Brazil bans the evil sold in EverQuest and Counter-Strike

Brazil is taking a hard line against two nearly decade-old computer games that federal officials say incite violence and harm consumer health. Since 17 January, the games Counter-Strike and Everquest have been banned from sale in Brazil. The order comes into effect following an October 2007 Brazilian federal court decision, …

[Tim]

Rio

cs_rio was most definitely the finest counter-strike level released. It was actually re-released with a different track playing on the radio because the original hiphop track was too offensive for some.

None the less I don't recall feeling a particular sympathy with the Rio gangs, nor did I ever read the intro which presumably told of the trauma the UN officials faced. Oh well, a stitch in time...

[Anonymous Coward]

"The Terrorists Win"

It's great when "Feds" are unable to distinguish between real-world "war strategy" and game "tactics".

I assume that they will also close down their military academies (naughty strategies being taught there) and hopefully retrain police officers on indoor assault using long sessions of cs_milita and de_museum or some such.

So who exactly is the retard who has to look good on the family policy panel?

[Anonymous Coward]

Counterstrike_Source

Old Counterstrike is very popular. 17,001 years of player time each month is spent on counter-strike from a total of 19,808 years (for every game on steam including CS_Source

Odd to think 149,027,583 man hours were spent playing counter-stirke each month.

[Anonymous Coward]

wrong game publisher?

EA doesn't distribute counterstrike, Valve does

[Ashlee Vance]

Re: wrong game publisher?

I believe EA is the official distributor of Counter Strike in Brazil.

[Anonymous Coward]

RE: wrong game publisher?

http://www.info.ea.com/news/pr/pr651.htm

"July 18, 2005 – Electronic Arts, the world’s leading interactive entertainment company and Valve®, the award-winning studio behind the blockbuster franchises Half-Life® and Counter-Strike™, today announced that the two companies have entered a multi-year agreement to deliver a collection of Valve games to players worldwide."

[Anonymous Coward]

And to think someone pays...

...these numpties to make crack-pot decisions like these.

Now that's the real scandal here.

[Austin Modine]

Game publisher

@Anon

EA does distribution for Valve in Brazil.

http://www.brasil.ea.com/news/15691/

[Aaron]

what a waste

what a waste of peoples time and effort, how many man hours and brazil tax's were spent on this. To ban two games that arnt even all that popular anymore. I know CS was big but nothing like it used to be back in the day they are talking about for this.

Also its not going to stop anyone that already has it or just wants to buy it online. Also EA do have a major point in that they and valve never had anything at all to do with this FAN made map.

Its a sad day when software gets banned because of mods that other people make for it that the original developers cant do anything about or forsee. Imagine I made a mod that did some cool stuff to windows but it kept popping up messages saying down with democracy etc, should windows be banned? hell no the mod should of course be denounced and possible even try to be blocked because of issues,

Anyways rant over :)

[Andy Worth]

Counter-strike

I used to play CS a lot, and all I remember of cs_rio was wanting to kill the other team, whichever team I started on. I don't recall any desire to go to Rio and take some UN hostages once I stopped playing. But then I guess anyone who is a member of some "family values" committee has to do something to justify their wages, without actually tackling any of the real, and more difficult issues.

[michael]

I can sleep safe in my bed

now that 10 year old games are band and I am safe form such dangers and piculated terrorists and lissardmen when I go to brisial

(as a note are they banning counter strike source as well? the terrorists are not as pictulated on that)

[Andy S]

re: game publisher

Valve do the steam distribution, EA do the retail distribution.

I assume this is jusrt a ban on the retail version, presumably any halfway competant gamer can still download it via steam

[Steven Foster]

Oh My God

A Game that lets you chose between "Good" and "Evil"?

Ban this blasphemy at once!

[Mat]

Ahh..

Brazil - The country where 'street children' are routinely shot.. It seems that the authorities there have been playing the banned games for a while now..

[matt]

Everquest

Funny, I dont remember any of the gangs using magic in City of God!

