Brazil Bans Counter-Strike And EverQuest

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."