Thompson accuses British newspapers of fabricating Buzz quotes Related content
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Thompson accuses British newspapers of fabricating Buzz quotes News
PlayStation 2 News by Tom Bramwell
US attorney Jack Thompson has claimed that quotes attributed to him by British newspapers are "a total fabrication".
"I was never interviewed about Buzz. I had never heard about it until I was quoted having allegedly said this about it," Thompson claimed in an email to Eurogamer.
In articles apparently attempting to stoke concern about Relentless Software and Sony's Buzz!: The Schools Quiz for PS2, Thompson was reported to have said, "Videogames have hurt far more people than they have helped."
Thompson refutes this. "I would never say what I am quoted as saying in any context, as the quotation, regardless of what it is applied to, is absurd on its face. How in the world could anyone prove and/or quantify that games have hurt more people than they have ever helped?
"It is a total fabrication by a reporter who needed a quotation from an anti-gamer person and simply made this up," Thompson alleged. "I am very upset about this."
Thompson said he had contacted the newspapers to complain.
Having rung around Associated Newspapers (which publishes the Standard and the Mail) and Telegraph Media Group, we've been told that the quote originated in the Standard, but the writer in question has not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Thompson said that while he was happy to accept criticism for things he did say, he drew the line at what he described as "fabrication". He added that he got a lot of nasty emails from people about his campaigns, and revealed that he had even received a death threat just before we called to confirm his identity.
Buzz!: The Schools Quiz uses Key Stage 2 National Curriculum questions as the basis for its interactive quiz-show. As Relentless Software's Andrew Eades explained in an interview with Eurogamer last Friday, the game was created in conjunction with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), with development self-funded by the Brighton-based software company.
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Comments: 1-38 of 38 in total
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kangarootoo
18/01/08 @ 16:12
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In truth, much as I dislike JT, anyone issuing death threats to him is a f*cking idiot who isn't helping anyone.
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Triggerhappytel
18/01/08 @ 16:18
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Well, this would be the first time ever that the British tabloids have made something up!
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thedaveeyres
18/01/08 @ 16:34
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He's a religious man... surely he knows that you reap what you sow. :)
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Mentalist(air)
18/01/08 @ 16:38
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Our victory is at hand, lads - the guns of the reactionist enemy have turned on their own!
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Yoghurt_Pot
18/01/08 @ 16:46
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Dont give this idiot (jt) any publicity and he will step onto the next easy target to get his column inches.
The guy is just a publicity whore and each article written about him perpetuates this cycle. Do us all a favour and ignore him as his childish uneducated arguments flounder in the cold light of day. Then we can all point and laugh at the gimp :) |
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TagemandBagem
18/01/08 @ 17:41
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I read Jack Thompson sleeps naked inside an oxygen tent which he believes gives him SEXUAL POWERS.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 19/01/08 @ 23:01
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Micro_Explosion
18/01/08 @ 17:42
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"How in the world could anyone prove and/or quantify that games have hurt more people than they have ever helped?"
Interesting. |
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MightyPenguin
18/01/08 @ 20:14
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In the blue corner, Jack Thompson; heavyweight fruitcake and three times world champion in the beating yourself up contest. In the red corner, the British Tabloids, purveyors of filth and nonsense since the dawn of time.
Whoever loses, we win. |
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I think his general point - that games about violence shouldn't be sold to minors - is a pretty reasonable one. I support the British ratings system. But that's rather irrelevant to this.
Anyway, I spoke to Thompson on the phone late last night (mainly to confirm it was actually him) and he was perfectly cordial. I expect I will invite him to my next birthday party. |
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schachmatt
19/01/08 @ 04:00
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Mugwum, it seems everyone from the gaming industry (like Geoff Keighley), who meets JT outside of court finds him unreasonably likeable.
I've got the feeling it's mostly because you're expecting some kind of monster that attacks you at first sight and instead he talks to you like you would in that situation. This doesn't make him suddenly a great person you want to have a beer with. Don't get your hopes up that he isn't still deluded. |
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Seems Jack Thompson exist entirely to misdirect our attention from more important issues. Which is odd as games and newspapers do that anyway. Either way the ultra rich will keep us ignorant slaves to our emotions and desires so we don't notice they own our very souls. :)
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 20/01/08 @ 12:14
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JamesBrophy
21/01/08 @ 02:08
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I would have thought the story should be "British newspaper quotes well known american crackpot as reliable source."
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Comments: 1-38 of 38 in total
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