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Jack Thompson Buys Stock in GTA Parent Company 354

Posted by CmdrTaco from the non-stop-entertainment dept.
omega9 writes "You're not reading it wrong. From an artice posted as Joystiq, "Jack Thompson has purchased shares in Take-Two interactive - otherwise known as the publisher behind the Grand Theft Auto series of games. So has JT suddenly become a financial supporter of the company he's long campaigned against? Not a chance. JT has purchased stock in the company in order that he might attend Take-Two's shareholder meetings and face up to the company's CEO, Paul Eibeler.""
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Jack Thompson Buys Stock in GTA Parent Company More

Jack Thompson Buys Stock in GTA Parent Company

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  • What a show. (Score:5, Funny)

    by TripMaster Monkey ( 862126 ) * on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:21PM (#14321966)


    Heck, I'm now considering buying stock in Take-Two, just so I can witness what promises to be the most side-splitting board meetings ever held.

    In fact, I smell a new reality TV show...get cameras in there to record all the hilarious action.

    We can have viewer participation too, go to the website and enter in the poll....how long will Jack last before Paul gets fed up with his inane babbling and calls the police to have him ejected? How many times will the police have to hit him to subdue him before they drag him out? (We'll have a ringer cop in there, so there will always be at least one punch.)

    Imagine a few cops stiff-arming Jack Thompson's face into the drywall....now that's must-see TV! ^_^

  • makes sense (Score:2, Insightful)

    by TheScottishGuy ( 701141 )
    the guy's a jackass, but he's at least doing something relatively sensibly.

  • What a dick (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Megaweapon ( 25185 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:22PM (#14321982) Homepage
    "At one point, JT refers to Microsoft's Flight Simulator as a training simulator for the 9/11 terrorists"

    I'm sure the other shareholders will be just thrilled to see this jackass try to ruin the company.

    • Well, yeah. It was. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:34PM (#14322121)
      Hell, long before 9/11 I used to buzz the Twin Towers all of the time. I'm not trolling. Back then it was stupid, innocent fun. (No one was hurt but a few pixels on my screen.) Now when I play the sight of the WTC makes my heart ache. And yes, I know about the patch. I chose not to use it.

      Sure, the terrorists learned a bit about flying using Flight Simulator. So did many decent pilots.

      I can kill you with a screwdriver, but that's not what a screwdriver is for. Don't blame the tools or the toolmakers, blame the sick bastards who use them for the wrong means.

      • Re:Well, yeah. It was. (Score:3, Interesting)

        by shawb ( 16347 )
        I remember playing MS Flight Sim at my friend's house. What we usually did was try to fly a 747 BETWEEN the towers. So if gamers were on plane and found a last minute opportunity to seize the plane, the video game could have even provided training for those who wished to stop the tragedy.

    • Re:What a dick (Score:5, Funny)

      by breckinshire ( 891764 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:56PM (#14322362) Homepage
      In related news, Emperor Palpatine bought some shares of LucasArts, as they actually let you simulate attacking the Death Star.

    • Re:What a dick (Score:3, Informative)

      by sneakers563 ( 759525 )
      I realize this is besides the point, but what the heck. For the record, MS Flight Simulator is absolutely nothing like flying a real airplane (at least the 172 isn't - I've never flown an airliner). The throttle settings are incorrect, the roll rate is wrong, the view is wrong, it doesn't behave or feel anything like the real thing. The idea that you could use MS Flight Simulator to learn to fly or to train to do anything is ludicrous. If you've used flight simulators before learning to fly you have a s
      • Let's hope Jack doesn't find out about X-Plane [x-plane.com]...

      • Re:What a dick (Score:5, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:59PM (#14322899)
        For the record, I hold every pilot certificate for airplanes that the FAA offers including several type ratings and have given more than 2000 hours of instruction in small aircraft (including over 1000 in Cessnas) and I can tell you that you are FULL OF SHIT. For the record, I've also spent many hundreds if not thousands of hours with MSFS over the years and my name appears in the credits of two (alas no longer with us) other general aviation flight simulators.

        While of course there are bound to be differences between a PC and the real thing, the fact is that if your controls are properly calibrated, you most certainly can make MSFS, including using the default aircraft, behave quite plausibly like the real thing. View? Did you even bother changing the view? It's adjustable in many ways in MSFS.

        I know that students who come to me having a lot of "PC flying time" under their belt are in general quite well prepared compared to non-flight sim users. (Though the PC flyers often some bad habits, such as instrument fixation). More than that, however, is that once they start their training, I can tell them what to do in MSFS so that they can practice at home and be better prepared for their next lesson. Collectively, my students have saved thousands of dollars by doing this.

