Australia approves Bully for sale

By Ellie Gibson Published 29 August, 2006

Not so violent after all then?

Australia's Office of Film and Literature Classification has awarded forthcoming Rockstar title Bully an 'M' rating, suggesting that the game might not be all that violent after all.

According to the OFLC website, Bully contains "moderate themes, violence and sexual references". As a result, it will go on sale with an 'M' rating - one category below the 'MA15+' rating.

Because MA15+ is the highest rating videogames can be awarded, many titles with violent content have been refused classification by the OFLC - and thereby effectively banned from sale in Australia.

Most recently, movie tie-in Reservoir Dogs fell foul of the ratings board, and other titles banned in Australia include NARC, Grand Theft Auto III and Manhunt. Even Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure was refused classification on the grounds that it could promote the crime of graffiti.

Little has been seen of Bully's actual gameplay so far, but controversy continues to surround the title. Anti-bullying groups from across the globe have criticised the game's theme, while notorious anti-videogames campaigner Jack Thompson and UK MP Keith Vaz have demanded that it be banned from sale.

Rockstar has defended the game by pointing out that the main character, Jimmy Hopkins, is tasked with standing up for his schoolmates against bullies. A spokesperson for the company told one anti-bullying group, Bullying Online, that the game is "no worse than Just William".

Bully is slated for an October release.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (24) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • smelly #1 6 years ago

    It'd make me giggle out loud at JT if this got a PG certificate over here..

  • EmiliasHorse #2 6 years ago

    Do we really need Bully at all?
    Maybe it will turn out great but I have issues with the subject.

    They proved with Table Tennis that violence is not the only genre.

  • coojam #3 6 years ago

    Why hasnt any of the websites published the important news? Sony has refused the licence for Rockstar to sell Bully in the UK.

    I work for a particular large high street games specialist and the entire company gave out a very definite message that the game would never be released in this country.

  • abigsmurf #4 6 years ago

    I had issues with bullying throughout my school life and I have to say... A game where you beat up bullies seems with theraputic(sp?)...

  • rhinoxious #5 6 years ago

    What is going on with Bully in europe?

    There dosesn't appear to be a publisher lined up yet?
    There's no listing on GAME's website?

    Is it just stuck in localisation purgatory, or (as coojam claims) is it really having difficulty with Sony's internal QA process?

    Has anyone seen a news article reporting on this?

    EDIT - OK CVG say it will be published by Rockstar and available in October, still strange that such a potentially massive title hasn't been listed by GAME for their usual pre-order frenzy.
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/06 @ 13:23

  • the_dudefather #6 6 years ago

    this game is bananas

  • lambtron #7 6 years ago

    Bit of an odd one this. Am loathe to comment without actually having played the damn thing but if its really so bad why would uber-strict Australian Censors have allowed it. Hmm although there does seem to be the somewhat disturbing attitude amongst some people that Bullying isn't really a real problem because its "character building"...

  • Kazzahdrane #8 6 years ago

    Bullying is a terrible cruel thing.

    However, even as someone who was bullied at school I am sick and tired of these "family groups" and "children's charities" jumping on the Bully(the game)-hating bandwagon when not much about the game is known other than that the main character actually has to STOP the bullies at his school. No doubt it will also be an 18 rated game over here, so hardly any school kids should be able to play it.

    Whether their lazy parents don't give a shit about what their kids play is another matter, and not something Sony or Rockstar should be held accountable for.

  • the_dudefather #9 6 years ago

    i can see Richard and judy covering this soon

    "today we talk about a new Computer Game from Rock-Star called 'Bully', in which you play as a bully and your main objective is to victimise other children until they kill themselves, we havent presonaly played it, or know anyone who has played it, but this is what we assume the game is about"
    Edited by 1 at 29/08/06 @ 13:50

  • Blerk #10 6 years ago

    That would be funny if it wasn't true. :-)

  • brainbird #11 6 years ago

    War is even worse than bullying, therefore we should ban all war games!
    And PacMan, because eating pills is dangerous for children.
    And movie theatres, just for the sake of it.

  • Feanor #12 6 years ago

    Game Informer's cover story this month explains exactly what Bully's about, and why almost all the criticism of it by JT and his fellow wackos has been bullshit. There's no death, no blood, no guns, no knives, and weapons break after a few hits.

    The idea that it will be banned in the UK while the incredibly violent GTA:SA has been allowed is pretty laughable.
    Edited by 2 at 29/08/06 @ 14:59

  • smelly #13 6 years ago

    "They proved with Table Tennis that violence is not the only genre"

    They havent shown that this HAS any violence in it yet???


    (edit) : What Feanor said basically. People have just seen the title, and presumed GTA with kids, afaik it aint.

  • SomaticSense #14 6 years ago

    "Little has been seen of Bully's actual gameplay so far, but controversy continues to surround the title. Anti-bullying groups from across the globe have criticised the game's theme, while notorious anti-videogames campaigner Jack Thompson and UK MP Keith Vaz have demanded that it be banned from sale."

    I just can't believe all the controversy surrounding this game. Being a sufferer of bullying myself as a kid (my mum once told me the whack the fucker in the face and give him a bloody nose, I did and it worked, he left me alone from then on in), so I actually believe this is a GOOD issue to raise. I mean isn't the game about fighting back AGAINST bullies? How the hell is this game even remotely promoting bullying? It's as anti-bullying a game there ever was.

  • DaveT #15 6 years ago

    Rockstar are loving the free publicity.

    Which is probably why so little is known about the game.

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #16 6 years ago

    Wasn't Keith Vaz kicked out of government for accepting bribes?

  • EmiliasHorse #17 6 years ago

    Can you play Kiss chase?

  • MENTAL1ST Verified Senior Software Engineer, Picsel UK Ltd. #18 6 years ago

    only if you download a thirdparty hack off the internet.

  • urban #19 6 years ago

    you tell em rockstar

  • Freylis #20 6 years ago

    only if you download a thirdparty hack off the internet.

    The Hot Ribena mod perchance?

  • Bezzy #21 6 years ago

    ""They proved with Table Tennis that violence is not the only genre"

    They havent shown that this HAS any violence in it yet??? "

    Well, actually, there's this mini game where you stab people in the fucking head and/or exposed breasts with a sharpened table tennis bat, but you have to get gameshark or a modded xbox360 or something. As soon as the ESRB gets wind of it, invents their own 360 mod chip, figures out how to reconstruct entire segments of wiped binary, and release it onto the internet to show how evil Rockstar always are always, you can expect TT to get AO.

  • John_the_Fisherman #22 6 years ago

    "Why hasnt any of the websites published the important news? Sony has refused the licence for Rockstar to sell Bully in the UK." - coojam

    He's not bullshitting. Eurogamer, call your Take 2 rep.
    Edited by 1 at 30/08/06 @ 06:19

  • Darren #23 6 years ago

    Maybe Rockstar should rename the game to Just Jimmy to keep everyone happy then but then it doesn't sound as sensationalist as Bully... how could the Daily Mail write an article on a Rockstar game that doesn't sound controversial? LOL

  • NegativeZero #24 6 years ago

    Our OFLC draws ratings out of a hat.