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JackThompson to hold Microsoft responsible for "underage kids" playing Halo 3

Posted May 22, 2007 at 11:13PM EST by QJ Staff

Listed in: Xbox 360 Tags: Bill Gates, Hillary Clinton, Jack Thompson, Microsoft, NBC

Jack Thompson - Image 1

Another impending game release, another Jack Thompson e-mail. Game Almighty reports that the lawyer who has agreed not to sue Take-Two Interactive has supposedly sent an e-mail to Microsoft (addressed to Bill Gates). The e-mail states Thompson's problems with the impending release of Bungie Software's (currently in Beta) Halo 3. Game Almighty claims that the e-mail reads as such:

Bill Gates
Microsoft Corporation
Redmond, Washington

Re: Halo 3
Dear Mr. Gates:

As you know, the Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly found that games rated "Mature" by the video game industry-captured Entertainment Software Rating Board are routinely sold to kids under the age of 17 despite the age rating. The most recent failure rate of the ratings on "Mature" games, according to the FTC, is 42%. The entire rating system is a fraud, and "broken," the latter description aptly provided by Senator Hillary Clinton.

As you also know, Lee Boyd Malvo trained on MicrosoftÂ’s Halo to further enable him to become the remarkably efficient "DC Beltway Sniper." That was reported by NBC News at the time and was noted in MalvoÂ’s criminal trial.

You appeared on CBSÂ’ 60 Minutes II and rather revealing and usefully noted that "the cool thing about these games is that they transport you to a world you think is real." Precisely. Capcom has recently disclosed to investors that your video game industryÂ’s violent games, sold to children, pose a real hazard to the health of the industry. Right on.

The hyperviolent Microsoft Xbox 360 game Halo 3 is scheduled by your company for commercial release in September of this year. The Beta version that was released last week shows us all just how violent the game is and how inappropriate it is for play by anyone under 17, as the "Mature" rating it will surely receive indicates.

HereÂ’s the deal, Mr. Gates: Either Microsoft undertakes dramatic, real steps, through its marketing, wholesale, and retail operations to assure that Halo 3 is not sold, via the Internet and in stores, directly to anyone under 17, or I shall proceed to make sure that Microsoft is held to that standard by appropriate legal means. I have done that before successfully as to Best Buy, and I shall do so again as to Microsoft and all retailers of Halo 3.

Regards, Jack Thompson

Basically, Jack Thompson feels that Halo 3 is a game that's inappropriate for play by anyone under 17, and he's holding Microsoft responsible for the game being played by an underage person. Take this as you will.

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do any of these kids have parents? When kids do something wrong, things are automatically blames on videogames. How about blaming society, the parents, or maybe some of these kids are just plain psycho. What about movies and music? They can be very violent too. I remember these crusades on videogames from when pit-fighter came out, and it seems like it will never end. Videogames must be the scientific answer to violent people.

# hmm — Guest 2007-05-23 00:43

Crackdown is an M rated game... So they got it through the Beta program or something?

# loser! — Guest 2007-05-23 00:47

hes taking on the richest man in the world, is there something wrong with him!!! btw i love the way he says ''hyperviolent'' its so lame haha

# ... — Guest 2007-05-23 00:53

Oh dear god... some one should really do something about this guy. He goes out on a mass spree placing accusations on all developers.

# agree — Guest 2007-05-23 01:00

Sorry I agree with him here, I hate having to play with screaming hi pitched america 12 year olds on halo2 and hopefully halo3 won't have it.

# .. — Guest 2007-05-23 01:24

Common people (over 17) dont you see the benefits we can get from this a+ss!!! Halo 3 can actually break the 14 year old kid domination and let us grownups play each other (hey kids dont take it too hard you will just have to wait as we did)....Go Jack!!!

# ppl! — Guest 2007-05-23 01:25

Just ignore this Jackthompson guy. Do what bush does to the venezuela presidnet, ignore him. Let him talk what he wants

# . — lmxloco 2007-05-23 01:28

If Jack Thompson is so worried about games being sold to minors, he's writing his stupid letters to the wrong people. The video game industry (from developers, to the ESRB, to the retailers) are doing everything they can to avoid M rated games being sold to minors.

