I think this is the perfect example of companies trying to hard to appeal to the supposed desires of the populace. Really, everyone thinks cartoony games and characters won't sale anymore. People want more mature edgy software, but look what it gets you.
Almost every "realistic" and "mature" game is so generic and crappy that its laughable.
However, look at these supposedly cartoony character games, and you realize that more depth, game design and character is placed in the game than all Xbox 360 games combined. (Ok, sorry for my biased.)