Kotaku: Bully

Watch This, Play This and Then Have a Happy Valentine’s Day

Tina Amini — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 12:30:00 EST

Continuing in our long-standing tradition (aka yesterday) of Watch This, Play This are three pieces of entertainment to stave off that bitter Valentine's Day loneliness, or that romantic dinner you totally forgot to plan but that you promised your significant other you would. Oops. More »

High School Sucked. Can We Please Have More Games About It?

Kirk Hamilton — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 20:00:00 EST

For most people, high school sucked. The endless questioning and self-doubt, the lack of control over your own schedule, dealing with the impossible mysteries of the opposite sex while navigating the often treacherous shoals of what amounted to a four year, walled-in social experiment. Yeah, high school sucked. More »

Rockstar’s Dan Houser Teases Bully Sequel, Max Payne 3 DLC

Evan Narcisse — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 11:00:00 EST

Bully Sequel, Max Payne 3 DLC" alt="Click here to read Rockstar’s Dan Houser Teases Bully Sequel, Max Payne 3 DLC" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/11/small_49854bf2a4bebec7ab5709a119e84a8f.jpg"/>

Lots of people loved Jimmy Hopkins, the squinty-eyed protagonist of Rockstar's Bully. The academic open-world title didn't set the kinds of records that a Grand Theft Auto game does but it's remained a favorite in the hearts of many gamers. In an interview with Gamasutra's Chris Morris, Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser teases that a Bully follow-up is one the things that the developer's juggling in its schedule: More »

What Game Handled Weather Changes the Best?

ScOULaris — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:00:00 EDT

Whipping rain that dots your screen in a firefight. Fog that hides lingering zombies. Sheets of ice that cause you car to spin out of control. Weather can be an important part of video games. Over the years there have been some amazing takes on gameplay-impacting weather. More »

Casey the Bully-Breaking "Zangief Kid" Gets the Street Fighter Remix He Deserves

Joel Johnson — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:40:00 EDT

Street Fighter Remix He Deserves" alt="Click here to read Casey the Bully-Breaking "Zangief Kid" Gets the Street Fighter Remix He Deserves" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/images/9/2011/03/small_explore_kotaku_videos_1359.jpg"/>

You may recall Casey Heynes, the chunky kid who was tired of being bullied and became an icon. Now he's immortalized—overmortalized?—in this video that mixes back in all the sound and visual effects we all heard in our mind when we first watched Casey piledrive his bully into the schoolyard concrete. [via Calm Down Tom] More »

The Bully Arcade Cabinet We Wish Was Real

Mike Fahey — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST

With a built-in exercise bike and a sweet slingshot controller, this conceptual arcade cabinet from Kotaku reader Cobra would be the ultimate way to play Rockstar's school days sandbox game Bully. More »

Do We Need Fair Trade Games?

Nels Anderson — Tue, 25 May 2010 10:00:00 EDT

Red Dead Redemption came out last week and while I know I'm going to buy it, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat hesitant to do so. More »

A Short History Of Gay In Video Games

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:00:00 EDT

As seen on GoNintendo. More »

Composer Mentions Bully 2 [UPDATE]

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:00:00 EST

Rockstar released sandbox title Bully on the PlayStation 2 back in 2006 and later ported the title to the Xbox 360, Windows and the Nintendo Wii. Set in a school environment, the PS2 version sold 1.5 million copies. More »

You Led Me On! — Dating In Video Games

AJ Glasser — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:30:00 EDT

I peruse columns on Sundays and today found myself cracking up over Emily Short's GameSetWatch column, 'Homer In Silicon': Communicating Character. More »

Rockstar Co-Founders Form New Studio

Brian Crecente — Thu, 21 May 2009 10:00:00 EDT

Jamie King and Gary Formeman, who founded Rockstar Games with three others, are teaming up with former Image Metrics and NBC execs to create a new video game studio. More »

Mommy Dearest: The Best and Worst Mothers in Video Games

AJ Glasser — Wed, 06 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT

Mothers have it tough in video games – they get killed off, turned evil, or their children leave the nest to save the world. And their kids probably don't call home often enough. More »

