This has been a heated topic since the project's announcement earlier this month. There are people on either side of the fence with their beliefs on why it will or won't bomb. I'm going to help you understand the history of the game and why this shouldn't even bother having the MK name.

Think back to the early 1990s. Video game violence wasn't really a big topic. Sure, Mario fried things to a crisp by throwing fireballs at them, and people referred to losing a turn as "dying," but nobody really pushed the idea that video games were truly violent. Midway was looking for a filler product to seal the gap between their big projects, and the people hired to do said project knew that they needed something to catch attention and make it a success. Ed Boon and John Tobias looked toward digitized blood and violence to help the game stand out along with its digitized characters.

Despite being created by a very small team and intended to fill a gap rather than be a success, Mortal Kombat created a buzz that could be heard from shore to shore. People were blown away by the lifelike characters and on-screen gore. However, the media seemed very unnerved by the fatality feature – a move performed at the end of the final round to kill the opponent. Many parents and other various figures were upset by this – including a Florida lawyer named Jack Thompson – and the outrage even went far enough for the Super Nintendo port to omit all blood from the game. The popularity of Mortal Kombat spawned a few copycat games that were hoping to cash in the success. Possibly the most noted title would be Time Killers.

Mortal Kombat II was released the following year with better graphics, more characters, and many more fatalities. This time, the outrage toward the video game violence was deafening, and the US gave the ultimatum that the entertainment software industry was to either create their own feasible rating system or allow the government to rate games for them. After much trial and error, congress approved a proposal to allow a universal rating system, the ESRB(Entertainment Software Rating Board), be the official rating system for entertainment software.

As the Mortal Kombat franchise moved into the 3D world of the newer age, the outrage toward video game violence began to calm down. Some could argue that this recession was because live actors were no longer used in the games. Nevertheless, the franchise lived on as a living legend for its violent and bloody nature.

This brief brush up on the history of the ESRB and the Mortal Kombat franchise was meant to show the readers that Mortal Kombat’s entire legacy was built upon blood, gore, and fatalities. It wasn’t the fighting. Fighting in itself is a violent action.

Mortal Kombat’s on-screen violence was so great that the ESRB was created to put games like it in check and give it a proper rating. This was supposed to keep it away from children or something equally asinine.

Anyway, removing blood and fatalities from a Mortal Kombat game pretty much removes Mortal Kombat. Even the SNES port of the first MK had lightly censored versions of the characters’ fatalities – though some did have to be altered. Why would we hardcore Mortal Kombat fans give this title the time of day? Is it shaping up to be so alien from the franchise that it could be fair to say that it isn’t a true addition.

The project is already underway, and all the hate mail in the world can’t change the direction that a contract demands. How can you let Midway know that you disapprove of this direct ravaging of the Mortal Kombat name? Boycott the product.

Simply boycott the product.