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The Almighty Buck Government The Courts Entertainment Games News

Game Violence Lawsuit Hits Take Two, Sony, Wal-Mart 67

Posted by simoniker from the famous-radiohead-song dept.
oDDmON oUT writes "According to TBO/AP, $246 million is being sought from hardware manufacturer Sony, game publisher Take Two, and retailer Wal-Mart, by the families of victims killed by two teenagers supposedly inspired by Grand Theft Auto. The suit was initiated by Miami lawyer, Jack Thompson, and is not the first time that Thompson has attempted to sue game makers. His crusade to implicate video games in violent incidents has led to countless media appearances, but his 1997 efforts to implicate id and others in a $33 million dollar suit stemming from a school shooting ultimately failed, when the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case, writing that: 'We find that it is simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom.'" This looks to be an extension of the lawsuit filed last month.
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Game Violence Lawsuit Hits Take Two, Sony, Wal-Mart More

Game Violence Lawsuit Hits Take Two, Sony, Wal-Mart

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  • As a character profile (Score:3, Funny)

    by JabberWokky ( 19442 ) <slashdot.com@timewarp.org> on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @10:17AM (#7281131) Homepage Journal
    When I was in Florida, this guy was great. He pickets arcades. The media eats it up and does tight shots making it look like there are more than five people there with four bored kids.

    --
    Evan

  • this is just dumb. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Nutcase ( 86887 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @10:18AM (#7281143) Homepage Journal
    "from the famous-radiohead-song dept"

    Which famous radiohead song are we talking about?

    In any case, this is just dumb. This guy just keeps taking pot shots in the hopes that he will one day find the judge who agrees with him?

    I hate when people try to legislate morality.

    I hate it more when criminals (or their families) try to sue someone else for "causing them to be criminals" - the game companies should sue the kids and their families for slandering their game or something. Just to highlight the absurdity.
  • KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A $246 million lawsuit was filed against the designer, marketer and a retailer of the video game series "Grand Theft Auto" by the families of two people shot by teenagers apparently inspired by the game.

    The suit claims marketer Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., designers Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games, and Wal-Mart, are liable for $46 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages.

    Aaron Hamel, 45, a registered nurse, was killed and Ki
  • The slashdot editors must be so conflicted. On the one hand, Walmart is being sued, which is a good thing. On the other hand, they are being sued for distributing video games, which is a bad thing. What's a guy to do?

    • Re:you must be soooooo conflicted. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by pbrammer ( 526214 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @12:21PM (#7282279)
      Take Two and Sony should not be sued -- they did their part by putting a MA rating on the game.

      Wal*Mart on the other hand, should be sued because they allegedly sold the game to kids who are under the age of the MA rating. If their parents bought the game, then Wal*Mart should not be sued, but rather their parents should.

      This is an easy case to close IMO.

      Phil
      • Arguably, if the state doesn't have laws against selling an MA game to a minor, then Wal-Mart can't be sued, either. If they do have laws barring the selling of the game, then Wal-Mart's in deep shit.

        Added to that, I believe that I had read that the parents bought the game for the kids. If that's the case, then there is no case for any suit other than the victims & their families to sue the kids and their redneck parents.

        <sarcasm>

        Now, if you'll excuse me: since I was playing GTA:VC last nigh
        • Wal*Mart might be liable for selling the video game, but isn't it a bit silly that they're suing the video game distribution system but not the firearm distribution system? Who knows, the parents probably bought the rifles at Wal*Mart as well. Seems to me that the people who should be sued are the parents who let their kids buy the game, play the game, and get access to the weaponry.
    • The solution is obvious. Nuke them from orbit; it's the only way to be sure.

  • "Wal-Marting" of games (Score:3, Insightful)

    by John M Ford ( 653329 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @10:28AM (#7281241)
    I fear this will only accelerate the trend of removing violent and /or adult content from games and other entertainment carried by major retailers.

    I was really looking forward to experiencing the dark side of RPG with Temple of Elemental Evil. Unfortunately, it looks like the brothel story line from the original PnP modules was removed. Apparently, it was removed in order to have Wal-Mart carry the game.

    I am an adult. I enjoy content that is not appropriate for everyone. If Wal-Mart will not carry what I want, I will buy it where I can. I just wonder if Wal-Mart's influence will mean that the content will no longer even be produced.

    John

    • Re:"Wal-Marting" of games (Score:5, Insightful)

      by NexusTw1n ( 580394 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @11:01AM (#7281571) Journal
      That storyline may have been removed but the plot about a cabin boy/slave who loves his master despite the fact he regularly physically hurts him was kept in. The aforementioned underage boy will flirt openly with male characters in the group.

