GDC denies inviting Thompson for debate

The Game Developers Conference (GDC) has responded to Jack Thompson‘s claims that he will be present at this year’s GDC for another round of debate. GDC executive director Jamil Molendina denied that the GDC extended an invitation to Thompson to speak at GDC 2008. Thompson has also fired back at Molendina, saying that the industry “wants nothing but an incestuous gathering in San Francisco“. Read all about the controversy at the full article.

A press representative from the Game Developers Conference (GDC) has issued a statement denying that the GDC invited anti-video game attorney Jack Thompson to speak at GDC 2008. Thompson claimed in a recent court filing that he would be present at this year’s GDC for a debate similar to the one he had with Lorne Lanning at VGXPO.

According to GamePolitics, contrary to what Thompson claimed in his court filing, GDC director Jamil Molendina was not in attendance at VGXPO. Thompson did, however, speak to video game composer Tommy Tallarico. GamePolitics surmises that Thompson was actually referring to Tallarico when he said he met “the man who organizes” GDC. Tallarico is on the GDC’s main advisory board.

After the Thompson-Lanning debate, Tallarico, Lanning and Spencer Halpin reportedly discussed the possibility of having a similar debate at GDC 2008. Tallarico told GamePolitics that he never spoke to Thompson personally, but that Halpin’s wife, one of VGXPO’s organizers, spoke to Thompson by phone about the debate. Tallarico was about to present the idea before the GDC board when the story broke.

GamePolitics also reports that Thompson has written a letter to GDC director Jamil Molendina, claiming that the video game industry “lies about the ratings on its products, sells those products to underage kids behind their parents’ backs, and then wants nothing but an incestuous gathering in San Francisco to congratulate itself on how smart it is.”

With all of this controversy, the possibility of a debate with Jack Thompson at GDC 2008 seems a dead one.

Via GamePolitics