How game classification works in Brazil on Steam?

[なかの31]

I bumped into this while checking a silly game, whose classification doesn't make sense.
The game Stewart the Fox is classified as being for 10 years old or above for containing violence, but I played the game myself, and I didn't found any of that.

I believe that the most violent thing I saw in the game, is that when the character is hit by a moving object on the 4th stage, or touches a saw, the character starts bouncing around the scene like a ball before you're sent back to the checkpoint.

This situation is so bizarre, that I decided to search myself to see if I can find the age rating of the game with the reasons and...
http://portal.mj.gov.br/ClassificacaoIndicativa/jsps/ConsultarJogoForm.do

Nothing. If I search for the game name, "stewart the fox", I find nothing.

That's why I'm asking how the game classifications work.

[Pierce Dalton]

AFAIK that is set by the devs/pubs themselves.

[なかの31]

Hm, that make sense.
The dev said that marked the game as "Cartoon Violence", so...
Isn't the government that rates those games, it's Steam systems with developers input about their games.

[Chika Ogiue]

The same as it works for most countries. The developers (especially, indie) just pick what they think is suitable, without going through the respective certification processes.

I know this to be true because there's a lot of games in Japan listed as CERO Z that, if they had been submitted to CERO, would not have received a rating in their current state. That and those games are not listed in CERO's online database of rated titles.

Not that it matters, CERO shouldn't be rating PC games anyway--and have no power in that respect, but Valve also don't support the PC ratings board, EOCS.

[なかの31]

In Brazil case, Valve has to show the age rating of the game in the store in order for them to sell the game here, and also restrict by age who can visit its page.

There was even a case, I think was in 2017, where games vanished from the store because they didn't had age rating.

[Satoru]

Nakano28 a écrit :

In Brazil case, Valve has to show the age rating of the game in the store in order for them to sell the game here, and also restrict by age who can visit its page.

There was even a case, I think was in 2017, where games vanished from the store because they didn't had age rating.

Note that most rating systems are only used to restrict physical distribution. As such most games on steam don't use any rating system, because its simply not needed. Brazil doesn't actually require anyone to get an ERSB or equivalent rating. Its simply that most stores wont take a game if its not rated, and as such, console certification makes this process mandatory.

Steam doesn't require a rating system, and basically no law requires games to have one, and as such, basically most games on steam don't have it unless they need it for some other reason, aka console certification.

Note that IARC basically aligns mostly with the Brazilian system and as such most game companies simply get a ESRB/PEGI/etc rating which then basically translates to the Brazilian ClassInd system.

[なかの31]

That's kinda odd. Feels like copy-pasting the rates made by other certification company to the region.

[Chika Ogiue]

Nakano28 a écrit :

In Brazil case, Valve has to show the age rating of the game in the store in order for them to sell the game here, and also restrict by age who can visit its page.

There was even a case, I think was in 2017, where games vanished from the store because they didn't had age rating.

Are you sure the removals were due to ratings and not the introduction of local currency? Japan lost a lot of games when yen was introduced simply because publishers never updated to yen pricing.

For Japan, Valve should not allow the purchase of any game displaying a CERO Z rating with any payment method other than credit card. This is an age verification requirement for the sale of digital copies. But Valve have not implemented that. So it's a good thing CERO have no power over PC.

but my point is, I find it unlikely games vanished due to insufficient rating when Valve don't observe international rating requirements.

[なかの31]

Well'p, in Brazil's case that's a thing. Probably some law.
Also, last time Brazil currency changed was early 2000 or close to it, so couldn't be that the reason for 2017 episode.