How To Throw a Gamer Party

AJ Glasser — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:30:00 EST

Believe it or not, you can play games with other people. Like people in the same room as you. More »

Rockstar Puts Entire Catalogue Up On Metaboli

Stuart Houghton — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:20:00 EST

Rockstar have signed a deal with European games download specialists Metaboli to make their entire back catalogue available for download. More »

Bully Ads Are A-OK With ASA

Leigh Alexander — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:20:00 EDT

31 complaints against a TV ad for Take-Two's Bully: Scholarship Edition were dismissed by the Advertising Standards Authority. The complainants said that the ads "glorified and trivialized" bullying, but the ASA found that the ads themselves were not in violation of any standards. More »

Judge Says Jack Thompson Guilty Of Misconduct During GTA, Bully Trials

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:20:03 EDT

According to a report from GamePolitics, the judge who presided over Miami lawyer Jack Thompson's Bar trial has recommended to the Florida Supreme Court that he be found guilty on 27 of 31 charges of professional misconduct. Of the 27 recommendations of guilt, twenty-one are from a suit related to Grand Theft Auto and four are from an attempt by Thompson to have Rockstar's Bully declared a public nuisance. More »

Brazil Gets The Memo, Bans Bully

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 01:30:00 EDT

Judge Flavio Rabello has barred the sale of Bully in Brazil, following requests for its banning from a youth centre in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. State prosecutor Alcindo Bastos says the reason for the game's banning stems from the fact "the aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school", which is apparently "not acceptable" considering how much fisticuffs feature in the game. Distributors and retailers have 30 days to comply with the order. More »

Rockstar Acquires Mad Doc Software, Turns Them Into Rockstar New England

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:20:00 EDT

Rockstar Games has snapped up Mad Doc Software, the team that handled development duties on Bully: Scholarship Edition for Xbox 360 and Wii. Guess that buggy 360 version didn't leave too sour a taste in the Rockstar family mouth. Based in Andover, Massachusetts the studio will now be known as Rockstar New England, making it the fourth North American arm of the Take-Two publishing label. The new Rockstar New England is said to have "a particular focus on artificial intelligence and networking", potentially good news for online offerings from the pub. Congrats to the ladies and gentlemen in Andover. The full press release, with a bit more info, is right after this short break. More »

Bully Patch Needs Patch?

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 22:20:00 EDT

Before I go on, we haven't heard squat about this from any of you, but others have, so who knows (UPDATE: Ok, we've now heard from plenty of you experiencing these problems). Commenters on Larry Hryb's Microsoft blog have been complaining that the update intended to fix a bunch of serious issues with the 360 version of Bully instead leaves many of the game's glitches unaffected, and some users have even reported it's made things worse. Shame, really. Feel free to post below how it's all gone for you. More »

Bully 360 Patch Arrives

fdemarco — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:40:00 EDT

Rockstar's promised patch for those experiencing issues with the 360 version of Bully has finally arrived. It's a fairly small update and will fix all those frame rate, audio and other petty annoyances. And now if you'll excuse me I have some boys to kiss. In the game, not in real life. Well maybe in real life to, who knows. I'm feeling saucy today. More »

Bully Patch News Coming Tomorrow Rockstar,...

Brian Crecente — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:29:41 EDT

Bully Patch News Coming Tomorrow Rockstar, who said two weeks ago that they were "working around the clock to rectify" the framerate issues and freezes that plagued older Xbox 360s playing Bully, told us today that they plan to update everyone on the patch tomorrow. Why not today? Not so sure. More »

Rockstar Readying 360 Bully Patch

Mike Fahey — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 12:20:23 EST

Rockstar's Bully: Scholarship Edition came out of the oven a little half-baked, with frequent lock-ups, audio glitches, and a generally poor frame rate severely ticking off gamers and downright horrifying the developers. Thankfully Rockstar was able to overcome the horror and get to working on a fix.

