ESA pres compared to Hitler

By Ellie Gibson Published 15 July, 2005

By angry GTA hater.

Jack Thompson, Miami-based lawyer and long time critic of violence in videogames, has launched a scathing attack on Entertainment Software Association president Doug Lowenstein.

In an open letter addressed to ESA members, Thompson accuses the association of failing to act quickly enough on the issue of the Hot Coffee mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rockstar has denied responsibility for the mod.

Thompson claims that Lowenstein's approach in dealing with the problem is "to demonise critics and to engage in ad hominem jihads intended to obscure real concerns about real industry abuses."

"His extremism has painted a bullseye on your industry," Thompson writes, somewhat extremely. "Doug Lowenstein has the brush and Take-Two has provided the blood red paint."

"If those of you who understand that any technology can be used for either good or for ill and that 'responsibility' is something that adults are supposed to exercise in all walks of life, even in the entertainment industry, then get rid of this highly paid thug and replace him with someone with sense."

The letter is laced throughout with personal attacks on Lowenstein, who Thompson claims has "never met a pixilated [sic] prostitute he didn't like." He also criticises the ESA president for refusing to debate the issues with him face to face, stating: "Doug Lowenstein travels with his own private make-up artist. Did you all know that?"

"Obscuring personal and industry warts is a full time job for this man."

Thompson goes on to compare Lowenstein with the leader of Nazi Germany, writing: "When Hitler invaded Russia, opening up an Eastern offensive on the eve of winter, Britain's Prime Minister Winston Churchill noted that 'Hitler must have been rather loosely educated, not having learned the lesson of Napoleon's autumn advance on Moscow."

"Your Doug Lowenstein is similarly 'loosely educated' about the United States Constitution."

The letter also reveals Thompson's fervent support for Senator Hillary Clinton, who has contacted the Federal Trade Commission Clinton with a call for action on the Hot Coffee issue.

In a statement addressed to the FTC, Clinton writes: "We should all be deeply disturbed that a game which now permits the simulation of lewd sexual acts in an interactive format with highly realistic graphics has fallen into the hands of young people across the country."

"I therefore urge you to take immediate action to determine the source of this content and the appropriateness of the M rating."

Like many other critics of the game, Clinton believes that San Andreas should be slapped with an Adults Only rating. She has also announced plans to introduce a new law that will fine retailers USD 5,000 if they are caught selling violent or sexually explicit games to minors.

The ESA issued a statement in response which claims that any such legislation would be "Unconstitutional on its face as it amounts to government enacted restrictions on creative and artistic expression protected by the First Amendment."

While the statement is keen to point out that the ESA acknowledges Clinton's concerns it also dismisses claims that there is a causal link between videogames and violence: "Indeed, one federal court after another has dismissed as unpersuasive and flawed much of the very research Senator Clinton cites in support of her bill."

The ESA declined to respond to Thompson's comments, stating only: "We don't comment on anything Mr. Thompson says or does."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (38) Latest comment 7 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Fozzie_bear #1 7 years ago

    \o/ Well done son. Now thousands of underage GTA players will be scouring the net for a mod which they would never have heard about had it not been for you banging on about it. If you're that concerned about it, deal with it quietly behind the scenes. Don't bloody advertise it. Show some responsibility. You cock.

  • octo #2 7 years ago

    I'd say the language in that letter constitutes slander. I'd sue his pants off. And using words like "jihad" or "Hitler" in this context just makes the man appear like the fear-mongering right wing idiot he seems content to parody.
    Edited by 1 at 15/07/05 @ 16:03

  • therev #3 7 years ago

    Thank the lord for Godwin's Law. They all have to shut up now.

  • Teeth #4 7 years ago

    This is classic. I hope there are more bits and bobs to unlock in GTA as time goes on, or more games with this sort of stuff in, just to piss this guy off so he can entertain us with his fantastic rants. Absolutely stellar stuff. "His extremism" indeed. That quote from the ESA at the end is just the icing on the cake.

  • ssuellid #5 7 years ago

    Isn't Jack Thompson the one got Two Live Crew on obsenity charge, got the records pulled, which led to various court battles, him losing and opening the flood gates to pervy vids and dirty lyrics?

