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.
Despite this initial controversy, Mortal Kombat has grown into one of entertainment’s most successful franchises. The original games has spawned dozens of sequels and related games over the past 20 years. So fighting game fans, what’ll it be? Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter? Go head to head in the comments!
Street Fighter will always be the better series. In terms of gameplay and influence, it can’t be beat. But, nostalgia-wise, I personally lean Mortal Kombat. I’m not exactly a fighting game fan anyway.
I’m definitely Street Fighter camp as well. Its control scheme is so much more natural than that of Mortal Kombat. But there’s something to be said for MK’s influence as well — can’t argue with the many fighting games that followed in it footprints.
Ah Mortal Kombat, the original inspiration of the video game violence debate. It’s funny looking back and seeing just how far the debate has come since the it started. Funny, because it hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s been repeating the same old cycle endlessly for years now. When are we just going to let this go? If there’s going to be a debate on this at all it should be about media in general, not just games.
Yep, it’s amazing how little has changed in 20 years in terms of the video games/violence “argument,” and this is despite the incredible strives made in the industry since then. Most gamers probably have let it go, but as long as the media juggernaut exists, so too will the spread of misinformation.