"Bully" Getting Bullied

If you're not aware of Rockstar's upcoming game, Bully, you should be. The game, centered around a British prep school, Bullworth Academy, where the main character, as described by Rockstar, is a "troublesome schoolboy" who "stands up to bullies, gets picked on by teachers, plays pranks on malicious kids, wins or loses the girl, and ultimately learns to navigate the obstacles of the fictitious reform school." Sounds like fun, huh? Well, Gamespot today has an article suggesting that perhaps Bully will be just the fodder that the anti-video game/Jack Thompson crowd is looking for.

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Obviously, the "Hot Coffee" mod has made many a ripple, including several people filing lawsuits against Rockstar hoping, eventually, for a larger class action lawsuit to be filed against the developer. With Bully debuting this October, the timing will be perfect for politicians and other vested interests to rail on Rockstar and hold it up as the poster child of everything that is wrong with today's youth and video games in general...not that this would be anything new for Rockstar.

I remind those who are complaining about this game already, namely our good friend, Florida attorney Jack Thompson (StopKill.com), who has already organized a protest of the game slated for tomorrow in Manhattan where two busloads of school kids from DC will protest the game, that the game isn't for kids. It's for people like me, a 28 year old who, I'm fairly certain, can handle the game.

Also, Jack Thompson said, "A check of Internet web sites today reveals that Wal-Mart, GameStop, ToysRUs, and Amazon.com are all presently pre-selling the game with no questions asked as to age of the buyers". Hmm? How old do you have to be to apply for and receive a credit card? 18. Does Amazon.com, et al, take cash? Nope. So, unless you are illegally using a parent's credit card, you are old enough to buy this game via an online retailer.

As always, it comes down to parents. Given the current climate I would guess that retailers are enforcing the ratings system more strictly than ever. The only way kids can get around that is to have a parent (or older sibling) purchase it for them. If you don't know what your kid is playing, it's not Rockstar's fault, it's yours.

I think Jack Thompson was bullied.