The release of the Wii and 360 port of Bully is stirring up controversy among Canadian teachers.

"We're asking retailers to be responsible," Emily Noble, president of the Canadian Teachers' Federation, said Monday. "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?"

"What it does is it encourages kids to target other kids, to be a bully with other kids. This doesn't help us as teachers in the work that we're doing at school. It also targets teachers at the school as well," Ms. Noble said.

We find it ironic that Bully stirs up so much controversy in spite of the fact that it is among the most innocent games we've played recently. No one dies. No one is hurt. The main character spends most of his time preventing bullying, and all schoolyard justice is deserved, at least somewhat. This entire controversy probably wouldn't exist if teachers groups had actually played the game, in which the worst weapon is a slingshot, and the closest it comes to sex is a little innocent making out. The real reason this game stirs up controversy is that it does such a good job of expressing the unique horror of adolescences. No one would mind if it didn't hit so close to home.

Anyway, check out our screenshot gallery of the game. Or judge for yourself with the Valentine's Day trailer under the cut.

TheGlobeandMail: Teachers demand ban on bullying video game