voilent games I play games that I like and get good reveiws my parents do let me play parents let me play them because they don't believe Jack Thompson P.S . for some reason I couldn't reply to you

# sorry for my bad grammar — Guest 2007-06-10 16:17

instead I ment to say tell my parents voilent games don't affect me and I made a few mistakes in the sentences

# HA!HA!HA!HA! — Guest 2007-06-10 16:20

that was funny good one

# I could post you. — Guest 2007-06-10 16:24

I thought I was posting my message to myself.

# I understand — Guest 2007-06-10 16:31

the ESRB rating system is to keep MA games out of the hands of kids and teens but Jack Thompson is outrageous about his claims about violent videogames

# Fox News!? — Guest 2007-06-10 16:33

Isn't that just the new name for "The Jerry Springer Show"?

# parents — Guest 2007-06-10 16:40

please don't blame my parents about me getting violent video games they are great parents and wants whats best for me P.S. the wii a lock for inapropriote games

# . — Guest 2007-06-10 18:18

Ah, the donkey punch manovour.

# J. Thompson, hardcore gamer! — Guest 2007-06-10 20:09

I don't understand why Jack Thompson keeps talking i'll about games.

Whenever he talks about a new game that's gonna destroy the world (he does it every day!) it sounds like, he knows what he's talkin' about,

But to know what he's talking about, when talking about all those games he's dissin', he has to be a real hardcore gamer!

# Parental Lock — Guest 2007-06-10 21:20

Any self respecting, wii owning parent will know that the wii has parental control.

You set it to a certain age level, and any game above that requires a password to play.

So even if the disc is left next to or even in the Wii, children still can't play it without the password.

wiki - "European units mainly use the PEGI rating system,[64] whereas North American units use the ESRB rating system.[65] The Wii unit supports the native rating systems of many countries, including CERO in Japan, the USK in Germany, both the PEGI and BBFC in the United Kingdom and the OFLC in Australia and New Zealand."

Thats where Ninty get the "Child Friendly" tag for the wii from.

So whats Thompson going on about, the statement "Don't let the kids touch Manhunt 2, problem solved." is completely viable, and works well.

# Omg... — Guest 2007-06-11 00:28

Frikin' A! I mean I know Jack Thomson is a loser with nothing better to contest than a slew of violent (not voilent, like some people have been spelling it) video games, but come on with the horribly misspelled sophmoric attacks against him. Don't you think he scans these sites?? That is only going to piss him off more. If we want to win this, we need to do it the right way..In court.

# The Importance of Parents — Guest 2007-06-11 00:38

The wonderful, magical thing about all of this is that the game is certainly not going to be within the rating range of the impressionable children. Therefore, it becomes less of Thompson's responsibility to warn people against it as it it is the parent's responsibility to employ parental locks on their Wii and common-sense in general.

It certainly isn't a game designed with minors in mind, and that's why we have the rating. I admit, much like tobacco and alcohol, kids have a habit of attaining things they aren't meant to have. And the Wii IS meant for a younger age group (and the older crowd too, just not as many in the middle).

But Jack Thompson's reaction is absurd given the situation.

# Photo2Text — Guest 2007-06-11 01:29

see http://photo2text.com/

# Common sense, please. — Guest 2007-06-11 04:11

Seriously, the people saying "ong jack r doucebag" are just completely ignorant on this topic. He's right in many ways; Manhunt II is a violent game, hence he doesn't want kids playing it. Is that so bad? In America, it's entirely possible for anyone to buy a game of any age rating. While I don't agree with pulling it from the shelves, both this and all other violent games should be age protected. Is there really something that bad about it?

# I agree with darkgeekrocker — Guest 2007-06-11 04:33

While J.T. has been known to lash out at all violent video games, and I feel that his intentions are good (keep violence away from children) he takes it too far (total censorship). I am an avid gamer, and have been most of my life, but this is one case where I must agree with him. Nintendo's claim is they are the family friendly console, nothing about this game embodies that. Yes I understand they have a mature demographic and they want to release games that those gamers enjoy. But manhunt is the equivalent of the video game snuff film. The actions your character can committ are brutal to say the least, and the wii controls just make the intense (I would say excessive) violence even more immersive.

Parents should be vigilant of what their kids play, but the developers and producers should be somewhat conscious of the product they are releasing into the market place. I'm not saying violence is bad, some stylized violence in games is acceptable and unnavoidable; but this is a game where the purpose of it is to commit horrible acts of violence, the plot (if it is anything like the 1st game) is minimal and is simply there so that you can act out the next greusome scene.

