But is it working on another Bully?

Game site TGL is running an excerpt from an interview it conducted with musician Shawn Lee, who scored Bully. When asked if he would be scoring any other games in the future, Lee told the site, "Yes. It looks like I will be doing the soundtrack for Bully 2 in the not so distant future..."

Bully 2? When was this announced by Rockstar? Oh right, it hasn't been.

[UPDATE] A spokesperson from Rockstar Games declined to address the issue, telling Kotaku that "We do not comment on rumor and speculation."

TGL exclusive interview reveals possible Bully sequel? [The Gaming Liberty]

In it, Short recounts her first brush with Fable II's romantic interaction system. She was told non-playable characters would have gifts for her, so she mistook the ring icon above a villager's head as being the thing that would be gifted to her if she raised their relationship stats. It's an easy mistake to make, I guess — and you do get that gift in a manner of speaking. But Short took issue with the whole system, because it made a cock-tease out of an otherwise honest woman.

[W]hen he'd fallen in love with me and wanted to get married, I was startled and not at all pleased. I realized what the ring on his meter indicated then, when it was too late and I'd led him on. I had no intention to get married, but when he started to follow me around (a mistake thanks to more confused socialization on my part), I let him.

Then she led him out into the wild where he was killed by bandits. Bummer.

But it got me thinking about dating in video games and how the courtship ritual is either over-simplified or confusingly elaborate. Take the entire Sims series, for example — in the early days, you couldn't even Ask Out On Date, just Flirt. Now, in the Sims 3, you can sleep with somebody you're not even in love with, but damned if you can get them to marry you without sinking a ton of time into the Flirty interactions. And then there's weirdness like Final Fantasy VII's Gold Saucer date. Which you can wind up having with Barret, despite not being able to pursue any other romantic interaction with him.

Strangely enough, the only "normal" dating scenario presented to me in video games comes from Grand Theft Auto and Bully. That's even funnier to me than Short's misunderstanding.

Column: 'Homer In Silicon': Communicating Character [GameSetWatch]

4mm Games is developing "online worlds that will define social gaming", according to the company's website. The studio is teaming with CEA Autumn Games in a multi-year partnership that will encompass multiple titles and platforms.

"4mm Games has a pioneering vision for the future of interactive entertainment," said Alex Collmer, CEO and co-founder of CEA Autumn Games. "We believe the 4mm management team combines a unique blend of design, technological prowess and cultural understanding in a way that that will speak to a broad audience, and we look forward to working together to create blockbuster entertainment."

Nicholas Perrett, former general manager of Image Metrics, will be the new studios chief executive officer. Paul Coyne, former VP of NBC and SVP of Warner Music group, will be the executive vice president of 4mm. King will be the studio's president and Foreman the chief technology officer.

"I was hugely honored to be approached by talent of Jamie and Gary's caliber to co-found 4mm Games," Perrett said. "It is an utterly unprecedented time in the history of video games, as the web and new business models disrupt the existing value chain. We are excited to create a new type of business to deliver groundbreaking content with global appeal to a consumer who lives online."

In honor of Mother's Day, we celebrate moms in gaming – from the bit parts to the big players. Some are examples of the best parenting you could imagine; and some are so evil, they're unfit to be called "Mom." Join us now as we separate the June Cleavers from the Joan Crawfords of video game mothers.

Mothers in… Role-Playing Games
Role-playing games have the highest number of moms of any video game genre. This is because RPGs have huge, sprawling plots with huge, sprawling towns and a huge, sprawling casts of characters who you may or may not encounter depending on how you play the game. In most RPGs, you see moms as non-playable characters in towns, in flashbacks depicting the hero's reason for revenge. Some RPGs even have them as playable characters or main villains. Sadly, RPGs are also the number one "mom dies" offender, as nearly every RPG features a plucky youth out to avenge a destroyed village that usually has within it a dead mother – or at least one that's been turned into a monster.

There are way more mothers in RPGs than we could count – especially if you're going through side quests, all PC RPGs, all Japanese RPGs that were never released in the US, Final Fantasy X-2 and every single optional flashback for every possible playable character. So we've populated this list with moms who 1) had the most impact on the game's main plot or that 2) appear in the game beyond a single expository cut scene. This leaves us mostly with moms who appear in Japanese RPGs; but be sure to apologize to your dead mother in Fallout 3 for us.

Mada, Dragon Quest V – Mother of the main character: Mada gets kidnapped and becomes the subject of his quest.

