US lawyer seeks to ban GTA 4

Jack Thompson claims game puts him at 'risk of death'

Iain Thomson

US lawyer Jack Thompson has threatened to sue Take2 Interactive in an attempt to prevent the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 after claiming that one of the characters in the game satirises him.

Thompson, who is under investigation by the Florida bar after a series of complaints, said that a character in the game is a lawyer who says: 'Guns don't kill people. Video games do.'

Advertisement

The anti-gaming lawyer stated in a letter to Take2 Interactive chairman Strauss Zelnick that he is worried that gamers will copy the game and put him at risk.

The first mission in the game involves the lead character having to gain entry into a lawyer's office and shoot the lawyer.

The letter also claimed that GTA4 developer Rockstar Games alleges on its website that Thompson is bisexual, something which he says has led to his wife being sent sex toys by gamers.

This is not the first time that Thompson has claimed that he has been parodied in a video game.

The lawyer has already complained that Midway Games showed an avatar of him in Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

He has also sued a former US Attorney General for battery after she touched his arm.

Thompson has been a thorn in the side of the US computer games industry, and has taken repeated action to stop what he believes are harmful games.

The lawyer claimed in April that the Virginia campus shootings were down to the killer's video gaming habits, and has pioneered laws that ban the sale of computer games to minors even though these have been struck down by the Supreme Court.

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Share

Tags:

Do you agree?

Further reading

Virginia shootings rekindle violent gaming debate

Critics quick to blame 32 deaths on Cho Seung Hui's gaming habits

Court rules video games do not encourage violence

Somebody actually does think of the children before acting

More countries join Manhunt 2 moral panic

Rockstar Games 'disappointed' by ban

UK censor bans first game in 10 years

Manhunt 2 heading for online auction sites

Related whitepapers

Related jobs

Most watched

eu flag

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 6 Nov 09

This week, Europe decides what to do with illegal file sharers

Intel unveils its micro server platform

Small-enclosure systems take aim at hosting market

IT white papers

Search white papers

Top categories

Poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

Impact of Information Overload poll

What is the biggest problem your firm faces as a result of the data explosion?

View poll results

Advertisement

Advertisement

Newsletter signup

Sign up for our range of FREE newsletters:

Existing User

Newsletter user login:

Enter email address to edit your newsletter preferences

Job of the week

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Hiring now on ComputingCareers:

Related IT jobs

Search thousands of IT jobs :

Search thousands of IT jobs:

Advanced search

Spotlight

eu flag

V3.co.uk weekly debrief, 6 Nov 09

This week, Europe decides what to do with illegal file...

Dell Adamo XPS

Dell launches ultra-thin Adamo XPS

World's thinnest laptop will be available by Christmas

Top 10 articles, 6 November 2009

The worst Microsoft products of all time, and a USB...

Iain Thomson

Pirate Bay shutdown could be inspiring online militancy

Recent Swedish attacks raise worrying possibility

Primary Navigation