| Bodhesatva said: Also, one should recognize that the ESRB ratings are nigh-worthless. I sold more copies of GTA to 10-18 year olds (with parents next to them, giving consent) than I did to 18+ year olds. By a large margin, actually. |
I call this the Saved By The Bell effect (named after the execrable sitcom that was about high school yet targetted at preteens). If you want to sell something to small children you market it as though you were trying to sell it to preteens. If you want to sell something to preteens you market it as though you were trying to sell it to teens. If you want to sell something to teens you market it as though you were trying to sell it to young adults.
Everyone under the age of 18 wants to identify themselves with people a little older than them. The game companies are well aware that a large portion of the market for an M rated game is significantly younger than 17.
