No sooner does Rockstar finally succeed in getting Manhunt 2 unbanned in the UK than another Rockstar game gets banned in another country. This time around it's Bully: Scholarship Edition that's been banned by a Brazilian judge, as the AP is reporting.

According to the report, the ban prevents the game from "being imported, distributed, sold or promoted on Web sites and stores" in the country. Brazilian distributors and retailers will have thirty days to comply with the ban, which came in response to a request from a Brazilian youth center. "The aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school" said prosecutor Alcindo Bastas. "That is not acceptable."

A Take-Two spokesman said the decision "will not have a material impact on the sales of this popular title." We're relatively sure this is not the last we'll hear from the publisher about this matter.

There's a brand new face for us to lovingly stick into our Take-Two Family Album -- Rockstar New England. Take-Two's Rockstar Games has announced the formation of the studio following the acquisition of Andover, MA-based Mad Doc Software, "one of the premier independent development studios in North America." The praise release continues with Rockstar founder, Sam Houser, weighing in on the purchase.

"The team at Mad Doc Software is extremely talented," he said. "Bringing them within the Rockstar Games family will enhance our core technology and further support our commitment to creating progressive and innovative gaming experiences."

C'mon everybody, let's join in singing the praises of the studio that most recently worked on the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition!

What's that? We can't hear you! We seem to be experiencing audio difficulties! Hello?!

EuroGamer reports that a patch released five days ago, which intended to fix the issues in the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition, may have caused more problems than it resolved. Reported problems include freezes, along with audio and graphic glitches. Rockstar explained that the issue is with older consoles, but EuroGamer states its (relatively new?) office Elite locks up.

We're still waiting to hear from Rockstar about what's really going on, but the company seems to have locked itself in the teacher's lounge and refuses to come out. So, what's the word on the virtual streets? Are people still having problems with their copy of Bully on the Xbox 360?

A patch for Bully: Scholarship Edition has been released on Xbox Live in lieu of the "broad worldwide announcement" expected today. But what does it fix? We don't know for sure, and various readers have reported the technical problems are either not fixed at all or in some cases worse. We've contacted Rockstar for more information. If you've downloaded the patch yourself, feel free to give your impressions below.

[Thanks, Mark]

MTV Multiplayer has managed to get a statement from Rockstar concerning Bully: Scholarship Edition's missing-in-action patch. While not much, a spokesperson told them that the patch is sitting in the Xbox Live certification queue and that they will have a "broad worldwide announcement" tomorrow. While that announcement could come alongside the patch itself, we're not holding our breath.

It's promising to know the patch is awaiting Xbox Live certification, but that process can take some time to get through. After apologizing for the technical issues reported by some Xbox 360 gamers, Rockstar asserted they would get a patch out "within a week." As of this writing, it has been 12 days (i.e. well over a week) since that statement.

Rockstar's been awfully apologetic about the game-breaking bugs and glitches present in the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition (as they should be). In the latest public apology, a Rockstar Games representative is promising a fix within the next week, in the form of a title update via Xbox Live.

The patch will likely fix the audio glitches, framerate stutters, and full-on crashes that have plagued the 360 version, yet have been entirely absent from the Wii version. It is unknown at this time whether Rockstar also intends to offer a disc replacement plan for 360 owners without access to Live (similar to Activision's replacement plan for Guitar Hero III on the Wii). We'll let you know when the buggy Bully patch is finally made available.

Having forked over their precious lunch money to recent current-gen graduate, Bully: Scholarship Edition, some Xbox 360 owners have expressed dissatisfaction with the game's technical performance. Though it's unclear whether the issues are widespread, several forum users have noted unsteady framerates, audio glitches and freezing within Rockstar's school daze sim.

The company has issued a statement in response to online complaints, vowing to work "around the clock to rectify this situation." A "horrifed" Rockstar president, Sam Houser, pinned the blame on "some older 360s," explaining that none of the technical issues occurred during the game's QA phase. "We would never shove anything out the door - we never have and never will," said Houser. "We apologise to everyone affected for the inconvenience."

Color us not at all surprised. With this week's release of Bully: Scholarship Editon, we're seeing a return of the controversy that swirled around the game upon its original PS2 release in 2006. Emily Noble, president of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, called for the game to be removed from shelves this week, saying "We're asking retailers to be responsible. 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?"

McGill University's Michael Hoechsmann provided a more rational take, calling attempts to ban the game "flailing at windmills" and saying "As tempting as it may seem, I'm not so certain that banning this will somehow result in a more peaceful and more loving school population."

Though we're sad to see this silly controversy rear its head again, we do want to give big ups to Hoechsmann and reporter Jill Mahoney for providing a dissenting opinion.

[Via GamePolitics]

A Bully-inspired Munny doll created by Bryan Rodriguez (via TOMOPOP) reminds us that we haven't thought of enough horrible puns in our lives that replace "munny" with "money." "Show me the munny," "where's my munny, b---h," "that's so munny." Help us come up with some other horrible puns, and check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq attends Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament in pseudo-Boston
Joystiq interviews DeathSpank's Ron Gilbert
Joystiq interview: Penny Arcade Adventures