We are very aware of the problems some people have been experiencing with the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition and have been doing everything within our powers to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. We will be releasing a title update through Xbox Live within the next week that we are confident will rectify the problem. We apologize wholeheartedly for the inconvenience that this matter has caused some owners of the game.

While I'm sure we all appreciate the rapid response, next time try to make sure your game works before selling it to people, 'kay? More »

Rockstar "Horrified" By Xbox 360 Bully: Scholarship Edition Issues

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:00:59 EST

We wrote earlier today of the issues surrounding the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition, hoping to get a statement from Rockstar Games on the status of either a fix or a replacement plan for those affected. For those not up to speed, the 360 port is reportedly plagued with freezing issues and audio glitches in addition to a less than solid frame rate. Rockstar issued a statement tonight, saying the staff was "devastated" to learn of the issues surrounding the Bully port, something they say didn't come up in the QA process. More »

Bully: Scholarship Edition Sounds Like It Should've Been Held Back [UPDATE]

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:40:00 EST

Canis canum edit? More like caveat emptor, kids. We're hearing the Xbox 360 version of Rockstar Games' Bully: Scholarship Edition could stand a few more weeks in the lab, according to reports of bugginess from unsatisfied owners of the game. Reports of game killing lock-ups and audio glitches abound at message boards across the internet, with a handful of readers writing in to vent about their own issues. More »

Bully Valentine's Day Trailer Celebrates Love Lost

Mark Wilson — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:40:52 EST

It's Valentine's Day, and while many of you are planning romantic dinners, expensive flowers and early bedtimes, Rockstar is putting together highlight reals of nut shots and face slaps to promote their upcoming Bully: Scholarship Edition for Xbox 360 and Wii. More »

Bully: Scholarship Edition Trailer Debuts

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 19:20:00 EST

The high school hijinx of Rockstar Games' Bully is about to get a resolution boost and loads of additional content for those in the Wii and Xbox 360 console camps. It may not be the prettiest game pressed on a 360 disc, but don't let that deter you from enjoying the open world experience of reliving high school without all the real-world beatings. Bully: Scholarship Edition is due to ship March 4 for anyone who's interested. Pixel-nitpickers may want to eyeball the hi-def version over at GameTrailers for a better idea of what the current-gen port will bring. More »

Britain Beating the Bully Horse

fdemarco — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 18:00:00 EST

British publication Telegraph.co.uk has published an article warning parents about the dangers of a "new" violent video game called Bully. Wait, haven't we heard all this before? Yes, we have. We heard this same outcry when the original version of the game came out for the PS2 in the UK and Rockstar had to change the name to Canis Canem Edit. Well, it seems that with the re-release of the game in its Wii and 360 form, Rockstar is pulling no punches and changing the name back to Bully. This move has of course caused yet another burst of concern from parents and anti-bullying groups. Two UK chains, PC World and Currys, have already refused to carry the game and if the protesters have their way, more will follow. But, will they really be able to completely quash the sales of a game that has already gotten through the gates once before? More »

Rumor Confirmed: Bully Scholarship Edition Hits Early March

fdemarco — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:00:00 EST

Although the date wasn't exactly on target, it seems that GoNintendo's speculation that the Bully Scholarship Edition would hit in early March (based on a listing at Gamestop) was right on the money. Rockstar has announced that the school year at Bullworth Academy will begin in the US on March 5th and March 7th in the UK with all the crotch kicking, swirlies, hiding in lockers, stealing and boy kissing you can handle. As previously stated, I will be picking up the 360 version post haste because as much as I hate to admit it, I am becoming quite the unapologetic achievement whore. More »

Bully: Scholarship Edition Details

fdemarco — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST

Although there is some confusion as to the release date (Gamestop says March 3, IGN says March 11, Rockstar says there is no firm date yet) some details on the new version of Bully are starting to surface. It looks like there will be added content and (for the 360 version) achievements. New content includes four new classes (Biology, Music, Math and Geography), eight new missions, new items, more wardrobe choices, two-player minigames (offline) and new awards. I'm glad to see Rockstar making an effort to improve and add on their already great game unlike some publishers who seem to be happy re-releasing the same games a year or two later on another system with no extras. I'm not going to mention any names, but you know who you are. By the way, Rockstar, I'm still pulling for that boy kissing achievement. More »

