Attorney Jack Thompson has gotten himself quite a reputation. Just recently, he blasts a kid’s meal promotion held by fast food Wendy’s with no absolute motive. The promotion was in partnership with Nintendo, to create toys that show reference to mascots from Super Mario, Excite Truck, Wii Sports and the Wiimote. While there are no concerns here, Jack Thompson takes an irrelevant turn by picking on Manhunt II, which is to release on the PSP, PS2 and Wii later this year. He asks politely that Wendy’s should rid of the promotion.

On July 10, an extremely violent video game will be released for “play” on Nintendo’s kid-friendly Wii game platform. It is called Manhunt 2. It will feature, according to video game news sites, beheadings with hatchets, bludgeonings with baseball bats, the jamming of syringes into eyeballs, cutting opponents’ testicles off, and “environtmental [sic] kills” in which common objects in the field of vision, such as electrical cords to strangle victims. I attach news reports in these regards.

What makes this Nintendo Wii game all the more troubling is the nature of Wii platform itself. Instead of holding in one’s hand the typical game controller, the player holds motion capture devices, so that by moving one’s hands and limbs one is actually acting out with one’s own body the violent behavior. The American Psychological Association in August 2005 found a direct causal link between the play of violent video games and increased adolescent and teen aggression. One pro-video game industry site is referring to Manhunt 2 as a “true murder simulator” when played on Wii.

A dear friend of mine worked for Wendy’s and with Dave Thomas closely for years. From that I know that Dave Thomas never would have tolerated the use of Wendy’s good name to promote Nintendo’s Wii, not with this game available on the Wii platform.

Please cancel the Wii Kids’ Meal promotion immediately.

Jack Thompson has been known to be the adversary of violent gaming, criticizing titles known to be deemed inappropriate. He has been gruff with events such as the Virginia Tech shootings, trying to relate it to games such as Counter Strike and Grand Theft Auto. He’s also emphasized a sundry amount of times on the Hot Coffee scene in GTA, and it’s relevance to inappropriate behavior in real life.

I must say that Jack is completely irreverent in this matter. He’s brought up some good points, but where does this lead him now?