Matriarch Benezia, Mass Effect – Mother of Liara T'Soni: Benezia is enslaved and later killed by Shepard in battle, but she makes up with Liara right before dying.

Polka's Mom, Eternal Sonata — Mother of Polka: this country lady is very well adjusted to time loops and apparently never taught her daughter not to talk to strange 19th Century composers she might meet while wandering around at night.

Yohn, Suikoden Tactics — Mother of Kyril: Yohn is a mute demon trapped in the wrong world who sticks around to care for her son, even though he doesn't know who she is for pretty much the whole game.

Gina , Chrono Trigger — Mother of Chrono: In one of the game's endings, Gina accidentally goes into the time portal, thus restarting the whole plot from the beginning.

Jenova, Final Fantasy VII — Mother of Sephiroth (sorta): Jenova is... an alien? We're not even sure she's a she, but "she" spends a lot of time in a jar and looks creepy.

Angeal's Mother, Crisis Core — Mother of Angeal: This small-town lady is very nice to all of her son's friends from the army, even the ones that turn evil and cause her matricide.

Queen Brahne, Final Fantasy IX — Mother of the real Princess Garnet and foster mother to her lookalike of the same name: Brahne gets fat, turns evil, tries to kill her adoptive daughter and later repents and dies in Garnet's arms.

Sarah Sisulart, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Liram: Sarah goes a little crazy and turns herself into an old woman when she thinks her daughter's been killed, but turns back into a hot nerdy chick when she finds out she has grandkids.

Seth Balmore, Lost Odyssey – Mother of Sed: Seth is immortal, but her son isn't, which is sort of weird for both of them. But they're both pirates, so there's some common ground at least.

Best Mom: Yohn… because she's selfless as only a mother can be.

Worst Mom: Jenova… because she's emotionally unavailable. And responsible for Sephiroth.

Mothers in… Fighting Games
Fighting games have a fair few mothers among their playable characters. The plot structure (or lack thereof) leaves room for all kinds of people to enter whatever world championship fighting tournament of the week is going on for various reasons that don't necessarily make any sense. So if you can have a panda, a geisha, a cyborg and whatever the hell Voldo is supposed to be enter a tournament for personal gain, a mother doesn't seem like such a weird contender. Here's a list of a few prominent mommies:

Sophitia, Soulcalibur series – Mother of Patroklos and Pyrrha: Sophitia is an Athenian who fights on behalf of the Greek God, Hephaestus, to regain Soul Edge. The sword entwines itself with her daughter's spirit, forcing Sophitia to spend eternity defending Soul Edge from anyone who tries to claim it. She's protecting her daughter.

Michelle Chang, Tekken series – Mother of Julia: Michelle fights in one of the Iron Fist tournaments to rescue her kidnapped mother and then adopts an abandoned baby named Julia. Then Julia goes on to fight in an Iron Fist tournament to save Michelle when Michelle gets kidnapped. Circle of life.

Dural, Virtua Fighter – Mother of Kage: Dural probably started out as a good mom when she was human, but then she got kidnapped and turned into an evil cyborg. That knocks her out of the Mom of the Year running.

Jun Kazama, Tekken series – Mother of Jin Kazama: Jun is the Chosen One, a wildlife activist, and a single mom. Over the course of four games, she somehow found time to save pandas, birth a son, thrash a bunch of her extended family and possibly fake her own death or perhaps dies for real when her house burned down.

Nina Williams, Tekken series – Mother of Steve Fox via in-vitro fertilization: Nina is a world class assassin who gives birth to a son while in cryogenic sleep. Though it appears she couldn't care less that she has offspring, she does neglect to assassinate him. That counts as maternal instinct, right?

Maria, Dead or Alive series – Mother of Helena: Maria is a world class opera singer who had an affair with the head of a sinister corporation. She later took a bullet for her bastard daughter onstage in the middle of an aria… what a way to go.

Crimson Viper, Street Fighter IV – Mother of Lauren: C. Viper is a working mother in the spy profession. Her life's goal is destroying the weapons produced by a sinister corporation, but somehow she made room in her busy schedule to have a daughter.

Justice, Guilty Gear – Mother of Dizzy: No one's really sure how it happened – least of all Dizzy, who was found abandoned at age 3.

Best Mom: Maria… because nothing says "Mommy loves you" like taking a sniper's bullet to the heart.