    If so well done.

  • deaner #6 7 years ago

    Give that man a trophy!

    Many of the masterpieces of the renaissance were labelled as smut in their day.

    And what would Hilary Clinton know about "lewd sexual acts"? Her husband has to go shopping for them in bargain bins!

  • Spiral #7 7 years ago

    The ESA declined to respond to Thompson's comments, stating only: "We don't comment on anything Mr. Thompson says or does."

    Hah. Fantastic.

  • Eighthours #8 7 years ago

    No opponent could possibly be acting upon principle, in the world according to Doug Lowenstein. Only he is the oracle of truth. All others are scum. It is his way.

    Oh the irony!


    I have never, in my eighteen years of public interest law practice against the excesses of the entertainment industry.....

    .....won a case because I'm indescribably shit and a certifiable loon?

  • captain-future #9 7 years ago

    I'll go and watch some FAMILY GUY episodes.

  • Teeth #10 7 years ago

    He's just making a laughing stock of himself - or at least he would be if the morons in power didn't believe his claptrap.

  • ishigo #11 7 years ago

    "has fallen into the hands of young people across the country."

    FALLEN?

    is it being given out free out there?

    Or do the 'Young People' have to go and buy it from shops that should be checking their goddamn AGE? Walking to the counter past the issues of FHM and Maxim that are one bikini bottom away from top-shelf smut.

    What about that 7 Sins game? Thats got sex in it. And that "Singles" sim. won't someone think of the children!

  • Xerx3s #12 7 years ago

    Shite. And here i though they title read "European Space Agency press compared to Hitler"

    "to demonise critics and to engage in ad hominem jihads intended to obscure real concerns about real industry abuses." - No. No, i dont think so. They do that enough for themselves already.

    "He also criticises the ESA president for refusing to debate the issues with him face to face, stating: "Doug Lowenstein travels with his own private make-up artist. Did you all know that?"" - Someone sounds jealous. Perhaps he just wants to be in the spotlight once instead of beeing a nobody.

    I dont know, but i think that GTA IS M. M rates Mature. Thus not for children. Thus I can play it with all the gore, sex, voilence, etc. in that i want and he cant do shite about it. (not that i like crappy games like that though, its just that an adult should be able to play whatever he wants to without this moronic wanking nobody telling them what they can and cant play).

    Why not be original? Eh? Why not shoot your entire school and then say: "I did it because me gangsta rap songs made me do it". I would definitly support banning that crap from mtv and getting some good crap back that didnt have Super sized boobs & pimpmobiles in it to hide the fact that the entire song is in fact uber crap(back to rammstein then? anyone?). :)

  • Lothar Hex #13 7 years ago

    "His extremism has painted a bullseye on your industry,"

    *SMACKED BY THE IRONY FREIGHT TRAIN*

  • kangarootoo #14 7 years ago

    "He also criticises the ESA president for refusing to debate the issues with him face to face"

    I'm not bloody surprised. Imagine what kind of red faced, finger pointing, shouty mouthed cluster f*ck that meeting would turn into.

    Seems to me this guy is a simple product of bigotry and money lust. Being this way has probably made him rich, and hating people who disagree with him gives him the energy to get up and be this angry every morning. He needs to get laid more methinks (or at least get a more comfy chair in his office with a nice cushion for his back).

  • kangarootoo #15 7 years ago

    Worth a read. I believe this guy had plenty to say when Manhunter came out. Trying to find a good article I read at the time.

    http:// www.reason.com/links/links091003.shtml

  • kangarootoo #16 7 years ago

    http://p c.ign.com/articles/536/536072p1.html

    "We're presently pinning the tail on the videogame donkey". Nice one mate, bet you're dead pleased with that line.

  • Jacko #17 7 years ago

    Wow, Thompson is getting desperate now! Hopefully he'll get sued for slander and shut up for once.

    lol @ Fozzie_bear - just shows what a bloodthirsty little jackass this man is. I wonder why he has such a vendetta against video games?

