October 1993: Mortal Kombat storms the arcade and has people up in arms
Much like the movies Gremlins and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom had made people question the appropriateness of general entertainment for the masses a decade earlier, Mortal Kombat was one of several games released in the early 1990s that paved the way for the creation of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB).  This incredibly popular fighting game that became known for it’s “fatalities” above all else, was the brainchild of Ed Boon and John Tobias of Midway. Tasked with creating a simple fighting game, Boon and Tobias introduced MK’s stylized look and trademark digital 3D characters — a far cry from the cartoony 2D characters seen in the many fighting games of the time, such as those in the Street Fighter series. But it was the “violence” and “blood” of the game that had everyone talking. Hearings were held at the federal level on violence and video games, and one of the results of those hearings was the formation of the ESRB. Mortal Kombat was one of the first video game to receive an mature (M) rating.