Can a sports sim really have a "mature" rating?

The first trailer for the next iteration of EA Sports' Fight Night series is live, complete with all the face-punching, slow-motion, HD goodness that we've come to expect from the franchise.

What was not expected, though, was EA's announcement that Fight Night Champion will ship with a 'Mature' rating from the ESRB, the first game in the franchise to do so. It's not unprecedented for sports games to carry an M rating, but those games are usually cartoonish and over the top -- here's looking at you, Blitz the League. But when a game that has always been more 'sim' than 'silly' decides to take this route, it raises some eyebrows, as well as some questions.

The most obvious question, of course, is what will EA add to Fight Night that jumps its rating from the 'Teen' rating that previous iterations have earned, to the 'Mature' rating that Champion will earn? The damage system in Fight Night Round 4 was fairly realistic, with eyes that would swell shut and cuts that would open. The shot of blood we see in the above trailer is graphic, but I find it hard to believe that the gore will be such a departure from previous installments that it will warrant an increased rating.

It's also important to note that while boxing is undeniably a bloody and brutal sport -- just ask Antonio Margarito -- I don't think that the violence is at a level that an M rating is necessary. If EA shoehorns in addition blood and gore, they move farther away from the realism that has made the franchise great to this point.

And if violence isn't the reason, the possibilities get more ridiculous. From the trailer, it looks like Champion's career mode will have some sort of plot and voice acting. Will there be swearing? Will your character have to navigate the pitfalls of drugs and strippers that come with being a successful athlete?

I, for one, hope that this isn't the case. Leave the over-dramatic plot points to the other genres and give me a streamlined sporting experience. Sure, an M rating will turn some heads initially, but is it really a selling point?