10 Video Games Banned Overseas For Ridiculous Reasons

Video games and controversy go together like salsa and tortilla chips. Ever since the first arcades came along, they've come under fire for everything from addiction and gambling to violent crime and self harm.

Some games are so pointlessly horrible that they get banned for good reason. There are several of those I can think of, but won't name here. Some are very silly, but it's easy to see how Sub-Zero ripping out his opponent's spine with his bare hands might ruffle enough feathers to make a scene.

Sometimes, though, video games are banned or censored in ways that just make no sense whatsoever. Australia and Germany are notorious for their pearl-clutching conservatism, as are any country that is remotely theocratic. But even by those standards, it's hard to see how the games on this list could pose a threat to public safety.

These ten games are proof that there will always be someone, somewhere, who finds the very notion of entertainment somehow appalling.

Online games have certainly had a tough time when it comes to banning and censorship. This is not entirely surprising, seeing as compulsive gaming has lead to deaths in the past with overly obsessive fans. One might see how an "addictive" MMORPG could suffer banning or restriction in the interest of public safety. But for the moral fiber of its content?

EverQuest is entirely tame, featuring no blood or graphic violence. But that's how they get you. They lull you into a sense of magical wonder, and before you know it, you're a violent delinquent.

Or, at least, that's what the government of Brazil thinks.

A Brazilian judge ruled that EverQuest encouraged the "subversion of public order" because it allowed players to portray evil characters, leading to banning the game in 2008.

That's 2008 - almost a decade after the game's original release. I'd say the damage is already done. By my calculations, Brazil is already swarming with evil wizards and enchanters.