GamePolitics.com posted an amusing article about the ongoing of attorney Jack Thompson’s lawsuits against the Florida Bar. Thompson filed 13 different responses to a single “show cause” order. Judge Adalberto Jordan’s had it. The whole article is too long to repeat here, so just read it on their excellent website. My favorite of it all:

Despite what Mr. Thompson may think, this case is not a war with the world regarding the state of its moral standards (if it is, I clearly do not have jurisdiction). Therefore, he cannot continue to use this case as platform to battle everything in society with which he disagrees.

In which Thompson responded:

The day that Thompson thinks that the federal judiciary is either the repository of morality or an authoritative arbiter of moral standards is the moment that Thompson really does need the mental health examination that The Bar illegally demands.

Jack Thompson is a jackass and a menace to the video games industry, but you gotta admit reading stuff about him is very amusing.

As reported by GamePolitics.com, the American Medical Assosication has backed away from a previous initiative to classify video game addiction as a medical condition similar to sustance abuse, citing:

There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn’t get to have the word addiction attached to it.

I am no expert myself, and I don’t know if it should be classified as a medical disorder. Pathological Gambling is currently classified as a mental illness. Is video gaming different? I certainly believe that some people need help, when their video gaming habbits turn their lives upside down. Though interestingly, Pathological Gambling actually has biological bases (lack of norepinephrine). Is it the same with playing too much video games? Only time can tell, and AMA is doing the right thing by saying they need more time to investigate the matter before it gets blown out of proportion.