(Yes I did post this when the Inq reported it yesterday, but as the reg never links there I'm hoping to get away with a pea roast : )

[Luke Wells]

Lets ban woolfenstien 3d

This old game encourages naughtiness in people with DOS based PC's .... down with them ... boo.... hiss

[Andy Lamb]

re: game publisher

The Steam CDS (appears to) use geographical IP address validation, so if your country (Austria for example) uses a German ISP, you get the censored copies. So one would assume that braziliant-Brazil will now no longer have access to the purchase button on the VALVe store for CS (And CS:S).

On a side note, this is how Steam will charge up to double the price for some games when comparing US/UK pricing.

[steve]

Ban pong!

We should ban this game! It teaches kids to bounce balls off white boxes!

Also, we should ban Mario! That little shite is doing mushrooms!

Won't someone think of the children!?

[Ben Cross]

@ Luke Wells

Yes, it certainly causes hatred against the "Nazi's".

Disgusting, They are a group that should be respected for their beliefs, not killed in a pixelated video game where the game is based on a load of red/black squares in a particular order.

Oh and games like Monkey Island should be banned too...or just old games where the graphics can never be high enough, shocking.

[Dr. Mouse]

LOLololol....

/me picks self up from the pool of urine on the floor

This is hilarious!

I, personaly, was a big fan of the Action mod for Quake 2 (Although I wasnt very good). I actualy ran a gaming league in the IT dept of my high school, using all proceeds to upgrade the computers (so we would get better frame rates... I mean to improve the students learning experience).

I got shut down because I made a map of the school... Well actualy because I made a map of the school and placed models of my most hated teachers dotted around, and one of them walked in when a load of us were shooting her. Anyway, I could not understand it then and I cant now. Neither myself nor any of my fellow gamers were doing any more than having a laugh, none of us started being violent (IMHO the games let you sate your violent nature in a controlled environment), and the school lost out (especialy when we started playing it on the net anyway)

And you cant say that tactics in any computer game are like the real world. ITS A GAME FOR CHRISTS SAKE, STOP WHINGING!

[Anonymous Coward]

Unreal

UT has "contemporary" Special Forces v Terrorist settings too. Maybe none of them actually set in Brazil, but they *could* be.

Are they banning WoW too? That's even more dangerous, because neither side is easily identifiable as "Good" or "Evil"; they've both got morally ambiguous attitudes and history.

[Rafael]

Ho hum

OK, ban it (I never liked it anyway). Make it as illegal as pirated software, which is sold practically in every city with more than 50.000 inhabitants, often openly.

[Spleen]

Amazing

I'd be confused even if this was Zimbabwe or North Korea. Brazil is supposed to be a very modern country, at the forefront of South America's development. It's flabbergasting that their government could be so behind the times and not even ask "by the way, are there any other games like these?"

[Vladimir Plouzhnikov]

Banning the sales of non-selling products - simple

Banning sales of 2 obsolete products a) does not hurt relashionship with any publisher and b) does placate the Pope and the concerned God-fearing, neighbour-shooting citizens. Win win on the political front and a non-issue from any other perspective. Could have banned Black & White with the same effect...

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes,

Thats nuts....

[Shakje]

Re: Banning the sales of non-selling products - simple

As mentioned before, 1.6 far outstrips any other game on Steam, and there's still a lot of money in it for Valve, with the introduction of in-game adverts quite recently, and of course the banning for a year of accounts caught cheating by VAC (thus insuring £10 every couple of months from the dedicated ones). It's a shame, because Brazil have done quite well over the years in competitive CS, and most people who were into that side of things would know the name of MIBR very well.

What I'm curious about is what happens to the people who have already bought the game?

[Ben Cross]

@ AC - 10:09 GMT *Unreal*

To be honest, the points behind their dispute surely are leading us to believe that they have nothing better to do than think about "Brazil's" public image via a computer game - which is ultimately made up and doesn't stand for a lot, except lots of money going into the producers pockets.

