The fight for America’s youth
Highlighting the various detractors of the gaming industry has been a frequent post on this blog; since its inception, I have spotlighted miscreants such as Jack Thompson, among others, for his frequent and incessant attacks on the industry.
Jack Thompson does make yet ANOTHER appearance in this post, this time responding to comments made by ESA president Michael Gallagher. When asked about the political battles plaguing the industry, including the influence of Thompson, the ESA president deftly dismissed Thompson as “being in the rear view mirror.” The entire interview can be read here.
Gamepolitics has Thompson’s response here, and like the site says, considering Thompson’s troubles, I severely doubt that his threats carry any weight; personally, I hope that he does have the ban hammer slammed on his small, insignificant head.
Another game industry critic whose words are more measured is Pat Boone, who not only assaults games but all of American media in this piece here. Interestingly, in analyzing the piece here, Gamepolitics notes that Boone has a bit of a rock’n'roll past, which kind of makes his attacks on violent media moot, considering that he perpetrated it during his time.
Other than these two weirdos making news, there is another rash of video game ‘prevention’ laws on the books. One is proposed by the Philippines and another in Pennsylvania. Both provisions have the intent of limiting the influence of games. Frankly, games are not going anywhere and the government should work to accept them rather than regulate them.