Bully: Scholarship Edition faces issues in UK, Rockstar remains adamant

Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 has attracted the attention of several entities in UK and that is not exactly a good thing. NGOs, politicians, and even retail chains are planning to boycott the game.

Rockstar Games, on the other hand, remains adamant and commented that these people will only understand the game if they see it with an open mind. More on this after the jump!

 

Rockstar Games, once again, is having problems in UK as some groups have begun targetting the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 versions of Bully: Scholarship Edition. Just like their issues with Manhunt, these groups are saying that Bully is glorifying violence and grave misconduct.

BeatBullying Director of Communications Nial Cowley reminded everyone that Rockstar tried to offer a donation to the charity organization back in 2006 when the original PS2 version of the game was launched there.

“It was the most distasteful thing in the world – the idea that we could be bought off like that. We have the interests of the children of this country in our mind, not of the shareholders of this company,” added Cowley.

Furthermore, National Union of Teachers General Secretary Steve Sinnott is calling for a wider ban on the game. He explained:

We’re deeply concerned that all the work in cutting out bullying and cyber bullying in school does not seem to have made any impact on the consciences of the makers of this game.

The dialogue about the pernicious effects of bullying appears to have been ignored. It is an encouragement to violence and intimidation, and those things have a major impact on schools.

As if all of these protests are not enough, known “violent” video game critic Labour MP Keith Vaz added that the idea of putting bullying a center of a game is “simply tasteless” and is “not encouraging good social values” for kids.

On retail front, chains PC World and Currys decided not to offer the game to its costumers. One spokesperson commented, “We don’t think this is suitable for sale in our stores. We are careful about what we sell and this is something we have decided not to list.”

Despite these protests and bans, Rockstar Games remain adamant and said that they will stick with the name Bully: Scholarship Edition and not revert it back to Canis Canem Edit. A representative of the company spoke:

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.

Via Telegraph