In WoW (I've played it for approx 2 years~) there isn't really "good" nor "evil"..both factions can be percieved which ever way you prefer.

do you like fantastical type characters or more human looking versions.

ie:

green orcs or humans

brown cows (tauren) or night elves

blood elves or draenei

trolls or dwarves

undead or gnomes

Ok well that went minorly off the subject, but the point is that banning a game such as Counterstrike for the reasons given is completely stupid. I mean if CS were to have a map based in London, UK or something, would all of the politicians start jumping up and down hoping it got banned.

*tumbleweed*

(Probably yeah) What a sad Indictment of the world we live in today where no-one's free to do anything without the accusation of having alterior motives.

[Anonymous Coward]

It's just a front

Vladimir has the right idea. Brazil is by no means a puritan country or repression haven (nevermind the military goverment in the 60s-70s). Hell, we still see boobies on prime time. Someone probably is just trying to strike a pose to the evangelics. Evangelics being, of course, the poor man's church of choice here, since none of the catholics would give a damn. Ban 2 obsolete games and strike a pose. Win-Win for the mofo being paid do this, and for the zealots who elected/"suport" him. And by support I mean flat out bought. As someone has pointed out in another thread, the punishment for corruption over here is an early retirement with a few hundred millions in the bank and an *monthly* allowance that could feed a family of 5 for 3 years

However, it does set a dangerous precedent. Every sane brazilian enjoys our free spirited ways, where despite the huge banner saying "Alchool will not be sold to minors" behind the counter, you can walk in ask for a beer if you are 15 and no one will look at this scene sideways. With this ban being passed now, it shows that the zealots are gaining power, and they are watching and mimicking the US red states puritanism, which would be catastropihic to our way of living.

I can imagine my home being raided while playing D&D with the lads... how would I explain that my lvl 34 Bleak Guard is not really a (chaotic) evil paladin doing Satan's dirty work but a figment of imagination and stats in a character sheet. Lord knows the neighbours have overheard the more intense game sessions over the years and could be just waiting to call in the swat teams.

Posting anon. Because I can.

[Ishkandar]

Brazil ?? They're nuts !!

We hold them to be self-evident truths !!

Even she has heard of them, shurly !!

[Chris Cheale]

Read EC VAT regulations

----

On a side note, this is how Steam will charge up to double the price for some games when comparing US/UK pricing.

----

Much as I hate this, this is how it works (EU VAT legislation for goods and services 101):

Games (software) delivered physically (box, disc etc) are treated as "goods" and are therefore VAT-able at the rate of the country of origin - .e.g. you buy a game from the US you pay the US $ price since the relevant taxes are already in the price. HM Customs and Excise may well slap you with import duty of course.

Games delivered electronically are treated as "services" - this means that they are subject to VAT at the point of delivery. So, in the UK an extra 17.5% needs to be added onto the price. This means that when I bought "The Orange Box" it was actually cheaper to order the physical product from Game's website than it was to download over Steam.

This was done because the EU was not getting any cash from online services (subscription based mmogs for instance) based out of the States - which most of them are.

[Doug Lynn]

Everquest and Counterstrike

Hi, been a avid gamer for 30 years, but as a Christian I won't play games with magic or sorcery. What people don't seem to realize is there are people in this world who take sorcery very seriously and practice it. I have heard stories from Christians who were formally involved in the occult, its real but really evil. I don't think its mentally healthy to role play evil characters even as a grown adult gamer of 57 and definitely not as a young teenager. Did you guys here about the 16 year old who played Grand Theft Auto running over prostitutes and then got a real car and did the same? So Everquest, Doom(sorcery consulted, gives me the creeps), WOW, and such games are not on my list. Although I do played Duke Nukem, Descent and Unreal alot. I should have kept my original Pong game too. I was writing Pacman for Heathkit computers but Midway wanted $10000 for a license. Those where the days...I build the first comsumer available H8 computer from Heathkit in 1978 and an H89 and they are mothballed in my garage and are in working order!!! Wish I hadn't given away my Altair computer someone gave me...

[steogede]

War Strategy

>> Feds contend the game teaches "war strategy" to its audience.

