Rockstar announces "Bully" for the Wii(and X360)

[*NormalGamer*]

wii.ign.com/articles/806/806584p1.html

Bully Wii, 360 Bound

Bullworth Academy is welcoming Nintendo and Microsoft into its hallowed halls.

by Daemon Hatfield

July 19, 2007 - Today Rockstar announced it is transferring last year's PlayStation 2 high school sandbox game Bully to the Wii and Xbox 360. Bully: Scholarship Edition will include the full original game as well as new content -- although Rockstar isn't saying what this new content will entail.

Bully was surrounded by controversy leading up to its release last year over fears that the game would promote violence in school. Once everyone got a chance to play it, though, it became apparent these fears were unfounded. Bully lacked much of the racy material Rockstar has become known for with its Grand Theft Auto series. This didn't make it any less enjoyable, though -- IGN gave Bully an 8.9.

*NG*: I haven't played this game before since it launched on PS2 in 06. But it's great to see R* supporting the Wii when Manhunt 2 right now is put on hiatus due to the AO rating. Plus, Table Tennis is coming to the Wii, as well:

ir.take2games.com/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=254736

[Waffle Monger]

might be interesting

[Jason-RN]

If Rockstar is bringing Manhunt (once it gets an M rating), Table Tennis, and Bully to the Wii, the next logical step would be a Wii version of one of the GTAs... A year ago, who would have seen that coming?

[Pilgrim John]

I hope not....

[Jason-RN]

I know that you personally don't like the idea, John, but in the long run, GTA on Wii could help make the system even more appealing to "mature" gamers.

[benwayshouse]

It definitely could help the system a lot if GTA comes to Wii. I'm not sure Nintendo wouldn't get some press when GTA sparks the traditional controversy, but maybe it having been on PlayStation and Xbox for the last 6+ years might knock over some of the attacks.

[*NormalGamer*]

@ *PJ*

Well, John, the decision 'is' up to Rockstar, after all. The Wii really needs more 'M' rated games to beef up part of the Wii library, and at the same time, targeting 'everyone' and expanding to new audiences with more 'E', 'E10+' and 'T' rated games across all game types(both hardcore and casual) and genres.

And even if GTA does appear on Wii, hopefully it will earn the 'M' rating just like it has on Sony and Microsoft consoles(unlike San Andreas and it's hot coffee controversy). Also, if parents are knowledgeable enough about the parental controls built on the Wii, then hopefully they will excerise that responsiblity to the test until their children are old and mature enough to buy their own games for themselves with no parental supervision.

[Waffle Monger]

Parental controls are useless if parents buy their kids M games.

[*NormalGamer*]

graymatter said:

Parental controls are useless if parents buy their kids M games.

Unless their kids are mature enough, those kind of parents(the ones who buy 'M' rated games for their children without reading the ratings) should blame themselves for not being responsible and knowledgeable about the ESRB rating system. I'm only referring what I said about parental controls to the 'moral panic' parents.

[Waffle Monger]

normalgamer said:

graymatter said:

Parental controls are useless if parents buy their kids M games.

Unless their kids are mature enough, those kind of parents(the ones who buy 'M' rated games for their children without reading the ratings) should blame themselves for not being responsible and knowledgeable about the ESRB rating system. I'm only referring what I said about parental controls to the 'moral panic' parents.

I have been playing M-rated games since I was little. I have had no problems with my upbringing. Any issues I have had in my life are unrelated to game.

[Pilgrim John]

Well, look. It's like this. Nintendo has published M-rated games itself in the past, like Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64 and Eternal Darkness for Gamecube. The Wii is already getting some popular M-rated brands, like Mortal Kombat. But the blood, guts, sex, drugs, and swearing is not what I'm really all that worried about.
Seeing a game system littered with M-rated games slightly depresses me, since many, if not most, M-rated games are there for content over gameplay. Come on, you've all seen this more than once. GTA itself, for example, is pumped with controversial context, yet the gameplay in almost all of them feels nearly tacked-on. The characters look ugly, the controls are kinda floaty (especially in earlier GTAs), etc. Too many developers put more effort into controversy over good gameplay.
I mean, if given the choice, I'd play Mario Sunshine over San Andreas simply because Mario is more fun to play. And if a gamer can't seem to go through one day without viciously killing random passerby in a video game, he needs therapy. I'm sure many gamers who commonly play GTA might not need it, but the only way to tell is to test them by challenging them to not play GTA for a certain amount of time.
Although there are many awesome M-rated games, too many of them put controversy first, and gameplay an unfortunately distant, distant second. People can claim GTA is a great series, and they can tack on perfect scores simply because it's GTA; but the fact remains that it's the controversy that's selling it and not the gameplay mechanics (Speaking of which, did San Andreas really need a Sims style character development system?). What I want to see is M-rated games that are as fun to play (Is not more) as they are scary/gory/whatever.

