Jimmy Hopkins gets suspended; Bully banned in Brazil

Aww? Can’t we all just get along? Jimmy’s a good boy. Heck, he might even show some affection to his fellow males (given that he’s got about 80-100% popularity among members of the clique). But that’s beside the point right now. In Brazil, a judge has ordered that Bully – recently re-release in its Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii – be banned: prohibited from being imported, sold, or promoted, and all that. Attend the PTA conference in the full article.

With the PS2 (mis-)adventures of Jimmy Hopkins recently re-released on shelves in the form of Bully: Scholarship Edition for the Xbox 360 and Wii, a judge in Brazil is now attempting to suspend classes the game.

After a local youth center requested for the ban, Judge Flavio Rabello has now flagged Bully and has prohibited Rockstar Vancouver‘s game from being imported, sold, or promoted (online or in stores) in Brazil. The order has been made on the grounds that Bully is too violent for children and teenagers.

All concerned parties handling the game in the country have thirty days to comply with the judge’s order. Meanwhile, state prosecutor Alcindo Bastos had this to add:

The aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school. That is not acceptable.

Oooh. And already we hear the nit-picky gamers all around: “C’mon, not everything happens inside the school. Chapter 2 onwards opens up the rest of the town!” Yes, true. But still, hope comes in the form of – not nit-picky arguments – but due process.

See, the guys handling the distribution of Bully in Brazil is JPF Maggazine. Their attorney responded that “[they] have not been notified of the judge’s decision” and that once they do, they will consider to appeal the case. Meanwhile, all they’ve been doing is advise the retailers to not sell the game to people under the age of 18.

As of press time, Rockstar has yet to respond to this case in Brazil.

Buy: [Bully: Scholarship Edition (Xbox 360)]

Buy: [Bully: Scholarship Edition (Wii)]

Via Associated Press