Earlier before, I had written about how the latest installment in the Mortal Kombat series shouldn't even be considered part of the series. However, I'm well aware that my blog isn't going to talk Midway into the suddenly stopping the production of the game. None of us are going to be able to do that. It's time that we start facing the fact that Mortal Kombat vs. DC Comics is coming and thinking of ways to ensure that it doesn't fail. If this game fails, then the series fails. This is an extremely important year for the MK series.

The MK fanbase has had enough of lackluster game after lackluster game. Many fans, most notably MortalKombatOnline.com users, have sworn that if the next game sucks, they're going to write the series off as dead. Midway can't afford to lose its hardcore MK fans simply because the series isn't as mainstream as it was back in the day. Very few members of the gaming community consider the series worth a try any longer, and chasing these fans away would end it. Sure, future games would still sell, but how many copies would be sold? Would it be enough copies to turn a decent profit and convince Midway bigwigs that continuing the series would be a good business move? Highly unlikely.

Midway hasn’t felt pressured by the market to produce a quality product in quite a few years now. The fighting genre has dwindled over the years with very few releases, and the popularity has dropped even harder. Midway has released three different titles with little to no opposition: Deadly Alliance, Deception, and Armageddon. Many fans felt that these titles were outright awful with some fans praising the new generation of MK games in contrast. Either way, Midway knew that nobody else was on the block to steal their sales. Midway was well aware that if the fighting fans wanted a nextgen fighter title, then they would look toward the Mortal Kombat series.

However, this is no longer the case. Possibly the most influential fighting title in the history of the genre will be releasing its newest installment in the months to come: Street Fighter 4. Midway’s enemy from the 90s has returned with plenty of potential to ram them directly into an early grave if this new Mortal Kombat title is anything less than amazing. Hopefully Midway is aware of this and takes heed before they get completely demolished in the market.

Fans are tired of poor quality in Mortal Kombat games, and competition encourages quality. Quality encourages sales, and sales encourage a market – or genre – to grow. Who wins in this epic battle that many thought was over years ago? The fans win due to offers of quality games for fair prices.

However, as I said earlier, Midway’s arrogance can ruin this theory entirely. I can only hope that the execs at Midway actually think this through and ensure that they’re producing at least a competitive product that can stand up to competition. If not, then I fear that we can say goodbye to Mortal Kombat come this fall.

I want nothing more than to see this series turn around and become the gem that many fans of the series’ early days can remember. But I, like the readers of this article, must admit that things are not looking good for our favorite series. It is close to death, and we could be reading its eulogy in just a few months. Let us hope that this doesn’t happen and that Ed Boon can rescue his dying creation.