The problem with that is, as a gamestop clerk, the M rating means very little to a lot of parents, who give the "OK" for their son/daughter to buy whatever game they want.

Thompson needs to quit badgering the developers and publishers and start focusing on the parents. They're the ones who decide how their child is raised, NOT Microsoft.

# . — lmxloco 2007-05-23 01:34

In reply to myself, I just wanted to add that I do understand *why* Thompson is going after Microsoft and the like...it's because he's a money grubbing lawyer, and knows that he'll get more money if he places the blame on the companies that have that money.

It's quite evident *that* is what he cares most about...not the selling of M games to minors.

# ! — Guest 2007-05-23 01:35

its the f***ing partents falt - no game store would sell an 18 rated game to a kid - if the kids smart, he/she would just pre-order online - thats what i used to do : )

# ha — Guest 2007-05-23 01:41

jack is a sad funny little man

# This has pro's and con's... — Guest 2007-05-23 01:59

First off, Jack Thompson is an idiot. People like himself should maybe sit down and play a game every once and awhile and find the joys it can bring. I mean... you take away videogames and what are the kids to do? People find means to kill people in REAL life since they can't do it in a fantasy world. Just shut up Jack, you have no idea what you'd get yourself into.

But on the lighter side... no more kids in Halo? It would be a dream come true.

# Sniper training from Halo? — ssj3fox 2007-05-23 02:20

What?

# hmm — Guest 2007-05-23 03:14

Isnt this some form of blackmail?

# .... — Guest 2007-05-23 03:16

Jack Thompson gives good head... ask any kid under 17

# haha — Guest 2007-05-23 03:29

Does Jack really think he can make MS do anything... Its MS were talking about.... plus legally speaking the only law that keeps kids uder 17 from getting the M games are to be upheald by STORES... not by MS...... so.. haha Jack.... you bit the dust on this one... AGAIN...

# Jack...... you are, a moron. — Guest 2007-05-23 03:33

Ok, so first off, crackdown is M anyway, and should not be played by kids in the first place.... second of all, Microsoft is the LAST person the blame should be aimed at......

they didnt sell the game to underage kids.... the freekin shop did.... the ONLY person responsable is the SHOPS that sell the games to under age kids, then there perents for ether buying it for them, or letting there kids play them.

no and's, if's or but's, its the shops/perents falt, no one elses.

and Music is by FAR the most violant and brain washing format...... i have seen/know alot of people in the streets fighting because they think they are gangsta...... or rocking out in a concert punching eachother in the face...

jack, you are an idiot, and should have your job taken away from you.

go work at a McDonalds or something..... people mite actualy care what you have to say there.....mabe...

# learn how to f'ucking spell you idiot — Guest 2007-05-23 04:06

first of all i think is a good thing not to have kids playing these voilent video game. but i must admit that if their parent don't buy the game for them it would b harder for them to play. it would be so f'ucking sweet not to have all these little kids playing Gears or halo, like that the more adult generation could have more fun.

so f'uck all you homos

and s'uck my D!ck.

a very concerned parent

# A blessing — Guest 2007-05-23 04:12

This is a good thing people!! Screw thompson but his cause!! no more of thooose annoying @$$ little kids, no more screaming in my ear i can just dream of it now :)

:)

# dee dee dee — Guest 2007-05-23 04:38

Jack Thompson is an ignorant jackass! The stores sell the games, not Microsoft! i betch he just wants Bill Gate's money.

# You learn to spell, you *****got — Guest 2007-05-23 04:43

Funny how you tell the dude above you to learn to spell, yet you failed to spell violent.

despite that the other idiot can't spell either, I agree that music, TV, and movies are other places that display alot of violence.

Hey jack idiot thompson. I'm going to hire the mafia to hit you. I'll make sure that I request someone who doesn't play video games, so you might stand a chance to run away because they don't have the "Halo sniper training"

Good luck Jack, you're so fvcked!

