Bully controversy kicks off AGAIN

[Shrygue]

via Computer and Video Games


Despite the fact it's already been sitting on the shelves for over a year on PS2, another ruckus is being kicked off over Rockstar's Bully, reignited thanks to the upcoming release of Xbox 360 and Wii versions of the game.

The Daily Telegraph describes the updated version, Scholarship Edition, as an "even more realistic" take on the 2006 original, which "encourages players to act out assaults on pupils and teachers." Beating a dead horse much?

The game's also sparked additional rows by changing its name from Canis Canem Edit back to Bully, which in itself is enough to get Daily Mail readers all riled up.

Niall Cowley, of the charity BeatBullying, said: "We're disappointed this game was created in the first place. Some mindless people thought this was a fun, interesting piece of software to create, but it undermines all the hard work that organisations like ours are seeking to do."

Cowley said that when the original was launched last year, Rockstar tried to persuade his group to back Canis by offering a donation. "It was the most distasteful thing in the world - the idea that we could be bought off like that," he said.

"We have the interests of the children of this country in our mind, not of the shareholders of this company."

PC World and Currys have already refused to stock the Xbox 360 and Wii updates, as they did with the PS2 original. The National Union of Teachers meanwhile has called for a wider ban on the game.

In a statement, a Rockstar spokesperson said: "It is a comedic romp. The last game sold fabulously in the UK and was critically acclaimed.

"It is not a game about playing a bully. It is about the trials and tribulations of a boy in his first year at school. He protects children against other characters. People have to be able to make their own decisions and to judge for themselves, with an open mind."

Is it really worth wasting our words over this anymore? Anyone who's actually played the game will realise it's a very tongue-in-cheek action game which mostly has you protecting people from bullies rather than picking on pip-squeaks at random.

It's one of Rockstar's better games in recent times, so we definitely recommend a look when it arrives in the UK this March.

[Eviltaco64]

Here comes...SUPER JACK THOMPSON!! Blaming the LA Riots on NARC Faster than ever!!

[lampsta]

Not this sh*t again!

[stevo11185]

oh gawd...here again come the narrow minded people who wont take what is clear and right in front of their eyes.....yes, video games may not cause violence as such, but they may contribute to voilence....

here is an example....you are having a hard time at school and at home, you are also playing a game at home that is very violent and has realistic displays of violence e.g. hitting someone with a baseball bat....the chances are much more likely increased for you to copy that action

people are right about video games not causing violence, because if you are having a perfectly happy life then you have no need for violence. Games are not the sole cause, they are a side cause or contributing factor towards it.

Saying that not everyone who plays violent games becomes violent is true, but you could say that about almost any situation. for example, someone that slaughters pigs, someone that does archery, someone that plays rugby/American football.....the experiences that people who do these activities may contribute to what happens/how they commit violence

[stevo11185]

Here comes...SUPER JACK THOMPSON!! Blaming the LA Riots on NARC Faster than ever!!

if you havent realised by now, he is doing it for attention and publicity

[Mister Klownes]

This is why I don't think people should be able to comment on games until they've played them all the way through, themselves. Bully was a fanastically fun game, with an unbelievable soundtrack, I might add, wherein, as the original article said, there's little actual bullying. It's mostly defense...and the occaisional knocking down of crazies to their rightful place. All the same, I don't think anyone should be allowed to, as they say, "knock it until they've tried it."

[stevo11185]

All the same, I don't think anyone should be allowed to, as they say, "knock it until they've tried it."

that logic is not very stable. People dont try poison just so they can knock it. they don't murder just so they can say 'oh well i dont like it' People also dont $#@! and then say 'oh thats not my thing' and a straight person would not want to have homosexual relationships just so that he can say that he 'didnt like it'

You can see in some situations that the outcome is easily foreseeable. if you drink poison, you will die, if you murder you will be put in prison. In others it is down to choice.

[NOCHUCK]

Can't wait for this bad-lad to come out. Beat the PS2 version twice so I can't wait to get my hands on some extra content. It's like the Shivering Isles expansion all over again

[VampDude]

It's always the Rockstar branded games that get picked out for discussion, but what they fail to see is the age that gets printed on the games when they're released, idiots!

[stevo11185]

It's always the Rockstar branded games that get picked out for discussion, but what they fail to see is the age that gets printed on the games when they're released, idiots!

Very true. I have seen worse games. And films are no different, because they are much more violent sometimes. And whatever the media say about games being interactive (involving the person) can also apply to films. Many more people have copied a film compared to video games.