The () is a Japanese entertainment rating organization based in Tokyo that rates video game content in console games with levels of ratings that inform the customer of the nature of the product and what age group it is suitable for. It was established in June 2002 as a branch of Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association, and became an officially recognized nonprofit organization under Japanese law in December 2003.

CERO rating marks

On March 1, 2006, CERO implemented the latest revision of its rating system. The symbols that CERO uses are stylized Latin letters, named after academic grading, except "F" is replaced with "Z". Each is meant to convey a game's suitability for minors. "CERO rating marks" are grouped broadly into "age classification marks" and "other marks". Age classification marks include the following five marks. One of the marks is indicated on the left bottom of the game box front, and a corresponding color bar is also shown on the box spine. (Bar colors: black for "A"; green for "B"; blue for "C"; orange for "D"; red for "Z")

Content icons

In April 2004, CERO defined the following "content icons". Content icons represent that the age classification decision has been made based on the expressions belonging to one (or more) of the content icons. They are grouped into nine categories. These icons are displayed on the back of all game boxes except on those rated "A" or "Educational/Database".

Former ratings

Rating process

According to Kazuya Watanabe, CERO's senior director, the group of assessors is composed of five regular people unaffiliated with the game industry. They are trained by rating past games. The rating process is determined by 30 different expressions, each with an upper limit. The expressions that exceed the upper limit are designated as "banned expressions". In addition, six expressions are not allowed and are also considered to be banned expressions. The expressions are categorized into four different types: "Sex-related expression type" (Love, Sexual Content), "Violence expression type" (Violence, Horror), "Antisocial act expression type" (Drinking/Smoking, Gambling, Crime, Drugs), and "Language and ideology-related expression type" (Language). Each expression is rated using the A to Z scale that the rating marks use. After the group evaluates the game, the results are sent to CERO's main office where the final rating attempts to use the majority of the evaluators' ratings.

Controversies and criticisms

Misrating

One month after the initial release of Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland, shipments of it were halted due to it having been misrated. It was re-released a few days later with a B rating from CERO. Its A (All Ages) rating was revoked and it was given a B (Ages 12+) rating instead, due to some suggestive themes featured in the game. The game was originally rated for all ages due to Gust allegedly not providing them with the complete content of the game for them to review.

Strict criteria

CERO has been criticized for being stricter on content in games when compared to other video game rating boards. CERO's criteria consist of refusing to rate games that have "banned expressions", which means that such expressions are not allowed even at the highest rating Z. A 2020 example being The Last of Us Part II. The game's sexual content, where a sex scene that is featured in the game was censored. In the Japanese version, the scene cuts out just a short time after both characters begin kissing, removing the nudity seen in other versions of the game. The game also received heavy censorship of its violence, as most of the gore and dismemberment seen in the game was removed in the Japanese version.

The Callisto Protocols Japanese release was canceled when the game did not receive a CERO rating due to the game's violent content, and the developer refused to make any necessary changes.

On 9 June 2025, Microsoft announced via Xbox Live Japan that Gears of War: Reloaded, the remaster of its first game, will not get a Japanese PlayStation 5 release. According to Microsoft, it's due to the "regional rating restrictions" and "platform policies". Although the Japanese Sony Interactive Entertainment accepted IARC ratings on PS Store on 10 March 2022, it still requires a CERO rating for titles rated 18+ as a measure to protect the youth.

Before March 1, 2006, the former four ratings (All, 12, 15 and 18) were all advisory. Until concerns had been raised to the game Capcom released on Japan Grand Theft Auto III, which was then banned from selling the game to anyone under 18 in two separate prefectures. As a result, which Capcom vigorously contested, the Japanese trade organization CESA (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association) suggested a voluntary program to prevent the sale of games rated 18 to minors. The ratings were renamed to letters, the D rating was made and Z became restrictive. CERO also revised the criteria to be stricter, causing contents that used to be allowed at a lower rating (even small or trivial materials) to raise the rating. In a 2015 compilation of columns that he wrote for Famitsu magazine, video game developer and Super Smash Bros. series creator Masahiro Sakurai criticized CERO for having stricter standards on sexual content than violence, citing conflicts that he had with the board over the character models for Palutena and Wonder Pink in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. According to Sakurai, the game was nearly delayed due to the developers needing to constantly revise the characters' models, which CERO considered "sexually provocative" due to the possibility that players could take upskirt shots with them. Sakurai claimed that these designs were never intended to be titillating, deriding CERO's demands as "ridiculous and frankly quite juvenile."

Notes

References

External links

• (in english)