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this was posted in todays msn news:
"It's not yet available, but Bully, a new video game from Rockstar Games (the U.S. distributor is Take 2, the same folks who brought you Grand Theft Auto) is causing uproar. The animated game, set at the fictitious Bullworth Academy, features a protagonist who is bullied, faces mean teachers, and encounters the nastiness of clubs and cliques. There is no beating them without joining them in this game set in a bully or be bullied world.

GameSpot, a gaming destination, reports that the Britain-based Bullying Online, an organization devoted to ending "bullying" on school grounds in the U.K., is seeking to have the game banned in the country. According to a BBC report, Bully will change the name of the U.K. release to the less offensive Canis Canem Edit (Dog Eat Dog). It is due for release on the PlayStation 2 on October 27.

Here in the U.S., members of the Washington D.C. based youth group Peaceoholics protested outside Rockstar Games' New York offices. And a Florida attorney, Jack Thompson, has sued to have the game removed from stores. In the US, the game has no rating yet because it hasn't shipped, but it's expected to receive an M for mature (over 17) audiences from the ESRB.

I watched the trailer for the game on GameSpot, and clearly it's a game about bullying that's similar in style and action to Grand Theft Auto. But this game is like your worst high school nightmare, with everything from wedgies, mean girls, and teases, to nasty cheerleaders and catty cliques. As the protagonist, you need to get strong fast as you rise through the challenges of girls that hit; mean, spiteful teachers; and gang plots to make your life miserable.

There are those who think that a game that makes "play" out of bullying is despicable. But in fairness it should be pointed out that this is not a shoot ‘em up game, and there are no guns or blood. Some experts believe it can be a healthy outlet for kids to get these sorts of fantasies out of their systems on the screen and not in the real world. On the other hand, the game shows that to survive the bully culture you need to become one.

What do you think? Will kids know that Bully is a game? Can they find it amusing and keep it in stride? Or do they learn that bullying is acceptable, fun, and even cool behavior? Would you let your teens play Bully?"

Notice the little insert with that freak Jack Thompson!!!!!! Its just a game, nothing more. Are we gonna see kids driving around in humvees with M4 rifles after playing battlefield 2, or flying jets after playing microsoft flight simulator X? I think not, yet everyone thinks that kids are gonna turn into bullys or worse after playing this game. I miss the old days when games were things you played with your friends after school, laughin and trash talkin, just havin a good time. Now politics have caught up to one of the biggest entertainment industries, and its not going good.

Yeah, I've been keeping up with this, as there's been a whole slew of stuff about it on Joystiq. One judge asked Thompson to show him the game, and they played footage from the gameplay for him. He said that he saw no reason that it shouldn't hit shelves. :P

I personally don't think that any game can make you go all out violent. I don't think kids should be explosed to violence at an incredibly early age(around 7 and below), but that's up to the parents to monitor, not the government.

my dad got me my first T game at i think 10, no 9, it was Doom, and while i was kinda scared, the lights, noises, and action gave me something to do after school at my dads work, where i usually went. When we moved into our house and got my mac, i got Abuse, a side scrolling 2D shooter, that was fun, i was about 10, then at 12 i got Quake 3 Arena, rated M, and still play shooter games rated mostly T and M. I know how to use most weapons, and im an expert shot with a Glock 17 and Sig Sauer P226. I also play paintball and airsoft, both violent games. Not once have i ever had a though about killing someone or going on a murder spree. Im living Proof games dont affect the mind

iv also grown up on violent games and right now i have access to several WW2 military rifles. I also have a airsoft p-90 which i use alot and have been paintballing several times. And like Lion i havent had any urges to start a mass killing spree or anything. i know that violence in games is NOT the same as violence in real life. in games you can start again but in the real world its game over..... permanently... no restarts, no continues. if you can under stand that then you know real world violence is not fun. if you were to give me a gun and tell me to shoot this person.. even if it was someone i hated with all my heart... i doubt i could pull the trigger... now dont get me wrong it wouldnt stop me from HITTING him with it or sumthin but i wouldnt kill them. no one has the right to take anothers life.

