Harry Potter going PG

That's right, folks. You heard it correctly, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was rated PG for 'scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality.' Now, it's no secret to those who have read the books or those who just enjoy the movies, the story arc has gotten significantly darker. By the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it had gotten dark enough to warrant a PG-13 rating, seemingly maturing with the main character and the audience alike. The fifth movie proved to continue that trend, which reflected in the PG-13 rating, leading to the conclusion that by the end, the series could eventually reach R-rating. However, this new revelation proves that either the story gets lighter, which doesn't seem to be true from what all the book readers out there tell me, or this movie seems to stick to the light, friendly stuff; girls, cooties, and the occasional fire ball.

Now, does the PG rating automatically qualify it for 'suck' status, or is it a smart move going back to the roots, and getting more kids hooked to the story? I for one, am not one of those people who require an R rating before I see a movie, even in the horror genre. I think great story telling can be done without using blood and guts. Some of the most scary moments are those that are unseen. That being said, I think this is a step back in the series. The stories don't get lighter, so the adaptation of the story changes. I think the audience going to see the story has gotten old enough to handle the mature content the story provides, and not including that could hurt the future of the story. Now, I could be wrong, and they do all the death and lightning and teenage sex tastefully enough to still get the story across without showing everything, however, from what I've seen from the series so far, there is nothing to show they have that ability.

What do you think, will the PG rating hurt Harry Potter sales, or help it?

Also, in general, does anything less than an R rating effect your view of what a movie will be, like it does for me?