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Violence and video games is a topic almost as old as time itself, and we’re all getting tired of hearing people discuss whether or not violent video games are a stimulant for violence & aggression. While the entire gaming community will probably answer that query with a resounding, unanimous “NO”, many analysts and therapists alike disagree. The comedic, critical duo of Penn & Teller recently tackled this topic in the latest episode of Showtime’s Penn & Teller: Bullshit!, and the outcomes of the so-called “investigation” might surprise you.

The first part of the episode is embedded above, courtesy of Kotaku, and the second & third parts are embedded after the jump. Everyone’s favorite Floridian makes an appearance in the episode, but unfortunately, they made him out to some sort of game-hating misanthrope, rather than the forthright, but misguided man he seemed to be when I heard him speak at SGC last week. While I enjoyed the episode, and thought they made a lot of good points, I could’ve done without the crying kid at the end. Luckily, no one at his age probably watches or even gets Showtime, or the kid would be teased for life.
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The search continues for the missing Ontario Canada 15 year-old, Brandon Crisp, who fled his home after an argument with his father over their decision to take away his Xbox.

According to Barrie police spokesman, Sgt. Dave Goodbrand, Microsoft Canada has offered to do “anything they can to expedite the process to find Brandon,” and the company is putting their money where their mouth is as they doubled the reward for information leading to his safe return, bringing the total amount to $50,000. Read more…

If the constant Jack Thompson disbarment updates aren’t giving you the kind of instant gratification you hunger for, thank GamePolitics reader E.Zachary Knight, who took the time to create a Firefox plugin that will relentlessly count down the remaining moments left in Thompson’s well documented legal career.

In news to be filed in the “couldn’t come soon enough” category, anti-videogame lawyer extraordinaire Jack Thompson has been disbarred, permanently. Read more…

Thailand just got an ally in its war on Grand Theft Auto: Jack Thompson.

A caricature of thriving in the face of adversity, besieged Florida lawyer and video game industry critic Thompson has given his two cents on the Thailand ban on GTA. Read more…

Jesus takes time to teach a child about the PS3 rumble feature

Jesus wept.

The Christian Examiner Online has weighed in with a lengthy dissertation on videogames in general and – gasp! – Grand Theft Auto in particular, outlining the evils involved in the medium and their contribution to the social decay afflicting the United States, not the world.

“The game delivers the kinds of thrills teenage boys love, with plenty of high-speed chase scenes, noisy shoot-’em-ups and risqué sexuality,” writes Steve Rabey. “But questions about the game’s violence and the ability of some gamers to unlock explicit sex scenes in an earlier version of the game have led to complaints and a class action lawsuit against “GT4’s” manufacturer, Rockstar Games.”

Posted through the “Christian Newswire,” the article is being touted as an “in-depth report on the impact of video games on families and the culture.” However, there are no quotes or statements from any learned scholars on the topic of videogame violence, nor scientific data regarding their claims to addiction, violent behavior, or anti-social tendencies. Read more…

Game Over? Court Recommends Permanent Disbarment of Jack Thompson
Could it be the beginning of the end for gaming’s loudest antagonist?

In a stunning finding released today by the Florida Bar Association, self-proclaimed anti-video game advocate Jack Thompson may be facing possible lifetime disbarment as has been recommended by a referee between the Bar Association and Thompson. Read more…

During GDC, the Ripten crew was privy to an exclusive invite-only shindig presented by the good people at D3Publishing. What did we do? Well, we sat down in front of some system-linked Xbox 360s and proceeded to tear the shit out of each other in a few rounds of Digital Extremes’ new game, Dark Sector. Read more…

With the recent antics of everybody’s favorite neighborhood lawyer stirring gamers everywhere to utter a few choice words towards the man, the guys over at Pure Pwnage decided to give him a musical tribute. Hit the jump to watch the music video that’ll be stuck in your head for at least a week. Read more…

Brian from Kotaku and Jack Thompson seem to exchange e-mails fairly frequently, and what came from this exchange may very well shake the ground that we walk on. Jack “I’ll Sue Anything That Walks” Thompson has stepped up to defend Mass Effect, also known as “Luke Skywalker meets Debbie Does Dallas”. Read more…

With the announcement earlier this week of a release date for GTA IV, the always accurate Miami lawyer Jack Thompson has begun his annual attempt to save the young and the innocent from the murder inducing evil that is video games. Read more…

Very ironic, however I am not impressed as this pales in comparison to the bible I found in a hotel room, signed by none other than Satan himself.

If you are interested in the unique mix of pop culture and politics that this particular ink stained copy of GTA III offers up, you will need to dish out $4000 for the chance to make it yours — or you can just show up at Jack’s next debate hoping to get something signed like our boy Nick did.

The only positive thing here is that the seller promises to give all earnings from the sale to the Child’s Play foundation.

Buy it now on Ebay

Jack Thompson vs. Lorne Lanning — an epic duel to the death refereed by Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal. Ok, we were kidding about the whole duel to the death thing, but with the way Jack Thompson has been attacking gamers lately it wouldn’t surprise us one bit. Read more…

Is the world ready for Nintendo’s “Wii”pons of mass destruction? Jack Thomson thinks that the Wii is just that, and in the hands of children can be used to train each of them to kill. Sounds crazy at first, but maybe he is on to something here. Please, allow us the opportunity to illustrate his point… Read more…

Stop me if you’ve heard this one gamers. You guessed it, Captain Jack is back and we aren’t talking about the Caribbean Pirate variety, no this one’s a Miami based lawyer.

Jack Thompson is back in the news again, blasting video game makers … again, and there is nothing funny about it. Read more…