How to read the product code on a retro game (SLES, SLUS, NUS, DMG and more)

Where is the product code printed?

Nintendo prints its product codes on every cartridge and disc it makes². On NES games the code is on the front label, and a region code is usually on the back label as well³. Nintendo did not start adding the code to NES labels until sometime in 1987, so some early releases lack it³.

On a Game Boy game the same code can appear three times: Schiffe versenken has DMG-AB8D-NOE as its flap, booklet and cartridge code⁶. On Game Boy Advance and DS games the code is printed on the package and on the sticker of commercial cartridges⁷⁸. Manuals carry it too, and one Pokémon Mystery Dungeon revision can only be identified by the code on the front of its manual⁹.

On most PlayStation games the code is on the spine of the case, written like SLUS 20627 or ULUS 10002⁵. Most PlayStation discs also hold a file in the root directory named in the pattern SXXX_XXX.XX, which converts directly to the game's serial¹⁰.

How do you read a Nintendo product code?

On the NES, Nintendo's code identifies four things: the system, a two-character game code, a three-character region code and, on a small handful of games, a revision number³. Nintendo of America's Super Metroid booklet shows the same outline on the Super NES: SNS-RI-USA¹¹. Later cartridges have four characters in the middle, as in AGB-BZME-USA on the booklet for The Minish Cap¹².

Which system does the prefix stand for?

On the Super Nintendo the prefix changes with the region, and the P in SNSP likely stands for PAL².

What do the four characters in the middle mean?

On Game Boy Advance and DS cartridges the middle part is a four-character game code⁷⁸. GBATEK splits a Game Boy Advance code into a first letter for the kind of game, a two-character short title and a destination or language letter: J Japan, E USA/English, P Europe/Elsewhere, D German, F French, I Italian, S Spanish⁷. So in AGB-BZME-USA¹², B marks a newer title, ZM is the short title and E the USA/English destination⁷.

The Nintendo 64 keeps a four-character game code in the cartridge header, made of a category code (N for a Game Pak), a two-character unique code and a destination code: E North America, P Europe, J Japan, D Germany, F France, U Australia¹⁴. Compare the Ocarina of Time booklet, NUS-NZLE-USA¹, with the Space Station Silicon Valley booklet, NUS-NSVP-EUR¹⁵.

For the GameCube, Dolphin's documentation gives G as the system letter and makes the fourth character the region: E USA, P Europe and other PAL regions, J Japan¹⁶. Nintendo uses those first four characters in its product codes¹⁶: Nintendo of America's Chibi-Robo! booklet reads DL-DOL-GGTE-USA¹⁷, and Nintendo of Europe's Metroid Prime 2: Echoes booklet IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV¹⁸.

What do USA, EUR, NOE and UKV mean?

The three letters at the end name the region the game was made for³. One game can exist under several: the Game Boy Database lists Schiffe versenken with NOE, Sea Battle with EUR and Bataille Navale with FRA, and only the title screens change between them⁶.

Japanese copies end in JPN, as on the manual of the Japanese Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team, NTR-APHJ-JPN-1⁹. The lists differ on FRG: on Game Boy games it was for Switzerland and Austria, and the FR does not stand for France²². The meaning of the V in UKV is not known²¹.

How do you read a PlayStation code (SLES, SLUS, SCES)?

Sony's code is four letters followed by five numbers⁴. PSDevWiki reads the letters of a disc or UMD code like this:

1. Format: S for a PS1, PS2 or PS3 CD or DVD, U for a PSP UMD, B for a PS3 Blu-ray⁴.
2. Rights: C for copyrighted by Sony, L for licensed to Sony⁴.
3. Region: E Europe, U USA, J Japan, P Japan on PS1 and PS2, K Korea, A Asia⁴.
4. Type: S for a retail release, D for a demo⁴.

Ghosthunter, published by Sony Computer Entertainment, has SCES-51463 on its UK manual²⁴. Konami's Metal Gear Solid manual carries SLES-01370²⁵, and Capcom's Mega Man X4 booklet SLUS-00561²⁶.

How do you read a Sega code (MK-, T-, HDR-)?

Sega put region codes on its console product codes first, then on software²⁷. Sega Retro gives the most common form as MK-XXXYYY-ZZ for Sega's own releases and T-XXXYYY-ZZ for third-party ones, with the region in the digits at the end²⁷. Sega of Japan and Sega of America never used this form²⁷. Its region numbers include 05 for the United Kingdom, 18 for Germany and 50 for non-localised European content, and on the Dreamcast 53 covers the United Kingdom, France and Germany as an alternative to 50²⁷.

