Wow, I had completely forgotten about this game... Anyway, this game will either be a masterpiece or just an "O.K" game. Kinda like GT 5, if you get my meaning.
I don't think we'll ever find a balance to this theme, although some games do present you options. For example, GTA IV can either be your typical "smash and grab" kind of game where you storm through the campaign (maybe even skip it) and just blast out everything in front of you and have fun, or you can try and play it in a more serious manner, watching all the scenes, understanding the game and all of that. That's one of the reasons I love GTA, it can be whatever you want it to be, in it's own way.
But... The one thing that "mature games" concern me is that 8 year old kids will be playing it. It doesn't matter if there's a little black and white box on the cover of the game that says "18+", parents don't give a damn (and those who do are rare) and the kids sure as hell don't give a damn either. I have a 7 year old cousin who already knows how to play GTA IV. Do I think it's "cute" to watch him say stuff like "Yeah, I'm going to steal this car, then run over people, then explode it" all because it's fun? No way. I'm a very open minded person, but that just doesn't make me comfortable. Sure, I restrict him as much as possible from the game, but when he goes to visit his little buddies there's no one watching out for him, so he's playing GTA IV alright.
The point is... Mature games are great, I love them, but as long as we have kids and pre-teens, "mature games" are always going to be sort of, not common and sometimes even an issue and roadblock to devs. I'm sure the day is gonna come when sex and religion and outrageous violence (manhunt-esque) are going to be the "norm" in games, but there will never be restriction, and it just wouldn't feel right for a 7 year old to know what sex is all about and actually play games that have it as a main (or important) topic.
I'm all for games that teach you stuff and make you use your brain, but to find a game that balances maturity, education, joy, etc is just not easy.
Moron_Brotha's comments