Predictable Bully backlash makes same old mistakes

The absolutely predictable backlash against Rockstar’s upcoming Bully game has begun, with the mother of a murdered teenager being used by newspaper hacks to generate headlines.

“I find it shockingly irresponsible, not only from the point of view of violent media but also because of the issue of bullying, which is in the public eye because of the effect it has on young people's lives,” said Giselle Pakeera, mother of the boy murdered by another boy who had played Manhunt quite a bit. “People have been working very hard to stamp out bullying in schools, and now we have a game called Bully. I don't think they should be allowed to release it. This flags up a very important issue, that the computer games industry is not fully regulated. There needs to be an independent watchdog regulating the production of such games.”

And so from falling victim to an appalling tragedy, Giselle Pakeera has taken it upon herself to talk about videogames and videogame content, no doubt under the guidance of The Guardian’s Stephen Ward. She makes direct reference to Rockstar’s Bully, a game which to date, has been announced along with the following text:



How it’s possible to glean such a concise view on the nature of a game from the above release and a few images is no doubt something the hoards of typists employed at Future Publishing’s games magazine factory would be keen to learn.

And the final, awful thing about this story? Surely it’s the staggering and unmissable irony that sees such headlines plastered across the more respectable elements of the press serving only to provide Rockstar with the free marketing is has lived off over the past few years.

Bully is due for release in October. We’ll bring you full, detailed impressions in the coming weeks.