# Damn right! — Guest 2007-05-23 05:13

Yeah go Jack, get those damn squealers off xbox Live! They should make it so that you have to be 16+ to play on Live! and ban those who aren't! God I hate those gay kids who have no balls, screaming like little *****es!

# Jacks an idiot — Guest 2007-05-23 05:13

Jack Thompson i absolutely hate you i wish i had the chance to kill you because your always trying to get rid of all the best games that exist.

# ... — Guest 2007-05-23 06:07

Him against M$!!??? and results are?

# Halo 3...? — Oraichu 2007-05-23 06:35

Halo is child friendly anyways, I don't even remember if it's blood in the game, if it is.. there's not much of it at least.

Go get upset about GTA, I wouldn't bother wasting my time on conplaining about Halo 3's weak form of violence.

# good on him — Guest 2007-05-23 06:48

microsoft deserves all the ***** it gets, especially since theirs a large group of people that will be concerned with microsofts invasion of privacy as seen on windows- genuine advantage takes more info than you think, and halo beta. come on jack close them down

# what a tool (read for an explanation) — Guest 2007-05-23 07:01

ok lets take a look at this, videostandards councils like ESRB rate the games and are the sole commisioners for the age ratings provided and placed on the game that i sold as "gold".

the reason he was successfull with taketwo was purely because the game was assessed psychologically and proven to be excessively violent, hence the lawsuit had a lot more leverage.

this ***** hasnt done his research and clearly assumes halo is in the same category as GTA, he doesnt have an inch of leverage on this case, and in my honest opinion is gonna get laughed at by microsoft, and it it does end up in the courts, laughed at by the judge.

# Gore or Violence — AoxomamoxoA 2007-05-23 07:17

It doesnt matter the ammount of blood, that isnt what makes it violent. Blood, guts, lims, etc all fall under Gore, not Violence. In Halo, youre still pointing a gun at another player and killing them, no matter how cartoony it seems, its still a form of violence. To say that a game like Halo is child friendly totally defeats the purpose of the rating system.

# Moron — Guest 2007-05-23 07:39

Jack has no idea who hes *****ing with Microsoft will hire the best lawyers in the world against him to make him look even more like a dumbass. I do want the little kids off Halo 3 though... So i see some good things from this and it wont effect me because i turn 17 in July (hooray for me) Also people dont only blame the little kids for trash talking you start ***** to and you know it. Then i have to cus you out and make you look like a moron so whatever.

# hmm — Guest 2007-05-23 07:41

I dont like the little kids on halo 3 that think they can talk ***** so i kinda like this but then the Halo 3 population may become alot lower... So there is good and bad some of the little kids though are pretty cool.

# . — Guest 2007-05-23 07:57

maybe the dipsh*t doesnt realize that crackdown is a mature rated game and thus not supposed to be sold to minors. That fact alone means that thompson has absolutely no grounds to sue MS. actually i hope he does because after M$ pays the judges thompson will only lose more money in court fees. and seriously, if video games taught kids to kill then jack thompson would be dead already, think about it.

# seriously... — Guest 2007-05-23 08:06

i was raised on doom and quake, and now im an engineer, wow, that was a big detriment to my life, give the kids their halo. what jack needs to do is get these little f*kers off live. i think the gaming community would be more supportive then.

# lol — Guest 2007-05-23 08:08

...u r dum

# I'm down for no kids... — Shatterdome 2007-05-23 08:21

Gears of wars does fine with no kids (well, very few) online....

but damn....when will this loser die ? Seriously why is he picking on Halo 3....oh yeah, because it's super popular and will put him in the spotlight.....man, Gears is only 20 times more violent then halo 3 will ever be....

Not only that, it's not up to MS to enforce laws...they are abiding by the law by putting a mature rating on the game....it's up to the stores and parents to make sure that the kids do not play it....

Freaking guy.....please get hit by a truck...

