"Nintendo exits gaming" is not a headline anyone wants to read, but for the people of Brazil, that's exactly what's happening. Gaming do Brasil, Nintendo's Brazilian distributor for the past four years, will no longer supply Nintendo product. Bill van Zyll, General Manager for Nintendo's Latin America division, explained in a statement (which I ran through Google Translate):
Brazil is an important market for Nintendo and home to many passionate fans but unfortunately challenges in the business local environment have made our current distribution model unsustainable in the country.
These challenges include high tariffs on imports that apply to our industry and our decision not to have a local manufacturing operation. Working together with the Juegos de Video Latinoamérica, we will monitor the evolution of the business environment and evaluate the best way to serve our Brazilian fans in the future.
What does he mean by high tariffs? Because of an old Brazilian law that classifies all gaming as gambling, game products are hit with a 120% tax. That means a $60 game here could cost anywhere from $130 to $150 down south!
Brazilian Nintendo gamers aren't completely up the creek. Since Latin America and North America share the same region, people can import their games without worry — importing has been cheaper than buying locally, anyway! You're screwed if you own a Brazilian console and want to buy anything from the (just as overpriced) eShop, however. In that case, your best bet is to cut your losses and just buy a machine from the US.