Worst Mom: Crimson Viper… because she's a workaholic. Did she even call her kid after fights? No!**

Mothers in… Action/Adventure and Survival Horror Games
Here's where the role of the mother in video games become complicated. Because these types of games usually have a more focused plot than fighting or role playing games, adding a mother usually means casting her in a narrow role that doesn't include speaking parts. Occasionally, these moms even wind up as antagonists by default. However small their part, though, these mothers sometimes make an appearance worth mentioning. Here are a few notable examples:

The Queen, Ico – Mother of Yorda: She basically had a daughter so she could sacrifice the kid and live a bit longer. I guess some species do eat their own young, but jeez…

Annette Birkin, Resident Evil 2 – Mother of Sherry Birkin: Depending on how you play the game, Annette either hid the G-Virus in her daughter's locket or cures her daughter of the T-Virus. Either way, she did abandon her kid during a zombie apocalypse. Poor form, Mom.

Amelia Croft, Tomb Raider series – Mother of Lara Croft: Like her daughter, Mrs. Croft has issues with touching ancient artifacts she probably shouldn't. Luckily, Lara learns from her mommy's mistakes and everybody's happy… until Lara has to shoot zombie Amelia when they meet up in Underworld.

Mrs. Sanderson, Chibi Robo – Mother of Jenny: Mrs. Sanderson has real marital problems that cause her to lock herself in a bathroom and threaten divorce, leaving all the housework to Jenny and her toy robot.

Ex-Mrs. Hopkins, Bully – Mother of Jimmy Hopkins: This woman lacks both fashion sense and parental priorities. She ditches her kid at a boarding school to run off on a honeymoon with a new husband and then sends Jimmy a fugly sweater at Christmas.

Maggie Monday, Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse – Mother of Andrew Monday: Like Jimmy Hopkins' mom, Maggie could use some priority adjustment. She lets her son's city get sacked by zombies and then becomes a zombie herself so she can marry Stubbs. This basically leaves Andrew with a wrecked city and a zombie for a stepfather. Thanks, Mom!

Ma Cipriani, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – Mother of Toni: Toni never called his Ma while he was in hiding. Given that she dates guys who are into paraphilic infantilism, I can see why. Ma puts a hit out on her son and then calls it off in a fit of maternal pride when Tony finally becomes a made man.

Best Mom: Amelia Croft… because not even good moms get it right all of the time and how was she supposed to know that sword would teleport her, her husband would die and her daughter would be left an orphan?

Worst Mom: The Queen… because what she did to Yorda is way worse than what Joan Crawford did to her daughter. You think being hit with wire hangers is bad? Try being turned to stone.

Mothers in… Shooters
Here's where you barely see any moms at all. The shooter genre is reserved for masculine things like guns and aliens and spies and other stuff that doesn't leave much room for maternal influences. You'll find a lot of dads in shooters, though – but Father's Day isn't for another month, so sit tight.

*SPOILER WARNING: BioShock, F.E.A.R. 2, Metal Gear Solid 4*

Jasmine Jolene, BioShock – Mother of Jack: Jasmine was Andrew Ryan's mistress and a "dancer" which is 60s code for "prostitute." Even if she didn't accept money for sexual favors, she was certainly in a hurry to accept money for her freshly-conceived embryo. That's worse than the fairy tales where parents trade firstborn sons for magical enchantments.

Dr. Bridgette Tenenbaum, BioShock and BioShock 2 – Mother of all the Little Sisters and the Big Sister: Tenenbaum didn't give birth to any of the poor darlings, but her research created them. She eventually stepped in to foster them and shower them with toys and secondhand cigarette smoke to make up for the brainwashing.

Eva, Metal Gear Solid 4 – Mother of Liquid and Solid Snake (kinda): Eva would have gladly had Naked Snake's babies the ol' fashioned way, but the Patriots had other plans. She eventually serves as surrogate mother to the clone babies Liquid and Solid and starts calling herself Big Mamma to compensate for having nothing to do with mothering them.

The Boss, Metal Gear Solid 3 – Mother of Revolver Ocelot and the US Special Forces (which one do you think she's more proud of?): The Boss probably had no business leading the Battle of Normandy while nine months pregnant. But despite being a bad mom to Ocelot, The Boss wins major motherhood recognition as a Mother Goddess figure to at least half the cast of the Metal Gear Solid series.

Alma Wade, F.E.A.R. and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin – Mother of Paxton Fettel, Point Man and countless telepathic clone soldiers: Alma became a mother at the tender age of 15 against her will. It's hard to tell if she harbors any feeling for her offspring conceived in captivity – bloodlust sort of obscures any tender intent. However, in Project Origin, Alma's grown up a bit and appears to have invested in being mother to the protagonist's baby, which she deliberately conceives.

