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Brazil Bans Counter-Strike And EverQuest
by David Jenkins [PC]
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January 21, 2008
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A Brazilian judge has confirmed a ban, first ordered in October last year, for first person shoot ‘em-up Counter-Strike and massively multiplayer online game EverQuest, on grounds that they incite violence and are “harmful to consumers’ health”.
According to an AFP report the Brazilian consumer protection agency in the central state of Goias has confirmed the move via its website, although the ban has not yet been implemented.
The report suggests that the ban for Counter-Strike may be due to a mod set in Rio de Janerio which allows users to play as a police officer or narcotics trafficker, instead of the usual terrorist and anti-terrorist teams. The reasons for the singling out of the aging EverQuest are less clear, with no mention made of other popular massively multiplayer online games such as World of WarCraft.
Judge Carlos Alberto Simones described the games as encouraging “the subversion of public order” and that they “were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security."
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try to make our local game market to grow up.
An important part of the society, do not even understand what a video game is. The economic,
cultural and technological implications, associated to the existence of the computer games,are
still misunderstood in our country. As a result, video game market is not mature yet. Game titles
arrive in Brazil by other ways instead of the legal market. So, the "Game Culture" is often
associated to "underground culture" or crime. Recently (since 2000) this situation is changing. The
interest for game development, specially at universities is growing. Events like SBGames (
Brazilian Symposia on Games and Digital Entertainment www.sbgames.org.br) are important to make
the change. I think that it is the time for all the developers community to participate, and help
us to make a mature game market.
Artur Corrêa
Brazilian Game Developer