Aesthetically, which age rating certificate do you prefer?

Marc_LFD · Mar 22, 2023

U.S. / Canada - ESRB
U.K. - PEGI and/or BBFC
Australia - ACB
Germany - PEGI and USK
Japan - CERO
Europe-EU Countries - PEGI

And the list goes, I reckon.

Personally, I quite like ESRB and CERO as they're small and blend in with the covers rather than take too much space and make them colorful.

Here's a cover ruined by rating certificates:

What stupid shit is this?!? Who thought this'd be a good idea! I'm surprised they didn't add more.

MGS Legacy Collection cover looks weird with the empty space due to the USK big ass logo:

81viZxs2zrL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_FMwebp_.jpg

Ideally, covers would not have any of this rating certificates, but we're forced to have them depending where you live and/or where you buy them from.

Asia81 · Mar 22, 2023

The big USK thing is disgusting.

Can't they make a simple, little and nice logo like the pegi one?

internaut · Mar 22, 2023

I like PEGI because it is simple and delivers exactly the information you need.

Marc_LFD · Mar 22, 2023

Asia81 said:
The big USK thing is disgusting.

Can't they make a simple, little and nice logo like the pegi one?

I thought PEGI was made in Germany, but turns out it's from Belgium. My point is, PEGI is for the whole of Europe (except Russia unless they import) and Germany is the one in charge of the EU so them having their own ugly rating certificate just baffles me.

Australia is also a PAL country so finding PEGI games there is probably not uncommon (better than the ACB logo as it is less intrusive).

Jeez, they still add it to the spine. I guess they were trying to copy the U.K. movie/show covers (BBFC established 1912 and ACB in 1970) as they do the same.

duwen · Mar 22, 2023

The USK abomination can fuck right off!

I don't mind ESRB or PEGI, but I don't like to see BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) certs on video games - especially when they appear alongside PEGI and USK marks... way to ruin boxart!

I also love the CERO marks - I had a tshirt that was the CERO Z cert

Latiodile · Mar 22, 2023

the 90's version of ESRB

Scarlet · Mar 22, 2023

Generally speaking the triple you posted on Xenoblade is something you'd only see on collector's edition games since I imagine due to the limited numbers, they'd rather have fewer variants they have to put together. The standard UK cover is just PEGI:

It's probably down to what I'm used to, but I do like PEGI the most. It's fairly non-intrusive and the colours are clear at a glance for those who actually use them in their purchasing decisions (parents mostly I'd guess?).

CoolMe · Mar 22, 2023

I would prefer if it's put in the back cover instead, leaving the front cover untouched.. But i guess it's more visible in the front, specially for parents to decide quickly, whether they'd buy it for their kids or not.

Post automatically merged: Mar 22, 2023

And the USK (Germany) one is just fugly..

BORTZ · Mar 22, 2023

Latiodile said:
the 90's version of ESRB

These are the correct ones

TheDerpyDolphin · Mar 22, 2023

I’ve always preferred ESRB, not because I grew up with it being from the US, but because it’s usually pretty small and out of the way yet still gets the job done. I also like how it’s black and white so it doesn’t pop out at you as much like the PAL equivalents.

Deleted member 194275 · Mar 22, 2023

I find japanese rating to be the less intrusive as it is all black with a white letter. There are times that they put a lot of squares, but it is rare.

But it do not really matter for collecting. If you value money, then get the most American version possible (no French or Spanish on the box, as this will offend the sensible American eyes when you resell in the future).

If you value gaming history, then go with the Japanese version for Japanese games, American version for American games and so on. I say that because on older media like books or paintings, derivative arts and translations have a fraction of the historical value of the original.

Jacobh · Mar 22, 2023

I’m from the US and while the ESRB ones have a nostalgia factor, from an aesthetic standpoint I’d say PEGI.

duwen · Mar 22, 2023

lokomelo said:
I find japanese rating to be the less intrusive as it is all black with a white letter.

yes

Marc_LFD · Mar 22, 2023

duwen said:
View attachment 360681

yes

Games rated Z sound so cool.

AncientBoi · Mar 22, 2023

I don't quite understand the question, as I don't see anything Wrong with this:

Marc_LFD · Mar 22, 2023

AncientBoi said:
I don't quite understand the question, as I don't see anything Wrong with this:

View attachment 360686

It's fine. I just prefer the black and white ones.

Covers with them in the rear would be better because these rating certificates are just suggestions.

GTA V was rated 18 by PEGI and Mature (17) by ESRB. And Elden Ring was rated 16 by PEGI and Mature (17) by ESRB... I don't really agree with these ratings/ages, but I digress.

Scarlet · Mar 22, 2023

Marc_LFD said:
It's fine. I just prefer the black and white ones.

Covers with them in the rear would be better because these rating certificates are just suggestions.

GTA V was rated 18 by PEGI and Mature (17) by ESRB. And Elden Ring was rated 16 by PEGI and Mature (17) by ESRB... I don't really agree with these ratings/ages, but I digress.

In some ways the ratings aren't all that different to review scores. Sure they give you a nice overview, but you'll generally find better information by reading the justifications behind the ratings.

Using Elden Ring as an example:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/38263/elden-ring/
https://pegi.info/search-pegi?q=Elden+Ring

The actual writing behind the ratings are fairly similar. A universal standard might be handy, but in the real world I really don't think it matters all that much with how much attention the majority of people pay to these ratings anyway.

Deleted member 194275 · Mar 22, 2023

Scarlet said:
In some ways the ratings aren't all that different to review scores. Sure they give you a nice overview, but you'll generally find better information by reading the justifications behind the ratings.

Using Elden Ring as an example:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/38263/elden-ring/
https://pegi.info/search-pegi?q=Elden+Ring

The actual writing behind the ratings are fairly similar. A universal standard might be handy, but in the real world I really don't think it matters all that much with how much attention the majority of people pay to these ratings anyway.

Universal standards is something that can't be. Cultural differences still is a thing.

baku-chan · Nov 8, 2023

I’ve gotta go with CERO, myself! It’s minimalist in a classy kind of way, even if it means that it’s hard to distinguish by color alone; you’re relying entirely on the letter itself there.

PEGI would be my second choice, as it’s unobtrusive and both to-the-point and easy to understand at the same time just by looking at it. Higher number = higher age restriction, plus the color system going from green to orange to red that reminds me of SEGA of Japan’s rating system for Saturn games. It’s elegant in both form and function; well done. CERO’s letters are cooler-looking but slightly less useful as you have to remember what age limits each letter refers to…

Australia’s ACB really gets the job done by providing more information in the form of descriptors right in front. It all comes at a cost aesthetically, though, making the rating box really large and cumbersome. This is often very annoying whenever it blocks large portions of the box art and screams you it to look at it, rather than said box art.

ESRB… if not for the cultural capital that the rating system has gained through infamy with some of the higher-rated games (and perhaps the circumstances of its creation in the first place, speaking of which), I have no idea how it would’ve ever had caught on with anyone. The old letters weren’t bad; they look distinctly 90s to me in a slightly charming sort of way. Said charm has been stripped out over the years after many questionable revisions that I could never make heads or tails of; ones that made the logos look ”flatter” and more boring. I’ve accepted it but never really liked it compared to the cooler- and more elegant-looking ratings logos from other countries.

Xdqwerty · Jan 27, 2024

Aesthetically, which age rating certificate do you prefer?

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