The Ratings Guide

[tripredacus]

This thread is specifically to document the rating options for entries on the site.

On item entry pages, an image representing the selected rating may appear and may not match the actual design represented on the physical item. For ease-of-use, the entry image is the most recent version.

3DO
ACB (Australia)
aDeSe (Spain)
BBFC (UK)
CERO (Japan)
ClassInd (Brazil)
ELSPA (Europe)
ESRB (North America)
GRAC (South Korea)
GSRR (Taiwan)
PEGI (Europe)
RARS (Russia)
SELL (France)
SMECCV (Mexico)
USK (Germany)
VRC (United States)

The years listed below are approximate for when the designs first appeared.

You can post corrections or missing ratings to this thread.
Original Rating thread: https://vgcollect.com/forum/index.php/topic,8623.msg145212.html#msg145212

[tripredacus]

3DO
3DO has ratings for both the United States and Japan.


E: Everyone (US), 一般向 (JP)


12: Guidance for 12 & Under (US)


16: 16才未満不適 (JP)


17: Guidance for 17 & Under (US)


AO: Adults Only (US), 成人向 (JP)

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ACB (Australia)
Australian Classification Board

These began (and still may be technically considered) as OFLC (Office of Film and Literature Classification) however confusion may ensue due to New Zealand also using OFLC ratings that are different. These are the ratings for Australia only and they use the ACB marking on the entry pages.

First usage were labels on imports before Australian covers were made that had printed ratings. There are some instances of wide labels and wide wrap-around labels.
Later, the ratings were changed to color coded rectangles that were either printed onto covers or used a label for imports. There are other variations that can be found online, including metshael's Rating List that were not used on packaging, but these are found on other websites that talk about the rating. Those include the square color-based and older text-based ratings that use a different font than was actually used. This list will only show the ratings that are found on products that are covered in the database.

G: General


Back rating example of the second image above


Text rating missing the ACB logo (found on Rugby 2005, among others)


G8+
found with 2 fonts, with and with space


PG: Parental Guidance Recommended


M: Mature


M15+: Mature Unrestricted


MA15+: Mature Restricted


R18+: Restricted to 18 and over


There are other ratings that exist in the system but will not be added to this list as no examples have been found. If you know of any you can post in this thread.

E: Exempt from Classification

X18+: Restricted to 18 and over

RC: Refused Classification

CTC: Check the Classification

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aDeSe (Spain)
Asociación Española de Distribuidores y Editores de Software de Entretenimiento
1996-2003

TP: Apto para Todos los Públicos


+13: No Recomendado para Menores de 13 Años


+16: No Recomendado para Menores de 16 Años


+18" No Recomendado para Menores de 18 Años


If you have or know where to find better quality scans/representations of 13, 16 and 18, post about them here.

[tripredacus]

BBFC (UK)
British Board of Film Classification
1985-2010

Games did not start to receive ratings until the mid 1990s and up until 1999 (with exception of BBFC 12) the 1985 design was used. As with other examples, some games used labels instead of being printed on the cover.

The design history is:
1985 copyright at the bottom of BBFC text
1994 copyright (for BBFC 12)
1999 copyright
2002 copyright under rating, gradient font
2002 flat designs without copyright date or BBFC text

Enlarged view to show the copyright year on the original designs


U: 1985, 1999, 2002


PG: 1985, 1999, 2002


12: 1994, 1999, 2002


15: 1985, 1999, 2002


18: 1985, 1999, 2002


Expanded details can often be found on back covers


Home video releases also use these ratings and will apply to any such releases in the Merchandise/Videos section.

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CERO (Japan)
Computer Entertainment Rating Organization

Began in 2002 using numbers and changed to letters in 2006.

全年齢 / 全年齢対象


A / 全年齢対象 (replaced 全年齢 in 2006)


12 / 12才以上対象


B / 12才以上対象 (replaced 12 in 2006)


15 / 15才以上対象


C / 15才以上対象 (replaced 15 in 2006)


D / 17才以上対象


18 / 18才以上対象


Z / 18才以上対象 (replaced 18 in 2006)



本商品は
18歳未満
の方には
販売して
おりません

教育・データベース (for software)


審査予定 / レ一ティング (equivalent to rating pending)


規定適合 (for demos)

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ClassInd (Brazil)
Classificação Indicativa

Some releases have the rating inside of a long rectangle with additional text.

