As GamePolitics reported yesterday, video game watchdogs in the U.K. have issued harsh criticism of the upcoming Bully: Scholarship Edition.

Triggering the outcry is Rockstar's plan to release an updated version of its controversial 2006 PlayStation 2 hit for Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii.

While some who attack the game are well-intentioned anti-bullying advocates, they don't seem to understand that the central character, Jimmy Hopkins, is not himself a bully, but rather a good guy who protects others.

The most memorable aspect of the controversy surrounding the first game, of course, was Miami attorney Jack Thompson's unsuccessful effort to have the game  declared a public nuisance under Florida law. Despite Thompson's legal efforts, Bully hit retail shelves on schedule and sold well. Given that the game was rated as suitable for 13-year-olds by the ESRB, what was Thompson so worried about?

The game industry nemesis explained his fears in a harsh letter to Miami Judge Ronald Friedman, who had just dismissed the public nuisance case.  Sixteen months later, GP has decided to circle back and examine whether Thompson's worries came to pass. Here are the concerns he expressed to Judge Friedman in October, 2006:

Now that you have consigned innumerable children to skull fractures, eye injuries from slingshots, and beatings with baseball bats, without a hearing as to the danger, let me tell you a few things...

Finally, Judge, when the reports start coming in from across the country as to the harm that Bully is causing, I want you to think of the parents... the Miami-Dade judicial system can’t even protect children, let alone its own reputation...

Through judicial arrogance, [you] have hung countless kids out to dry in school that will now be meaner and more dangerous.

Next time you promise a “hearing,” I’ll bring a parent with me whose kid is in the ground because of a kid who trained to kill him or her on a violent video game...

Despite Thompson's fears, if there was an uptick of youth crime following the Bully launch, it is not reflected in FBI statistics, which show a 1.8% decline in violent crime during the first six months of 2007 (i.e., the period immediately following the launch of the original Bully).

GP: We note that Bully: Scholarship Edition has not yet received a rating from the ESRB for the North American market. The BBFC has rated it suitable for U.K. gamers 15 and older.