Uh oh. It looks like rottweiler lawyer Jack Thompson is on the anti-games snarl again, this time picking on his favourite fall guy, Grand Theft Auto.
Gamesindustry.biz reports that Thompson, famed for accusing computer software of inspiring a variety of international tragedies, has pinned Rockstar's game on the recent arrest of a Massachusetts 16-year old who was planning on re-creating the Columbine High School massacre on its anniversary next April.
According to the article Thompson is quoted as saying, "The technique of killing civilians and then first-responders when they get there is the primary scenario to win in all the Grand Theft Auto games." Does anyone have any ideas what missions he's be playing? I thought that was a one-way ticket to the brig.
This comes at a dangerous time in American politics, when the Presidential contenders will be quick to jump on whatever bandwagon they feel will get them public votes. Here's hoping that they'll be too distracted with the real violence happening across the globe to pay attention to Thompson's latest quibble.
Crackdowns on interactive entertainment are getting increasingly frequent in policy makers' boardrooms across the States, including traditionally liberal, creative mecca California, where Governor Arnold "The Terminator" Schwarzenegger recently signed into law a bill making sales of over-18 games to minors a criminal offence.
