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 trivialised" bullying, but the ASA found that the ads themselves were not in violation of any standards.

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]

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 apologise 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?

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We wrote earlier today of the issues surround 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.

Their full statement follows.

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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.

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Haven't we been over this already? A year and a half after the release of the original game, a coalition of teachers' unions in the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia, South Korea and the Caribbean are urging retailers to ban Bully: Scholarship Edition from store shelves.

"We're asking retailers to be responsible," Emily Noble, president of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, said yesterday. "Yes, they can sell it and make a buck out of this, but is this the kind of marketing that they want to be [doing], selling games that glorify violence?"

I'd daresay that's exactly the sort of marketing that video game retailers want to be doing. This reborn ban Bully movement is possibly a result of the huge outbreak of violent bullying that completely failed to occur after the release of the original game, despite prognostication of doom, gloom, and wet-willies.

Teachers demand ban on bullying video game [globeandmail.com]

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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.

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 the 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]

Although the date wasn't on 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.

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It's doubtful that almost anyone was, at any point, visually blown away by Rockstar Games' Bully on the PlayStation 2. Oh, it's a fantastic title, one that appropriates Grand Theft Auto gameplay in a remarkably natural way. It's just that graphically, we're underwhelmed. That proud tradition of solid gameplay and "meh" graphics will continue on the Wii and Xbox 360 this year, as Bully: Scholarship Edition forces current gen gamers to come to terms with their inner graphics whores. Easy on the eyes it's not. At least the Bully port should give GameTrailers an opportunity to have its first Wii vs. Xbox 360 comparison video.

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