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Violent Games Appeal Teenagers Says a New StudyA new study shows that the Pan European Game Information (PEGI) rating system misses its target; the more restricted the video game is (commonly due to depiction of gross violence and/or sexual behavior), the greater its appeal in the eyes of the members of the forbidden age group. In other words, having a PEGI 18+ restriction plus a tag that indicates the game contains violent content are the most effective marketing tools a game developer could ask for.
The PEGI rating approaches first and for all for the parents. Its object, as described in the Pan European Game Information website is "to help them [the paying parents] decide whether or not to buy a particular product", whether it is a computer game, a DVD movie or other type of purchasable entertainment content. The rating system is divided into two parts: one defines the suitable, and by that the inappropriate, age group 3+, 7+, 12+, 16+, 18+, and the second one describes the reason/s for the qualification: bad language, discrimination, drugs, fear, gambling, sex and violence. PEGI also warns the parents from the availability of a game online.
  
sex drugs & violence in video games
Nevertheless, PEGI's honest declaration of intent seemed to ignore few basic facts including that 16 years olds are usually old enough to buy their own entertainment content goods and that the exploding feast tag on the back of a video game's package usually ensures its place at the top of the best sellers list, not to mention queues of teenagers waiting with sleeping bags for its release.
And if these facts of life were unfamiliar to PEGI, came a group of Communication Science professors from the University Amsterdam, The Netherlands and revealed the results of its research. After asking three age groups (7-8 years old, 12-13, and 16-17) of both sexes to rate the most desired video game according to fabricated game description, the not unpredictable conclusion did not come late: the most violent 18+ rated video games were the ones the underage research objects most sought after.
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