New Mortal Kombat To "Focus Hard On The Hardcore Player"

Today’s fighting games are far more accessible than their counterparts from the 1990s. You may not dominate tournaments by mashing buttons in Soul Calibur or Tekken, but you can at least participate in a good-natured multiplayer session. Back in the mid-90s, memorization was a much larger focus, with games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat asking fans to rattle off intricate special moves and combos at a moment’s notice. It’s been 15 years since the last proper 2D Mortal Kombat title, and creator Ed Boon realizes how the genre has changed.

Speaking to Gamasutra, Boon says "We really don't want to put something in the game that 80 percent of the public will never experience or never be able to execute. I think that's a recurring thing that we're really trying to keep in mind, is if the average person will be able to enjoy, experience or execute this move.”

Despite addressing the casual fans with this statement, the longtime MK developer says that they’re steering the upcoming series reboot towards the hardcore gamers. "Oddly enough, this [new MK] is the first one in a while that we've really made a conscious effort that we are going to focus hard on the hardcore player. At the same time, we want to stay accessible,” he says. “But the simple numbers of it is that there are just far, far more of the casual player than the hardcore player."

He continues, "We have some features in the game that are really layered into the game. I think the casual people will still have a good time, but they're not going to dig as deep in terms of fighting mechanic, features and strategy."

Considering his statements in the interview, it’s likely that fatalities and special moves will still require the memorization routinely associated with the series. With so many elements of the new title rooted firmly in the elements of MK 1-3, anything else would likely seem like a bad fit.