Rockstar’s Bully received accolades from many in the gaming press upon its release last October, but according to statements made by Wedbush Morgan Securities’ Michael Pachter, a sequel to the game is highly unlikely. His remarks were made to GamePolitics.
The controversial game was heavily protested by concerned parents and children’s rights activists, who criticized the game for its seeming glorification of bullying. Rockstar delayed the game’s release, leading some to believe that the postponement was used to modify the game’s storyline.
Pachter’s belief that Rockstar will not offer a sequel to Bully is based upon dwindling sales figures and a less than successful showing during last month’s holiday shopping season. Pachter stated, "In November, Bully sold 105,000 units… My guess is that the game did not sell particularly well at holiday, probably another 150,000 units worldwide in December."
He continued by saying, "Since the game took three years to develop, it likely cost Take-Two close to $15 million in R&D, and my guess is that the company did no better than to break even. I would not expect a sequel."
Rockstar has had a tumultuous time recovering from its problems concerning hidden sexual content in its 2005 PC port of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. While the title shot to the top of the charts, it also drew a firestorm of criticism from the public and press about the "hot coffee" incident, from which the game company has never fully recovered.
Bully acted as yet another lightning rod in drawing criticism from activists and politicians about questionable game content. But the real reason for the apparent failure of the game to reach another sequel may be much simpler than bad press and protests–the game didn’t generate enough word-of-mouth recommendations from gamers, which quickly translated into stagnant sales.
