That's interesting. The previous games were dark for a T rated games.

Yep. Because "The Dark Knight Rises" proved that drab, "dark as possible" Batman was the way to go.

I think they probably would considering their job is potentially on the line.  I'm a cashier at a major retailer and if I can't discern whether the kid is 17 or over I always ask for ID.

Giving M-rated just because the game is dark, i have Batman Arkham City or Origins for Wii U & they're both T-rated for some reason, blood, violence, drug reference, mild language, you name it! Gore, nudity, strong language & sex content are only easy giving M-rated for games, like Quake 2 example, it's M-rated, why? There's gore, enough said, nothing else, just violence, blood & "gore". I don't know what's with Batman Arkham Knight.

Anyone else think it seems easier (and more attractive to marketing teams) for a game to get an M rating than it is for a film to get an R rating? Most of the big summer blockbusters wind up rated PG-13. Those companies aren't worried that they have to get an R rating to appeal to teenagers. You look at a movie like The Dark Knight, which has plenty of violence and dark themes, and it's rated PG-13. Is Arkham Knight actually more mature than that film, or is it just easier for games to get that rating?

Well well, this is interesting. I wonder why it's rated M? I guess because of the story.

He's obviously going to sleep with all the females . . .

Anyways, I'm so excited for this game.

Read some Batman comics (The Death of the Family storyline if you want a pretty good Joker story) and you can easily see why a "Mature" rating might be warranted.

You are my kind of evil, let us know the stories when they happen :D

 I like what he does in Batman and Batman Returns. He kills but he only does it when it's necessary (Joker, Axis Chemical goons, Penguin's thugs).