Well, here we are discussion "the gender thing" already. What's the definition of romance ? How should the genders be portayed ? Full cliché-type and such ?
As for the juvenile part… I have always found Bioware's take on romance far more juvenile - more reminiscent of high school kids than people who make a living by wandering the world constantly putting their life on danger.
That depends on the game. I'm pro romantic episodes, and I'm even pro NPC marrige within any game - but game are still made for boys/men by boys/men. So to say. So, no matter how far they'll try to include romantic episodes, it will *always* be influenced by the fact that they are men making games for men. I don't know, because I'm not a woman, but I almost assume that women would do romances in games differently. I would like to see that.
The only thing I see in games is that they try hard to do as if they were "mature games", or for an "mature audience", but they totally fail and lack of REAL mature themes.
Things like
responsibility. Games usually include a form of a hero who is free, not bound in any way (except factions -> Gothic series), but is ultimatively free in to do whatever he or she wants to do.
No responsibility whatsoever. For no-one.
REAL mature themes do include that, however. The total lack of any responsibility in so-called "mature" games is to me a sign that they "do as if they were 'mature'". Because they not consequent.
Responsibility would for example include a hero who is married and has to look after his wife and a child, a baby, even. In a hostile world, which is, let's say
infested by Orcs on a war, he would have to check every time his wife or/and his baby aren't killed. That no-one kidnaps them. He must check that he gets proper food for them, or the baby ill not survive.
But youngsters, those for whom tose "wannabe-mature" games are made for, don't bother with that. They DO NOT want to be
responsibly in any way. And these youngsters most certainly wouldn't want to have to worry about the health of a tiny, fragile baby and his or her mother.
Instead, all of these games have a "Lone Starr" [from Spaceballs, a very good ironic take on the cliché of the "lone hero" !] as the potagonist !
These games blank out everything a youngster (as the target group of customers) would have to worry about.