Best Mom: The Boss… because out of this sorry lot, she's easily the best role model.

Worst Mom: Jasmine… because she sold her only son to his father's enemy before the son was even born. That's like the opposite of mother-like behavior.

(Dis)Honorable Mentions
Sora's Mom, Kingdom Hearts — She has one line and the whole first part of the game is about her son trying to build a raft to run away from home. Clearly the parenting thing isn't working out.
Mother Brain, Metroid — "She," if that's what that thing in the jar can be called, is an alien with no maternal feelings whatsoever.
You, Fable II, The Sims games and Harvest Moon games — Even if you play as an upstanding paragon of parental vigilance, you're going to be guilty of neglect at least half of the time in these games.

At this point, you're probably wondering why Cooking Mama isn't anywhere on this list. Apart from the lack of a convenient genre into which to cram the game, there's no evidence that Cooking Mama is even a mother. Do you see her kids at any point in the game? For all the player knows, she's just calling herself "Mama" so she doesn't have to call herself a chef, the poor self-hating hash slinger.

That's all we've got for the best and worst mothers in video games. Think we missed somebody important? Drop a line in the comments. And don't forget to call your mom on Mother's Day!

**CORRECTION: C. Viper occasionally does call her daughter after fights. But the workaholic ruling still stands.

All it takes to throw a party centered on the greatest thing in entertainment since Pictionary is a bit of effort and a little planning.

Before The Party:

Day Before – Pick out what games to play. Ideally, you’ve got one game in mind, but it’s considerate to have a back-up or two that people can vote on. Keep the selection limited to three – a fighting game, a racing game, or maybe a shooter – so you don’t spend half an hour arguing over your sizable selection.
Do: Pick a single-player game if 1) you’re willing to pass the controller and 2) can put up with backseat gaming from your guests.
Don’t: Make people watch you play a single-player game in silence.
We Recommend: Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Dead Space, Tales of Vesperia, Gears of War 2

Above: Ico is a strangely good game to play with people, as long as you can stand backseat gaming. Bully, not so much - and you can forget Fable II. That multiplayer camera is murder on the eyes.

Night Before – Buy (or make) the refreshments. Trips to the grocery store always wind up taking longer than you think. It’s better to get it out of the way early than to have to postpone party start-time because you’re held up at BevMo.
Do: Serve things that can be eaten quickly with one hand – usually during a loading screen (pizza rolls, hard candies, gamer grub).
Don’t: Serve anything that will leave stains on your controllers or splooge all over the floor (Cheetos, pizza, mochi ice cream balls).
We Recommend: Sushi, M&Ms, corndogs

Morning of – Clean both the bathroom and the space you’re using for the party. That means restocking toilet paper and (gasp!) vacuuming carpets. This seems like common sense, but I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gone to a party and had to clean off a couch before I could sit down. Or worse – got a gummy bear stuck to my sock because somebody hadn’t cleaned the floor.
Do: Get yourself some baskets or plastic bins or whatever for easy storage.
Don’t: Forget the bathroom. I was at a party where a guest came back from the john and asked, “Do you guys have a cat?” The host said no, and the guest replied: “So… all that hair on the floor in there is yours?!” Gross.
We Recommend: Angel Soft toilet paper, Dirt Devil dust buster, shoving magazines under your bed

Hour Before – Make sure all your gaming equipment is laid out and ready to roll. Untangle controllers, plug in whatever needs to be plugged in and test the sound and video. Nothing is more of a drag than watching the host fiddle with his component cables for twenty minutes or finding out your controller needs to be charged up for an hour before you can join in. And if for some reason you’re using a peripheral like the Xbox Live Vision Camera or the PlayStation Eye, test it before the guests get there.
Do: Put controllers on the coffee table.
Don’t: Put controllers on the floor – thing get stepped on and broken. And it looks messy, too.
We Recommend: Zip ties for keeping cords untangled, swearing at the TV before realizing it’s not plugged in

Ten Minutes To Go – Boot up the console and break out the snacks. The idea is to have everything ready to use as soon as people get there instead of having to spend 20 minutes or more "getting settled," while everyone waits.
Do: Put food in a central location instead of a corner or back in the kitchen.
Don’t: Put food on consoles.
We Recommend: Plastic bowls and cups for serving. Keep a sharpie handy to write names on the cups.