I am against censorship, but this game should recieve an Adult Only rating from the ESRB so it is more difficult for young gamers to acquire but still accessible to the mature crowd, and parents need to be made aware of the level of gore and interactivity so that they know to make sure their kids don't play it.

*That was longer than expected, but there is my 2 cents.

# . — Guest 2007-06-11 06:06

As much as I don't like Jack Thompson and i think his views are absurd....it's still not nice to speak about someones death.

# Makes no sense — Guest 2007-06-11 06:18

Since when does swining a wiimote count as 'training muderers'. You can't even compare the two things, say swinging the control swings a chainsaw in the game; hardly the same as real life is it?

I don't think kids should play this but not because I think it will train murdered but it will scare them.

# Can we get this jackoff sterilized or something? — Guest 2007-06-11 07:35

This is yet another example of a *****less retard shooting his mouth off because he can't get a woman. I, naturally, will be addressing this in my next Awful Snack (www.theawfulshow.com)!

# WTF Dark? — Guest 2007-06-11 15:32

"plz dont give me any crap about you being mature (21-40) any having a wii...because to have a wii at said age with no family is just psychologically disturbing"

WTF? If Manhunt 2 is on the Wii, why would't "mature" gamers want it? And where do you get off insulting older Wii owners? Jackass.

# re: Paul — darkgeekrocker 2007-06-11 15:56

you forgot the rest of my quote first of all, " BUT if you have a girlfriend, its the best gift to have fun and learn how to work together" , and i only really added that bit about age because i do believe the wii is the family console, and also to try not geting inmature replies...but from your comment it seems it failed, and to me, it only imbarasses you and shows your age, or possiably you mental state.

anyway the wii is a family fun console and would be best used with a family or future spouse, but alone, it just wasnt ment to be played.

# oddly i agree — Guest 2007-06-11 16:57

im usually quick to hate on JT. but i agree with him somewhat on this one. choking somebody ingame usin the wimote and nunchuck to make the motions is way closer to simulating murder then pressing the square button. and manhunt is purely a sick twisted murder oriented game. but thats just it its a game.

so this is the most legit claim jack has ever made. and although i dont support him. he isnt completely wrong.

# um — Guest 2007-06-11 17:03

If your old enough to play this game then you 're old enough to make your own decisions as to whether or not you want to go on a killing spree. They say they don't want children to play this "murder simulator". Excuse me, but isn't that what the ESRB rating system was invented for? If your letting children play this game you have issues. Only adults are supposed to play a game like this, and I don't think there's any danger in selling it to an adult.

# good point — Guest 2007-06-11 17:12

i agree the rating system is there for a reason.

# Doesnt Make Sense — Guest 2007-06-11 17:44

I have nothing agaisnt Jack thompson hes only doing what he believes is right, and I cant argue with that, but common on now, thats why they have ratings on the damn games, but now days society will blame anything, even if it's child play they'll consider anything "violent", you dont want kids turning into psychopats then do your job as a parent your kid buy's the game you know what to do.

cant wait till the game comes out ~wiikey~

# I'm confused — Guest 2007-06-11 18:22

I thought Rockstar won a court case against Thompson barring him from saying anything bad about Manhunt 2? Or is there some weird kind of legal loophole going on here?

# photo2text — Guest 2007-06-11 19:57

see http://photo2text.com/

# photo2text — Guest 2007-06-11 20:01

see http://photo2text.com/

# STOP — Guest 2007-06-11 22:42

giving coverage to this old white fool. he only so effective cos people listen to him.

# I agree with this dude — Guest 2007-06-12 06:12

I agree with this dude right here. Jack is fu*in it up for everybody. Right when Nintendo decides to allow some decent games on their platform this b*tch made motha fu*a has to Fu*k it up for everybody.

# This old guy — Guest 2007-06-12 17:34

Must be really board now he is trying to go after nintendo he is just mad cause he wasted his life away doing nothing.

# why i left him — Guest 2007-06-17 04:46

this is the reason why i jeft him he was too busy humping this game rather than getting in bed with me.

Old man will die a virgin

# @Paul — Guest 2007-06-21 22:14

Sorry to rain on your parade, but the Wii is made for single player and multi-player. You are forgetting all of the Wii, VC, and Gamecube single player games out there that are great. Legend of Zelda TP, Metroid Prime, Ninja Gaiden, Legend of Zelda (NES), Metroid (NES), just to name a few on the Wii. While I do have a blast playing with my wife and/or friends, I enjoy gaming by myself as well. While more mature games I prefer using my PC, I still enjoy them on the Wii for a different experience. There's no rhyme or reason (let alone logical sense) why any console (including the PC) is just for multi-player or just for single player.

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Jack Thompson calls Manhunt 2 Wii a murder training device, Florida lawyer agrees

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