In a word... wow. I mean, both these games were first released in 1999. Relevance, please?

"An adapted version in Brazil permitted players to take on the perspective of either a police officer or a narcotrafficker in Rio de Janeiro’s infamously crime-ridden slums."

Soooo... basically, all of a sudden "cops and robbers" is suddenly illegal?

Humans. Pathetic.

Nigthwng2000
NW2K Software

@Ben
They are still popular, big name games. More so in non-US countries where it seems that they inherit video game tech from about 5 years in the past.

Ok, I'll give them the Counter Strike arguement of "promoting violence agianst th law." But why EverQuest? How do you even make that connection? ... Well a sane INTELLIGENT one anyways

@nightwng2000

Pretty much, it's a hot button issue because we all know that authorities don't deal as they should with crime in Rio, which is out of control for a long time. So, instead of fighting the druglords from Rio, they want to bury the issue and pretend it's not happening. Except that they are, well, 9 years late. Tipical politician maneuver.

Also, the police and very likely a lot of politicians receive money from druglords in Rio and other places, to leave them alone. They want to take the heat off of them, again by pretending there isn't a war there.

Here, a lot of judges are the worst kind of scum, too.

I'm ashamed to see this. We have enough problems around here, and now some judge wants to "suffocate" an issue which is alive and well known and get some notoriety. And, not unlike in the US, there's the double standard. We recently had a movie called "Tropa de Elite", where a special division of the military police, "BOPE" (Special Operations Battalion), is showed and talk about their methods (using torture and the like to extract information from suspects of involvement with drug dealing. This very unit exists only to deal with the drug dealing, and the movie also shows a lot of how the police is corrupt. This movie was great success around here, and I don't see judges trying to ban it because it touches such a hot button issue, calling out the police and authorities corrupt and complacent with crime. They hit the games, soft target, as always.

@cullarn

I have no idea. That's my logic about counter-strike, but EQ apparently isn't even sold here. It may be even selected at random.

Speaking of Ban-Gavel, JT is being rather quiet lately.

"…[Encouraged] the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security."

Cross out the word "democratic" and you end up with something a dictator might say. What a shame.

@MacBoy

They're in the Arse-End of the western hemisphere.

Pominator said it better than I could.

I can remember the cs_rio map from counterstrike. I only played it a couple times, but it seemed very well done. Very depressing looking buildings, a nice looking beach, and a soccer field.

I think this map is the one I remember:

http://planethalflife.gamespy.com/View.php?view=CSFiles.Detail&id=1902

So, after the ban on video games finishs up down in Brazil, and their problems still rampant, what will they blame and ban next? The awesomely bad music of the 80's? Comic books? Air?!

@Pominator: Why doesn't God strike them down? Becaue He's too busy playing Everquest and CS:Source to bother.

The reason for banning Everquest, according to Brazilian gamers who have written to Kotaku, is one of the most absurd things I've ever heard. Banning a game because it has moral choices, and the character can perform good or bad actions? Well, I guess they need ban a lot more than Everquest now. Ban every Western-style RPG ever made.

hope they didnt plan on playing deus ex

Those morons in Brazil bitch about everything. Don't get me started on that Simpsons ep where they go to Rio.

1999? Talk about too little too fucking late.

*turns around when he hears a desparate plea, andlaughs at his /b/rotha's pain* Oh now this is entertaining. *motions cullarn to continue*

[...] Brazil bans Everquest and Counterstrike. Took them what, 9 years? Counterstrike and Everquest were banned in Brazil. According to the 17th Federal Jurisdiction of the Judiciary Seccion of Minas Gerais State veredict, both games are too violent and do not respect the Consumer Defense Code. In the Minas Gerais Justice interpretation, both games go against the definition that forbids sales of products dangerous to public health. In both games, users are exposed to violence situations. [...]

@Koku
"well, next they’ll be blaming super Mario brothers for encouraging drug use"

It can be said that they were the perfect market boost for psychedelic mushrooms :P

I'm all for this ban. Maybe the people still playing them will realize there's other games!

I mean, geez...

the fallout series will also be banned as well as thief series

[...] Source: Brazil Bans Counter-strike, Everquest Bookmark it: [...]

Good morning, i am brazilian and came here to say that CS: Source and Condition Zero are prohibited as well
but i don't know about everquest 2
and we don't have a clue if they are going to shutdown the servers... i hope not :(
bye

for now looks like the only thing that was prohibited is the commercialization of the game, so no servers were closed, everyone is still playing here
but they are mulcting and closing lan house that denies to uninstall CS from their computers

"Up next is that darn Grand Theft Auto 3 game. I've been hearing some naughty stuff about THAT one..."

C'mon, Judge Simoes, if you want to get all bitchy about video games, have the sense to take a shot at one that hasn't been around for an age and a half.

And my apologies, Tulio, but it looked like you said they were mulching and closing the LAN houses to me, which popped this conversation in my head:

"So, you STILL won't uninstall CounterStrike off your computers?"

"No! I'm putting my foot down on this one."

"Fine, be that way. HIT IT, MANUEL!"

*large crane picks up shop, and drops it in the world's largest wood-chipper*

"GAHHH! You bastards! What've you done? I'll have your jobs for this, you..."

"Well, if you're gonna get huffy about it..."

*walks over, and hammers a "Closed" sign into the rubble*

"for now looks like the only thing that was prohibited is the commercialization of the game, so no servers were closed, everyone is still playing here
but they are mulcting and closing lan house that denies to uninstall CS from their computers"

That is most certainly good news. We need to find an official news scource so that GP can update this story with valid information.

...Still sucks though.

Too bad no one really gives a shit about Everquest.

[...] Gamepolitics [...]

Thank you Brazilian government for taking the stupidest government title with respect to internet & game knowledge from my Australian government. You rock!

[...] So. The only conclusion possible: No next gen games for us normal people! We can continue with our recent acquired Playstations 2 or go to the Lan to see people playing Counter Strike until now a days. Ah No! Justice just just prohibited it from being played, well remembered! Well, at least not until someone takes good sense to those taxes system we are fucked up, thats all. But y’know, there’s always an easier way to run from taxes. And there are some other points to take about it. [...]

tankuo