Boy on boy kissing in Bully
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Oct 22nd 2006 at 4:20PM }
Bully hero Jimmy Hopkins is bisexual, or just experimenting, based on videos starting to surface. Looks like the controversy about Bully was a bit premature, as Hopkins obviously prefers to make love, not war. This is not "Hot Coffee" by any stretch of the imagination -- just kids kissing.Now before everybody goes crazy, depending on your moral sensibilities, there are two videos after the break. Gamebrink's version is quick like a band-aid, with one smooch session. Of course, GayGamer's version has Jimmy going back for seconds -- nope, thirds -- wait, fourths.
The game is rated T and the box clearly states that there are "sexual themes." Players can also go through Bully without ever having to kiss a boy if they don't want to. Hopefully, the negative hype about Bully is so played out that this surprising content won't cause a frenzy about youth corruption or some such nonsense. Once again, it's kissing -- everyone stay calm.
Gamebrink version (One kiss):
GayGamer version (Multi-kiss):
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
HoodOrnament @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:28PM
Yet another reason Im glad I dont care about this game. I also feel that the news and politicians are also getting on this game though, I mean free publicity, but this is just annoying.
Simon @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:29PM
Here we go again...
Ezxra @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:30PM
Please dont make a big deal out of this lol this is from gaygamer.net after all
nintendo fan @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:32PM
and now homophobia shall ensue
TheBard @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:32PM
There is nothing wrong with boy on boy kissing. Homosexuality is accepted nowadays, right? At least here in Germany.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the public response to this. Because you cannot just say it's bad influence, right? If you do say that, however, then the public outcry from the gay community would be immense.
This is gonna be fun.
Probot @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:35PM
Homosexual relationships in a violent video game?! If this had flag burning, the head of every useless Congressmen would explode.
Wat Tsu @ Oct 22nd 2006 9:33PM
And James Dobson in three...two...one...
Dallas @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:45PM
Can't you kiss people of the same sex in The Sims, too?
Oh wait, no one cares.
Spoon @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:49PM
I think it's kinda cool that they added the ability to do this. Probably makes feeling like you're actually part of the game a bit easier for gay dudes. I'm sure they have to get sick of saving princesses all the time.
Lekko @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:55PM
So... Will Jack Thompson cite this as a reason to why there are gays now?
Jack Thompson @ Oct 22nd 2006 4:56PM
So this is where homosexuality comes from!!!
Conbus @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:36PM
HAHAHAHA this is funny, never thought you could do that. I doubt that anyone will cite this as a reason bully is bad, since they will be (rightly) called homophobic.
Limey @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:28PM
Good, I think homosexuality in videogames should be presented more; Why is so much of the USA so homophobic?
Haunted One @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:07PM
I will call every nation in which there are a lot of people complaining/outraged because of such a thing in a videogame "backwater-redneck-homophobic-stupid-country" and the ones who complain "backwater-redneck-homophobic-stupidians" from now on.
Let me just get my pen and paper.. So, who's first to make it on the list of people who have not arrived in the 21st century yet? (Seriously? I hope the sheet remains empty. It should.)
H.
Martin @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:16PM
Great, now Jack can create a new phrase. Homosexualilty Simulator.
bad thing is, I am against murder, but homosexuality is fine, but all the right(wrong) wing conservatives are going to start spouting how this is worse than GTA!
refinedsugar @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:26PM
You ask everyone to stay calm as fuel is put on the publicity fire. Have I missed something? Have we learned nothing from Hot Coffee? Shut up already.
AxelFury @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:28PM
Here we go again...
s256 @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:34PM
Bahahahah, that's hilarious! As soon as I knew there was girl-kissing in the game, I thought "there won't be any other kind".
I hope this gets LOTS of publicity.
silverSurfer @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:34PM
Homo-mode or not as much as I like this game it really should be rated M. Its not for the younguns.
Dakara @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:36PM
As a non-homophobe, I think this is a step in the right direction....choices...choices...choices. We should be able to decide what we want to do. I think there should be more games where girls or gay men can be the main chracter or even the hero. If you got a problem with it(same as with violent games) dont play it. I will enjoy my games unbiased.
birdman @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:44PM
Am I the only one who believes that bully was only made to stick it to the man and as a publicity stunt? We all know by now that bully is as controversial as GTA, its rockstar after all. I am starting to question where rockstar stands on games because any developer wouldn't purposely make the gaming industry look bad. I know! Jack Tompson owns Rockstar games! If he cant break games from the outside, he can do it from the inside, brilliant!
Ninegauger @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:43PM
Homosexuality has been a traditionally maligned practice for millenia so I doubt a few decades of gay pride is going to change the world especially in a country that is largely Christian.
It's right there in the Bible among other sins like adultery, fornication etc... it's not like the imaginary rights that are pulled out of the U.S. Constitution by activist judges.
