After Realtime Worlds' appetite-whetting unveiling of its upcoming cops-n'-jerkbags MMO APB (All Points Bulletin), it'd be a little disappointing if it turned out that all we were being promised was sanitised "comic mischief". But no — Realtime Worlds fully expects to earn its M rating.

Realtime Worlds president Tony Harman (who recently told us why we didn't see APB at E3) had a chat with Gamespot:

Realtime Worlds president Tony Harmon told GameSpot today that he's expecting his modern-day cops-and-robbers game APB to land an M from the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Though the game has no release date yet, the developer is planning to submit it to the ratings process next year.

The concept art in this post is cool, huh? Move over, six-fingered Lollipop Girl?

APB gunning for an M [Gamespot]

With the ratings spotlight seeming to sharpen on gory games these days, will we see any sanitation in beloved horror titles, say, Resident Evil 5?

Not to worry, Capcom told MCV:

"We're never going to create a gore-free Resident Evil title to try and get a lower rating as it's a game about the horror experience and gore is part of that," said Rhys Cash, Capcom UK's research and planning manager.

"We're primarily about making great games and if it's appropriate to the title we won't shy away from making a 15+ or 18+ title.

The Entertainment Software Association wants Minnesotans to be outraged, and maybe they should be. After the state pursued an obviously unconstitutional video game law in 2006 that sought to penalise minors who purchase or rent M or AO rated video games, the ESA was forced to challenge the law. They were successful, and the state had to pony up $AU 68.31,000 in legal fees to the ESA for their effort.

"Minnesota's citizens should be outraged at paying the bill for this flawed plan. Minnesota's public officials ignored legal precedent and instead pursued a political agenda that ultimately cost taxpayers money", said Michael D. Gallagher, CEO of the ESA, which represents U.S. computer and video game publishers. "Courts across the United States have ruled consistently that video games are entitled to the same First Amendment protections as other forms of art, such as music and literature".

Recently some UK game publishers - notably EA - expressed concern that proposed changes to the ratings system that would require the British Board of Film Classification to review all games 12+ and up would cause delays in getting titles into the hands of consumers. BBFC Director David Cooke finds their lack of faith disturbing, and says so in a lengthy statement released today.

"We are disappointed and concerned about attempts by one or two video games publishers to pre-empt, through recent press statements, the forthcoming public consultation on video games classification. Their statements are misleading in several respects:

The BBFC's current average turnaround time for games classifications is eight calendar days. In terms of international comparisons, this is notably quick. There is no reason why the increased role for the BBFC envisaged by Dr Byron should lead to delays.

Cooke goes on to explain that the BBFC is fast, efficient, and more than capable of dealing with games both online and off in a timely fashion. Hit the jump for the full statement without delay.

Mothers Against Drunk Drivers released a statement today saying that they demand the Entertainment Software Ratings Board reclassify Grand Theft Auto IV as an Adults Only game because it includes a mission in which "players have to drive drunk."

As the GTA IV launch is once again trotted out as a controversy flashpoint, there's one thing the gaming audience tends to agree on: This game is not for children. Of course, just how zealous they are about enforcing such a mandate varies wildly.

Nonprofit advocacy group the Parents' Television Council takes their position on enforcement beyond just demanding legal consequences for retailers who sell M-rated games to kids under the age of 17. The council wants games like GTA IV locked up behind store counters, like cigarettes, tobacco and porn.

As excited as the gaming community is about the impending release of GTA IV, sadly, a new Grand Theft Auto title tends to mean bracing ourselves for a new round of anti-gaming attacks from the uninformed. Fortunately, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board is more than prepared to head 'em off at the pass, joining with the Parent-Teacher Association for a series of parental education initiatives kicked off with a webcast tonight.

Not so long ago, we ran some ESRB figures revealing that games rated 'M' for Mature are only a very small portion of that which developers released in 2007. However, a new report in which Next Generation compiled some sales statistics from the NPD Group shows us that even though M-rated titles may be few and far between, they sell quite well when compared to their peers with less extreme content. Here you can see how well M-rated titles sold in a boom from 2006 to 2007 (driven by a few AAA titles, for sure).

Hit the jump and I'll show you what all that means when compared to the actual amount M-rated games were released in 2007.

Bad Dick! Bad! That's a page from Australasian electronics retailer Dick Smith Electronics. The happy, solitaire kid is holding up two games: Gears of War and Halo 3. Perhaps they are games other children want! Perhaps. But both are games that children can buy, and there's not a parent in sight. In Australia, Halo is rated "M (Recommended for mature audiences)", but can be purchased by younger customers. Gears of War legally can't! It's rated M +15, meaning "Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian." No wonder this kid's so happy! So if you are 10 years old, Dick Smith will totally hook you up.

Thanks, Christopher! Close-up after the jump.

In the April edition of EGM, Jerry Bonner, a former ESRB employee who worked for the company over six months, fills us in on the hot gossip of what it's like to work inside the machine. While he dishes plenty of information we already knew—like that the ESRB raters watch clips in lieu of actually playing the games—some of what he said about the ESRB's culture of secrecy is daunting: