Bully no more! Call it "Canis Canem Edit" in Europe

by Ross Miller { Sep 1st 2006 at 11:35AM }

Speaking to EuroGamer, Rockstar has announced that they have changed the name of their infamous schoolyard game from the controversy-attracting Bully to the tamer, more cultured Canis Canem Edit, or "Dog Eat Dog" in Latin. While not confirmed, we suspect one of the most prominent reasons is that it's much harder to write a clever protest chant with a six-syllabled Latin phrase.

The name change will not affect the launch date; Canis Canem Edit is still planned for an October release for PlayStation 2. According to CVG, the title is only changed in Europe. Why they wouldn't bring the title overseas, where the controversy is even more pronounced, is currently beyond. We'll try to get a hold of Rockstar and find out.

Continue reading for a recap of the story so far:

In May 2005, Rockstar announced a title called Bully, "the brutally funny debut title from Rockstar Vancouver" where you play a troublesome schoolboy who, among other things, "stand up to bullies" (according to the press release).

But a game from the Grand Theft Auto makers called Bully must be the end of Western Civilization. Anti-game activist Jack Thompson has mentioned the game in nearly every press release about the game, decrying it as a "Columbine Simulator." Despite a dearth of information, anti-bully group Peaceaholics protested.

Rockstar goes very quiet. Then suddenly last month, the company gave mainstream press access to Bully, and newspapers like USA Today and NY Times wrote about the game's "relative tameness" and punishment system that keeps the protagonist from bullying others.

As you know, reality often has a liberal bias, so the mainstream coverage did little to satiate the Peaceaholics, who continue to protest (despite showing confusion to the game's content), or Jack Thompson, who last month filed a lawsuit to get an early copy of the game (that never works, trust me).

Tags: bully, canis canem edit, CanisCanemEdit, jack thompson, JackThompson, rockstar

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Revolution @ Sep 1st 2006 11:43AM

I couldn't think of a better way to do this. Me and my buddy just started a webcomic and I thought today's comic was worth a glance. Our site has little to no content but I just wanted somebody (anybody) to look at it. URL is below in my name. Sorry to butt into the story

whalemenace @ Sep 1st 2006 11:48AM

This is the worst thing Rockstar could have done. That name is actually ok, but bully was way better. Furthermore it sends a message making Rockstar look weak. Rockstar should not be apologetic about its subject matter. That said I don't know how I would react if I had 30 lawsuits filed agaist me already and people protesting the release of a game they know nothing about. Stupid, Uninformed, but passionate people in large numers are very frightening.

T-Bag @ Sep 1st 2006 11:50AM

A is in A: Hey did you pick up Canis Canem Edit yesterday?

B as in Billy Bob: That there is a child of Satan.

Fan @ Sep 1st 2006 11:54AM

"This is the worst thing Rockstar could have done."

I disagree, I think Dog Eat Dog in latin is a much cooler name than bully. I cant wait for this title. Love for R*.

Dracula Jones @ Sep 1st 2006 11:55AM

I actually really like the new title. It goes well with the prep school setting. There's a bluntness to the title "Bully" which is great, but Dog Eat Dog is a really good way to put the prep school caste system. And having it appear as a sort of school motto with the crest on the cover is sort of cool... definitely different in this industry.

Jay @ Sep 1st 2006 11:57AM

I couldn't think of a better way to do this. I'm off to the chippy now to buy some chips, maybe a turkey stick. Maybe a muffin but I would then be pushing it. Anyone else like chips?

OH SORRY This is a news post. I don't mind the new name, but I would have preferred Bully. A rose by any other name etc... I'll probably still refer to it as Bully. but if it is PS2-only then I'll probably never get to play it. ho hum.

Jay @ Sep 1st 2006 11:57AM

Wait!?!? cannabis??!? They're promoting pot and illicit drugs now!

Jay @ Sep 1st 2006 11:58AM

For some odd reason, it cut out half my post *sigh* What it originally said was:

Wait!?!? cannabis??!? They're promoting pot and illicit drugs now! -- Jack Thompson's first response

And, I personally like the new name.

JoeBoo @ Sep 1st 2006 11:59AM

Is it just me or does "Canis Canem Edit" sound a lot like "Can His Can and Eat it?" Intentional?

JFunk @ Sep 1st 2006 12:08PM

I like the new name but I don't like the fact that this was probably a PR choice and not because the team really wanted to change the name. I personally would have preferred they just release it in its unchanged glory onto the flocks of uninformed harpies.

Brendan @ Sep 1st 2006 12:53PM

Canis Canem Edit?

People called Romans they go to the houses?

OtakuCODE @ Sep 1st 2006 12:31PM

Jack Thompson last seen marching towards a courthouse muttering something about 'suggestions of bestial cannibalism', a 3-foot-long trane of toilet paper chasing his right heel.

Bryan @ Sep 1st 2006 1:58PM

Anyone else think its funny they found a way to include the word "Edit" in their edited title. It just reminds the informed that this is not the real title.

They could call it anything they want. I have no interesting playing the mass market teenage crap that Rockstar puts out.

Invader Alex @ Sep 2nd 2006 3:34AM

i wonder why?

WedgeTalon @ Sep 1st 2006 2:53PM

JoeBoo - Yes, it was intentional. The Romans knew that one day our American English would form and that if they created certain phrases in their Latin, it could sound like funny phrases in ours. Completely intentional.

Fan @ Sep 1st 2006 1:28PM

"I have no interesting playing the mass market teenage crap that Rockstar puts out."

Wow you have bad taste. Rockstar makes many of the greatest games. The Warriors is a good example of a great game from R*.

Austin @ Sep 1st 2006 1:39PM

Rockstar and take-two has to be the worse run company on the planet. They thought they had a bad image with GTA and games like this so they are running from it. The people who protest that stuff don't buy games. Go with the image. Its free publicity and people will eat it up knowing you make f'd up games that are fun. I hope THQ has a hit with Saints Row and puts their dumb ass out of business this is just ridiculous. Thanks Take-Two, thanks for not standing up for yourself. Just go sell some edited cd's at walmart and fade away.

-Dominic @ Sep 1st 2006 2:25PM

Dear John B. Thompson,

As a troublesome schoolboy, you'll laugh and cringe as you STAND UP TO BULLIES, get picked on by teachers, PLAY PRANKS ON MALICIOUS KIDS, win or lose the girl, and ultimately learn to navigate the obstacles of the FICTICIOUS reform school, Bullworth Academy.”

Note the “caps lock”, don't take gamers as stupid I work at a law firm and I play games all the time. There has never been a proven connection between violence in video games and crime. Trying to make a name for yourself by jumping into a frivolous lawsuit is definitely not professional. I think the ones that should be on trial are the parents that allow minors to get their hands on said material intended for adults. At some point we have to blame those claiming to be "responsible adults." If the case is violence begets more violence then I must be pretty messed up because I have seen Wiley Coyote try to kill the Roadrunner, and Elmer Fudd shoot Daffy Duck many of times. Step down off of your pedestal and take a whiff of reality. Douche bag.

James @ Sep 1st 2006 5:12PM

Yay! He's also a spammer. Maybe if they renamed it this in the U.S., lobbyists will be too impatient to learn how to say it.

Revolution @ Sep 1st 2006 5:40PM

Why hasn't anybody given Jack a negative star, yet? I think he, of all people, deserves one.

T-Bag @ Sep 1st 2006 5:57PM

Wow, all those years of law school and look at you now! You're fighting with a bunch of teenagers over why video games should be banned. You truly are a prime example of a grade A failure.

Grats Jacky boy!

jack thompson @ Sep 1st 2006 6:18PM

Actually, T-Bag (you're appropriately named), if you could read I am not trying to "ban" any game. I am trying to prevent the sale of this Columbine simulator to school-age kids. In Britain and elsewhere that is how and why the ratings system works. Anyone who doesn't know the difference between banning alcohol and restricting its sale to adults, because it is an adult product, is probably a gamer, whose frontal lobes have been corroded away by the gameplay, which is precisely why the games should not be played by kiddies to such excess. Got it? Didn't think so.

