History Main / SameContentDifferentRating

*** In JSaB case, it is possible it got that rating because of two songs with explicit lyrics, that is "Destroid 8 Annihilate" and "Rainbowdragoneyes - Creatures ov Deception", the latter had lyrics completely removed in the game worldwide due to being absolutely inappropriate.

** "VideoGame/JustShapesAndBeats" Switch port and [[VideoGame/Portal|Portal: Companion Collection]] both have '''18+''' rating for absolutely unknown reasons. They have different ratings on the other platforms.

* ''Franchise/TombRaider'' was generally rated T and the [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Survivor series]] bumped it up to an M rating due to the more realistic depictions of violence and gore. The 2024 remaster of the first three games from the Playstation 1 were bumped up to an M rating, despite the fact that the violent content remained the same from the original games. Shortly after, the rating was bumped back down to a Teen rating after a few weeks.

* The ''VideoGame/SpaceChannel5'' series received an A rating in Japan and 3+ in Europe (both of which are those countries' equivalents to the E rating), while America gave it a T rating, because of Ulala dressing in skimpy, sexy outfits (as Classic Game Room put it, "Basically, she's half-naked throughout the whole game, which is good."). Apparently Japan and Europe don't have any problem with how girls dress, while America makes a big stink about it. However, in the E10+ rated ''VideoGame/SegaSuperstars'' series, Ulala appears in all of the games, [[http://www.esrb.org/ratings/synopsis.jsp?Certificate=28324&Title=Sonic%20%26amp%3B%20SEGA%20All-Stars%20Racing and the ESRB even acknowledges it]].

** In the UK, ''Melee'' was initially rated 11+ by the now defunct ELSPA, which was replaced with a 3+ from PEGI upon rerelease. All games from ''Brawl'' onwards got 12+.
** The [[ExpositoryThemeTune DK Rap]] originated in ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', with a line about Chunky Kong declaring, "He may move slow; he can't jump high / But this Kong's one ''hell'' of a guy!" The game is rated E (in England, where Rareware, the producers of ''[=DK64=]'', is located, "hell" is considered appropriate at the U rating). In ''Melee'', this line had the minor alteration from "''hell'' of a guy" to "''heck'' of a guy", presumably to clean up the language to be suitable for all audiences, and in response to angry parents who complained to Nintendo about use of the word "hell". ''Melee'' is rated T; a single instance of the word "hell" would be well within the bounds of the T rating. And when ''Donkey Kong 64'' was released on the Wii U Virtual Console, it stayed rated E despite the lyrics being unchanged.

* Russia's rating system is known to be all over the place. They've given 16+ ratings to several E10+/7 games and 18+ to any games/media with gay references, even if they are E-rated everywhere else.

** ''VideoGame/SonicGenerations'' has a 12+ rating, while all the other Sonic the Hedgehog games have 6+.
** ''VideoGame/NickelodeonAllStarBrawl'' has a 16+ rating for violence, where it got a E10+/7 rating for comparison.

** The ''[[CompilationRerelease Super Mario 3D All-Stars]]'' collection is rated 7 in Europe by PEGI, despite its three games (''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'' and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'') originally being rated 3. When asked about the rating bump, PEGI [[https://i.imgur.com/NnhAhPF.png explained]] that the rating standards they used had changed since those games' original releases.
** When ''[[VideoGame/SuperMario64 Super Mario 64 DS]]'' and the original ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros1'' first came out in Europe, they both got 3+ ratings from PEGI, but when Nintendo of Europe re-released them on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015, they both got 12+ ratings because of the casino minigames. The change in rating for the latter game currently provides the page image.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'' was rated B (ages 12 and up) in Japan, PEGI 7 in Europe, PG in Australia and E10+ in North America despite the content of this game being no different from any other ''Mario'' game, and in some areas being ''less'' explicit than what was seen in previous, E-rated games ([[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy the death and rebirth of the entire universe and Rosalina losing her parents]], [[VideoGame/SuperPaperMario a villain plotting to destroy every universe simultaneously out of grief and a young girl transforming into an enormous spider-like monster in a process that apparently involves breaking her neck]], etc.) The presence of realistically-designed characters and creatures may have been a factor, but nothing in the game moves beyond slapstick territory.

