TheJoey.Net

Here Jack Thompson wrote an open letter to Bono, of U2, because apparently Bono and his partners are considering buying Take-Two, who puts out the Grand Theft Auto series. Yesterday I read about flowers for jack, where the gaming community bought flowers for Jack and apologized that they could not have an open dialogue to discuss their differences. Not that Jack would listen. But, Jack turned this gesture around and blamed it, some how, on Take-Two. Now I didn’t read the whole thing this time, as I don’t really have the time. But I am taking the time to write this. I just really want to know why Jack doesn’t contact me! He seems to have time to comment on LJs and write ridiculous letters. Well, here is yet another one, from me, to Jack.

Dearest Jack Thompson,
You amaze me. I will admit I didn’t read your entire letter to Bono, but I can only assume the whole thing is full of the same unmitigated crap that I actually did read. (yes, I used the word unmitigated, and correctly. Looks like this ‘idiot gamer’ knows how to use a dictionary). First of all, you might as well be breaking the 3rd commandment, because you are using the fact that you and Bono believe in God to try and sway him your way. If Bono was to be swayed by the filth and lies you put down there, I would seriously question how smart U2’s front man really is.

Secondly, you continue to spread lies about games and the gaming community.

Sony and Take-Two designed the GTA: Vice City game to utilize the PS2’s Dual Shock controller, which sends a visceral jolt back into the hands of the player each time he kills. Thus, the entire system is a biofeedback, operant conditioning system which desensitizes the user to the act of killing.

You say that that is a desensitizer of the act of killing. Not the fact that kids see it everyday in the movies, on the news and on TV. No, a vibrating controller is what does it. Now, I have no degree in Psychology, but I don’t really think that is true.

Now again, I didn’t read everything you said. Honestly, I cannot take it anymore. But you do mention a gang. Called the ‘nutcases’. People openly admitting they are crazy. They say, according to you, they played the game [GTA III] by day and lived it by night. Now, you are a lawyer, right? That’s what you claim anyway. If someone, say, pleads insanity, they can’t be tried for their actions?? And….’nutcase’ is a slang term for someone who is insane. Right?? So they are admitting they are insane, and really can’t be held accountable for their actions, physical or verbal.

My point is this Jack: You are very closed minded when it comes to video games. You refuse to acknowledge the fact that crime among teens has gone down since 1994. When Doom made its debut. You automatically blame teen murders on video games. And adults buy it. Why? Because everyone wants a scapegoat. The parents don’t want to look like bad parents, blame the video games. That makes them look like victims now too. Blame the media for everything. That’s got to be the answer. You don’t think video gamers are intelligent. You call us ‘nit wits’ and ‘idiots’. We are too stupid to open a dictionary. Of course we are. All we do is play video games. What infuriates me the most is that you go on these shows, point a finger at video games and the industry, but no one is there to argue against you. Is that one of your conditions Jack? Because I am 100% confident that if I were to argue with you, on national TV, for all to see, you would be proved wrong. You base you information off very biased studies or off nothing. And it needs to stop.

Joe Casabona
Follower of Christ
Avid Video Gamer.

posted on February 9th, 2006 in Gaming, Manifesto, News| No Comments »

Since last Wednesday, until Wednesday, Tim over at Ctrl-Alt-Del is doing a tribute to his favorite games for their holiday, “Winter-een-mass”. He has picked some good ones- but today’s takes the cake so far. Here is his tribute to Golden Eye

Anyone who was old enough played Golden Eye for N64- One of the best systems of all time, in my opinion. As Tim put it:

Golden Eye was king of N64. First Person Shooters were relatively new then and Rare did a great job in making this one- I even beat this game. (While I do play a lot of video games, it’s kind of rare the i finish one. I didn’t beat Halo until like a week before Halo 2 came out). The best part, I think, was the multiplayer.

I remember especially on snow days, my friend Matt, my brothers Phil, Mike and Rob and myself would sit around in our playroom and play for hours on end. Matt and I were the best, and had some epic battles. While we would all usually argue over Bond, I would go for Jaws. OddJob was forbidden and if you used him you were ‘a bitch’. I’d like to thank Tim for writing about this game and allowing some of my fond memories to resurface about that game and N64 in general.

Later.

posted on January 31st, 2006 in Gaming, Links, Thoughts, Websites| | show comment » « hide comment

I just read this article over at CAD-Online. The gist is that a gamer killed himself- for reasons not related to video games, and Jack has opened his mouth again, in that letter. And of course, I am fuming.

His ignorance and outward hatred/childish insults really bother me. This is a man with a law degree. One who can Practice Law. I mean, this statement, from the letter:

That is very unnecessary. As a matter of fact, some of the most intelligent people I know are gamers. But that’s besides the point. It was a childish and totally uncalled for shot at the gaming community. As a matter of fact, 95% of quotes I have read from Jack Thompson are complete bull shit.