News
New games this week: Army of Two edition
Other bands are in Aerosmith's Guitar Hero game, maybe Run DMC
Atari looks to online space for salvation
Lego Batman lets you play as villians
Amazon Japan sells 20GB PS3 for twice price of 40GB
SCEE rep talks PS3 firmware 2.4, in-game communication
Sid Meier practices diplomacy regarding EA/Take-Two deal
Virtual Console Monday: Super Turrican stands alone
Japanese Wii Ware promo page shows off 11 games
This Wednesday: Rocketmen lands on XBLA
THQ's Fitch plays the Iron Lore blame game
Nielsen: GameStop TV increases sales in stores
New Indy movie DVDs to include Lego Indiana Jones demo
Details on Dark Sector's multiplayer modes, including 360 and PS3 differences
Namco's 'We Ski' coming to US in spring 2008
Capcom USA hiring, with 15 projects in development
Serial killer killing killer Dexter getting game
UK retail game sales surpass music industry
Team Fortress 2 for Xbox 360 patched, no class changes
Phil Harrison is new president of Infogrames ... wow

Rumors & Speculation
Euro retailer Game expects greater profits thanks to 'buoyant' market
Former Harmonix shareholders may receive $209 million from Viacom
Rumorang: PS3 Crysis will be '50% new game'

Culture & Community
Penny Arcade Expo 2008 to showcase indie games
EGM interviews Hot Coffee modder after cooling

If you skipped 2006's PlayStation 2 debut of Bully, you missed out on a lot more than a nostalgic video game trip through your long-forgotten school daze. All the drama and legal flailing surrounding the release would have you believe that Bully: Scholarship Edition is the definitive version of Rockstar's homo-erotic, teacher killing sim.

It's nothing like that, actually. The true nature of the game, which involves disease-ridden lunch ladies and epic wedgies, can be gleaned from the trailer embedded after the break. Let us know if it's convinced you to enroll in class on March 4th (March 7th in the UK).

Like trying to resuscitate a year-old corpse, the UK's Telegraph attempted to reinvigorate controversy about Bully now that it's coming to Wii and Xbox 360 in March. The Telegraph gets mileage out of the non-troversy by pulling a Manhunt 2 and explaining that acting out movements with the Wiimote is what makes this game relevant again as an issue. What also seems to stick in some people's craw is that the ridiculous renaming of Bully to Canis Canem Edit (Dog eat Dog) in the UK is out and the original name is back in.

Now that the game has been out for a while, is it too much to ask that critics play the game before commenting on it -- scratch that, of course it is. Anybody who has played Bully knows that it is a smart satire of boarding school and protagonist Jimmy Hopkins is clearly more of a lover than a fighter. We're just hoping that the Wii and Xbox 360 versions of Bully are precursors to a sequel announcement.

[Via GamePolitics]

The rumors of Bully's Wii and Xbox 360 semester starting in March were pretty much on the money, with Rockstar confirming North America starts class on March 4 and the UK getting a delayed opening 'til March 7. As is evidenced by the Xbox 360 screenshot above, Rockstar isn't making the awkward teenagers of Bullworth Academy any prettier for their now-gen premiere. The game is pretty much a port of the PS2 version with some improvements -- hopefully the loading times will be one of them.

Bully: Scholarship Edition features eight new missions, four new classes and some other minor upgrades like achievements for the Xbox 360 and waggle-added gameplay for Wii. The tuition for this trip to Bullworth will be $50 on both systems. We'd say just pick Bully on the cheap for your PS2, but achievements or waggle will probably make another spin with Jimmy Hopkins on a new system worth it.

Jimmy Hopkins is supposedly ready to kiss the girls (and boys) at Bullworth Academy on Wii and Xbox 360 starting March 3. Bully: Scholarship Edition will feature "new content" and that's still all about we know at this point. Perhaps we'll get a little hands-on time with it at GDC, but we don't even really know if the Wii version will have waggle or if the Xbox 360 version will sport better textures.

Although there's still no official confirmation on Bully's release date, several retailers are listing March 3; we're following up with Rockstar and Take-Two for a polite confirmation -- otherwise we're resorting to swirlies.

[Via Wii Fanboy]

Just in case Rockstar's very well received – and predictably controversial – Bully didn't make it onto your game shelf when it was released last October, Rockstar is rereleasing the title for the new-gen Xbox 360 and Wii platforms as a new "Scholarship Edition" featuring "new content." Short of that announcement, and a "Winter" release, they aren't revealing much about these ports. Coupled with Table Tennis as an Xbox 360 and now Wii title, and Manhunt 2 as a PS2, PSP, and Wii title, it looks like Nintendo's little white box has a special place in Rockstar's heart.

The day of reckoning for Jack Thompson approaches ever so slowly -- looks like somebody needs a luck dragon. Separately from another disciplinary hearing brought by the Florida Bar based on issues of misconduct, Thompson could be in trouble with the Florida Bar again over complaints filed by the judge from last year's Bully suit. The Florida Supreme Court has assigned a Miami judge for trial and if the complaints by the judge are upheld Thompson would face professional sanctions.

The complaints brought by Judge Ronald Friedman were based on Thompson's conduct during the Bully trial. The Bar believes Thompson lashed out against Friedman during the trial making statements with "a reckless disregard as to [their] truth." The Bar points to statements made in the 15-page complaint which include gems from Thompson like, "Here's a tip, Judge, I don't practice law. I save lives from reckless jurists like you." And about the game Bully, Thompson says to Friedman, "You missed the gay sex ... I'm sure the voters are going to love that. Go ahead, Judge. File your bar complaint. Make my day."

It's no secret at this point the Thompson's grip on reality is slipping. It seems the Florida Bar is looking to shut him down before he embarrasses the profession further. There is no word yet how this will affect Thompson's lawsuit to stop Manhunt 2 and Grand Theft Auto IV from hitting store shelves.