Fresh off of
getting a beating from a TV talk show host, Jack Thompson has
reached a settlement with his favorite target, Take-Two Interactive, publishers of the Grand Theft Auto games. You might remember Thompson's suit in question here, which was
pretty ridiculous, even for him. In response to a Take-Two suit trying to stop Thompson's repeated (and
repeatedly unsuccessful) attempts to block the release of their new games, Thompson alleged the company was at the head of a vast conspiracy to somehow deprive him of his civil rights. For added amusement, he alleged that a number of video-game news sites were in on things, and alleged some racketeering violations, though he soon
quietly dropped them. Thompson and Take-Two were due in court Thursday morning, where Thompson could have been tossed in jail for contempt of court, but the settlement precluded that. It's hard to see this as anything other than a win for Take-Two: Thompson has agreed to stop trying to block the sale of Take-Two's games, and will stop telling people that the company is breaking the law by selling games. However, he won't be prevented from representing third parties in their suits against the company, nor will he stop criticizing them and their games. But between this case and
his potential disbarment, Thompson's doing a pretty good job of marginalizing himself.