"Bully"

From the same company that brought us “Grand Theft Auto” comes a new game called “Bully,” set to be released in October. As you may recall, in “Grand Theft Auto,” the character gets to kill and beat up people. The game features hookers and even a “secret game” that could be unlocked where the object was to have sex.

From that same company comes a new experience. “Bully” is set in a school. The game does not have blood or death, but the basic object of the game is to beat people up in the school. The player can use a variety of weapons, including marbles, a baseball bat and other items. The game has not yet been rated, but one insider thinks it is set to get a “T” (teen) rating. With so much controversy in the gaming industry over games–especially violent ones–many wonder why the game should not get an “M” (mature) rating, if for no other reason than to keep critics at bay.

I have another question. Instead of worrying about the rating of a game, how about we just don’t make games like this! Maybe I’m an old fogey, but I don’t see the entertainment value in beating people up on a game. It is obvious that a game such as “Bully” will cause young people to think about doing this in real life at their school. They will think of people they don’t like and will pretend they are beating them up on the game. Is that really what we want our young people thinking about?

We should want our young people thinking about “whatever things are lovely” (Philippians 4:8).