How do you like your hot coffee? If you're Jack Thompson, you like it scalding game publisher's laps. The Miami attorney and antigaming activist has done his share to see that games don't fall into the wrong hands. And lately, those hands have belonged to almost everyone.
Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.
His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.
Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a portable game system, Sony's PSP.
In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves pornography.
In the statement, Thompson says, "The PSP is capable of displaying pornography, which contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."
The PSP is a "portable multimedia station." In the system, owners can install a memory stick. Purposes of this include everything from music to movies to pictures. Some of these include nudity and sexual references. As well, a built-in internet browser can also access similar content.
Knowing that the system is popular among all ages, Sony has even taken steps to ensure that Playstation fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In a planned update, users can browse the internet via their PSP. However, instead of showing inappropriate sites, Sony opts to redirect users to Yahoo.
Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the block that covers filtering. "The nudity placed on the internet is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the block' which gets in the way of pornographic content. In other words, the patch was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the internet and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."
It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."
Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and Sony would be forced to recall all models of the PSP. However, it's what's beyond the block that Thompson's after. And what happens when the filter is lifted? Nothing that can't be accessed through a normal internet connection, replies Sony.
Andrew House, Executive Vice President of SCEA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've tested the filter for 100 hours. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Users never see a nude person. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the built-in filter, they would see whatever they please, but it is outside our control."
Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are on the interweb. That's the point. The filter is evidence of content that should not be displayed. The filter can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."
Thompson was among those who spearheaded the recent effort to slap an "Adults Only" rating on Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and he's often been on the forefront of many other gaming issues, several of which have targeted the crime-spree-based GTA franchise. In the past, he's represented defendants who have been the victims of GTA-inspired crimes, including the triple homicide of three police officers by an 18-year-old boy in Alabama.
His beef with San Andreas? Unused code in the game that depicts sexual acts. These minigames can be unlocked by using game-cheat devices or patches available on the Internet.
Thompson is on a roll...and he's not done yet. His latest goat is a portable game system, Sony's PSP.
In a manifesto sent today to press outlets, Thompson focuses on dismantling the Entertainment Software Ratings Board and exposing what he calls the industry's "latest dirty little secret." The secret's out now, and it involves pornography.
In the statement, Thompson says, "The PSP is capable of displaying pornography, which contains, according to video game news sites, full frontal nudity, including nipples, penises, labia, and pubic hair."
The PSP is a "portable multimedia station." In the system, owners can install a memory stick. Purposes of this include everything from music to movies to pictures. Some of these include nudity and sexual references. As well, a built-in internet browser can also access similar content.
Knowing that the system is popular among all ages, Sony has even taken steps to ensure that Playstation fans aren't exposed to indecent depictions. In a planned update, users can browse the internet via their PSP. However, instead of showing inappropriate sites, Sony opts to redirect users to Yahoo.
Thompson doesn't seem to care. He cites a cheat code that can remove the block that covers filtering. "The nudity placed on the internet is accessed by the use of a simple code that removes what is called 'the block' which gets in the way of pornographic content. In other words, the patch was released to the public by the manufacturer knowing that the full frontal nudity was resident on the internet and would be accessed by use of a simple code widely provided on the Internet."
It's not just the adults that are liberated from their wardrobes. Sims kids can also be nudified, "much to the delight, one can be sure, of pedophiles around the globe who can rehearse, in virtual reality, for their abuse."
Were this to be true, Thompson would have his smoking gun, and Sony would be forced to recall all models of the PSP. However, it's what's beyond the block that Thompson's after. And what happens when the filter is lifted? Nothing that can't be accessed through a normal internet connection, replies Sony.
Andrew House, Executive Vice President of SCEA, in response to the accusations, told GameSpot, "This is nonsense. We've tested the filter for 100 hours. There is no content inappropriate for a teen audience. Users never see a nude person. If someone with an extreme amount of expertise and time were to remove the built-in filter, they would see whatever they please, but it is outside our control."
Thompson doesn't buy it. "The sex and the nudity are on the interweb. That's the point. The filter is evidence of content that should not be displayed. The filter can be disarmed. This is no different than what is in San Andreas, although worse."