I wonder if jack will try and ban super mario brothers, because it will encourage people to jump on eachother's heads >.<

Yeah, I play violent video games a lot too, and I have no violent urges. I wonder what Jack would say if he ever saw the game DEFCON(thermonuclear war simulator). :P

why hasnt jack ever complained about pac-man?
it encourages people to try to eat eachother and go Wacca Wacca Wacca!

indead, ive seen bully, it seems like a harmless game

in fact i think you help some bullied nerds

although you do beat up school security[seniors] and while in town
there are cops, depending on your choices

but they should have had character customization

I am truly outraged, and I probably wouldn't know about this until much later if people like you saints didn't exist who know everything. Oh, and speaking of Jack: http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20051012

I can say a bit about this. It's 100% Grade A BS!

I have played quite a few violent games, I OWN Resident Evil 4. If that's not insanely violent, I dunno what is. In my opinion, about 99% of all video games are centered around violence in some form. That's what makes the god damn game fun!

Who in their right mind would want to play a game with absolutely no violence? I've played Chibi Robo(and beaten it), that game has some violence in it. Sure there isn't blood and gore and all that blah, but you still shoot a frikkin' laser at little robot things that are evil. That can count as violence.

Fact is... I have played a lot of violent games, and still do today. They do not make me want to go on a mass murder spree, or shoot my enemies with a revolver, or run over someone with a mower. Anyone that does that is [censored] retarded. They'd have to be the dumbest piece of [censored] lowlife in the whole damn world to believe that what you do in video games is what you should do in real life.

Although, shooting some people would be nice... but that was not influenced by video games.

The only thing that video games affect for me is who/what I spend more time with and my mood. If I've got a new game, I'd rather spend time playing that instead of playing football with my simpleton "friends". When I've been in a server on Gunz with a bunch of hackers there with the "insane massive" and "HP lock" hacks, that pisses me off. I still do not want to go and shoot someone in real life though.

I've got one piece of advice for the politicians or whatever that are saying video games cause violence. "STFU."

Oh, and about Bully... It seems like a strange game... I don't think I'd care for it too much. Especially not when PSU is out now!!!

One ideal on the defence of video games for me is...

It is not the game!
It is the crazy Emo-kid that skipped his meds and the emo that he is, is insane

IN FACT, there is a game based around said game
BEHOLD!!
http://imokgame.com/index.html

Lord I hate it when people get on 'crusades' like these. Video games don't make people go out and kill others, if anything video games have PREVENTED me from killing someone or myself. They provide an outlet for frustration, and they are fun. I will admit that I enjoy the combat part of games, but thats all it is, a game. I'm not going to kill someone in GTA, and then attempt it in real life, because that is stupid. If people would just take responablity for their actions, we wouldn't have people constantly blaming murders and what-not on video games.

heh, not like anyone with half a brain copys games anyhow...

*gets into Nightmare halo2 armor with a plasma rifle, and starts to throw blue foam balls at the ESRB HQ "TAKE DAT JOO NOOBZ!!!"

I wandered around the various bits and pieces of info on this around the 'net, and it appears that the player is not actually a bully. The name apparently comes from the school's name of Bullsworth (yeah, and hot coffee was teh haxorz, right?) and there are bullies, but the player is not one of them. From what I've seen - and this is second and third hand info at best, folks - the only opportunity to hurt peoples is when those same peoples tries to hurt you first. Hence, you're beating up bullies. Can't go wrong there.

The most controversial part based in fact is the opportunity to have the male protagonist make out with another dude. Oh boy it's going to be fun watching politicians try to attack the game without getting flamed by the GLBT peoples and their supporters.



Taking responsibility for your actions means you can't sue if you dump coffee in your crotch or stab yourself in the eye with a spork. Not gonna happen, m'fraid.

yeah, no offense but you would not be a hardcore gamer if you didnt know that. if jack AKA retard actually paid attention to other games he would go insane with rule of rose. more animal cruelty and pre-pubescent lesbianism than you can shake a stick at.

Yeah, no offense but what if he's not a hardcore gamer anyway? :P