Not much surprising, but Jack Thompson is now after Halo 3. It didn't take him long did it? The Halo 3 beta has only been released for a week and Jack Thompson is already taking advantage of it.

Jack Thompson submits a letter to Bill Gates threatening him to take legal actions against him if Halo 3 is sold on the Internet or shops to under 17's.

Just when you thought it was safe to check your inbox. Miami attorney and anti-game activist Jack Thompson was back at it again today. It seems Mr. Thompson is taking issue with the pending release of Microsoft's Halo 3 game, currently being enjoyed by 360 owners everywhere with its multiplayer beta.



Thompson forwarded Game Almighty a copy of the following letter supposedly sent along to Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates:

Bill Gates

Microsoft Corporation

Redmond, Washington

Re: Halo 3

Dear Mr. Gates:

As you know, the Federal Trade Commission has repeatedly found that games rated “Mature” by the video game industry-captured Entertainment Software Rating Board are routinely sold to kids under the age of 17 despite the age rating. The most recent failure rate of the ratings on “Mature” games, according to the FTC, is 42%. The entire rating system is a fraud, and “broken,” the latter description aptly provided by Senator Hillary Clinton.

As you also know, Lee Boyd Malvo trained on Microsoft’s Halo to further enable him to become the remarkably efficient “DC Beltway Sniper.” That was reported by NBC News at the time and was noted in Malvo’s criminal trial.

You appeared on CBS’ 60 Minutes II and rather revealing and usefully noted that “the cool thing about these games is that they transport you to a world you think is real.” Precisely. Capcom has recently disclosed to investors that your video game industry’s violent games, sold to children, pose a real hazard to the health of the industry. Right on.

The hyperviolent Microsoft Xbox 360 game Halo 3 is scheduled by your company for commercial release in September of this year. The Beta version that was released last week shows us all just how violent the game is and how inappropriate it is for play by anyone under 17, as the “Mature” rating it will surely receive indicates.

Here’s the deal, Mr. Gates: Either Microsoft undertakes dramatic, real steps, through its marketing, wholesale, and retail operations to assure that Halo 3 is not sold, via the Internet and in stores, directly to anyone under 17, or I shall proceed to make sure that Microsoft is held to that standard by appropriate legal means. I have done that before successfully as to Best Buy, and I shall do so again as to Microsoft and all retailers of Halo 3.

Regards, Jack Thompson

So, having been essentially barred from threatening to sue Take Two over its games, it would seem that Thompson has set his legal sites on another big fish: Microsoft. So, will Thompson follow through on his latest legal threats? And if he does, how will Microsoft respond? We'll keep you posted on how (and if) things continue to develop.

ITANI via gamealmighty.com »