# old people. ftw — Guest 2007-05-23 08:54

damn, im going to have to get the retical i had tatooed into my eye removed now

# hahahaha — Guest 2007-05-23 09:42

Hyperviolent...LOL..omg...

# F(_)CK him — Guest 2007-05-23 10:00

if he did a little research he would find that studys show that violence in video games appears to take no effect on people in real life. i find it to be the exackt oppisite, when i have a bad day and want to beat the ***** out of someone, if i pop grand theft auto in, kill a few cops, i feel much better and dont want to beat the ***** out of some one. sure there are the FEW people that have a disorder to believe everything they see and obsess but those are the ones that shouldnt play not 13 year olds. hell im 25 and i think thats bs. F(_)CK jack F(_)CK YOU

# .... — Guest 2007-05-23 10:11

crackdown is a M game

the frind code is a different story

# No — Guest 2007-05-23 10:32

It's a threat of a lawsuit, which is legal.

# LOL — Guest 2007-05-23 10:39

this guy really needs to get a life of just get assassinated

# that dude — Guest 2007-05-23 11:57

is a *****

# Losers! — Guest 2007-05-23 12:54

Jack Tompson and Hilary Clinten don`t know squat! Jack Tompson and Hilary Clinten deserve to burn in the incenterater. They should mind thier own buissness. So what if kids under 17 play these games. If parents teach them right they won`t do bad things. I mean i play online with socom fire team bravo (psp) and i meet all kinds of kids under 17 (even 7 year olds). Halo is one of the best frachises ever! And he should just leave halo 3 beta alone. To blame everybody doing bad things because of these games doesn`t mean they didn`t learn those bad acts from these games. This is all bull*****! I use esrb ratings to wipe my ass with. ***** you Jack Tompson and Hilary Clinten.

# We should be supporting him. — Guest 2007-05-23 13:10

For now we should be supporting him. So we wouldn't have any problems with the *****ing annoying kiddies playing Halo 3. Get a Wii jerks.

# i hate jack...but — darkgeekrocker 2007-05-23 15:16

halo 3 was asking for it...media you know...anyway halo 3 will be very popular,but it could be known in history as "the first game to take a stand to underage gaming"...so far the media has shaped the usa...so much sex, vilence, drugs, and parents who ether use the stuff or ignore the truth, throw their child's future away...society must understand that you must get rid of all bad things no matter whate age...just like christianity...you have to give all of your life (how you act ) over to god...because god doesnt want just a little bit of you, he wants you to walk with him 24/7... media has changed society to a very sinful place... so very sinful

# younger generation — Guest 2007-05-23 15:25

kids are better then older people in videogames thats y yall r mad cause u cant take the fact that someone younger then u just owned u and so u say u hate f**king kids. well some of the older people are worst then us like if u talk or say sumtin they make fun of your voice or they say get owned little kid. so all of you people who say it would be a dream come true to see younger kids go u can give me bops 4 all i care and ***** u jack thompson u need a life

# What's the euphemism I'm looking for? — Guest 2007-05-23 15:33

"Barking up the wrong tree"? That doesn't sound quite right, but it'll do. Sending multiple completely unwarranted letters verging on hate-mail to who is essentially the most powerful man in the world probably isn't a good idea. But then again, Jack isn't known for good ideas.

# jack tompson is smart — Guest 2007-05-23 16:07

Well this guy must not look at this or even play them too bad the best says RP so it does not have a full rating and also as for an online game it says it's gameplay my change during online play and that is something no one can controll

# Tsk. — Guest 2007-05-23 16:15

a) Thompsons assertion that violent video games can train people to become efficient killers is only a half truth. True, prolonged exposure to violent media (games, movies, television, magazines, billboards, etc) can cause desensitization to violence, although it is more of a family influence than anything else. However, videogames do nothing to teach kids how to efficiently operate weapons nor to teach them how to succesfully plan and account for the logistical details of an assault. I believe we can all agree that the real fault in these tragedies lie with the underlying problems of society in general which allows these kids access to weapons and which fails to provide them with a decent upbringing and values. It's funny how Thompson refuses to address that issue.

