Videogame Rating Council

The Videogame Rating Council (V.R.C.) was introduced by Sega of America in 1993 to rate all video games that were released for sale in the United States on the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Sega CD, and rarely, some computer games. The rating had to clearly appear on the front of the box and on all the advertisements for the video game.

Ratings

The three different ratings were as follows:The rating symbols appear above in their standard black and white format, but were typically recolored when appearing on actual box art.

Before the Videogame Rating Council

While rival console manufacturer Nintendo enforced strict content guidelines for games released on its hardware, Sega differentiated itself with a more liberal content policy, allowing for the depiction of blood and graphic violence in software released on its home consoles, provided that the publisher label the game's packaging with a generic "Parental Advisory" warning.

The first company to take advantage of this greater levity was publisher Razor Soft. In 1990, they released a Sega Genesis port of the 1988 home computer game Techno Cop, which depicted criminals and civilians (some of whom were children) spraying what appeared to be blood when shot at. Even with its graphic content, the game had limited commercial success.

In 1991 Razor Soft released a second home computer port for the Genesis titled Stormlord, a fantasy adventure game centered around the rescue of female fairies from an evil queen. The...
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