Video games in Brazil
 | This article needs to be updated. (June 2019) |
Brazil is the 13th-largest video game market in the world as of 2021, 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 grey 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] An exception was Sega, which retained a strong foothold in the country with the Master System and Mega Drive.[3] Blaming high tariffs, Nintendo officially left the market in 2015, but returned in 2017,[4] though Nintendo actually returned in 2020 with Nintendo Switch. 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[which?] 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
- EGM Brasil, since 2002
- Nintendo World, since 1998
- Revista Xbox 360, since 2008
Brazilian video game rating[]
The ClassInd (advisory rating) is the institute responsible for the software given for review on Brazil.
See also[]
- Jogo Justo, an initiative to have tariffs on video games lowered
- Latin American communities and video games
References[]
- ^ "The Brazilian Gamer | 2017 | Newzoo". Newzoo (in American English). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ Teixeira, Marcelo (2 October 2015). "The Market for Video Games in Brazil". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ "Brazil Is An Alternate Video Game Universe Where Sega Beat Nintendo". 27 July 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Good, Owen S. (10 January 2015). "Nintendo ends console and game distribution in Brazil, citing high taxes". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Partridge, Jon. "Watch our video history of gaming in Brazil". Retrieved 4 January 2017.
- ^ Folha Online – Informática – Justiça proíbe Counter Strike em todo Brasil; Procon tenta recolher jogos – 18/01/2008. .folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved on 7 May 2011.
- ^ "Conheça Renato Degiovani: o pioneiro na indústria de games no Brasil". TechTudo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Entrevista: Renato Degiovani, o primeiro desenvolvedor brasileiro de jogos – Gizmodo Brasil". gizmodo.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "BIG Festival 2017 | Brazil's Independent Games Festival". bigfestival.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 17 July 2017.
External links[]
- ABRAGAMES (Brazilian Association of Game Developers) (in Portuguese)
- ACIGAMES (Commercial, Industrial and Cultural Gaming Association) (in Portuguese)
- ADJOGOSRS (Associação dos Desenvolvedores de Jogos Digitais do Rio Grande do Sul) (in Portuguese)(in English)
- Video gaming in Brazil