"Bully" Case Goes Global

"Bully" Case Goes Global

October 14, 2006
Jack Thompson's unprecedented legal challenge to Rockstar's upcoming release of Bully made news around the world this week.

Thompson himself cited coverage by the BBC, which was given access to an unfinished version of the game. While noting Thompson's objections to Bully, the BBC included extensive comments on the game from an unnamed Rockstar spokesperson. The news service also pointed out that public nuisance suits of the type filed by Thompson typically address issues like environmental pollution.

Thompson cited the BBC's access to the game in an appeal to Florida's Third District Court, which was immediately denied. The attorney claimed that Rockstar's making Bully available to the BBC for preview negated arguments of prior restraint of free speech raised by attorneys for Take Two.

The Bully saga also showed up in news coverage as far away as India and the North Korea Times.

We wonder if Kim Jong-Il pre-ordered?

Comments

I was indifferent to Bully to begin with. It looked like it could be kind of cool, but could also be a major flop.

Jack Thompson encouraged the world to see what the game is really about: Childish pranks and novel ideas regarding the way the game responds to you.

I've since preordered it. Thanks, Jack!
This is made funnier by the fact that I got loaded and watched that movie last night.
"The attorney claimed that Rockstar’s making Bully available to the BBC for preview negated arguments of prior restraint of free speech raised by attorneys for Take Two."

OK, can somebody explain this logic to me. I just don't get it.
@ sqlrob:

or me.
Thompson is funny because he thinks that the reason R* wasn't giving him a copy was because they couldn't, they weren't giving him one because they didn't WANT to. :D
Maybe is going for the "I may not win, but I will just confuse the shit outta everyone. Thus making it look like I am martyr in this grand conspiracy to corrupt todays youth."

It could also just be classic JT rearing its head when he is on the losing side again. Lots of incoherant ramblings of a tool.
The review at IGN convinced me that it might be a good game, but I wouldn't have even been interested enough to read that review if it weren't for John Bruce stirring up all this fuss.
So wait.
Jack says that Take-Two, having delivered a beta version to the BBC for a preview, negated Prior Restraint, even though Prior Restraint refers to material that is commercially and publicly released? That's like letting Roger Egbert watch an unfinished cut of a potentially good movie- nobody else is watching it, and in the case of Roger, nobody important.
Great. Now if we go to nuclear war with North Korea, the politicians and Jack Thompsons already have a game to blame. ;)
im sick of people blaming games for violence.Violence has been around before games fuck it was around before tv and all you cunts who think diffrent can blow me

GamePolitics ShoutBox

Posted 07/04/09 at 07:26pm
Erik: Jack if you are reading this you are a LIAR. There is no legal weight to the MPAA's ratings.
Posted 07/04/09 at 07:24pm
JDKJ: I still think my buddy the midget who rides a unicycle backwards while juggling four bowling pins would have been a much bigger hit with that crowd. And he can make up statistics and misinterpret studies, too.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:33pm
Alyric: Of course, Mark falls into the common trap about Columbine, which had nothing to do with bullying, etc. See: http://slate.msn.com/id/2099203/?GT1=3256 for a more thorough explanation.
Posted 07/04/09 at 06:32pm
PHX Corp: Read this http://www.destructoid.com/sgc-09-liveblogging-the-jack-thompson-debate-138502.phtml#ext
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:54pm
PHX Corp: JT is afraid of such ban then advocates it That's what i call a total Hypocrite
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:50pm
PHX Corp: AE: JT is a -Bleeping- Jackass
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:07pm
Andrew Eisen: JT "knew it would be a good audience." Not what he said on Tuesday.
Posted 07/04/09 at 05:01pm
Andrew Eisen: VG cause violent behavior. VG companies influence behavior to get sales. Yeah, that makes sense. (To be fair, the Twitter feed makes deciphering JT's point pretty tough.)
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:52pm
Andrew Eisen: Yes, it's been proposed but as far as I know it has not been passed. Big difference.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:50pm
Cheater87: http://www.gamezine.co.uk/news/formats/xbox360/all-violent-video-games-be-banned-in-germany-$1301757.htm
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:49pm
Andrew Eisen: Far as I know, Germany has not banned all violent video games.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:44pm
Cheater87: Jack wants the US to follow Germany's total video game ban.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:42pm
Andrew Eisen: Note to JT, it is not illegal to sell kids a ticket to R-rated movies.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:39pm
Cheater87: Jack said we would be better with no rating sytem.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:35pm
Alareth: So what was the introduction used for Jack?
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
JDKJ: Heard one, you've heard 'em all. He repeats the same act, with the same half-truths, over and over.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:31pm
Andrew Eisen: Using a credit card as age verification is not illegal. Hope Mark called him on that and his made up statistics.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:30pm
Alareth: Jack is special, his mommy always told him so.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:29pm
Andrew Eisen: JT lied about that APA causation thing again. Wonder if Mark called him on it.
Posted 07/04/09 at 04:04pm
Andrew Eisen: Follow the JT/Methenitis debate on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jtdebate
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