an anonymous letter to Reader's Digest

Robert F Howe's article "Deadly Games" in the August 2005 issue of RD caught my attention, but at just over halfway through, I couldn't bear to read anymore. I don't know Mr. Howe's credentials, but this article was a severe display of ignorance on his part, and it showed an incredible lack of research and an overbearing sense of bias.

Grand Theft Auto, in all its incarnations, has always been strictly labeled, marketed, and sold strictly to mature audiences. I won't go into the fact that GTA has no aspect of gun-firing simulation and is therefore unable to "train" children to fire upon authority figures; nor will I stress that there are severe in-game consequences for senseless acts of violence and that the San Andreas incarnation is a story about rising against the evils and corruption already present in society.

There is nothing to gain from these suits against Rockstar and similar game companies other than to fill greedy lawyers' pockets. Jack Thompson is notorious for his blind crusade against the media, and his inclusion in the article is an utter joke that detracts from the persuasiveness, if that is the article's intention.

Here are some online resources about Mr. Thompson to debunk his battle for so-called family values, and hopefully these will also contain enough references to balance the horribly skewed perception of video games.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(attorney)
http://www.vgcats.com/jack.php
http://croqaudile.com/?article_id=10299