  • bionutz #18 7 years ago

    We should all be deeply disturbed that a game which now permits the simulation of lewd sexual acts in an interactive format with highly realistic graphics has fallen into the hands of young people across the country..
    /sarcasm and bitterness on
    Heh, why are we worried about having sex, something that hurts nobody, instead of being worried about wars for petrol? About killing real people for blurry moral goals?
    /sarcasm and bitterness off; goes out to party.

  • DrPhil #19 7 years ago

    Not enough people are compared to Hitler...

  • Celeborn #20 7 years ago

    To get the mod you need to go onto the internet and get it.

    Now, if you're on the internet looking for something sex related, its incredibley easier and quicker to get REAL and hardcore material (so i've been told).

    So why blame the game? http://tinyurl.com/cp8fw

  • PearOfAnguish #21 7 years ago

    Mr. Thompson: according to the official Internet rulebook, a discussion is over when someone brings up Hitler. You can go home now.

  • Lothar Hex #22 7 years ago

    Oddly, the official Internet rulebook also states that whenever a dial-up modem connects to the Internet a kitten dies.

  • PearOfAnguish #23 7 years ago

    Yours is out of date. The 2005 Edition with FARK updates states that masturbating kills kittens, dial-up modems are out, dahling.

  • Kalinin #24 7 years ago

    The real problem is that the US really, really needs an enforcable censorship rating architecture rather than a "parental guideline", but nooooooooooo, that'd be unconsitutional.

    Introduce a $5000 dollar fine for selling a mature game to a kid? Super idea, happens here already, doesn't sound like rocket science to me. Breaking a BBFC 18 rating on GTA: SA is an offense and that doesn't sound all that restrictive to freedom of speech to me, mainly as a protective measure for the industry.

    Here, if Jimmy the kid gets GTA: SA, one of three things are true:

    - If he bought it, the retailer broke the law.
    - If his parent/relative bought it knowlingly, that's their right and down to their moral judgement.
    - If his parent/relative bought it unknowingly, it's still not the industry's legal problem.

    (Of course it to a small extent the industry does have the moral problem of advertising to minors, but that's a totally different issue, and let's face it the draw of any mature-rated film or movie is hard to supress in minors anyway)

    When the Daily Mail got on the case of Manhunt a few months back, what was the industry reply? Was it a right-wing friendly confrontational "you can't regulate us, it's unconsititutional!"? Nope, it was a plain and simple "He shouldn't have had it. There are laws you know."

    If I was the ESA, I wouldn't thrash at the idea of a law against selling to minors, I'd say bring it on and mess up the flow of the right-wing indignation and enjoy a future with a measure of legal defense.

    Of course, the AO label is a faux-pas for any game to achieve since the first amendment might protect the right to exist for any AO content but moral peer pressure pretty much dooms it to retail death since many stores will fail to stock it...

    As for people having sex? Quite cleary evil! Let's give them guns at a young age to distract them.
    Edited by 4 at 15/07/05 @ 23:55

  • TR421 #25 7 years ago

    From what I read about the situation the videogame rating system in the US needs an overhaul. It defintly should be illigeal to supply adult or mature rated games to minors. As far as I'm aware the ratings are currently just recomendations and not legally enforcable.
    The GTA games should be rated AO as well and I'm sure Rockstar would agree.

  • Xerx3s #26 7 years ago

    " Oddly, the official Internet rulebook also states that whenever a dial-up modem connects to the Internet a kitten dies." - Meh. Dont say that. Next thing you know, he will compare me to Stalin for kittens!

  • MaskedDave #27 7 years ago

    Sorry, but I can't be the only person to think that GTA deserves it's 18 rating, can I?

    If it's not being sold 'adults only' in the States then they have a right to complain about it. If I was a parent I certainly wouldn't want my 13 year old playing it!

    I'm 20, and even I got asked for id in Game when I bought it. I think we've got it right in this country, and the BBFC should probably rate all games rather than just some. Also, I'm not certain about this, but American certification on games isn't 'offical' in the same way a BBFC certificate is and not enforcable by law.

    It's the stupidest way to work a system. I'm all for freedom of speach, but we can't complain when our medium is thought of as 'just for kids' on the one hand, and then bitch about proper censorship on the other.