      The irony with Walmart being inconsistant with its demands for censorship is it leaves them wide open to the charge of disapproving of consenting adults paying for sex, while having no problem with child abuse...

      Whereas if they hadn't censored the brothel, they could at least argue that they don't care about the content as long as minors don't buy it.

      It's a bit like demanding the rocking car in GTA3 is taken out while having no problem with killing a hooker for her money. It generates a rather mixed message about your morality.
      • "Whereas if they hadn't censored the brothel, they could at least argue that they don't care about the content as long as minors don't buy it."

        Hell, this is Wal-Mart. Minors probably sell it.
    • Wal-Mart has already started to alter the content of CDs. There was a recent BusinessWeek feature on Wal-Mart [businessweek.com] about the power it has over the economy. See the Cultural Gatekeeper section. Music companies already provide sanitized versions of CDs with the explicit lyrics removed. Some magazines are not carried or have to be sleeved. Manufacturers of other things have had to make changes just for Wal-Mart.

  • At least..... (Score:2, Funny)

    by drfrog ( 145882 )
    theyve stopped blaming heavy metal
  • Im inspired by the US miltarys actions in iraq to go and drive through this person house.

    And the good thing is that the goverment would be reponsible for inspiring such a behavior in me.
  • It seems to me that we can really consider Rockstar/Take Two as among one of the most influential game designers in the world. Honestly, how many people get to say they went the same route as Id?

    On a serious note, I can definitely see this as a cop out for major game distribution stores (Walmart, EB Games) to stop selling "questionable" games. I have been playing violent games since I was about 8 years old, and I'm not violent in the least.

    People like this need to take a breather, and actually think for o
    • they were probably mentally unstable enough to kill them from watching a movie, listening to a song, or having a conversation about Barney

      Let's be honest, having a conversation about Barney would push MOST of us over the edge :)

      -matt

  • First thing I'd ask is which version of the game they played.
    Just since if they said GTA3 then, well, you couldn't shoot people in cars until Vice City and that would get the case dismissed easily.

    Only thing I'm scared of is that because they claimed it was GTA that inspired them, and because in Vice City you can do exactly as they were, that it may end up differently this time.
    Oh, dear god let's hope not!

    • Re:If I were Take Two's Lawyer... (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      They were trying to shoot the sides of semis, or more specifically the trailers of semis. They missed and killed people following behind the trucks.

      There are no semi trailers in GTA3, or Vice City.
  • We have been through this thing many times, When the colombine shooting happend what did they blame? Doom, quake etc. Did they ever stop to think that maybe these games had little or nothing to do wih them? OH NO! I play doom and Wolf3d regularly, does that mean I am in danger of shooting up a school? SURE! Lock me up before I can! They are just looking for somthing to blame it on other then the parents lack of concern for their children which in my opinion is the main reason things like this happen.

  • Standing in a Barney suit with an AK47... (Score:3, Funny)

    by Oddly_Drac ( 625066 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @11:34AM (#7281930)
    Think about it. Someone offs Jack Thompson in a Barney suit. Current logic dictates that Barney is evil. Everyone wins.* * Please note that this is comedic and should not be taken orally or literally.

  • In other news... (Score:5, Funny)

    by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @11:38AM (#7281964) Homepage
    This week's tops at the box office is Time Warner's remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which took in a whopping 28 million dollars for a 9 thousand dollar per screen average, yet only featured one dismemberment every 20 minutes. It dethroned Disney's ultraviolent Kill Bill, which continued to charge ahead at the box office. With an enviable 3 week total of 43.2 million dollars it's averaging 240 thousand dollars for every man woman and child disembowled, dismembered, or decapitated for your viewing pleasure.

    In other news, a spat of school violence is sweeping across the nation. "I didn't even realize that trenchcoat wearing freak existed before he put on a hockey mask, pulled out a 2-foot machete, and started lumbering towards everyone" one spunky but virtuous survivor at a Des Moines High School told reporters. "We usually just laughed at him. Then he started killing us. Then the cops shot him dead. Who is laughing now Freak?"

    Parents across the nation have uncovered the source of the violence: games that you play on your television, AKA "Videoed-Games" were present in all of the troubled children's rooms. "My son was a model student," the mother of one such corrupted child told reporters Tuesday, "the babysitter said he always came home from school on time, he never missed a meal (food disappeared regularly from the refridgerator), and he was so quiet and respectful those times we took him to see House of the Dead, 28 Days, House of 1000 corpses, and Spy Kids 3D. The other kids roughed him up a bit, but you know... boys will be boys. And then... And then..." The mother broke down into tears, "And then we accidentally opened the door to his room, and discovered these shiny little disks everywhere. They all had names like 'Devil Dice,' 'Dark Savior,' and 'Speed Devils Online'. He had a House of the Dead game that was so realistic it integrated footage from the movie! I immediatly increased his beatings from one to four per day. But even that wasn't enough to save him from the influence of these Demon Games."