One game's codes can look very different: Sega Retro lists Sonic Adventure's Japanese release as HDR-0001, its US release as 51000 and its UK release as MK-51000-53²⁸.

What if the codes on the cartridge, box and manual don't match?

That can be how the game was sold³¹⁹. Most PAL NES games have one region code in the ID code on the front label and a different, complementary one on the back label³. Box and cartridge can come from different markets: Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun has an EUR box but came with an NOE cartridge, and no EUR cartridge of it is known¹⁹, while Disney's Hercules exists in an NFRA box with an NOE cartridge²³. A revision may show on one part only: the fixed Japanese Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team has -1 on the front of its manual, while the cartridge and the back of the case read the same as on the original release⁹. On Sega games, European country codes often apply only to the packaging, and the cartridge or disc inside may be identical to other European releases²⁷.

If a code looks up as a different game altogether, ask the seller before you buy.

How to check yours

1. Find every copy of the code: the cartridge label or sticker, the box flap or spine, the front of the manual³⁵⁶⁹.
2. Read the prefix. It gives the system on Nintendo games² and the format, rights and region on PlayStation games⁴.
3. Read the region letter and the suffix with the tables above, or on a Sega game the number after the last hyphen²⁷.
4. Compare the parts, using the section above for differences that can be original.
5. Look it up. Redump's disc database takes a serial: searching SCES-00002 brings up Battle Arena Toshinden for the PlayStation²⁹. For Game Boy games, the Game Boy Database lists the flap, booklet and cartridge codes of each version⁶.
6. Check that it will play. See the region locking guide, and PAL vs NTSC for speed and video differences.

The RetroReady app reads the product code from a photo and decodes it for you.

Frequently asked

What does SLES mean on a PS1 game?

SLES marks a third-party European PlayStation or PS2 game⁵. Letter by letter, S is a CD or DVD, L is licensed to Sony, E is Europe and S is a retail release⁴.

What is the difference between SCES and SLES?

The second letter: C means copyrighted by Sony and L licensed to Sony⁴. MobyGames lists SCES as first-party and SLES as third-party European games⁵.

What does NOE mean on a Game Boy cartridge?

NOE stands for Nintendo of Europe, and on Game Boy games it is the code used for distribution in Germany²⁰. NOE games were also exported to neighbouring countries²⁰.

Why does my game's code end in -1?

It marks a revision, which on NES games was sometimes added when the label or the game changed³. On Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team it marks the Japanese revision that fixed a bug which could wipe a Game Boy Advance game's data⁹.