Next they will be burning books. I recommend they start with Sun Tzu's Art of War.

[Daniel Sobral]

Retail, Online and Playing -- Actual Information

Both retail and online selling have been outlawed. Playing, though, has not.

I find it curious that EA "has not been notified". Where they not involved in the lawsuit? It was a civil lawsuit, btw, brought by a branch of the government (maybe the brazilian FCC equivalent).

The judge is at the very least ignorant, and whoever initiated the lawsuit is a cretin. Me, I think both wanted media exposure. It's an election year, after all.

[Anonymous Coward]

Feds contend the game teaches "war strategy" to its audience.

Heh. I can only imagine we'll see members of the Brazilian military using the "war strategy" of bunny-hopping around to avoid bullets :)

[Anonymous Coward]

Doug Lynn

So some weak minded idiots got caught up in a con game of their own making, and that means magic is real?

Ah, you're a superstitious moral primitive (you believe in an invisible friend and that morals have to be imposed by that invisible friend to be valid).

How seriously people take something doesn't mean it actually is important, or dangerous *in itself*. It's the weight people give to such rubbish that gives it effect. Football is a trivial game until money and tribalism (aka the search for identity in a dehumanised society) get involved. Soap operas are utter fucking cobblers until ratings wars and marketing get involved and people start investing them with significance. More people have been hurt by football or soap operas than have been hurt by "magic" or "sorcery".

[Phil]

The brazilians can still play everquest 2 then?

@Doug Lynn

I'm also a bible loving, creation believing, global flood believing, born again Christian. I LOVE everquest2 and play a wizard. There's a huge difference to playing a character such as those found in games such as EQ2, and sorcery as described in the bible.

Are you against Harry Potter too? Pointy hat and fantasy wizards and witches are not what the Bible is talking about. Most such Christians seem to have no problem with the Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, that has a witch, but its written by a Christian, so that makes it OK?

I would NEVER touch the anything to do with the occult, again there's a difference to my wizard casting a spell that lets me turn into a tiger for 5 mins on a game and me devil worshipping.

Saying that, I can understand someone whose been involved in the occult, wanting to stay clear of anything that might remind them of such things.

I didn't hear about the Grand Theft Auto guy, but I have heard of Christians Bombing abortion clinics. The actions of a few deranged humans shouldn't make the rest of us sit around in padded cells playing with cotton wool just in case we get the urge to hurt someone.

[David Evans]

EA won't be bothered...

...as everyone in Brazil plays pirated games anyway. And I'm sure the guys selling pirate games alongside the dodgy porn and reggaton CDs in downtown Rio will withdraw these dangerous evil games from their rickety sales tables immediately. Or not.

[Alfred R. Baudisch]

Doug Lynn

I just want to ask Doug Lynn about the following comment if he was serious or making a joke? "But as a Christian I won't play games with magic or sorcery. What people don't seem to realize is there are people in this world who take sorcery very seriously and practice it."

Thats because at least I am not anymore in the Middle Ages! Inquisition is over. There aren't "witches", "magic" and so on.

[J]

Ah, Brazil...

You guys think your politicians/bureaucrats are stupid and corrupt here in the Northern lands? You should get a taste of our ones in Brazil. After that you might even think things are not so bad in the UK/US most of the time...

As AC said above, it's someone pandering to the evangelical nuts (their number is growing faster than mushrooms on manure after a warm summer rain) in election year.

[Steve P]

@Andy S

"presumably any halfway competant gamer can still download it via steam"

If the game is actually banned in Brazil then Valve won't sell it to you if they think you come from Brazil.

I live in New Zealand, where the game Manhunt is banned. I can't even get to the purchase page within Steam - it redirects me away to the main game list. Nor can I get to the games collection which includes Manhunt.

I don't know how this all works if you owned a copy of the game before the ban came into effect.

Nor do I know how 'deep' their detection is - it could simply be some setting in my profile somewhere. I've not really been that concerned about trying to find out how they do it - I don't actually want Manhunt, but I was interested in seeing whether they would sell it to me. :)