    "His father will be furious when the warden tells him," she added. "I'm so upset by this gaming-inspired lack of morality, I need to go watch 'Special Victims Unit.'" The mother then left the interview, forgetting the small baby she had brought with her.

  • Plus, Video Games Made Me Fat! (Score:5, Funny)

    by frenchgates ( 531731 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @12:15PM (#7282254)
    All those hours playing Pac-Man and Burger-Time made me eat too much!
    • I should put together a short film about videogame violence about a serial killer who goes out every Halloween in a yellow jumpsuit and with a can of blue spraypaint who cannibalizes children who go out dressed as ghosts, leaving behind only their eyes.
  • Really, video games are not to blame. If it's anything, it would have to be the parents. If you don't want your kids to go out on a shooting spree, teach them that shooting people in the head is bad. instill in them a sense of right and wrong.
    Even if, for some reason, this game sparked some sort of violent behavior in these kids, you can still blame it on the parents. The last time I checked, Grand Theft Auto was rated M anyway, parents should learn to give a damn about what their children play. These kids
    • Really, video games are not to blame. If it's anything, it would have to be the parents. If you don't want your kids to go out on a shooting spree, teach them that shooting people in the head is bad. instill in them a sense of right and wrong.

      Yes, shoot for the neck, knees ,and groin they squirm longer that way...
      Ok, bad joke, but seriously this type of thing happens over and over again. Some children are just screwed up in the head, usully the reason can be found sobbing over the bullet riddled body

  • Great (Score:2, Insightful)

    by bnavarro ( 172692 )
    This guy is just another Ambulance Chasing(tm) Lawyer; blaming everybody but the actual criminal for the crime.

    When the hell are we going to see tort reform that puts these guys out of business?

  • My thoughts... (Score:2, Funny)

    by inkless1 ( 1269 )
    Dear Jack Thompson,

    We will agree that video games can have a harmful effect on kids when you agree that parents who raise thoughtless murdering psychopaths are jackasses. Deal? Good. Oh, and instead of $260 million dollars - you get nothing. Good? Good.

    Signed,
    Some gamers.

    -
    Cathode Tan [cathodetan.com]
  • Let me get this straight (I'm sorry if this is a dup post)...

    Someone does something in a 'fantasy' land such as a video game. Kills monsters, car-jacks, jumps on gumba's (or whatever they are called) heads, etc...

    Because they did this in a game on a PS2 or PC or Nintendo, the person thinks it is ok to do it in real life? Because the person is too stupid to make a distinction between the real world and the 'pretend' world?

    Or is it, that people are greedy are see that Sony and the rest have deep pockets

  • Unpopular position (Score:4, Insightful)

    by hey! ( 33014 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @03:21PM (#7284001) Homepage Journal
    People instinctively assess the danger of something by how familiar they are with it. That is to say that it is completely normal for a person to feel no danger while driving recklessly without a seatbelt, yet be afraid of flying if he is not used to it . If a law suit like this is going to succeed, it's goign to be with a jury that is completely unfamiliar with video games and/or movies. No matter what the evidence, if they are fairly normal non-gamer, a game like Grand Theft Auto will make them very uncomfortable, no matter how little merit the suit may have.

    I personally don't think that the courts or the government should be involved in judging media for this reason.

    That said, I'll take what is likely to be an unpopular position here and say I believe that games like GTA are probably a bad thing. For one thing, the game reinforces the perception of the city as a frightening place populated by predators and victims. For another thing I worry that it might blunt empathy for people who are victims of violence. Of course it's ridiculous to think a normal person would go on a rampage after playing a videogame - it's too far from normal behavior. But being able to dismiss the suffering of people who are remote or easy to objectify is very close to normal behavior. I just don't think it's an appropriate subject for lighthearted fun.

    This may strike many as political correctness, so let me make it clear I consider it a personal choice that I do not play games like GTA and nor let my kids play or watch others play them. I realize that reasonable people may differ, that the gamers who play this game are normal people who are on the whole decent to their fellow human beings. So I have no desire to impose this choice on others.

    I suppose, though, that an amoral game like GTA is probably worlds better than a game that wraps violence in moral approval.

    • Grand Theft Auto has become the Dungeons and Dragons of the 21st century. The game has a strong following and offers a form of entertainment that is sometimes or often socially deviant. Like D&D, GTA has become a target for criticism, largely because the gaming is not usually the 'cool' thing to do and a small fraction of people take the game too far.

