TOKYO--The Computer Entertainment Rating Organization (CERO), the Japanese equivalent of the ESRB, announced that it will be creating nine new ratings to identify video game content.

Up until now, CERO only used its ratings to suggest the recommended ages for four categories of games: all ages, ages 12 and above, ages 15 and above, and ages 18 and above. The new categories will identify potentially offensive material so parents and gamers can know what to expect before buying a game. The new ratings are: adult situations, sex, violence, horror, gambling, crime, smoking & drinking, drugs, and explicit language.

Like the ESRB ratings, the new CERO ratings will be used in conjunction with the previous age classifications, except for the inherently inoffensive all-ages category. Whether game publishers will be inclined to create less-violent or less-sexual games to not receive the new labels remains to be seen. Games packaged with the new ratings system will start appearing in stores after June.