Why did Wario Land Shake It get a higher age rating?

[CM30]

I'm not sure what the situation is in America, but it's a bit weird how the last few Wario Land games (including Shake It) have gotten a somewhat higher age rating than the first four...

For example:

Wario Land 1: 3+
Wario Land II: 3+
Wario Land 3: 3+
Wario Land 4: 3+
Wario Land The Shake Dimension: 7+

http://www.pegi.info/en/index/global_id/505/?searchString=wario+land

And then for others... a bunch of WarioWare games get a 7+ rating, a few more get a 3+ rating, World gets a 3+ rating and Master of Disguise gets another 7+ one.

Huh?

It's not like Shake It and Master of Disguise are any more 'over the top' than Land 4 or World, is it? And how is Game & Wario scarier than any of the actual Wario games? I mean okay, Gamer is a bit scary to some... but compared to the Wario Land 4 bosses when annoyed (like Spoiled Rotten) or some of the World bosses... it's nothing.

So yeah, what gives? What's with the weird age rating disrepencies here?

 

[SurrealBrain]

It's really odd in that it doesn't seem as prevalent in the US. These are the ESRB ratings according to my research.

Wario Land Series:
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3: E
Virtual Boy Wario Land: E
Wario Land 2: E
Wario Land 3: E
Wario Land 4: E
Wario Land: Shake It!: E

WarioWare Series:
WarioWare Inc: Mega Microgame$: E
WarioWare Inc: Mega Party Game$: E
WarioWare: Twisted: E
WarioWare: Touched: E
WarioWare: Smooth Moves: E10+
WarioWare: Snapped: E
WarioWare: DIY: E
WarioWare: DIY Showcase: E
Game & Wario: E

Other Wario Games:
Wario's Woods: E
Wario Blast: E
Wario World: E
Wario: Master of Disguise E10+

Only two Wario games on that entire list are rated E10+. It boggles the mind, really...

 

[Dumribble]

If I have to guess, the ratings are inconsistent because the people of ESRB working on the games were different each time around, especially when comparing games that were released in different time periods. Another possible reason would be laziness/not giving much thought to ratings when comparing games released around the same time period.

 

[CM30]

Interesting idea, although these are recent PEGI ratings. They're for the Virtual console games.

And yes, it's definitely different in the US. Weird how WarioWare Smooth Moves was seen as the more 'edgy' game over there...

 

[Koopaul]

Poop is edgy. It's the reason why Nintendo Land is rated E10+.

You get eaten in Nintendo Land's Pikmin game and turned into poo. Since WarioWare has lots of poo, it'll be rated that way too.

 

[AwesomeCauliflower68]

gambling

 

[CM30]

gambling

That's an interesting point given the casino levels. Although I don't think it's ever affected those in other platformers, has it?

Still, given what happened to the Game Corners in Pokemon, I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[AwesomeCauliflower68]

That's an interesting point given the casino levels. Although I don't think it's ever affected those in other platformers, has it?

Still, given what happened to the Game Corners in Pokemon, I wouldn't be surprised.

on the australian rating it says gambling references and violence

 

[CM30]

on the australian rating it says gambling references and violence

On the European one, it just says:

It contains: Non realistic looking violence towards fantasy characters - Violence that is set in a cartoon, slapstick or child like setting that could be upsetting to very young children

http://www.pegi.info/en/index/global_id/505/?searchString=wario

Meanwhile, the other four games just say:

It contains: Violence that is set in a cartoon, slapstick or child like setting

 

[Wario=$$]

Wario shakes his but like they said in the new smash bros, and captain syrup is a babe. I guess thats why it is or thats what I guess

 

[Waluigi]

I bet a bunch of prudes on the committee saw Wario scratching his hypnotic ass and were all like "Oh my! We can't let our young children be exposed to such grotesque vulgarity!"