ER: Especialmente Recomendado para crianças e adolescentes


L: Livre


10: Não recomendado para menores de dez anos


12: Não recomendado para menores de doze anos


14: Não recomendado para menores de catorze anos



16: Não recomendado para menores de dezesseis anos


18: Não recomendado para menores de dezoito anos

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ELSPA (Europe)
Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association

There are two versions, 1994 with the checkmark or x over the age group and 1996 with just the age.
We only have options for the new rating value and the old style is grandfathered in.
3-10 = 3
11-14 = 11
15-17 = 15
18 = 18

3+


11+


15+


18+

[tripredacus]

ESRB (North America)
Entertainment Software Rating Board

Ratings in English are the default and primarily for the United States.
Ratings in English and French are for the United States and Canada.
Ratings in English and Spanish are for the United States, Mexico and other Spanish speaking countries in the Americas.

Some games have multiple releases where the rating is different based on where it is to be sold.

These ratings have gone though many design changes.
1994- white letter with a ™ (trademark) symbol, Content Rated by ESRB at bottom
1998- white letter, Content Rated by ESRB at bottom
2000- black letter with ® (registered trademark) symbol, Content Rated by ESRB at bottom
2013- black letter with ® (registered trademark) symbol, ESRB at bottom
2018- black letter, ESRB at bottom

EC: Early Childhood


French: Jeunes Enfants


Spanish: Niños Pequeños


E: Everyone


French: Enfants et Adultes


Spanish: Todos

K-A: Kids to Adults


French: Enfants et Adultes 10+

This rating was replaced by E and was not used on any product when the ESRB changed the design to the black letter. While you may find items that have the black letter K-A, this rating is only found on bootlegs.


E10+: Everyone 10+


French: Enfrants et Adultes 10+


Spanish: Todos +10

T: Teen, Ages 13+


French: Adolescents


Spanish: Adolescentes

M: Mature 17+


French: Jeunes Adultes


Spanish: Maduro +17

AO: Adults Only


French: Adultes Seulement


Spanish: Adultos Únicamente +18

RP: Rating Pending


French: Cote en Attente / Probablement Juenes Adultes 17+

Spanish: Aún sin Calificar / Probable Maduro +17

Ranged Ratings
Releases that contain multiple individually released games, such as re-packs, bundles and compilations may contain software that has multiple ratings. If those ratings are different, the rating shown will have a ranged value. Each of these different values should have their own option in the drop-down menu for rating on the item page. The earliest designs include text Products Range From at the top. Modern designs have esrb.org text.

E-E10+: Everyone to Everyone 10+


Spanish: Todos a Todos +10


E-M: Everyone to Mature


E-T: Everyone to Teen


E10+-M: Everyone 10+ to Mature 17+


E10+-T: Everyone 10+ to Teen


RP-M: Rating Pending to Mature


RP-T: Rating Pending to Teen


Back Ratings
The ESRB puts details about why a game is rated a certain way on the packaging. This is usually on the back cover or the bottom of a box. Since these can vary greatly based on the release, we will not show all of the combinations. Instead the major designs.

-

-

-

[tripredacus]

GRAC (Korea)
Game Rating and Administration Committee
게임물등급위원회

Introduced in 2006.
19 replaced 18 in 2024

ALL: 전체이용가


12: 12체이용가


15: 15체이용가


18: 18체이용가


19: 청소년이용불가


TEST: 평가용


Other ratings that exist but have not yet been found on any game releases. If you can find a game where these ratings are present, let us know.

RE: 등급면제


R: 등급분류거부


The following do not have any larger image. They are only found on the GRAC database site. If there are larger images, we would like to have them.

U: 등급분류결정취소예정


C: 등급분류결정취소

[tripredacus]

GSRR (Taiwan)
Game Software Rating Regulations
遊戲軟體分級管理辦法

0+ 普遍級


6+ 保護級


12+ 輔12級


15+ 輔15級


18+ 限制級

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PEGI (Europe)
Pan European Game Information

There are four designs
2003 white background with IFSE text
2003 black background with IFSE text
2009 color background with IFSE text
2010 solid color background

Finland has PEGI 11 and 15 and the background text is IFSE SUOMI
Portgual has PEGI 4 and 6 and the background text is IFSE PORTUGAL

The 2003-2009 ratings have a space between the rating block and the rectangle with www.pegi.info text. This space is shown in these representations as being white, but on actual items they may be white or transparent. Rating images below are only for instances where the rating has been seen on an item. As such, PEGI 4, 6 has no 2009 version and PEGI 15 only has the 2003 versions.

3


4 (Portugal)


6 (Portugal)


7


11 (Finland)


12


15 (Finland)


16


18

[tripredacus]

RARS / PCBP (Russia)
Russian Age Rating System
Российская Система Возрастных Рейтингов