Brazilian judge bans violent video games

22 January 2008

A Brazilian judge has banned video games Counter Strike and Everquest after ruling they incited violence and were harmful to consumer health. Judge Carlos Alberto Simoes also said the games "encouraged the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public security."

The judge was reacting to opposition for an adapted version of the shoot 'em up Counter Strike, based in Brazil, which permits players to take on the perspective of either a police officer or a narcotic trafficker in Rio de Janeiro's slums.