I think the worst part is even if I, or anyone, had the chance to sit down with him and talk to him, nothing would change his mind. This is simply because: Jack Thompson is a closed minded ignorant fuck who has nothing better to do with his law degree than sue gamers. Forget rapists, murderers (though you would claim all murders are influenced by video games), child pornogrphers. Gamers are the root of all evil. What do you do it for, Jack? God? You claimed you were ‘God’s foot solider’. Isn’t God having an army of darkness a little too BC era?? Don’t get me wrong, I am Catholic. Have been my whole life. I believe what I have learned. I also believe that as long as we are good people, God doesn’t care if we play video games. And Jack, did you know that crime among people under 18 has significantly dropped since around 1995, the year Doom came out for the PC. Don’t believe me? Check out the US Dept. of Justice. That’s where I got it. Now I have a lesson for you, Jack: We (Christians) are taught to keep an open mind. You are clearly not doing that, blaming everything on video games and not listening to anyone or even reading up on issues. You should really think about why you are fighting this fight. And maybe you won’t admit it to me, the stupid, ignorant gamer who doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the wall, but you will know. And God will know. And I say that in the least mocking way possible. Later.

posted on January 21st, 2006 in Gaming, Manifesto, News| No Comments »

Pictured is My Xbox. The one that I waited 14 hours on line outside of Best Buy for. You see, the plan was to go to Wal Mart 5 hours before the release (7pm). I get there, and the line is full. They only got 15. So I went to Best Buy. At 7:30pm, for the 9am release. And waited. In the freezing rain. Most of me went numb. I survived thanks to a friend and his family, who brought us stuff to keep warm. But when 9am finally came, I was ready. I got my 360 and the coveted Perfect Dark Zero. When trying to choose a second game, I found it hard. Harder than I thought. People said 360 has virtually no games. But those 19 releases all looked great. And sure there are some on other systems, but they look so much better on 360.

I’ve been playing Perfect Dark almost non-stop. It looks incredible. The game play is awesome. And oooohhh the Xbox Live. Challenge the World. Perfect Dark is the best game of the season. Hands down. The graphics, the game play, and this new feature called “Cover”. It allows you to hide against a wall and pan around for enemies, using the wall as protection.

All in all I’m very happy with the purchase of 360. Xbox Live is like nothing I have ever used before, and the lighting, shadowing, look and feel of the games is just breath taking. And, despite what you might have heard- mine isn’t defective. Later!

posted on November 24th, 2005 in Gaming| No Comments »

Many people have asked me why I am [fully intending on] getting Xbox 360 when it comes out on Tuesday. “It looks like Xbox with better graphics.” Sure it does- it is. But is it also so much more. But, for argument’s sake, let’s start with the graphics

You see, the graphics aren’t just better. They are better than graphics any other machine has been able to render. And here is why- HD. You see a computer can generate kick ass graphics, sure. But Xbox 360 makes your games ready for HDTV- something your PC can’t do. And this isn’t just for new games, but for all games supported by 360.

But it’s amazing graphics aren’t the only thing going for 360. I could go into how the physics in the game will mimic (or come very close to) real life physics, or how because of the awesome computing power of the 360, the worlds will be so involved, but I would rather talk about the network….

Since the dawn of the LAN Party with Doom, people all over have wanted to have kick ass LAN games. The cooler game play, the better. Halo 2 has done that. It’s selling point in my eyes is the Multiplayer capabilities in Halo 2. With Xbox Live and networking capabilities, the Xbox has the best LAN and internet play of any console. But still not better than PC gaming. Call of Duty, Medal of Honor and Unreal Tournament have the covered. However, with Xbox 360, they are revamping, revolutionizing and setting the new standard for console LAN. First of all, it will have WiFi capabilities with the adapter, which is sold separately, but probably worth it. But even so, it will support Ethernet. It comes with Xbox Live Silver.That means if I want to download new levels, message friends, or checkout the Xbox Online Market Place, I can. Without subscribing. If I want to get some online gaming going, they are offering Xbox Live Gold. With the wireless controllers, you get the freedom to move up to 30 feet from the console. In my house, that’s enough for me to run into my brothers room, tell him he is about to die, and then pull the trigger.

Every Xbox 360 is the same. Same hardware, CPU, Gfx Card, etc. This means games that are targeted to utilize those hardware features to the fullest extent. There are no minimum requirements to create the games, which makes for maximum playability. The 360 will bring to the console world power which it has never seen before- the same power that has been in the PC world for a few years now. Later

posted on November 20th, 2005 in Gaming| No Comments »