January 19, 2008
The government of Brazil has imposed a ban on a pair of well-known PC games.Judge Carlos Alberto Simoes wrote that first-person shooter Counter-strike and MMORPG Everquest, both released in 1999, needed to be banned because they:
...[Encouraged] the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security.
As reported by AFP, the ban was immediately applied across the country. It's unclear why these two games, both originally released in 1999, were targeted. Each, however, has garnered its share of negative publicity over the years. In addition, local sensitivities may have been inflamed by a particular CS mod:
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.
Kotaku has a bit more, including letters from several Brazilian gamers who provide their take on the situation.




Comments
this kind of craziness is easily spread throughout the world, at least, imo.
Soooo... basically, all of a sudden "cops and robbers" is suddenly illegal?
Humans. Pathetic.
Nigthwng2000
NW2K Software
of course players of such evil will attempt to make these terrible crimes real...
Why god? Why did you allow such stupidity to remain alive on this planet?
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.
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.
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.
As for Counter-Strike it seems like straight-up corruption. The Counter-Strike mod acknowledges the problem of crime in Rio, and they don't want to deal with it. So down comes the banhammer--or in this case, ban-gavel.
Cross out the word "democratic" and you end up with something a dictator might say. What a shame.
I think they need a new sign to warn people when they go near any politial building.
*Caution: Slow Politicians at Play*
They're in the Arse-End of the western hemisphere.
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
http://pixel.valve-erc.com/review.php?ID=171
This is insane, inane and reeks of corruption harder than a celeron would smell of burnt plastic after a round of COD4. Or Bioshock. Or pretty much anything new for that matter. I wonder how they would welcome Dungeon Keeper and Overlord.
Don't frighten me like that.
Please.
Not Deus Ex. Never. I'll smugle copies in Brazil if I must.
*turns around when he hears a desparate plea, andlaughs at his /b/rotha's pain* Oh now this is entertaining. *motions cullarn to continue*
EQ and CS are clearly double-plus-ungood for citizens of Oceania.
"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 mean, geez...
"The counter strike was banned because, in experts opinion, teachs war strategies."
So??? If that if your countries concern to ban anything that promotes war strategies, what about Chess, or Army toys????
You gonna ban them too????
January 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
well, next they’ll be blaming super Mario brothers for encouraging drug use
After playing super mare-e-o brothers i popped mushrooms in hopes of getting "big" but instead i just ODed ...and died for totally diferent reasons,ill just say it had something to do with not using protection with hookers,thats right! one stabbed me)
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
"Good morning, i am brazilian and came here to say that CS: Source and Condition Zero are prohibited as well"
Thanks for the info, this is what I wanted to know. Can't you just simply get around the ban if you own your own gaming rig?
but they are mulcting and closing lan house that denies to uninstall CS from their computers
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*
What a great way to encourage software piracy throughout your nation. Maybe the judge is getting kickbacks from organized crime that sells copied games on the black market? How's Brazil's economy lately, is inflation still out of control? Always follow the money...
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.