        "Roll rate is wrong." - 100 hour wonder, stop with the hangar talk already, ok?

        • Re:What a dick (Score:3, Interesting)

          by MaineCoon ( 12585 )
          While I do not have nearly as much flight experience as you (I have a whopping hour at the controls have a helicopter).

          I play Desert Combat and Battlefield 2 a lot, particularly using the helicopters. When I went for my helicopter flight lesson (fullfilling one of those "things I want to do in my lifetime"), the trainer was impressed with my ability to fly and manage the controls, particularly in maintaining a 3-control hover for extended time; the trainer claims (don't know how true) that only 1 in 100 (o

  • Does this guy have all day to stalk people? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by tulak_horde ( 908356 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:24PM (#14321993) Homepage Journal
    I thought this guy was supposed to be a practicing attorney. Does he ever do any real work? How is it he has so much time to squander on this childish crusade of his?

  • Yes he has. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by d34thm0nk3y ( 653414 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:24PM (#14321995)
    So has JT suddenly become a financial supporter of the company he's long campaigned against? Not a chance.

    Despite his reasoning he has in fact become a financial supporter of Take Two by investing in their stock.
    • How do you figure? Take Two didn't receive any money by him buying one share of stock; the effect such a transaction would have on a share price is pretty minimal.

      If Michael Moore can own stock in Halliburton [worldnetdaily.com], why can't Jack Thompson own shares of Take Two?

      • If Shadowrun has taught us anything, it's that owning one shiny stock certificate in the corporation that interests you is a good thing, as it entitles you to their stockholder information releases, their meetings, and so on.

        • Re:Yes he has. (Score:4, Informative)

          by generic-man ( 33649 ) * on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:41PM (#14322182) Homepage Journal
          It's true that you can attend shareholder meetings and cast proxy votes if you own a share of stock, but any information released to shareholders by a publicly-traded company has to be made available to the public, usually by way of an SEC filing of some sort. You can listen to conference calls, get annual reports, etc., on-line too even if you're not a stockholder.

    • Re:Yes he has. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by durbinshroom ( 639347 )
      Actually, it's highly unlikely that any of the money from his purchase of stock went to Take Two, unless he bought the stock as part of a new offering.

      The money would have gone to whomever was selling the stock at the time. So, at some point in the past money was handed over to the company, but in the aftermarket for stocks the money doesn't go to the company.

      Something interesting to consider is that he now owns a portion of the company, and therefore benefits in some small way from the publication o
      • Something interesting to consider is that he now owns a portion of the company, and therefore benefits in some small way from the publication of the games he is trying to stop. So in some small way, the blood he claims is spilled due to these games is on his hands as well.

        Not that I condone Jack Thompson's crusade in any way, but it is much harder to make changes to any organization from the outside. I think he is wasting everyone's time with his BS, but I think that he is finally doing something that c
    • So aside from being an asshole, he is now a hypocrite. I wonder what ultra violent games his shares make him a party to producing.
    • This is very true, and there's bugger all chance he'll be offered the floor at a shareholder meeting. This is just a weak attempt at trying to stay in the headlines, and squeeze any remaining publicity out of his connection to Take Two. Ignore him, in six months the only Jack Thompson anyone will remember will be the blokey Australian actor: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0860233/ [imdb.com]

  • sweet (Score:5, Funny)

    by iamdaflash ( 915931 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:24PM (#14322000)
    he could present some cool game ideas!

  • Talk about an ugly realization (Score:4, Funny)

    by Brento ( 26177 ) <brento@brentozar ... minus herbivore> on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:26PM (#14322017) Homepage
    I'd hate to be the guy who realizes he sold his Take Two stock to Jack Thompson.

  • Can we just stop paying attention to this nutcase? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mad.frog ( 525085 ) <steven@nOspAm.crinklink.com> on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:26PM (#14322025)
    Seems to me this guy is way more about self-promotion than anything else.
  • I enjoyed this comment that someone left in regards to the article... "Okay, the whole violence in video games thing I can understand from Jack Thompson, but Flight Simulator as training for terrorists? He might as well attack Pac Man for being a training simulator for devouring small objects, harmful to children under 3." Posted by Zero_

  • Bad dog (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:27PM (#14322044) Journal
    Barking up the wrong tree.

    As a shareholder, he's got the right to be heard, if the board gives him the floor. I truly hope they don't, since his points are almost definitely not germane to the purpose of the meeting. I'd like to see the rules governing shareholder meetings at Take-two.

    If he really wants to be heard, he should buy a controlling stake in the company... not that he could afford it.

    Anyone know if Ryan's a majority shareholder? He'd put JT in his place so fast, Thompson wouldn't know up from down, left from right, A from B, B from A, Select from Start.

