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Judge previews Bully(Rockstar wins in court)

Posted: 2006-10-14 09:03am
by Mr Bean
Zero Stars
Judgeman from Judgeland wrote:Judge: “I have spent a couple of hours viewing the game. It was produced to me by an operator using a cheat, which allowed him to skip through the game and show me ‘key points’ that would require an average gamer hundreds of hours to reach. There is a LOT of violence, but not more than the general public has access to on television. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag about the game content. Mr. Thompson was present, and they gave a copy to the BBC … ” and began to speak about this game’s media coverage a little bit. I lost interest and looked at Jack. He was bubbling with a word at the tip of his tounge, waiting to interject. Bridget’s tape was rolling. I looked at my pitiful notes. I have to get one of those things.

Judge: “As I said, there is a lot less violence in this game than what we see on television, and although it is pervasive, but not to the extent that it would cause a public threat that would require me to prevent these folks from selling it.”

I look at Jack. He’s not sitting down anymore, but isn’t standing up either.

Judge: “Would I want MY kids to play this game?” His palm is open like a starfish on his chest. “Absolutely not. But this game is not a nuisance.”

Jack lunges forward and machineguns a request for a TRO (temporary restraining order). They speak quickly and throw legal procedures back and forth like a game of Simon Says. Jack grills the judge for taking a stand and making an opinion on the game, very calmly stating “But judge, this is not a trial” over and over, as apparently what the judge is requesting does not follow some kind of basic procedure.

Infuriated, the judge screams and demands Jack sits down and then shouts “we’ll have your trial on wednesday”. I’m not sure if the judge said “damn trial” but that’s what I want to write, because that is how it felt. Just when I thought Friedman was going to find Jack in contempt, he backs off and they begin speaking calmly about an appeal as soon as possible, which the judge refused to grant.

Jack: “Judge, you haven’t even played the game!”

Bridget and I look at each other. What the hell does he mean by that, didn’t they do that yesterday and just confirmed it a few minutes ago? It gets more confusing.

Judge: “What I have seen in the tape is enough.”

tape.jpg

Tape? Like a VHS tape or does he mean like “Dude, let me borrow a Nintendo tape” ?

Judge: “Take it up with the third district court, I have plans this weekend and have court on Monday.”
Jack: “Am I allowed to stand up?”

Holy shit. I mean, he said it politely but that must have stung Friedman back. He then resumed his previous arguement, which the judge denied again and pointed at reconveining in this courtroom on Wednesday.

Jack: “The game would have shipped by then. It would be too late.”
Judge: “I’m very sorry, but that is my decision, and you take take it up with the third.”
This was a transcript written by one of the bloggers present during the ruling the quote marks are the judges acutal words(Verified aginst a transcript) while everything else is his personal comments.

What's most intresting is that Jack Thompson gets angry at the judge because he never played game but just watched it... yet niether has Jack and he wants it banned from selling stateside.

Oh the twisted logic of anti-video game people.

Posted: 2006-10-14 10:31am
by Davis 51
I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same tape that the ESRB viewed. In fact, it probably is. If so, then it indeed does display the worst parts of the game.

The game was rated T. Why did I hae a feeling that the shitstorm would be about nothing in the end?

Posted: 2006-10-14 10:32am
by CDiehl
Is this game coming out on Tuesday? I've wanted to get it, but I had no idea when it was being released. Frankly, if Thompson's against it, I just want to get it the day it comes out because it might piss him off.

Posted: 2006-10-14 10:38am
by Ace Pace
Davis 51 wrote:I wouldn't be surprised if it was the same tape that the ESRB viewed. In fact, it probably is. If so, then it indeed does display the worst parts of the game.

The game was rated T. Why did I hae a feeling that the shitstorm would be about nothing in the end?
Because it's about nothing. No shooting up kids.

For more information, I'll link to Ars.

And quote selectively.

The first minutes of Bully are terrifying. You're a new kid in a new school, dumped off by your mother. People point and laugh and a few people make jokes. It's cringe inducing; I can handle violence and blood, simply because I don't have a lot of experience with it. I have been brutally teased in school, and seeing it in the context of a video game almost made me uncomfortable. Sure, it's easy to relate to, but is that a good thing?

I spent a good two hours playing Bully. Without giving everything away, I can tell you that it's dark and funny, and the fights have a sort of nasty realism to them. There is no blood, no deaths, but it's believable. The "moves" are the sort of thing you see on schoolyards, complete with shoves, uppercuts, and Indian burns. If you give transistors to the bum living behind the school bus on Bulworth grounds he'll teach you new moves.




We make jokes about how little violence you can get away with in the Grand Theft Auto games, when you go on a killing spree of innocents it says more about you than it does the game. Bully is the same way. When you talk to someone, you have choices about how to react to them. Placate them, or incite them? Talk someone down, or go straight to the fists? Help someone who is getting beaten up, or start bullying people yourself.

You can be as good or as bad as you'd like, the game doesn't judge. You can show up to class on time and help your fellow students, or you can fight with the prefects and pick on the other kids. This game is a mirror about how you'd like to go through school, if you had the chance to do it over again. Bully is like school: scary, violent, funny, and lighthearted all at once. It's a mess of contradictions, and if that isn't high school I don't know what is.

"This is our 16 Candles, our Breakfast Club," Devin says, and I see it. This game speaks what high school is like; it might be controversial, but not for the reasons its opponents believe. This is no Columbine simulator, but it does hold a mirror up to what kids go through in terms of cliques and the challenge of finding where you fit in. You deal with condescending prefects and a jerk principal, greasers, jocks, and nerds.