Judge drops case against Bully release

Decides that it's not even as violent as what's on the telly

16 October 2006 12:21 GMT / By Amber Maitland

A judge in Florida has decided not to stop controversial videogame Bully from being released and has rejected claims that it should be labelled a “public nuisance”.

Pocket-lint reported last week that anti-videogames lawyer Jack Thompson had asked a judge to prevent Wal-Mart and other retailers from selling Bully once it was released, on the grounds that it was a “public nuisance”.

The judge asked for a pre-release copy of the game from manufacturer Rockstar Games and also apparently requested that someone play the game for him so he could observe it.

Judge Ronald Friedman said in court, “There's a lot of violence. A whole lot. Less than we see on television every night”. He didn't end with a ruling, but rather told Thompson he would “consider the matter further” if Thompson wanted a hearing after the game is released Tuesday in the US.

In the UK, the game has been renamed Canis Canem Edit and will not be released until Friday.

According to the BBC report, Thompson was not impressed that the judge had asked for an employee to play the game for him, as he said that the employee could have played it in such a way as to avoid violence. He said to the judge, “You did not see the game. You don't even know what it was you saw.”

The lawyer has decided to let the matter rest.

Full tags

Gaming, PS2, Rockstar