  • How many shares? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by thewldisntenuff ( 778302 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:28PM (#14322053) Homepage
    TFA doesn't say how many shares - I wouldn't worry too much (Note I said "too" much). The shareholders will realize who he is and either ignore him totally or try to buy up his shares.

    He probably doesn't own more than a few shares - just enough to be a "shareholder" and raise holy hell at the shareholders meeting. Maybe a publicity stunt? We haven't heard much from Jack in awhile now. Besides, isn't the Florida Bar Assoc. looking into his conduct at this time?

    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051019-5458 .html [arstechnica.com]

  • Best plan ever! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    By purchasing stock AND trying to sue the company, he garutees that no matter the outcome, HE WINS!!

  • Can you imagine... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by komodotoes ( 939836 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:30PM (#14322072) Homepage
    ...growing up in a house where Daddy thinks that (flight_sim == jihad)? This guy needs attention alright, the psychiatric kind.



    NeverEndingBillboard.com [neverendingbillboard.com]

  • Whats that I smell? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by arkham6 ( 24514 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:33PM (#14322101)
    Why, I think its the smell of an impending minority shareholder lawsuit.

    Hmm. Smells suspisiously like feces, too.
  • Please, please, please stream that meeting over the internet please! I would even pay to see that meeting!

  • The big question is, does he have any yakuza buddies? Some Japanese gangsters, known as sokaiya, buy shares in companies so as to have the right to attend shareholder meetings, then exort money from the company by threatening to disrupt the meeting.

    • CEO Take 2: "The panel gives Jack Thompson the floor... (oh good grief)"
      Jack Thompson: "I'd like to start of on how horrible all of you peo..."
      Yakuza_1: "Revere the Emperor!"
      Yakuza_2: "Expel the barbarian!"
      *Guards appear out of the woodwork and drag Jack screaming and kicking down the aisle*
      Yakuza_3: "Bonzai!" *beats the restrained Jack with a bamboo stick*
  • 1. Become powerful politician 2. Rail on company until stock prices drop 3. Buy now lower priced stock 4. Profit! 5. ???

  • I hope he does the right thing... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Warlock7 ( 531656 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:46PM (#14322240)
    What's JT going to do with all of the earnings he makes from the stock? Is he going to donate it to a worthy charity or just pocket it and make a profit from the company he hates so much? Poor JT...
  • Isn't it against their interests?

  • It's just symbolic (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ShatteredDream ( 636520 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:54PM (#14322327) Homepage
    He wants to be heard, but no one else is going to listen to him inside the company. A company that is willing to publish a game that is as pure of a target for regulation as GTA is not going to listen to a shareholder who might hold 0.001% of the company's assets.

    Of course, if he really wanted to make a name for himself, he'd go after Wal-Mart, Target, etc. for not actually enforcing the rating system. What good is a mature rating on a game if the stores flat out refuse to fire employees for not enforcing the rating? As for the argument that more games should be AO, that's bullshit, and even GTA with its sex scenes wasn't AO. Anyone seen the movie Taking Lives? It had a full on sex scene with Angelina Jolie that was pretty damn explicit, yet it got a R rating which is analogous to a Mature rating.

    AO really shouldn't even exist because Mature implies that your player can actually handle R-rated material in a movie. The difference between NC-17 and R is purely subjective, and quite frankly, any game that really does deserve an AO rating is probably over the top and should subjected to scrutiny as it is probably wantonly pornographic and violent in a way that would make Id blush and Take Two start furiously scribbling down notes.

  • 9-11, Flight Simulators, and Jack Thompson (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:54PM (#14322331) Homepage
    I could almost understand his issue with violent video games like "Grand Theft Auto III" and such. As a father, I don't let my children play them (ages 6, 3, and 1), and reserve those for my own use. While I don't feel that such games contribute to overall violence, I also know there are many better games to be playing with my children (like "Dragon Quest VIII", "Mario Kart", etc).

    But I can give a certain amount of respect to Mr. Thompson for standing up for his beliefs and going after them. Or, I would, except his true views were shown when he went after Bill Gates for making "Microsoft Flight Simulator".

    By accusing MS for being part of the cause of the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Towers, I'm afraid that Mr. Thompson has shown a view that's, well, crazy, for lack of a more polite word. In his universe, flight simulators aren't used to give people an idea of what it's like to fly a plane - it's used by terrorists to kill people. In his world, Tetris probably isn't a challenging puzzle game - it's a method for people to learn how to fit blocks together to seal people inside a la "The Cask of Amontillado".

    By Mr. Thompson standards, we would be banished into a world as bad as that ruled by the Taliban, where music, dancing, games, laughter and fun are simply scary things to trick people into doing evil. A game of "cops and robbers" played out by kids 20 years ago would be seen by him as encouraging crime.