  • Genji #28 7 years ago

    Considering the stuff you can do in the game, I wouldn't see any problem with making it adults only. If you stop retailers from selling it to underage kids - like, with the threat of hefty fines, for example - then a large part of the problem goes away, and the politicians won't have much to complain about. The only party that might suffer from it is Rockstar. And I don't care too much about Rockstar, frankly. They have enough money already.

  • admir #29 7 years ago

    Parents could u tell me how underage kids get there moeny do they sell drugs or do u give it too them
    history:\first it was rock, the came rap, movies and now games what the fuck i am get sick and tired off this shit
    games are not the reason why kids kill each other or what ever they do its there fucking parents they just dont give a fuck about there fucking kids what they do this days

  • abigsmurf #30 7 years ago

    someone should send this man Battle Raper....

  • PearOfAnguish #31 7 years ago

    "Sorry, but I can't be the only person to think that GTA deserves it's 18 rating, can I?"

    You're not, nobody is disputing the rating it has now. It's 18 in the UK and M for Mature in the US.

    "If it's not being sold 'adults only' in the States then they have a right to complain about it. If I was a parent I certainly wouldn't want my 13 year old playing it!"

    If your 13 year old is playing it, either the shop has broken the law by allowing them to purchase it or you've failed in your duties as a parent by buying it for them. Neither is the fault of the people who made the game.

    "I'm 20, and even I got asked for id in Game when I bought it. I think we've got it right in this country, and the BBFC should probably rate all games rather than just some. Also, I'm not certain about this, but American certification on games isn't 'offical' in the same way a BBFC certificate is and not enforcable by law."

    I'm pretty certain their system is the same as ours, the labels aren't just there for show.

    "It's the stupidest way to work a system. I'm all for freedom of speach, but we can't complain when our medium is thought of as 'just for kids' on the one hand, and then bitch about proper censorship on the other."

    That makes no sense. Does anybody think of games as being 'just for kids' anymore? And censorship is not what's in dispute here, it's about restricting the sale of unsuitable material to minors. Again, it's the responsibility of parents and retailers, not the creators. No reason for the rest of us to suffer just because of a few stupid parents and irresponsible checkout monkeys.

  • 3william56 #32 7 years ago

    On a related note, Rockstar have apparently been telling porkies. Hot Coffee isn't a mod, as it's been found as an unlockable in the PS2 version. The dirty scamps!

    http://www.cnet.com.au/games/ps2/0,39029672,40055960, 00.htm

    But it might be the best use of an analogue stick yet. :)

    Seriously though - for all I appreciate R*'s saucy humour and boundary pushing, this is taking it too far, and bl**dy stupid. They'll be hiring folks from Running With Scissors soon.

  • smelly #33 7 years ago

    Hey.. i can also download a mod to make lara croft naked and another for doa volley ball which makes them nude too.

    Should these also get into trouble?

    The thing is, this guy probably has never seen the game let alone the mod, he's just jumping onto the bandwagon.

  • PearOfAnguish #34 7 years ago

    " Hey.. i can also download a mod to make lara croft naked and another for doa volley ball which makes them nude too. "

    Look at the post above yours. It's not a mod, they've unlocked code that was already there...

  • Lankyn #35 7 years ago

    Xerx3s ; "its just that an adult should be able to play whatever he wants to without this moronic wanking nobody telling them what they can and cant play"

    PearOfAnguish; "Again, it's the responsibility of parents and retailers, not the creators."

    So if someone wants to play a kiddie-fiddling priest simulator, then its okay for that game to be made?

  • sumanai #36 7 years ago

    Some seem to be mistaking "Mature" as the equivalent of "18+". It's actually "17+" and as such it's sell isn't restricted in the US. In my opinion it's created purely for the sole meaning of increasing sales by having as high as possible age limit, without going to the dreaded 18+, which lowers sales.
    And I personally think Rockstar acted like dicks when they blamed the modders for this "Hot Coffee" -thing.
    And Jack Thompson? Can I honestly say anything intelligent about him, that hasn't been said? Can anyone anymore? He would be comedy goldmine, if I had better sence of humour.

  • Nesty #37 7 years ago

    theres a deadly sex bit in god of war cause it gives you about 200 red orbs. and a boner.

  • tengu #38 7 years ago

    lol, what an utter douche.