Jack Thompson

Nytemare @ Sep 1st 2006 7:50PM

Jack you almost made me break my scroll button on my mouse!

Anyways, I strongly agree with the fact that they should change the name for this country too. I mean, if you have friends in that country you can't tell them, "ooh I just played Bully today, it's so awesome!", because he would say what the f... is that?

Revolution @ Sep 1st 2006 6:39PM

I was agreeing with your rebuttal, Jack, and then you come in with the insults. How about you be a big man and grow up a little?

TehDestroyer @ Sep 1st 2006 7:12PM

Wow. Is it really you? Well first of all let me start by saying I'm a big fan. Anyway, the evidence linking these supposed murder simulators to the Columbine incident is not irrefutable. By that logic Microsoft Flight Simulator trained the terrorists to fly into the Twin Towers. These games do not teach kids how to hold guns. They don't instill the sense of anger and hostility on a child which can only come from years of social exile. I saw you on G4 and oddly enough you seemed level headed and for the most part, realistic which is a far cry from how you are acting here. The ultimate way to stop youth violence relies in positive adult role models that teach the child right from wrong at an early age. Parents should regulate what their kids play not the media itself. One of the main reasons the incident at Columbine happened is because of the lack of a positive role model in the culprits lives. Where were their parents when they were buying weapons? I'm 15. I play violent videogames at least four to five hours a day. My parents rarely if ever regulate what I watch, listen to or play. Despite all these things I don't feel the urge to kill people I hate or dislike. I don't see targets over my teachers head and I don't imagine my score going up if I were to shoot someone. Speaking of this game in general, bullying has been around forever. Animals do it, children do it, it's a part of nature. The strong pick on the weak. That said seeing someone get hit with a slingshot will not force someone to pick up a gun and go on a rampage. It all depends on the persons particular situation. A kid from South Central in danger of failing will have a higher risk of going on a killing spree than a rich kid from the suburbs. The video game simply acts as a catalyst to the issue. You're attacking the end result of the issue and not the begining social and/or economic issue. If you truly wanted to help people and not take their selfishly steal their money out from under them in a time of grief you would work toward goals that would have a true effect on our community and the world around us such as raising the minimum wage or lowering the level of unemployment.

TehDestroyer @ Sep 1st 2006 7:17PM

Sorry for the various typos in my post.

T-Bag @ Sep 1st 2006 8:26PM

- Jack,

I couldn't have imagined for a more beautiful opening than the one you just supplied. You single handedly destroyed your credibility as a sane human being by attacking my name. Why am I saying this you might ask? Well because you're attacking Canis Canem Edit because it, in your crazy world, supports bullying; and you just bullied me over my name. Anyways, lets move on. You honestly believe Canis Canem Edit is a Columbine simulator? Lets just take a second to think this through. The Columbine incident, a very tragic one indeed, came to be known to this day by the massacring of many high school students. Two friends came to school that day with Tech-9's and basically killed anyone and everyone that came in their way, with the exception of a friend or two. Canis Canem Edit has you playing the role of the bullied child, trying to fend off said bullies, win the girls heart, and play a few pranks while you're at it. Now how, might I ask, does that resemble the Columbine incident? I'm more than sure the “pulling pranks” feature has nothing to do with massacring everyone at the school, and that was basically you're last hope. Truthfully though, what amazes me most is that you actually ambitiously defend you're point of view, even though you've been basically proven wrong every single time.

The rest of that useless drivel you spewed out of your mouth seemed like bullying to me, and since that's what you want to stop I won't even bother replying to any of it. Oh and by the way, unless you change the name at the end of your comment I'm going to take legal action and or whine until something is done, because it‘s offensive to all 5 of my senses. LOL