Bully: a past of controversy and future of issues
Ironically enough Bully has been one of the industry's main whipping boys since it was first introduced on the PlayStation 2 in 2006. While the recent misinterpretation of the sexual content within Mass Effect has been an industry hot topic in this generation of consoles, the assumptions made about the content in Bully prior to its release were laughably off-kilter.
At one point in the controversy industry antagonist, Jack Thompson, argued on G4's The Loop that Bully was a "Columbine Simulator," oblivious to the fact that the ultimate goal of the game is end bullying at Bullworth Academy -- the featured location in the game. While the sandbox nature of the game allows players to be just as much as an advocate against bullies as it allows them to be the ultimate poster child, the internal rules of the game harshly punishes picking on female characters or smaller children.
With the recent release of Bully: Scholarship Edition, gamers are treated to a HD upgrade of the controversial title -- or so they thought. Reports are swirling that multiple glitches and game freezing bugs are hindering the enjoyment of the hd-revamp. NeoGAF members have compiled a list of various sources to support the widespread issue.
In response, a horrified Rockstar pinned the issues on older Xbox 360 models and assures fans the issue was never caught during quality assurance tests and not the product of a quick release cash grab. The full statement from Rockstar's Sam Houser can be found after the jump.
[via Kotaku]
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
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bryan T @ Mar 6th 2008 1:52PM
It's frozen on me twice in about 5 hours, good to know that they are looking to fix it asap.
Stupendous52 @ Mar 6th 2008 2:07PM
I only played it for about an hour or so and had a lovely freeze. It was a bit annoying to have to go through and replay the missions I hadn't saved yet.
All in all the game seems pretty cool though, this is my first experience with Bully and I'm pretty optimistic about it.
mcwattersm @ Mar 6th 2008 3:32PM
I played it non stop yesterday and it didn't freeze once. But I did notice that doing almost all animations were choppy.
stinger503 @ Mar 6th 2008 6:51PM
Kudos for Rockstar for admitting there's a problem
Chlorine @ Mar 6th 2008 7:45PM
Played Bully for 6 hours before work yesterday. Didn't freeze once or did I notice any graphic glitches. I did have a few audio problems which caused my Sony amp to do weird things however... I bought my Elite in August of 2007 though, so that might be why I'm not having any issues.
ccc @ Mar 6th 2008 8:13PM
this game should have been canceled.
refinedsugar @ Mar 6th 2008 10:48PM
LOL to the internet legion of knuckleheads complaining at Rockstar. They didn't do this game in-house. The port was outsourced to Mad Doc Software and if you bought/played Star Trek Legacy you know they don't have an award winning track record.
Doing your homework FTW.
Jeffrey Morgan @ Mar 7th 2008 11:10AM
I love this game so far, but as for problems: on my new Falcon Elite the game did freeze once or twice requiring a reboot. Horizontal tearing was dreadful during the opening cinematic, but has not been noticeable during gameplay. Worst of all, the loading screens are rediculously frequent and long. Graphics are not as good as I would have liked. Nevertheless, the gameplay is lots of fun.