Judge Friedman is the Decider

Rockstar Vancouver's upcoming schoolyard adventure Bully (PS2) has generated a surprising amount of controversy given that it has not even yet been released. For years, the game has been a chosen target of well known video game detractor Jack Thompson, who has called the game a "Columbine simulator" despite its lack of firearms or the ability to kill. Currently, Thompson and the state of Florida are embroiled in a legal battle to determine whether the game is suitable for sale to minors in the Sunshine State. Yesterday, the Miami-Dade judge presiding over the trial, Judge Ronald Friedman, made what Jack Thompson is accurately calling an unprecidented demand: he instructed publisher Take-Two to provide him with an advance copy of the game so he is able to determine if it violates Florida's environmental public nuisance laws. Apparently, Judge Friedman is willing to sit through the game for up to 100 gameplay hours alongside a Take-Two employee capable of completing it. The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has designated the game "T for Teen," with descriptors such as "Crude Humor," "Language," and "Violence." Thompson issued a statement to Game Politics, calling the decision a "huge victory against the violent video game industry, regardless of the ultimate ruling on the injunction." He claimed that the showing of the game is for both him and the judge, though gaming site Destructoid, which covered the event firsthand, reported that counsel from both sides will be able to attend. No press coverage will be permitted. Early previews of the game depict a much less violent and much more moral picture of the game than the one Thompson has painted during his crusade against the game. Wired received a hands-on preview with the game, coming away with extremely positive impressions. After describing a moment in the game where its protagonist expounds on the folly of bullying, writer Clive Thompson admits, "Indeed, it's not what anyone expected." It certainly is not what Jack Thompson has led the mainstream media to expect. Rockstar Vancouver's Bully (PS2) (known as Canis Canem Edit outside of North America) ships next week in North America.