At the Party:

Mind Your Guests – These are basic rules of party-throwing. Get up and greet everybody that comes through the door (don’t just sit back in your beanbag and shout “Hi!”), make sure everybody’s got a drink to start with and introduce people who don’t know each other.
Do: Hand people controllers until you run out.
Don’t: Play loud music.

Keep the Drinks Coming – You should have fun at your own party, but as the host your first concern is your guests. If you notice someone with an empty can or cup, offer to get them a refill. If they don't want a refill, scoop it up anyway and toss in the trash. It’ll save you clean-up time later.
Do: Have a spare two-liter ready to open when the first few run dry (or go flat).
Don’t: Fix people plates of food. It’s a time-waster for you, and they can do it themselves.

Handle Problem Guests Sooner Rather Than Later – I’m assuming you’ve exclusively invited cool people gamers to this party; but if you didn’t or somebody’s brought along their non-gamer girlfriend, try to be nice. Smile, introduce the interloper newcomer to everybody and ask them what they like to do for fun. Then make sure they sit next to whoever brought them so they have somebody to talk/complain to.
If you have one of “those guys” at your party– the guy who hogs the controller, doesn’t understand how to lose (or win) graciously and sulks if he gets out-voted on what game to play – make sure you keep him distracted so he doesn’t piss off other guests. Talk to him about how his life is going, ask for his help in the kitchen (even if you’re just going in there for ice), or engage him on a rant about the latest game review he disagreed with.
Do: Make it a point to talk to everybody.
Don’t: Secretly hope that this will be the one day “that guy” doesn’t whip your ass in Halo and then do a victory dance around the living room. Because he will, and you invited him – so in a way, you’re just asking for it.

Left: Of the many gamer parties I've thrown since the Wii came out, I don't think I've ever seen anybody get up and do this. Maybe I need to invite more models.

Have Cleaning Supplies on Standby – Spills happen, controllers might get Cheeto’d, or maybe you picked a snack that exploded down the front of your friend’s shirt. Whatever happens, be ready to apply cleaning fluids to the site of the mess and don’t make whoever’s responsible feel bad. Unless they upended an entire two liter on top of your PS3 – then you can punch them in the face.
Do: Stock up on club soda and carpet cleaner stuff like Resolve.
Don’t: Wipe at stains with paper towels; you’re supposed to dab.

Be Ready to Improvise – So you’re all having a great time beating each other down in Brawl, but Johnny Buzzkill over in the corner is whining that it’s getting boring. It’s too soon to end the party – and everyone else seems to be enjoying themselves – but Buzzkill won’t quiet down. As the gracious and most awesome host, you’ve got to do something. You could kick him out, but it’d be better to switch things up a bit with the game by making special rules or looking up drinking games on the Internet.
Do: Try what people suggest, even if it sounds dumb. You might have more fun than you think.
Don’t: Say “That’s dumb,” and then stubbornly not do anything. That makes you look like an ass.

After the Party:

Left: Put games back in their boxes or at least in a CD jacket.

Ask Your Guests to Pitch In – Gamers (usually) aren’t New York socialites. That means it’s completely okay to ask that they throw out their trash before heading out. Just be a good sport and hold open a giant trash bag for them instead of making them schlep to the kitchen. Don’t ask them to do dishes, but don’t stop them if they offer.

Clear the Controllers from the Carnage – Before you try to vacuum the carpet or wipe down the table, get those controllers out of harm’s way. Unplug them from the console and wind up the cord for easy storage on a shelf while you go about cleaning. This goes double for that super-long Wii Sensor Bar cable – that thing is drawn to dust busters like a moth to a flame.

Wipe Down the Controllers – It’s a known fact that gamers are plague monkeys. To save yourself from a cold or any other touch-transmittable disease, wipe down the controllers with something antiseptic and not too moist. Do not do this while your guests are still around.

Other Advice From AJ’s A-Listers:

Crystal: Don’t be afraid to kick people out at the end of the night. After all, it’s still your party.

Andrew: If you’re doing a Rock Band party, let the singer pick the songs and switch instruments once in a while to keep things interesting. Don’t make fun of people who pick a lower difficulty. One time we were playing Panic Attack and this girl was playing bass on Medium while the rest of us did Expert. She saved the band like five times.

Teresa: If you're in a dorm, don't be afraid to let newcomers join, no matter how inexperienced and/or drunk they may be. There are few things more amusing than watching drunk people play DDR. (Just be careful that none of them overindulge and release bodily fluids near anything but a toilet. Ew.)

