It is also important to note that sometimes the same title may be awarded different ratings in a given territory, depending on the platforms for which the game is published. For example, the game Ghostbusters (2009), developed by three different US-based companies for different platforms, has different content depending on the target audience of the given platform, and consequently it was awarded different ratings; it obtained a rating of 12+ for the PS3 and the Xbox 360, and a 7+ for the Nintendo Wii, the DS and the PS2. According to Lovell (2009), this is due to the fact that the different platforms have different target audiences. While the Wii, the DS and the PS2 tend to appeal to a younger audience and are more family-oriented, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 have a much older user demographic. For this reason, the game platform on which a game is released becomes another factor to be taken into account when localizing a game, especially if the same rating is sought for all platforms and localized versions.
Another example is the American action game Saints Row: The Third (2011), which made the headlines because of its graphic sex toy depicting genitals. This led to issues with the Japanese ratings body CERO on the grounds that the object in question violated the CERO guidelines on the depiction of genitalia. Compared to the CERO’s rating of the game as Z (Ages 18 and up), its US counterpart ESRB gave it M (Mature 17+), subtly lower than its highest Adults Only (AO) category for audiences of 18+ (equivalent to the CERO Z rating). Furthermore, while this particular element reportedly caused a stir in Japan, it was not controversial in the US. Given that there are many adult-themed games developed and published in Japan, the Japanese reaction to this particular game seems somewhat incongruous. At the same time, Nintendo's strict internal criteria applied to their games for release in North America and Europe are implemented through their local companies, i.e. Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe. These examples serve to demonstrate that the notion of age criteria is company-specific as well as country-specific. Standardized universal criteria are something of a misnomer, particularly given the inherent cultural bias in assessing foreign-made content based on different cultural systems.
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