In any case, Thompson was able to successfully pursue Best Buy because Best Buy sold the games directly to minors. Microsoft cannot be held legally liable since Microsoft is not the one failing to check for I.D, nor are they engaging in any substantial marketing targeting minors. Last time I checked, they aren't putting out video's of kermit the frog running around with a gun in order to promote Halo 3.

It's interesting how Thompson refuses to practice REAL law. Maybe it's because he knows he does not have the competence to tackle the true problems facing society.

# 1st amendment — Guest 2007-05-24 01:01

Its called freedom of speech, Jack. If you don't like it get the f.u.c.k out of america

# Thank you jack — Guest 2007-05-24 02:44

I am very pleased to see Jack doing this. My son plays this "Halo" game all the time and it upsets me. I dont know how he gets his hand on this stuff. I hope that Jack Thompson is able to stop any more of these Halo games from being released. It is WAY too violent for children and the stuff that goes on in this game should not even be seen by kids let alone put them in control of what happens. Thank you Jack.

PS he's kind of cute...

# This guy doesn't know who he's messing with — Guest 2007-05-24 03:09

They're gonna find him in a creek bed with with a Halo case in his ass. You don't mess with people with that kind of money. Bill might just go Soprano on his ass.

# This guy doesn't know who he's messing with — Guest 2007-05-24 03:10

They're gonna find him in a creek bed with with a Halo case in his ass. You don't mess with people with that kind of money. Bill might just go Soprano on his ass.

# what a tard — Guest 2007-05-24 06:16

Someone needs to give a good hard kick to the shin!

# Your Right! — Guest 2007-05-24 06:21

Your right these games are "WAY" to violent for children hence the reasoning for the friggin giant "M" on the front and back of the box that says for 17+ ages.

# jacks sux — Guest 2007-05-24 08:46

micro aint responsible 4 a kid buyin it from sum kid in skool like i did b4 i turned 17 a couple dayz ago jack need 2 let gamers be jus cuz u shootin sumbody up in a fictional game doesn't mean u gonna run down the street wit sum gun n start shooting up ppl

# well... — Guest 2007-05-25 06:20

seriousley hes just doing it for media attention and to blame someone other then the *****ty perents that buy there underage people these games, seriousley if your gonna sue anyone dont sue the people that put the MATURE lables on the game but the retailers that sell these damn games to people. there ether selling mature games to children or perents that ignore the lables and buy the damn games for there little "i want it now" mentatlity children, training games wtf is he talking about the only training game to my knowlege is operation flashpoint which was originaly a simulation engine for the chezkoslovakian army who couldnt afford the development costs. its like saying pacman was the reason extasy was so popular in the 80's hes a media attention seeking fool pulling on the heart strings of victims relatives from the murderers who already had problems unrelated to video games, jack chill the *****out and blame someone else....is it because u was beaten as a child then your daddy wouldnt buy you a new crossword puzzle!

# /sigh — Guest 2007-05-27 03:19

This guy is a *****ing moron.

nuf said.

# Jack is a n00b — Guest 2007-05-31 00:30

is jack trying to take on Microsoft, he got Pwned by Take 2 i would not be suprised if Bill gates has him assasinated ROFL actually it would be funny if they got some guys dressed up as Spartans to Kick his Ass!

# Yo — Guest 2007-06-03 13:00

Lol so does your mom she posted a vid on pornotube.com lol hahaha, wooo!

# Wow. — Guest 2007-06-16 23:19

Since when was Microsoft, or any developer/publisher for that matter, responsible for their games being sold to minors? He points out he was successful against Best Buy, but Best Buy doesn't make games, they sell them. For a lawyer, he doesn't really think out his case very thoroughly. I honestly wonder if he isn't secretly paid by video game companies to make a testic...er, spectacle of himself for the media. As the saying goes, any publicity is good publicity.

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JackThompson to hold Microsoft responsible for "underage kids" playing Halo 3

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