And yes, you could do this in The Sims, but that game is sooooooooo booooooooring.
me @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:43PM
The only thing good about this is taht we can call anyone who calls this bad bias... or christian.
Probot @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:46PM
#15
"Why is so much of the USA so homophobic?" (Limey)
Leviticus 18:22
"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."
The Bible makes it clear that homosexuality is a sin. It's on the same level as eating shrimp.
http://godhatesshrimp.com/
Dave Silva @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:47PM
Well, something tells me Rockstar will be shut down by the government because of this video alone. Is this bad? No. But the government thinks so, so they MUST BE NAZIS ALLIED WITH ALQAEDA.
...
Dammit.
Frowelishnu @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:47PM
I'm so proud of my fellow Joystiqmates. I thought for sure this would become an "eww gross" flame war.
Good games give the gamer choices - nuff said.
FuzzyPickles @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:49PM
I actually hope JT makes a statement on this. I need some lols to fill up the void SNL left in my life.
HoodOrnament @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:00PM
Alright, just to avoid my post being mis-interpreted. I didnt mean to come off as homo-phobic if anyone thinks that, but this game has lacked any interest for me since I first heard about. To be quite honest with you, I havent liked anything Rockstar has come out with since GTA-3, Vice City was alright. In my original post I mean first off its not something I want to see while im playing my video games, I dont have an issue with what people do, its their choice, but having to see it takes away my choice. I dont care any more or less for seeing homosexual people making out in public as much as i care for straight people making out in public, its just something that shouldnt be in public in the first place. My other point is just how sick I am about hearing about this mediocre game from an overhyped company who produces the same stuff in different situations (except table-tennis). The controversy surrounding this game is a joke, and I myself have had enough of it. I mean, we heard about videogame violence all the time, but the simple fact is, if you dont like it, dont buy it, dont want your kids to play it, dont buy it for them. The videogame world/business shouldnt suffer because one parent has a problem with doing their job as being a parent.
copa @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:53PM
"Why is so much of the USA so homophobic?"
You sound kind of ignorant, Limey. The only people I have noticed who have big homophobia issues are:
1) A good number of practicing religion fundamentalists, mostly Christians and Muslims. You have a higher percentage of fundamentalists in the USA than in most European countries, so there may be some difference there.
2) Older people. Gay sexuality was not openly discussed or represented in media or entertainment three decades ago, so you have a number of (straight) people who didn't really have any awareness of a gay lifestyle until after their own sexual development was complete. A number of these people tend to have squeamish/scary reactions to gay people. I doubt this is different from the USA and the rest of the world.
I'm 36 and live in Texas. Nobody my age or younger (except for some of the fundamentalists) would care about this.
You'll get some 12-year-olds posting stupid stuff on here, but I doubt they're homophobic. They're the same people who shout 'nigger' when playing Counter-Strike; they are just attention-deprived.
DanClassic @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:54PM
I bet they give this the paedophile twist, because people won't care enough as it is. "Gamers delight in making young boys kiss" is my guess at a headline.
Fraggle @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:57PM
To Spoon (#8):
"I'm sure they have to get sick of saving princesses all the time."
Yeah...now they get to save queens instead lol!
rockintom99 @ Oct 22nd 2006 5:59PM
Not to sound homophobic or anything, but that is just kindof stupid. No one says "Man, I'm such a player" and then makes out with another guy, *in front* of other guys.
Limey @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:06PM
When I asked "Why is so much of the USA so homophobic?", I meant it in more of a rhetorical way. I understand that religion is involved, I'm not dumb. And I'm not saying that everybody in the USA is homophobic, but you can't deny that the USA and our media magnify homosexuality, and it is often cast in a negative light.
But I also base what I said off some personal things; I asked some european friends of mine how homosexuality was looked at in their countries (denmark and sweeden), and they both said that it wasn't nearly as big a deal as it is here.
I'm not ignorant, I was just trying to comment positively instead of negatively, which a lot of the comments above mine were.
Zachary Hinchliffe @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:07PM
It's open-ended – NO ONE is forcing you to go out and kiss other guys.
With that said, video games are now going to be the source of homosexuality as well as youth violence. *sigh*
Derick @ Oct 23rd 2006 11:23AM
Gosh...this entire thing is stupid.
Nothing was wrong with Bully in the firts place...
Kids are way to babied these days...
Schools outlawing Tag in school? So they can't sue?
Oh my God. Something needs to change in the justice system when someone is suing for tag.
Shit.
Let em kiss....he's getting more action than jack is.
otakucode @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:12PM
This is just flat out beautiful. Hollywood censors movies with gay sex in them much more harshly than movies with straight sex, and if you're going to say that homosexuality is natural and just as acceptable as straight sex, that is not acceptable policy.
