Debate starts at four? Damn, man, I'll already be eating hot dogs and setting off explosives by then. I'll have to just read the transcript after it's done.

Jack Thompson was interview by screw attack.. It actually went really well and it really made him look like a nice guy

is someone filming this?

He isn't even relevant anymore. I don't see why it's worth wasting time on the guy.

This is amazing. I want to check this not only to see him getting crumbled, but also yo really dig inside his opinions in a formal debate.

All behold, Jack Thompson trying to make himself fucking matter. I'm god damn wasted, and I know this motherfucker was disbarred so why the fuck should ANYONE listen to him.

There are several cameras in here, I imagine that screwattack will post the video afterwards

JT: "Apparently they aren't so easy. I think it's something people take seriously, as evidenced by you people being here today."

:)

I don't think we need prophets. It's called education.

JT isn't mentioning Rapelay? Forget GTAIV and mve to another game Jack!

He may have some douchey opinions, but the guy is a real showman, and he is involved in a fight worth fighting for. I think he has what it takes to truly be an effective spokesman in the sales of videogames to minors, if he's assisted by people like Mark (missed his last name) up there, who are in the industry.

We know he's passionate about the subject, so he has the potential to be a great model for this! Just get rid of the "trained on doom" and "causation blah" stuff, and put more of an emphasis on the subject of the good and frankly bad parenting that is involved.

After these guys have shook hands I hope JT does go through and rethink his strategy here. Maybe ally with the gaming industry even, that would be interesting.

good live blog good debate

I didn't know there were no punishments in America for selling kids adult games. Over here not only does the shop get charged but also the employee that sells the game. I remember the training videos well from when I worked in a retail shop.
Still doesn't stop idiot parents buying them for the kids and then writing to the Daily Mail condemning games

Hmm, excellent read. I didn't want a trainwreck, so I'm glad it all went well. Nothing much new, mostly stuff we've heard before, but nice to get it out from both sides. Still, I hate these kinds of things because they make me start debating with myself aloud.

"He says how he'd sting Best Buy by sending his son in to buy M-rated games. Apparently his son was called "The Stinger.""

CONFIRMED: Jack Thomson supports child labour.

Dammit! I HATE it when Jack Thompson acts like a responsible and sensible human being!

If there's to be a videogame tax due to health concern then there damn well better be a tv, book and movie tax as well.

Hell throw in an internet tax as well.

How about a cake tax?

how can they be so fucking stupid?

I think if you're a parent, it's your damn job to teach your kids. Systems are in place on Xbox, ps3, whatever to block content rated for mature audiences. But like it or not, games, like movies, books, paintings, and music, are art. Art should never be banned or censored, ever. If you ban games, you have to ban all forms of art, because there are violent movies, violent books, paintings, and music. Saying games are the one and only problem is foolish. America is coming closer to 1984 everyday, and it's a sad thing to watch.

America!

I think that kids should be able to play "For all" games and rated T games, and that the Rated M should be divided into two subsections. Metal Gear violence isn't Gears of War violence nor is it Mad World violence. Different portrayals of violence deserves more specific ratings for certain age limitations. I mean, the usage of gore in Mad World obviously isn't meant to be offensive---it's meant to be a dark kind of humor---effectively humorous, but nonetheless gore. Here's my idea
12 and below: Everyone/"Young adult" (one of my new categories, which would include games with mild 'fantasy violence') games
13-15: "Teen" Games (another one of my new categories. These would include Halo, Metal Gear Solid 1 and 2 [not sure about 3 and 4 though])
16 and above: Mature games (GTA, Mad World, Gears of War)

My two cents.

Surprisingly cordial...

Urgh. It's "mores" not "morays". One of those is a central belief in how to properly act in a society. The other is something that one would find in the ocean.

Anyway, well, it sounds like Jack Thompson was still mostly just spouting off the same old stuff he usually does. It seems like he was more civil in his delivery, at the very least, so there was that, but it was still more or less just the same tired stuff he's always been saying. There is no denying that there is definitely a grain of truth in some of what he says, as has always been the case, but he was still trying to win the debate by going the route of the hyperbole as usual, and it didn't help his cause this time any more than it has in the past. "It's gunna be just like Germany here in America! They're gunna ban everything here, mark my words! It'll be like 9/11 for the game industry! You should have listened to meeeee!!"

I think he's kind of realised by now that he won't get anywhere with the drastic speeches he used to make in the past and declaring any and all arguments made by people who have touched video games invalid on the pure ground that they are gamers and ergo part of the problem. Oh well, now that he stripped himself of his most entertaining value I think he'll quietly start fading into the background now.