Sources

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Wikipedia: "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time instruction booklet (PDF). United States: Nintendo. 1998. U/NUS-NZLE-USA."
2. Feature: Nintendo Console Codenames And Product Codes, Nintendo Life: "These product codes have been part of Nintendo's hardware since the beginning and you'll find them on every single Nintendo-made cartridge, disc, accessory, and peripheral."; "In Nintendo's homeland the Famicom and its accessories carried the designation HVC, or 'Home Video Computer'."; "In the West, the Nintendo Entertainment System got Nintendo's most transparent of product codes: NES."; "DMG stands for Dot Matrix Game and references the system's display."; "The Game Boy Color got the CGB product code... because it was a Color Game Boy."; "In Japan the Super Famicom followed on logically from its predecessor and was identified as the SHVC-001, or the 'Super Home Video Computer'. Things changed for the North American release where it became the SNS-001 (Super Nintendo System), and in Europe it was the SNSP-001 (the 'P' likely stands for 'PAL')."; "the Game Boy Advance was labelled the AGB-001, or 'Advanced Game Boy'"; "the product code on the final hardware reflected the console's original name: NUS (the Nintendo Ultra Sixty-four)"
3. ID Codes, The Legend of NES: "Nintendo assigned each game published for the NES a unique ID Code that identifies four things"; "Nintendo didn't start adding the ID Code to the game labels until sometime in 1987, so some of the early releases don't have it."; "ID Code Part 2: The game title - 2 characters."; "ID Code Part 3: The region the game was manufactured for - 3 characters. For all games manufactured for release in the United States this code is always "USA"."; "ID Code Part 4: Revision number - 1 character, only numbers. This one is optional and only appears on a small handful of games. It was sometimes added if there was a change to the game's label, or the game itself."; "These appear as the third part of the ID Code on the game's front label, and are also usually found on the game's back label."; "Most PAL games will have one region code as part of the game's ID Code on the front label, and a different, complimentary code on the back label."; "AUS - Australia CAN - Canada"; "ESP - España (Spain) FAH - France and Holland (Netherlands). This code only appears on the back labels of PAL-B carts"; "FRA - France FRG - Federal Republic of Germany (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)"; "GPS - Global Packaging System. Universal code used in different countries, typically has English-language box with local language sticker applied and local-language manual included."; "HOL - Holland"; "ITA - Italy"; "NOE - Nintendo of Europe"; "SCN - Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland)"; "UKV - United Kingdom USA - United States of America"
4. Productcode, PSDevWiki (read via the Wayback Machine): "format: XXXXYYYYY (lettercode for XXXX / numbers for YYYYY)"; "TITLE_ID for Physical Media (in format: ABCD12345)"; "B=PS3 Bluray"; "S=PS1, PS2, PS3 CD/DVD"; "U=PSP UMD"; "C=Copyrighted by sony L=Licensed to sony"; "A=Asia"; "E=Europe"; "J=Japan K=Korea P=Japan (PS1/PS2) U=USA"; "D=Demo"; "S=Retail release"
5. Product Codes, MobyGames (read via the Wayback Machine): "Sony assigns a product code to PSX, PS2 and PSP games. The product code can be located on the spine of most every PlayStation game, and looks like SLUS 20627 or ULUS 10002."; "SCUS -- 1st party US PSX or PS2 game SLUS -- 3rd party US PSX or PS2 game SCES -- 1st party European PSX or PS2 game SLES -- 3rd party European PSX or PS2 game SCPS -- 1st party Japanese PSX or PS2 game SLPS -- 1st party Japanese PSX or PS2 game UCUS -- 1st party US PSP game ULUS -- 3rd party US PSP game ULJS -- 3rd party Japanese PSP game"
6. Schiffe versenken NOE, Game Boy Database: "Flap Code DMG-AB8D-NOE Booklet Code DMG-AB8D-NOE Cartridge Code DMG-AB8D-NOE"; "Only the title screens change depending on the version"; "02/11/1998 : Schiffe versenken - NOE 19/11/1998 : Sea Battle - EUR 19/11/1998 : Bataille Navale - FRA"
7. GBA Cartridge Header, GBATEK: "0ACh - Game Code, Uppercase Ascii, 4 characters This is the same code as the AGB-UTTD code which is printed on the package and sticker on (commercial) cartridges"; "TT Short Title"; "D Destination/Language"; "A Normal game; Older titles (mainly 2001..2003) B Normal game; Newer titles (2003..)"; "Usually an abbreviation of the game title"; "The fourth character (D) indicates Destination/Language: J Japan P Europe/Elsewhere F French S Spanish E USA/English D German I Italian"
8. DS Cartridge Header, GBATEK: "This is the same code as the NTR-UTTD (NDS) or TWL-UTTD (DSi) code which is printed on the package and sticker on (commercial) cartridges"; "U Unique Code"; "TT Short Title"; "D Destination/Language"; "The fourth character (D) indicates Destination/Language:"; "E English/USA"; "H Dutch"; "K Korean"; "U Australian"
9. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team and Blue Rescue Team, Bulbapedia: "In the original Japanese release of Blue Rescue Team, a bug could wipe data from any Game Boy Advance game in the Nintendo DS's second slot that was not Red Rescue Team. This was fixed in a subsequent revision of the Japanese version"; "The Japanese revision can be identified by the product code on the front of the enclosed manual, NTR-APHJ-JPN-1, with copies lacking the -1 being the unfixed original release. This cannot be identified through the product code on the game cartridge or the back of the game case, which are identical between the original release and the revision."
10. GameDB-PSX, GitHub: "Most PSX games have a file in the root directory of the disc with a naming structure like SXXX_XXX.XX, where SXXX-XXXXX is the game's serial"; "this file's name can be trivially converted to the game's serial"
11. Super Metroid, Wikipedia: "Super Metroid instruction booklet. Nintendo of America, Inc. April 18, 1994. SNS-RI-USA."
12. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Wikipedia: "The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap instruction booklet (PDF). Japan: Nintendo. 2005. AGB-BZME-USA."
13. Feature: Nintendo Console Codenames And Product Codes (page 2), Nintendo Life: "Just like all the others, the DOL product code extends to all GameCube peripheral hardware and software"; "The Nintendo DS carried the codename Nitro throughout development and its NTR product code reflects that"; "the Nintendo DSi (TWL-001)"
14. ROM Header, N64brew: "The game code is 4 ASCII characters that are split up into 3 parts - the category code, the unique code and the destination code."; "N Game Pak"; "Two alphanumeric characters that identify the game."; "J Japan"; "D Germany"; "E North America"; "F France"; "P Europe"; "U Australia"
15. Space Station Silicon Valley, Wikipedia: "Space Station Silicon Valley Instruction Booklet. Take 2 Interactive. NUS-NSVP-EUR."
16. GameIDs, Dolphin Emulator Wiki: "___X__ Region Code (1 character) – Identifies the region the title is released in"; "Nintendo only uses the first 4 characters to identify games, e.g. in WAD files, Wii title IDs, and product codes."; "G GameCube"; "D Deutschland (Germany)"; "E USA"; "F France"; "J Japan"; "P Europe and other PAL regions such as Australia"
17. Chibi-Robo! (video game), Wikipedia: "Chibi-Robo!: Plug Into Adventure! instruction booklet. Nintendo of America Inc. pp. 6–22. DL-DOL-GGTE-USA."
18. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, Wikipedia: "Metroid Prime 2: Echoes – Instruction Booklet. Nintendo of Europe. November 26, 2004. pp. 10–11. IM-DOL-G2MP-UKV."
19. EUR fullset, Game Boy Database: "EUR (for EURope) is the code used for distribution in Europe. This code first appeared in 1994."; "Tintin Prisoners of the Sun has an EUR box, but came with a NOE cartridge (no EUR cartridge is known to exist)."
20. NOE fullset, Game Boy Database: "NOE (for Nintendo Of Europe) is the code used for distribution in Germany"; "NOE games were exported in neighbouring countries"
21. UKV fullset, Game Boy Database: "UKV (for United Kingdom) is the code used for distribution in United Kingdom and lreland. The meaning of the "V" is not known."; "the UKV localization was also used starting from 1994 for the distribution of games in Scandinavia"
22. FRG fullset, Game Boy Database: "FRG (for Federal Republic of Germany) is the code used for distribution in Switzerland and Austria. The FR does not stand for France, as has wrongly been stated on several websites."
23. FRA fullset, Game Boy Database: "FRA (for FRAnce) is the code used for distribution in France."; "Hercules exists with a NFRA box, but with a NOE cartridge (and not a FRA cartridge)."
24. Ghosthunter (video game), Wikipedia: "Ghosthunter is a third-person shooter video game developed by SCEE Cambridge Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Europe in December 2003"; "Ghosthunter Instruction Manual (UK). SCEE. p. 14. SCES-51463."
25. Metal Gear Solid (video game), Wikipedia: "Metal Gear Solid instruction manual. Konami. 1999. p. 49. SLES-01370."
26. Mega Man X, Wikipedia: "Mega Man X4 Instruction Booklet (PDF). Sunnyvale, CA: Capcom Entertainment, Inc. pp. 4–11. SLUS-00561."
27. Region codes, Sega Retro: "Sega labelled the consoles with a product code which also included a region code"; "The region codes were later also extended to software."; "This article describes the most common form of product region codes when dealing with Sega products."; "This particular form has never been used by Sega of Japan or Sega of America"; "Regions are identified by the last three digits of Sega product codes."; "First-Party: MK-XXXYYY-ZZ Third-Party: T-XXXYYY-ZZ"; "Often European country codes only apply to packaging - the cartridges or discs may be identical to other European releases."; "05 United Kingdom"; "09 France"; "18 Germany"; "50 Europe Used for non-localised European content."; "53 United Kingdom/France/Germany Alternative to -50"
28. Sonic Adventure, Sega Retro: "JP ... HDR-0001"; "US ... 51000"; "UK ... MK-51000-53"
29. Redump quick search for SCES-00002, Redump: "Search for: SCES 00002"; "Battle Arena Toshinden PSX Original, Platinum SCES-00002"

How this guide was made. Written from facts we checked against the pages listed under Sources: each claim is quoted word for word from its source before it goes in. Spot a mistake? Write to support@retroready.app.

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