Brazil Bans Bully

A judge in Brazil has banned the sale of Rockstar’s Bully, saying the game was inappropriate for children.

Judge Flavio Rabello said the game could not be imported, distributed, sold or promoted in the country, following a request for a ban from a local youth support center. State prosecutor Alcindo Bastos said retailers would have 30 days to comply with the order, adding that while JPF Maggazine is the primary distributor of Bully in Brazil, all software companies in the country would have to stop dealing with the game “because our intent is to ban the game, not the distributor.”

According to Judge Rabello, the biggest factor in the decision to ban the game was its setting: Bully takes place at the Bullworth Academy, a fictional boarding school in the New England area. “The aggravating factor is that everything in the game takes place inside a school,” the judge said. “This is not acceptable.” Bully is rated T (Teen) by the ESRB and 16+ by PEGI.

Take-Two Interactive spokesman Edward Nebb expressed regret that the decision will “prevent Brazilian consumers from enjoying Bully: Scholarship Edition,” but said the ban would have no material impact on the sales of the games.

In January, Brazil announced bans on Counter-Strike and EverQuest, claiming the games were “harmful to consumers’ health” and adding they encouraged “the subversion of public order, were an attack against the democratic state and the law and against public securty.”