I'm straight myself, but I definitely think we need more stuff like this in videogames, in TV, and in media. The idea of homosexual youth is nearly as taboo now as adult homosexuality was 20 years ago. There are homosexuals, there are bisexuals. Omitting them from imaginary world makes those worlds short of reality.
Rask @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:13PM
The first thing that comes to mind is that this was R* giving over-excitable politicians and lawyers a big f*ck you, try to lobby/persecute this and watch all levels of gay and lesbian support groups come after you.
Mightily well played if I do say so myself! =)
Kyou @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:15PM
Haha. Now what really is terribly wrong in Bully is that you HAVE to kiss that hideous fat chick like twice in the story line. And the smooching noises... agh!
Bagel @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:14PM
I hate to say it, but Jack Thomson was right, this game needs to be banned, immediately!
Ignatius @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:17PM
Uh, @36, why? Because you're homophobic? Get lost.
Anyway, I bet Jack Thompson is going to have something to say about this, he spends about as much time as gamers do on the Internet.
GRRiMREEAPeR @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:18PM
HEY WHY DOES EVERYBODY HAVE TO BE SO POLITICALLY CORRECT NOWADAYS??? Im 23 years old. I live in Nj. Its funny, but automatically, you are labeled as a bigot, or a little kid, if you say you belive homosexuality is wrong. smh, i know a good amount of the posters above me feel the same way, but due to the incredibly assinine Politically Correct state of our Country, they feel that u have to agree with everyone, and u cant find fault with anything... or else you might offend someone gay, or black, or white, or fat, or female, or mexican, or muslim, or christian... or whatever... i hate all this political correctness... its disgusting. I cannot be alone in saying that this is a sad day for games, and entertainment itself by having a boy kissing another boy. thats disgusting, and wrong, and really just dosent belong in a video game. Now why should i feel like since i happen to feel this way, i cant express myself like the guy who happens to like the boy-on-boy kissing thing. Homosexuality is Disgusting, its an Abomination, its Dirty... (yes dirty). and even though i doubt i will get anybody to agree with me outloud... i know a good amout of you reading this agree with me inside. It dosent matter if ur white, brown, green, purple, man, or woman. Seeing the Bully kid kissing another boy is sad, but even that dosent compare to the lack of backbone some of you people have, that you wont even express how you REALLY feel. i dont care if u feel homosexuality is the greatest thing since sliced bread, express yourself, even if we dont agree. nothings wrong with having differing views.
To the people sugarcoating their opinions and views because they feel that it might hurt another's feelings... grow up. people's feelings get hurt everyday. Hell it hurts my feelings when i see 2 guys kissin. sorry it always will. so i feel that i should have the right to express myself as well.
feel free to rebut, ill be online for a while.
Fish @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:18PM
America is kinda homophobic..
http://www.pollingreport.com/civil.htm
granted, that's support of gay marriage.. not "do you hate homosexuals?" but still.
Bagel @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:19PM
@38
Naw, I really don't care. Just making a sarcastic reply.
Kyou @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:20PM
To rockintom99:
When you kiss girls they also say stuff like "If you kiss once a day, you'll live longer" and "I heard that like 10 people made out here".
striderhayasa @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:22PM
So the Bully boy gets a boner from kissing boys? Who cares? As far as the religious spin, give me a break. Tell that the priests that all of a sudden find young boys irresistable and the Nuns that get it in on the DL.
Despite popular belief, they are people in the world that are not Christian...
There's nothing to see here...Move along...move along
alec @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:22PM
OMFG AND YET THEY DONT COMPLAIN ABOUT THE SIMS
Ignatius @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:24PM
@40, get used to it, people have different likes and dislikes. Just because YOU say it's an abomination doesn't mean it is. That little 2,000 year old bedtime story doesn't make it wrong.
About political correctness, no, people shouldn't do that, but unlike you, you're just heaping bull**** on someone else's opinion, you might not like it, but don't bash people who do, your ignorance shouldn't be their problem.
FuzzyPickles @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:25PM
"Hell it hurts my feelings when i see 2 guys kissin. sorry it always will"
Hurts your feelings? Do you start to cry? Pussy.
Halifirien @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:45PM
I had no idea it was an option, but it's definitely pushing my opinion of the game from "I'll probably buy that at some point" to "I'm definitely going to buy that." As a gay gamer, I like having those kinds of options (thank you, "Fable").
_habit_ @ Oct 22nd 2006 6:31PM
*Calls the Grammar Nazi's*
Yes, who do I speak to about homosexual kissing in a video game?
You'll want to speak to Jack Thompson.
Thank you.
*Calls Jack Thompson and tells him about this*
Not only have I begun the war, but I've made a connection between the (Grammar) Nazi's and Jack Thompson.
Gamers, it is time, THAT WE FIGHT!