      What we have in this case is a failure to accept personal responsibility, which is an unfortunate trend here in the USA as of late. The central issue

  • I have to ask... (Score:4, Insightful)

    by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @03:39PM (#7284198) Homepage Journal
    Was the people behind the Three Stooges ever sued? What about Warner Brothers for their Wile E. Coyote cartoons? Superman? Tom and Jerry?

    When you kill somebody in GTA, they die. Run over somebody, they die. Beat a granny to death, she dies. On top of all that, the cops chase you. When they chase you, it gets a LOT harder to finish the game. They don't stop until they get you.

    So, GTA teaches you that shooting somebody kills them, and that it must be wrong because the police come after you. But Bugs Bunny teaches us that a duck can get hit in the face with a shotgun blast, and all that'll happen is his beak will be shifted to the opposite side of his head.

    Getting back to the case at hand here. There's no possible way that those kids could have shot at cars without realizing that a.) They were doing something wrong and b.) that by firing the gun, they were aiming to kill. Both of these lessons are learned when playing any of the GTA games.

    So, if they were inspired by GTA, then they intentionally set out to commit murder. Pity, GTA warned them what would happen.

    I wonder how many kids were in the hospital due to frying-pan-in-the-face injuries during Tom and Jerry's prime.
    • You make many good arguements, but I'm going to pick on a subtlety that you included.

      When you kill somebody in GTA, they die. Run over somebody, they die. Beat a granny to death, she dies. On top of all that, the cops chase you. When they chase you, it gets a LOT harder to finish the game. They don't stop until they get you.

      Alot harder to finish the game or impossible to finish the game requiring a start from the beginning? In Super Marios Bros you die 3 times you start over. In GTA you go to "jail" b
      • " Since you are making the arguement (and have time and time again) that GTA shows consequences (this is YOUR arguement), isn't it showing that the consequence will be minor and life will go on?"

        I get your point, and I think it's a good one, but I don't think it's as extreme as you're making it. When you go to jail in either game, you lose all your weapons, and some of your cash. Plus, you have to start whatever mission you were on over. So this game teaches you that you lose everything and serve time.
  • is obviously saying it for someother reason. They might have problems already, I mean it is not like it is going to not be sparked from somewhere else!! There was violence before video games! Or they are saying this because they want to take the attention off the murders they commited, which they seem to have done.
    -Seriv
  • Point 1-
    The law doing filing the suit it a media whore from way back. He used to pursue the likes of The 2 Live Crew and such and his work has never amounted to jack sheeyat. As said before he's just trying to legislate his own opinions on what's right and what is wrong and hopefully make some cash in the process.

    I don't see this or anything else he tries to run through the courts because the damages he seeks are a joke. He might have a chance if he lowered his damage claims to a reasonable amount and he's
  • What's Thompson going to go after when this case is over and done with?
    Cute blue hedgehogs and two-tailed foxes that eliminate robots by jumping on their heads?
    Chubby, Princess-rescuing Italian plumbers who stomp on walking mushrooms?
    Peace-loving robots who fight for everlasting peace, maybe?

    --Fortissimo

  • This is so stupid (Score:2, Interesting)

    by hades13 ( 718319 )
    I need to get this off my chest.

    This is so ridiculously stupid in point form

    1. If GTA3 made them kill then what is to say that a violent movie / or song couldn't do the same. They were obviosly mentally unstable to start with.

    2. What about gun control? Why does a 14 and 16 yr old need access to a gun? I don't see a reason. ( and no, self defence from someone else with a gun doesn't cut it as they probably would have a gun either if there was gun control) Don't blame video game maker just because the

  • Fighting The Good Fight (Score:3, Funny)

    by DarkZero ( 516460 ) on Wednesday October 22, 2003 @11:37PM (#7287812)
    This lawyer is obviously right on the money, because there is plenty of statistical data to back him up. Just do a quick Google search for the sales figures for Grand Theft Auto 3. So far two people have acted violently and blamed GTA and, lo and behold, how many people have bought the game? Two. Obviously, the game automatically makes anyone that plays it extremely violent, because EVERYONE that has played it has become violent.

    I just hope that this media publicity doesn't propel Grand Theft Auto series from the bottom of the charts up to, say... the number one game in America each month for over a year. If Mr. Thompson's theory stayed true, then the entire country would collapse into chaos!
  • Rather than sue the companies, they should encourage the companies to educate people on proper parenting, and help sponsor day cares around the world.

    It would cost the same, and actualy work towards fixing the problem, it's a win-win situation.
  • I saw a documentary on the history channel. To cut a long story short, I invaded Poland.

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