    So, while he might have had my respect in the past for at least working on something he perceived as a problem, he's shown himself to be in the worst light of those who would deny any human joy for fear of corruption.

    Sorry, Jack. When I get home, I'm going to play a game of Chess with my daughter and Sorry with my son - or in your mind, "encouraging my daughter to commit mass atrocities on the battlefield and teaching my son to inflict suffering upon others and encouraging retribution".

    • Re:9-11, Flight Simulators, and Jack Thompson (Score:4, Interesting)

      by StikyPad ( 445176 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @06:08PM (#14322976) Homepage
      I don't let my children play them (ages 6, 3, and 1), and reserve those for my own use.

      It's about time somebody took a stand and just said no to infants playing GTA. Bravo, sir. Bravo.

      Mr. Thompson has shown a view that's, well, crazy, for lack of a more polite word

      Mr. Flanders? Is that you? Shame on you for using that kind of language. ...he's shown himself to be in the worst light of those who would deny any human joy for fear of corruption.

      Right, or there's the off chance that he's just rabble-rousing and stirring up controversy for the publicity.

      I know, I know.. it's a stretch to think that a bona-fide attorney might actually spout off about something without a) knowing what he's talking about or b) even believing what he's saying. It's just that I heard a mean-spirited rumor that the Bar is starting to admit people without regard to their moral fiber, and part of me can't help but wonder...

  • Take2 should pay dividends.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by demonic-halo ( 652519 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:54PM (#14322339)
    That'll be funny if Take2 declared quarterly dividends.

    So each time Jack has a case against some other game company. They can say that Jack is being paid by Take2.

  • Trespassing? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by TheFlyingGoat ( 161967 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @04:58PM (#14322373) Homepage Journal
    Can't they just refuse him on the property and have him arrested for trespassing if he comes anyway? He would then have to file a complaint with the SEC, which would most likely side with the company given Thompson's purpose in wanting to attend.

    They could also allow him in, and then file a restraining order if he disrupts the meeting. I belive the restraining order law would trump the SEC rules.

  • Anything I can buy to help? (Score:3, Funny)

    by failedlogic ( 627314 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:02PM (#14322425)
    I'd like to contribute money to the cause. Lawyers are the major problem of Western society, not video games.

    So.... where can I send in money to stop nut-job lawyers from getting a law degree then accumulating wealth, power and media attention?

  • I have a new word for people like JT. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pantero Blanco ( 792776 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:04PM (#14322445)
    The word is "litigiterrorists".

  • What Jack Thompson wants... (Score:3, Funny)

    by technoextreme ( 885694 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:10PM (#14322494)
    http://www.gamespot.com/gba/puzzle/thebiblegame/in dex.html?q=bible%20game [gamespot.com]
    Then again knowing the Bible it might even be unacceptable for him.
  • Take-Two CEO Paul Eibeler announced today that he was buying stock in a Florida insane asylum in order to guarantee him access to speak to Jack Thompson in the near future...

  • Silly Question (Score:4, Insightful)

    by spudgun ( 39016 ) on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:23PM (#14322616) Homepage
    If GTA trains us all to be killers
    and everyone Hates Jack [thinkgeek.com]

    why is he still walking around ?

  • Simply because he's a shareholder does NOT mean he gets to ask a question. Anyone who has seen Roger & Me can attest to Michael Moore's lack of success in asking his question at the GM annual shareholder meeting.
  • 1. rant against co. creating huge media blitz
    2. invest in said company
    3. ???
    4. PROFIT!!

  • Stock is a goofy thing... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by (H)elix1 ( 231155 ) <slashdot.helix@nOSPaM.gmail.com> on Thursday December 22, 2005 @05:40PM (#14322758) Homepage Journal
    I bought SCOX a year or so ago, just so I could order paper copies of the stock certificates before they are delisted. Can't believe they are still kicking. (Paid more for the certificate than I did the stock) Framed, these make *fantastic* white elephant gifts as did the pets.com and a few other stinkers I picked up during the crash. Anyhow, you get tons of paperwork and can usually dial into the calls if you want. Did once just to hear weasel boy work his magic, but did not care enough to queue a question. Point being, I could have.

    A public company can be driven by dissenters if they have enough voting shares to matter. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Jack does not have enough to do anything more than possibly ask a question. Most companies are pretty adept at keeping the loons from causing ruckus.
  • On the one hand, buying stock will give him some (small) voice at stockholders' meetings, but unless he manages to sell the stock at a loss (or gives it away), he's still going to make a profit off of what he claims to denounce. This has the potential to be a double-edged sword.
  • "I hated it so much, I bought the company. And fired the bastards."

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