*** ''VideoGame/MarioParty10'' received a PEGI 7 in Europe for "violence that is set in a cartoon, slapstick or child like setting". All previous games were rated PEGI 3 and carried the exact same violence label.
** ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam'' is more or less identical in content to the previous three games in the series, but was bumped up to an E10+ in America for no apparent reason. For the record, it is rated 3+ in Europe, the same as the rest of the series. ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' fell back down to an E rating.

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

* Disney's ''Franchise/{{Cars}}'' SpinOff ''WesternAnimation/{{Planes}}'' and its sequel ''WesternAnimation/PlanesFireAndRescue'' got PG ratings as opposed to the G rating of all three main films in the series, even though ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 2}}'' and the later ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars 3}}'' have no less FamilyUnfriendlyViolence than ''Planes''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}}'' was rated U upon its original release in 2007 by the BBFC, but was rerated PG in 2014 for "comic violence, mild bad language". (In particular, the BBFC's stance on the word 'bloody' had become stricter since the movie's original submission.)

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'', likewise, tends to be rated TV-PG on television.

* When ''WesternAnimation/{{Lightyear}}'' was released in Singapore, it was given an NC-16 rating due to a 10 second same sex kissing scene as well as Singapore's lower tolerance for LGBTQ content. For the same reasons, when the movie was put on Disney+ Hotstar, it was given an 18 rating in Malaysia and a 21+ rating (over the typical 17+) in Indonesia.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'' oddly receives a TV-14 rating in its Creator/ABCFamily broadcast despite no edits for content being made, and while it does break the barrier quite a bit [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids for a kids movie]], there's nothing in it that goes beyond its appropriate PG rating.
* ''WesternAnimation/FreddieAsFRO7'' was rated a U in the United Kingdom, but when it was released in the United States, it was given a PG rating for "some menacing moments", though it's possible some of the film's content, like the [[spoiler:klansmen in the Evilmainya musical number]], partly contributed to this rating. The shorter American home video cut, Freddie the Frog, on the other hand, was rated G.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' surprisingly bears a TV-14 rating on Univision and [=UniMás=], despite no changes in content. On Netflix, the second film is rated a much more appropriate TV-Y7-FV.
* ''WesternAnimation/ShrekTheThird'' gets a TV-14 on Laff, again despite no changes in content.
* Television airings of the 1981 Hungarian film ''Animation/SonOfTheWhiteHorse'' changed from KN (free for all ages) to 6+, while its 2021 DVD was rated 12+. However its international video-on-demand version is rated M and its American Blu-ray is rated PG-13 due to multiple scenes containing uncensored nudity.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLooneyLooneyLooneyBugsBunnyMovie'' was originally rated U in the UK. However, in 2022, it was re-rated PG for "outdated discriminatory behaviour". This was specifically due to a scene where Bugs refers to a man as "Mr. A-Rab".
* ''WesternAnimation/JonahAVeggieTalesMovie'' was rated G in its inital theatrical release. Amazon's print of the film rates it for ages 7 and up, likely due to the plot point of Jonah wanting God to kill the Ninevites, as well as [[spoiler: The Slap of No Return]].

** The ''Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy'' compilation, which both aforementioned games were included in, was given a T rating by the ESRB.

* ''Franchise/TombRaider'' was generally rated T and the [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Survivor series]] bumped it up to an M rating due to the more realistic depictions of violence and gore. The 2024 remaster of the first three games from the Playstation 1 were bumped up to an M rating, despite the fact that the violent content remained the same from the original games. Shortly after, the game's rating were bumped down to Teen rating after a few weeks.