[*NormalGamer*]

graymatter said:

normalgamer said:

Unless their kids are mature enough, those kind of parents(the ones who buy 'M' rated games for their children without reading the ratings) should blame themselves for not being responsible and knowledgeable about the ESRB rating system. I'm only referring what I said about parental controls to the 'moral panic' parents.

I have been playing M-rated games since I was little. I have had no problems with my upbringing. Any issues I have had in my life are unrelated to game.

Oh, I understand that pretty clearly. So, I definitely have nothing against that. ^_^

[benwayshouse]

Well, I guess the best advice anyone can give you is to just not buy the game, John. :/ I don't really think anyone should be inspired by those games to harm anyone (if you're raised properly, your parents shouldn't have to worry about those kinds of things), after all, they're there to let you do things you pretty much can't get away with in life, not to teach you to try (but I'm guessing they don't really give you a warning before the title screen). I've never played one of those games, and I probably won't for a long time (not really my style of game personally), but I guess if people like that then it's okay.

[Waffle Monger]

zer0 said:

Well, look. It's like this. Nintendo has published M-rated games itself in the past, like Conker's Bad Fur Day on N64 and Eternal Darkness for Gamecube. The Wii is already getting some popular M-rated brands, like Mortal Kombat. But the blood, guts, sex, drugs, and swearing is not what I'm really all that worried about.
Seeing a game system littered with M-rated games slightly depresses me, since many, if not most, M-rated games are there for content over gameplay. Come on, you've all seen this more than once. GTA itself, for example, is pumped with controversial context, yet the gameplay in almost all of them feels nearly tacked-on. The characters look ugly, the controls are kinda floaty (especially in earlier GTAs), etc. Too many developers put more effort into controversy over good gameplay.
I mean, if given the choice, I'd play Mario Sunshine over San Andreas simply because Mario is more fun to play. And if a gamer can't seem to go through one day without viciously killing random passerby in a video game, he needs therapy. I'm sure many gamers who commonly play GTA might not need it, but the only way to tell is to test them by challenging them to not play GTA for a certain amount of time.
Although there are many awesome M-rated games, too many of them put controversy first, and gameplay an unfortunately distant, distant second. People can claim GTA is a great series, and they can tack on perfect scores simply because it's GTA; but the fact remains that it's the controversy that's selling it and not the gameplay mechanics (Speaking of which, did San Andreas really need a Sims style character development system?). What I want to see is M-rated games that are as fun to play (Is not more) as they are scary/gory/whatever.

I do agree, some games are there for the shock value and controversy, but not every M-rated game is a bad game or is rated M just for being over the top on purpose.

Besides, Bully is rated T.

[Pilgrim John]

Well, I never actually included Bully in that little explanation, did I? The main reason I liked Bully, as an idea, is because its existence makes me think a little more on Rockstar's disposition. Before Bully, it was GTA and Manhunt, both of which ended up being little more than shock value games. Neither one was truly spectacular to me. Now Bully, Bully is different. There's no blood, guns, drugs, strong language, or loose women. It really looks as if Rockstar has realized that those themes are truly unnecessary to gaming as a whole. When I was looking at it, I was all, "Well, DUH! About damn time, Rockstar. Nintendo and nearly everyone else was ahead of you in THAT common piece of knowledge."

And, Gray, I had never said that all[/] M-rated games were cheap or poorly made--just the vast majority of them. I even made it clear that several M-rated games were fun--particularly Conker's Bad Fur Day, Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil 4... And of course, when I get an Xbox 360, I'm looking forward to purchasing games like Condemned and Dead Rising.