VGG Media Types and Ratings Guide

This guide is intended to provide easy access to data on the convoluted history of regional ratings and platform media. Ratings and media type for a given system can be particularly hard to find, especially for older hardware. We hope this guide will become a valuable asset to our user base.

Region-locking or region coding is a class of digital restrictions management that prevents the use of certain products or services, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside of a specific country or territory. Essentially this prevents a Japanese game release for example, from being played on a North American video game console.

This practice is a common means of controlling product pricing and demand within a given area. Whilst rare within the video gaming hobby, some manufacturers have opted to region-lock their devices, prompting some dedicated gamers to find creative and oftentimes illegal ways around the lock-out. The practice has largely fallen out of fashion in recent years with the rise of digital distribution.

Region-Locked Consoles:

• Dreamcast
• GameCube
• Genesis
• Lynx
• NES
• Nintendo 3DS
• Nintendo 64
• Nintendo DSi
• PlayStation
• PlayStation 2
• Sega 32X
• Sega CD
• Sega Saturn
• SNES
• TurboGrafx-16
• Wii
• Wii U
• Xbox
• Xbox 360

Just like movies are rated based on their content, so too are video games. It is largely believed that video game ratings became mainstream in 1994 with the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). However many rating systems existed well before the ESRB's formation. Sometimes the local motion picture rating system was used in place of a video game specific one. Facing increasing pressure, particularly during the early 1990s, many video game companies voluntary implemented their own rating systems, such as Sega's Videogame Rating Council' (VRC) or the 3DO Company's 3DO Rating System.

Most current systems used for the classification of video games are associated with and/or sponsored by a government and the rating system used varies greatly with the country. The chart below lists the major rating systems and when they first took affect. The chart is in no way a complete list, with many countries using and discontinuing the use of several rating systems over the years. With the rise of mobile gaming some companies have opted out of government rating systems in favor of platform specific ones.

Country/Government Rating Systems:

[1] - VRC ratings were used in 1993 for Sega Genesis, Game Gear and CD titles in the US
[2] - This rating and it's timeline is also used for Canada (except Quebec) and Mexico
[3] - Not sure when this rating started

Company/Platform Specific Rating Systems:

[1] - Full name: Videogame Rating Council
[2] - RSAC stands for Recreational Software Advisory Council. They were an independent, non-profit organization founded in the US to rate PC games.
[3] - Not sure when this rating ended

All hardware requires media in some form to play a game. It ranges from tangible media such discs and cartridges to something intangible like a download.

The chart below groups hardware by "generation" (each generation spans roughly a decade) and lists what media types each one took. If you are unfamiliar with a system, some extra research may be required. For example the chart says that the PS3 takes DVD, Blu-Ray, and download. However it was only the early PS3s that took DVD. All later models were Blu-Ray and download only.

[1] - DLC stands for Downloadable Content.
[2] - N.O. Media stands for Nintendo Optical Media.