Brian: If some of your guests want to hang out over by the food instead of gaming, don’t cut them off. They’ll come around and jump back in when they feel like it.

Michelle: Drunk Katamary Damacy is basically, like, the best thing ever.

“We would like to welcome Niko Bellic, the most charismatic personality that the GTA license has ever known," said Metaboli's VP of Content Pierre Forest, "This agreement enables us to become the first digital distributor in Europe to offer Rockstar’s entire catalogue."

The games will be available through Metaboli's 'download to own' site Gamesplanet.com and I suppose there is an outside chance that the older titles could end up in the 'Ultimate collection' all-you-can-eat pack you can get via metaboli.co.uk.

Rockstar signs up to Metaboli [MCV]

According to GamesIndustry, the ASA did find the game distasteful, but was not glorifying violence because of its "comic and exaggerated" nature:

"Although many might find the name and content of the game to be in poor taste, the content of the ad was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence," it said.

ASA dismisses Bully advertising complaints [GamesIndustry.biz]

The Bar trial judge, Dava Tunis, found the violent video game activist guilty of misconduct such as "Engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation." The state Supreme Court will have to make a ruling based on those recommendations, with a disciplinary hearing planned for the first week of June.

Jack Thompson Guilty on 27 of 31 Misconduct Charges, Says Bar Trial Judge... FL Supreme Court Must Now Rule [GamePolitics]

Rockstar Games Acquires Mad Doc Software

New York, NY - April 4, 2008 - Rockstar Games, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO), announced today the formation of Rockstar New England through the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Andover, MA-based Mad Doc Software, one of the premier independent development studios in North America.

"The team at Mad Doc Software is extremely talented," said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. "Bringing them within the Rockstar Games family will enhance our core technology and further support our commitment to creating progressive and innovative gaming experiences."

Established in 1999 by Dr. Ian Lane Davis, Mad Doc Software has led development on and provided contracting services for triple-A titles, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence and networking. The studio most recently worked with Rockstar Games on the Xbox 360 version of the critically acclaimed Bully: Scholarship Edition.

"To be a part of Rockstar Games is an amazing opportunity for everyone here," said Dr. Davis, Studio Head of the new Rockstar New England. "We're eager to bring our expertise to bear in the character-driven, open-world stories that make Rockstar Games titles so uniquely compelling."

About Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PLAYSTATION®3 and PlayStation®2 computer entertainment systems, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system, Xbox 360® and Xbox® video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii™, Nintendo GameCube™, Nintendo DS™ and Game Boy® Advance. The Company publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games, 2K Games, 2K Sports and 2K Play, and distributes software, hardware and accessories in North America through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two's common stock is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate and product information please visit our website at www.take2games.com

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.

Their full statement follows.

We have just become aware of the issues people are having with Bully Scholarship Edition on Xbox 360. It appears that some older 360s are experiencing framerate issues, freezes and other problems. You have our word that we never experienced any of this in QA - in any of our offices or at Microsoft. I am horrified, and we are now working around the clock to rectify this situation. Thanks to Neo-Gaf for bringing this matter to our attention. We love our games and put a huge amount of energy and care into making them all that they can be. We would never shove anything out the door - we never have and never will. We apologise to everyone affected for the inconvenience. Respectfully, Sam Houser

We'll let you know of any future developments on the Xbox 360 edition of Bully: Scholarship Edition and hope that Rockstar Games and Microsoft will do their best to address fan concerns swiftly.

Word from the official Xbox forums indicate frequent freezing, resulting in lost gameplay time, amid bouts of skipping audio. Add to that a choppy framerate for the PlayStation 2 port and you have a bunch of unhappy customers. Kotaku reader Matt was plenty pissed to have lost a good portion of his own progress when the game locked up, forcing a reset.

We've contacted Rockstar reps for clarification, but haven't heard back as of publish time.

UPDATE: We received a statement from Rockstar Games, which can be seen here.

R*'s PATHETIC port job: Bully 360 freezing (among other glitches) [NeoGAF - thanks, Matt!]

Trailers like this remind us that maybe the most overlooked talent at Rockstar is its video editing crew, and that love ain't always chocolates and perfume...unless chocolates have evolved to crack their own nuts...in which case we are all doomed.

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.

Bully Scholarship Edition HD [GameTrailers]

Video game glorifies bullying, say critics [Telegraph.co.uk]