Video games in Brazil

Brazil is the 13th largest video game market in the world as of 2017, and the largest in Latin America, with a revenue of 1,3 billion US dollars.[1] Video games were not permitted for import into Brazil until the 1990s, and were then heavily taxed as non-essential goods. As a result, a black market developed around pirating games, driven by the lack of official channels for purchasing games. Many game companies avoided expansion into the country for these reasons until 2009.[2] Blaming high tariffs, Nintendo officially left the market in 2015, but returned in 2017.[3] Sega once retained a strong foothold in the country.[4] In a three-episode series named Red Bull Parallels, Red Bull explored the country's relation with gaming.[5]

Censorship

In January 2008, the marketing of Counter-Strike was prohibited in the Brazilian territory by judicial decision. The judge argued that Counter-Strike and EverQuest games subvert social order.[6]

It has since been lifted, although EverQuest is still illegal in physical form in Minas Gerais.

Video game development

Video game development exists in Brazil since as early as 1983, when Renato Degiovani developed the first computer games in Portuguese called "Aventuras na Selva" (later renamed Amazônia) and "Aeroporto 83" (Airport 83) for a computer specialized magazine called "Micro Sistemas".[7][8] Several years have passed with little to no significant development until the 2000s, when several companies started creating advergames and/or MMORPGs, and universities started offering game development degrees. Hoplon was one of the first to be successful in the industry with Taikodom.

The 2010s have been marked by a growing number of studios getting bigger relevance with proprietary indie game titles. The BIG Festival (Brazilian Independent Games Festival) was conceived in 2012 and is held every year in São Paulo, gathering game industry professionals from the country and abroad and promoting indie titles for the Brazilian market.[9]

The biggest game dev scenes are from São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Brasília.

Game developers from Brazil
Company Location Founded
Tectoy Campinas 1987
Continuum Entertainment Curitiba 1998
Hoplon Infotainment Florianópolis 2000
Behold Studios Brasília
Reiza Studios Maringá 2009
Swordtales Porto Alegre
Aquiris Porto Alegre
JoyMasher
Luderia
MTI Studios
Insolita São Paulo
Duaik São Paulo
Sue The Real Studio São Paulo
Jynx Playware Recife
Oktagon Rio de Janeiro
Doubledashstudios Rio de Janeiro
Aoca Game Lab Bahia 2016
Team Zeroth Bahia 2014
Rumbora Party Games Bahia 2018

Media

Print Media

Brazilian video game rating

The ClassInd (advisory rating) is the institute responsible for the software given for review on Brazil.

See also

References
  1. "The Brazilian Gamer | 2017 | Newzoo". Newzoo. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  2. Teixeira, Marcelo (2 October 2015). "The Market for Video Games in Brazil". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  3. Good, Owen S. (10 January 2015). "Nintendo ends console and game distribution in Brazil, citing high taxes". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  4. "Brazil Is An Alternate Video Game Universe Where Sega Beat Nintendo". 27 July 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  5. Partridge, Jon. "Watch our video history of gaming in Brazil". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  6. Folha Online - Informática - Justiça proíbe Counter Strike em todo Brasil; Procon tenta recolher jogos - 18/01/2008. .folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved on 2011-05-07.
  7. "Conheça Renato Degiovani: o pioneiro na indústria de games no Brasil". TechTudo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  8. "Entrevista: Renato Degiovani, o primeiro desenvolvedor brasileiro de jogos - Gizmodo Brasil". gizmodo.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  9. "BIG Festival 2017 | Brazil's Independent Games Festival". bigfestival.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-07-17.
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