NEWS - Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Thompson Rallies Against GTA IV
In an apparent mass e-mail sent out to various news outlets including Next-Gen titled “Bill Gates in the Crosshairs," the outspoken Thompson vowed that he would rally against the release of Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360, which is to be published by Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar Games. The game is also slated for simultaneous release on PlayStation 3 this year. He cited a December report from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) that indicates progress has been made to keep mature-rated games out of kids’ hands, but that further steps need to be taken to ensure inappropriate content is held from minors. Thompson said that he would “undertake various means to prohibit” the sale of GTA IV to minors, and added, “Please have your lawyers [Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’, that is] contact me in order that such sales will be prevented.” He also said that the ICCR report “makes it abundantly clear that unless such prohibitions are in place, then millions of units of the new Grand Theft Auto game will be sold directly to minors.” He continued, “I am quite intent upon making sure that that does not happen. I and others will endeavor to stop Microsoft from participating in any fashion, directly or indirectly, in such sales to minors.” Thompson has backed a number of anti-game laws which have been shot down due to First Amendment violations. Recently, he tried to have an injunction issued against the release of Rockstar’s game Bully, but failed. Rockstar Names New COO Grand Theft Auto house Rockstar Games has appointed former Capcom executive Gary Dale as COO. Rockstar founder and executive producer Sam Houser said that Dale’s experience in marketing and publishing will help the company "capitalize on the substantial opportunities we see ahead of us." The next big entry into the Grand Theft Auto franchise, GTAIV, is due in October this year for Xbox 360Source: http://www.next-gen.biz/
