Take Two settle with the US lawyer
Jack Thompson, the American attorney and activist has recently been focusing his frustrations with the videogames industry through a number of well documented attacks on the GTA series. This is what he actually said about GTA: Vice City:
"If some wacked-out adult wants to spend his time playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, one has to wonder why he doesn't get a life, but when it comes to kids, it has a demonstrable impact on their behavior and the development of the frontal lobes of their brain."
Thompson has also recently claimed that he would do everything in his power to disrupt the sale of the upcoming GTA IV.
"Thompson has a history of making multiple threats of legal action, whether substantiated or not, both against (Take Two) as well as the retailers who purchase the video games and offer them for sale to the public. Thompson has made such threats again in connection with Manhunt 2 and GTA IV...," wrote Take Two in a statement.
Gamepolitics are reporting that Take-Two has agreed a settlement with Jack Thompson, in which he has agreed that he:
1.) will not sue or threaten to sue to block sale or distribution of any game published by Take Two or its subsidiaries (i.e., Rockstar).
2.) will not communicate to Take Two or anyone doing business with T2 (like, say Wal-Mart) any accusation that the company committed any wrongdoing by selling its games. Thompson is not restricted from criticizing the content of T2 games, nor is he prevented from acting as counsel in lawsuits brought against Take Two by other parties
3.) will make any future contacts with T2 through its attorneys
For its part Take Two has agreed to dismiss the federal lawsuit and Thompson will drop his counterclaim. T2 has also agreed to drop the Bully contempt of court matter. There was to have been a hearing on the case tomorrow morning, and Thompson could potentially have been jailed if he were found to be in contempt by a Miami-Dade County judge.
Wonder how much that cost them? Despite the settlement, it does mean that Thompson will still be able to criticise Take-Two's games, so I'd guess it won't be long before his name crops up again. But for the time being Take-Two can enjoy the hassle free release of GTA IV.
Source :: Game politics