* ''WesternAnimation/WatershipDown'' in Germany is rated 6+ (meaning that the content is appropriate for children ages six and up), and a PG in the United States and Australia. In many other countries, it is rated as all-ages, even though the disturbing content [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids says otherwise]]. Infamously, in the United Kingdom, it was originally released with a U certificate; it wasn't until 2023 that the rating was bumped to PG.

* ''Film/MaryPoppins'' was originally rated U. However, in 2024, the BBFC re-rated it PG for "discriminatory language" (specifically, the word "Hottentots").

* Inverted with ''VideoGame/BrawlRoyale'' - Matt Roszak initially gave the game an "M" (17+) rating when uploading it to Website/{{Newgrounds}}, due to the gory violence, but he would re-rate it a "T" (13+) later on.

* ''Franchise/TombRaider'' was generally rated T and the [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Survivor series]] bumped it up to an M rating due to the more realistic depictions of violence and gore. The 2024 remaster of the first three games from the Playstation 1 were bumped up to an M rating, despite the fact that the violent content remained the same from the original games.

* ''{{Series/Goosebumps}}'' received an 'M' rating for its first season in New Zealand for 'supernatural themes'. Season 2 received a 'PG', despite no decrease in supernatural themes, it featuring mutants, killer worms, shambling mummies, and living dolls among other creatures.

* A strange inversion happened when ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverseTheMovie'' aired on YTV in 2024-it was given a C rating, which in Canada in this day and age is generally reserved for preschool shows (all of the shows airing on Treehouse for example) despite the themes and violence of Steven Universe being too intense for most kids that young to handle. The show was given a C8 when it aired on Teletoon and Cartoon Network Canada.

* When the TV ratings were introduced in 1997, ''WesternAnimation/RockosModernLife'' was rated TV-Y on Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} and eventually Creator/{{Nicktoons}}. But when it returned to the former as part of ''Superstuffed Nicksgiving Weekend'', it was reassigned a TV-Y7 rating despite having both no changes in content (aside from some episodes being censored in reruns) and still having the original rating on Nicktoons. These days, ''Rocko's Modern Life'' is rated G on Nicktoons TV.

* Four albums by Music/TheBeastieBoys (''Music/PaulsBoutique'', ''Check Your Head'', ''Ill Communication'', and ''Hello Nasty'') were originally released without Parental Advisory warnings, despite containing a decent amount of profanity. The warning was added when each album was remastered.

* ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'' is considered an 'all ages' novel[[note]]In the visual novel community, 'all-ages' is a misnomer to refer to any visual novels that aren't eroge[[/note] by many websites, and carries a 15+ rating on its PC edition. However, the UpdatedRerelease for the the Platform/Xbox360 and Platform/PlayStationVita[[note]]Not counting the ports for the iOS, Platform/PlayStation3, and Platform/PlayStationPortable, which were censored[[/note]] received an 'CERO Z rating, most likely due to the fact that CERO is a lot stricter on violence.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' infamously had its ESRB bumped from M to AO after it was discovered the DummiedOut HotCoffeeMinigame could be made playable with certain hacks (contrary to popular belief, the minigame was not normally accessible even with cheat codes). Rockstar quickly issued an UpdatedRerelease that completely removed it from the disc, which restored the game's original rating.

* ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'' is considered an 'all ages' novel[[note]]In the visual novel community, 'all-ages' is a misnomer to refer to any visual novels that aren't eroge[[/note] by many websites, and carries a 15+ rating on its PC edition. However, the UpdatedRerelease for the the Xbox 360 and PS Vita[[note]]Not counting the ports for the iOS, PS3, and PSP, which were censored[[/note]] received an 'CERO Z rating, most likely due to the fact that CERO is a lot stricter on violence.

* ''VisualNovel/ChaosHead'' is considered an 'all ages' novel by many websites, and carries a 15+ rating on its PC edition. However, the iOS and PSP versions were bumped up to a 17+ for unknown reasons, and the Xbox 360 and PS Vita an '''18+'''.