Jack Thompson, an activist who has fought against sex and violence in video games, said interactive entertainment is “probably the greatest educational tool ever invented.”
Speaking on Simon Parkin's My Perfect Console podcast, the 72-year-old former lawyer, famous for his brand name in games such as GTA, said: counter strike Manhunt's “murder simulator” – video games themselves can't cause harm, he said.
When Parkin asked if he thought video games could have positive as well as negative effects, Thompson, who once told gamers to “go to hell,” replied: “I don't think so.
I've seen how it helps children with disabilities, learning disabilities, etc. As you know, technology is a great thing.I just saw it oppenheimer, I think this deserves an Oscar for Best Picture. A great movie in many ways. And let's consider nuclear fission. It can or can illuminate the city. Therefore, technology is neutral. What is done with it in the hands of malicious people, indifferent people, and good people depends on the motive behind it. But technology is neutral.
With graphics now of cinematic quality, video games are perhaps the best educational tool ever invented. Virtual Reality; Perhaps reality is not as good as virtual reality. And the interactive nature of video games is what makes them incredibly powerful. you are doing something You are not passively watching a movie. You're either becoming a character in the movie, or you're actively learning about important subject matter.
So I'm all for technology. I think it's not the technology that matters, but what we do with it.
While this snippet may suggest that Thompson's stance has softened over the decades, the entire episode may contain more than a few salvos aimed at the video game industry. . As of 2022, Thompson continued to lash out at what he considered “obscene” games.
In an interview with The Verge, he recalled the first time he saw GTA:
My stomach hurts.I was at home, I left [Grand Theft Auto III] With a video game console, it was unsettling. You are not passively watching something. You were in on it.
All episodes of My Perfect Console will be released next Tuesday.