Guitar Hero III Achievements Revealed

fdemarco — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 10:00:55 EDT

Even the crushing fun of PAX can't keep the boys from Xbox360Achievements from digging up the latest in achievements for your favorite 360 games. This time they bring us the achievements for Guitar Hero III of which there are 59 equaling a total of 1000 points. Some highlights include: More »

Bully To Repeat Classes On Wii, Xbox 360

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:20:26 EDT

Rockstar Games is on a porting tear lately, following on news that the company is bringing Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis to the Wii. Not long after that release, the developer plans to re-release its high school adventure Bully for the Wii and Xbox 360. The new version, dubbed Bully: Scholarship Edition, as we know it features little in the way of Wii and Xbox 360 exclusive features—obviously, there's going to be some waggle involved as well as achievements—but we're sure Rockstar will come up with something for the double dip. More »

GTA IV Special Expensive Edition Revealed

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 21 May 2007 19:20:53 EDT

Rockstar Games announced today that they would be shipping a "Special Edition" of their upcoming Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 sequel Grand Theft Auto IV for a cool $90. That's not a typo, that's $90. Ninety. Dollars. While that may sound to some like a complaint, it's merely sticker shock. As someone who's a fan of limited edition packaging, the collector's version actually sounds like a quality, appropriately imagined product, perfect for the game's hinted-at smuggling theme. More »

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 04 May 2007 17:40:01 EDT

With four hours of airline travel ahead of me this weekend, I knew that I'd need to equip myself with my Nintendo DS to stave off the boredom. Normally, listening to the person next to me breathe, counting every inhalation, is enough to keep me occupied, but I decided to get some gaming in. Therefore, I packed a ton of games, including Dragon Quest Heroes Rocket Slime, Elite Beat Agents, Mario Kart DS and Rhythm Tengoku. More »

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 17:40:18 EDT

After finally completing my Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo download (some 7 hours in the making), I burned through it, unlocking hard mode and Rachel's missions. I'll most likely spend a good portion of my free time re-playing the demo—in hard mode, natch—until I've run through it with every available weapon, bested my previous karma records, and carefully studied Rachel's various animations. More »

Rockstar Promotes Bully With New Contest

fdemarco — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 17:00:00 EST

With all the Bully bruhaha behind us and the controversial game taking a backseat to newer titles, Rockstar has decided to eek out a bit more life out of it by holding a new contest. The Harrington House Fraternal Society Initiation Rites Sweepstakes (damn, that's a mouthful) is fairly simple to enter and if you are one of the five winners, you'll be the recipient of a huge package of Bully branded goodies. The prizes include: More »

NYC Video Game Ads

Brian Crecente — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 13:00:50 EST

Sure New York has the giant Playstation Portable video billboard, and that's cool and all, but it's not routine. These images of video game ads are. More »

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:20:53 EST

I know what my plans are—finally take the shrinkwrap off Bully, wrap up God Hand and maybe download the ACE: The WTCC Game free trial from Steam. Yeah, free gaming! Steam owners with a cheap ass streak may want to check out the details here. You only have until Sunday to play gratis, so don't sleep on this. More »

Pachter Changes Mind; Bully Is A Hit

fdemarco — Sun, 14 Jan 2007 11:00:34 EST

Wedbush-Morgan analyst, Michael Pachter, was recently quoted as saying he didn't believe that Rockstar Games' controversial Bully was selling as well as expected and that based on numbers, there would be no chance for a sequel. More »

Analyst: No Bully 2

Brian Crecente — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 18:00:40 EST

Dennis McCauley, over at Game Politics, points us to an analyst report saying that the chances of a Bully sequel are slight to nill. More »

Clip: Bully Gets All Christmassy

Brian Crecente — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 19:00:28 EST

Man, I need to go back and finish Bully. I forgot how much fun it was. Brian Crecente More »