# Jack Thompson accuses Japanese video games creators of causing "Pearl Harbor 2" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 1, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966 "2005-11-01T20:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/1 "2005-11-01T20:37:29Z")
If you’ve been following the Jack Thompson story, you’ve known that it was only going to be a matter of time before he really blew his lid. Thompson is essentially the Joseph McCarthy of video game violence - he sees it everywhere, including in innocuous games like _The Sims_ (not to mention _Grand Theft Auto_!). Well, he’s finally started his long slide over the edge, positing that… [“Oh, and certain regional governments in Japan have banned the sale of the Grand Theft Auto games to minors, but Japan’s Sony has no problem whatsoever dumping this garbage into American kids’ brains. Looks like Pearl Harbor 2 by Sony/Take-Two…”](http://www.livejournal.com/users/gamepolitics/121076.html) in his most recent press release. Yes, folks, he’s not talking about a sequel to that horirble movie, but accusing Sony of attacking America in the manner that the Japanese attacked pearl harbor. Oh, and while I’m at it, his new lawsuit against them bad violent video game makers [Will make the O.J. Simpson trial look like a quilting bee."l](http://www.livejournal.com/users/gamepolitics/121076.html) Amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/2 "2005-11-01T20:48:15Z")
Wow. Mad Jack Thompson never fails to amuse. I like the bit where he was “certified legally sane by the Florida bar.” I didn’t realize the bar could do that! Isn’t that sort of like being ordained as an Anglican bishop by the Food and Drug administration? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/3 "2005-11-01T21:15:45Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wow. Mad Jack Thompson never fails to amuse. I like the bit where he was “certified legally sane by the Florida bar.” I didn’t realize the bar could do that! Isn’t that sort of like being ordained as an Anglican bishop by the Food and Drug administration? That’s SO fucking funny. I lost it when I read that. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/4 "2005-11-01T21:20:44Z")
Geeze. Jack Thompson needs to keep up. The Japanese tried (and failed) to cause Pearl Harbor 2 when Pokemon became big. I’ve even got [proof!](http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/display_episode.php?season=3&id1=310&id2=41) (Hmmm, maybe we can get Thompson to go away if we say he has a very big penis.) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/5 "2005-11-01T21:31:32Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wow. Mad Jack Thompson never fails to amuse. I like the bit where he was “certified legally sane by the Florida bar.” I didn’t realize the bar could do that! Isn’t that sort of like being ordained as an Anglican bishop by the Food and Drug administration? I think he meant IN a Florida bar! ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/6 "2005-11-01T21:53:55Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Isn’t that sort of like being ordained as an Anglican bishop by the Food and Drug administration? Sig line? Please? May I? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/7 "2005-11-01T21:58:27Z")
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Japanese did make a game called “Pearl Harbor 2”. Games about heroic Americans slaughtering WWII era Japanese soldiers are really popular right now. Even in Japan. Which is kinda weird. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/8 "2005-11-01T22:06:49Z")
> [@ArrMatey!](#): > > Sig line? Please? May I? 😃 Sure thing. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/9 "2005-11-01T22:28:24Z")
‘I’ll bet he has the “Officially Certified Sane” certificate framed in his office.’ Heh. Nice one. Me, I’d print it on my business cards. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2005, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/10 "2005-11-01T23:05:19Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > Me, I’d print it on my business cards. If you were Jack Thompson, you’d have to. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/11 "2005-11-02T18:36:22Z")
We’re talking about somebody who got banned from Free Republic for being an obnoxious loon. That’s kind of like getting kicked out of an anarchist convention for disorderly conduct. ---
**Author:** ![eviladam\_part\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/da6949/32.png) [@eviladam\_part\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eviladam_part_2)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/12 "2005-11-02T19:24:27Z")
i like how he offered to donate $10k to charity if someone would design a game where you are Jack Thompson, and the object is to kill video game designers. so someone designed the game, and he decided he was just kidding about donating the money to charity. good joke! ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/13 "2005-11-02T20:13:55Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > Japan’s Sony has no problem whatsoever dumping this garbage into American kids’ brains Whoa. Not only have the Japanese developed a direct neural interface, but it works so well that they have “no problem whatsoever” dumping things into people’s brains. ---
**Author:** ![DeadlyAccurate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac91a4/32.png) [@DeadlyAccurate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadlyAccurate)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/14 "2005-11-02T20:21:43Z")
Hey, they’re the ones who invented Dance Dance Revolution. If anyone would figure out how to do a direct neural interface, they would. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/15 "2005-11-02T20:25:44Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > Whoa. Not only have the Japanese developed a direct neural interface, but it works so well that they have “no problem whatsoever” dumping things into people’s brains. That’s the benefit of proper testing phase during the development process. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/16 "2005-11-02T20:37:42Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Geeze. Jack Thompson needs to keep up. The Japanese tried (and failed) to cause Pearl Harbor 2 when Pokemon became big. I’ve even got [proof!](http://www.southparkstudios.com/show/display_episode.php?season=3&id1=310&id2=41) (Hmmm, maybe we can get Thompson to go away if we say he has a very big penis.) Life imitates SP once again, it seems. ---
**Author:** ![Page\_Fault](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ad7895/32.png) [@Page\_Fault](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Page_Fault)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/17 "2005-11-02T22:41:48Z")
Isn’t _Grand Theft Auto_ made by an American company? For that matter, isn’t _The Sims_ made by an American company, too? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/18 "2005-11-02T23:51:27Z")
> [@Page Fault](#): > > Isn’t _Grand Theft Auto_ made by an American company? I believe they’re Scottish, actually. _The Sims_ was made by Americans, though. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/19 "2005-11-03T01:35:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Wow. Mad Jack Thompson never fails to amuse. I like the bit where he was “certified legally sane by the Florida bar.” \ That sounds kinda like: > [@Commander Vimes](#): > > Nobby was human, just like many other officers. It was just that he was the only one who had to carry a certificate to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2005, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966/20 "2005-11-03T03:01:05Z")
Heh. Actually, I think Seargent Colon would be more apt. “We’ll just stand over here, keepin’ an eye on this video game, ‘case it decides to jump up and start murderin’ people. Can’t be too safe with these new-fangled video game, you know.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/jack-thompson-accuses-japanese-video-games-creators-of-causing-pearl-harbor-2/328966.md?page=2)