Briosafreak's Fallout 3 Blog has reposted one of Desslock's articles (in original form, rather than as edited for PC Gamer), which looks at the difference between the shooter market and the domination of M-rated titles versus the RPG market, where mature titles have been fading.  Here's the intro:

Eviscerated bodies hung on meat hooks, disemboweled corpses leaving trails of blood, satanic idolatry: welcome to the world of the typical shooter. Ever since the original DOOM, shooters have gleefully trodden through M-rated territory, and their developers have zealously defended their preference to craft gory shooters. Almost all shooters are M-rated because of the violent the nature of their gameplay, but games like F.E.A.R., Soldier of Fortune and Gears of War deliberately spotlight graphically violent and gruesome scenes. I prefer shooters that focus more on creating realistic settings instead of colorfully filleted cadavers, and I’m somewhat embarrassed to play violent shooters in front of my non-gamer buddies although I’ll happily show off the life-like cityscapes of Half-life 2 to the same audience. Of course, I’ll also proudly parade out the latest fantasy RPG replete with elves and fairies without feeling emasculated, so perhaps the demarcation lines I’ve drawn for mature gaming aren’t particularly sensible.