Mortal Kombat 1 is the latest entry in one of the most iconic fighting game franchises. But compared to other major players like Street Fighter 6 And Tekken 8It is registration numbers for EVOthe world’s largest fighting game tournament, are tiny, with 645 spectators versus SF6‘s 5265. In addition to this, its concurrent steam players are almost half of the last entry, Mortal Kombat 11For those who don’t actively play NetherRealm Studios’ fighting games, these statistics may seem shocking. But for fans, it’s not so surprising, although it’s certainly concerning.
The conversation about MK1The status of began when Hungrybox, a prolific Super Smash Bros. player and former EVO winner, note Mortal Kombat 1Low participation in EVO compared to most other games held at the event. He also pointed out that several reactions to competitive player Alex ”Dyloch” Ruiz property destroyer pop-off Over the weekend we did some dunks on the game. Did the community reject Mortal Kombat 1? According to people familiar with the scene, it’s a little more complicated than that, but the game has been divisive for a number of reasons.
Commentator Saki Sakura supports that Mortal CombatNetherRealm’s in-person competitive scene has always been small, with the majority of players staying online. She also says that many NetherRealm players fight on consoles as opposed to Steamso PC competitors aren’t the best indicator of player retention. She also claims that NetherRealm fans are “famous” for its return to old games. Others, like longtime NetherRealm competitive champion SonicFox, note that since the game is banned in places like Japan, it can’t tap into the country’s fighting game community, which is a major region for other fighting game communities. weighed and said while MK1 has problems, Mortal Combat‘s lower ranking in tournament entries is likely a result of years of community members focusing on the series, not just potential dissatisfaction with the last game.
“This has been going on for years,” they said in a tweet. “I truly believe the game is incredibly good and is probably in its best position yet, but people can’t stop talking about it in negative ways. Especially from bigwigs who don’t even play the game.”
While some of these phenomena may be the same as those experienced by NetherRealm players, Mortal Kombat 1 has certainly been divisive, and some players are less lenient than Sonic Fox.
One of the major changes in Mortal Kombat 1 included the implementation of Supporting Characters of “Kameo” that provide assist attacks to the main character in a fight, which has divided the community, but some of the decline in concurrent players can likely be attributed to casual players not feeling comfortable. Maintaining a high player count requires just as much attention to be paid to people who aren’t looking to fight in their local tournament.
“Yes, since release I have only spent 45 hours on this game (according to my stats),” wrote MANavarro17 on Reddit. “The combat and Kameo mechanics are great, but as a casual player the grind just sucks and isn’t as rewarding as previous games. “Invasions” is not fun at all, mostly frustrating and tedious.”
“Kameos were a bad idea in my opinion,” wrote Exciting_Passenger39. “I thought it was gonna be like a tag team, not like this crap we’ve been having.”
“For all intents and purposes, I’m a huge fan of this franchise, but I have to say, yeah, I’m not super excited about it. MK1,” wrote RealmJumper15. “The gameplay is fun and the Kameo system is neat, but other than that, the game doesn’t really have much to keep me interested in.”
But some still argue that Mortal Kombat 1 (and the franchise in general) is not designed for long-term competitive play, and that’s what makes it more accessible than its contemporaries. So it may not matter that it doesn’t attract as many competitive players to EVO.
“I think it’s probably because of the fully competitive side of things,” ChemistryTasty8751 wrote. “Other fighting games like street fighter And Tekken They pride themselves on balancing professional and competitive play, trying to outdo each other with big-money tournaments. Mortal Combat don’t touch that. Mortal Combat is a game that prioritizes casual fun, as it’s the only fighting game I’d actually recommend to beginners, because it’s not “you have to hit this perfect frame input and space out at this exact point to remove end lag.” It’s more “here’s your character, go crazy.”
But in the broader competitive landscape, isn’t it worrying that Mortal Kombat 1 is lagging behind not only its direct competitors, but also its own games?
“It’s really hilarious and pathetic.” NatiHanson wrote: concerning Mortal Kombat 1Registration numbers on Reddit. “People will invent different forms of copuim, but it’s sad. MKX year 2 had more participants than that. NetherRealm was completely blindsided by the competition (T8, SF6), and I don’t think Kameos was as successful as they hoped.
“Tekken And SF and even anime are putting out the best products they’ve ever had (I’m not necessarily talking about game DESIGN – just AS A PRODUCT),” Vergilkilla wrote in response. “Meanwhile, NRS – while the gameplay of MK1 is a massive improvement over MK11—as a product, it’s worse. More bugs, less content, fewer modes, less online play than the previous game for some reason. It’s a worse consumer product, even if it’s a better game. You can’t go back when all your competitors are moving so, so far ahead.
Eventually, Mortal Kombat 1 The game may not be dead, but it’s clearly in a strange position, both in the competitive and casual scene. What lessons will NetherRealm learn from this, if any? Is the lesson the studio should take from this situation? Injustice 3 instead? That’s what I’d like to see. NetherRealm still actively supports MK1 and has multiple DLC characters Some of them are returning fighters, while others are from other media.
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