Youth council objects to PlayStation game

A new computer game that depicts a schoolboy tormenting a homeless man and throwing eggs at other children should not be stocked in Irish shops, the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) has said.

The PlayStation game, called Bully in the United States, and renamed Canis Canem or Dog Eat Dog in Europe, went on sale in Ireland yesterday.

The NYCI has described the game as "shocking" and is urging shops and consumers to boycott it.

The player assumes the identity of "Jimmy" a 15-year-old boy who is initially picked on by bullies. To earn points the player has to "fight back" and win fights. If Jimmy chooses to report the bullies to the headmaster he faces a brawl in the school grounds. He can also choose to become one of the bullies and hire other bullies in order to progress through the ranks of the school gangs.

The game features scenes of prefects punishing children, the tormenting of a homeless man who lives in a bus near the school, an overweight girl searching for chocolates and the teasing of another overweight child with a weak bladder.

At one stage in the game a character says: "Why don't you do the world a favour and kill yourself?"

The game "glorifies and promotes bullying" and rewards the player for "cruel behaviour" the youth council said.

"The release of this game is an insult to the many children who are victims of bullying, and will bring back tragic and disturbing memories to thousands of adults and their families who have lived with the consequences of such bullying," Gearóid Ó Maoilmhichíl, NYCI child protection co-ordinator said.

"This game glorifies all that is unacceptable about bullying. It sends out the message to young people that the only way to stop being bullied is to become a bully yourself."

The game is already on sale in Irish toy shops. The manager of one computer games shop, who would not be identified, said the game was rated "over 16s" and would not be sold to anyone younger.