Intellectual Property Law

Rockstar Sent to the Principal's Office Over 'Bully'

By Chris Bennett, Tudor Carsten, Michael R. Coburn, Sarah Dale-Harris, Pablo Guzman, Danielle (Dani) Lemon, Chris Metcalfe and David Spratley

According to reports in the Globe and Mail, an international coalition of teachers' groups is urging retailers to refuse to sell Rockstars' re-release of Bully. Released as Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 and Wii, the game follows 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins through his days at a new boarding school. Although violence is part of the gameplay, the ESRB has given the game a 'T' rating.

Groups such as the Canadian Teachers Federation' believe the game glorifies violence and works against their efforts to prevent bullying in schools. The CTF is predictably claiming a link between violent video games and aggressive behaviour in children, although there is sparse evidence to support that conclusion.

When the game was originally released for the PS2 in 2006 it attracted similar controversy. Two British retail chains said they would not stock the game. Florida lawyer and long-time Rockstar fan club member Jack Thompson unsuccessfully tried to have it banned. However, many game reviewers have noted that the level of actual violence in the game is far milder than other Rockstar games.

See the Globe and Mail article here.

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Full post as published by Video Game Law Blog on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).