If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Mortal Kombat 2011 "to focus" on the "hardcore player"

MK9

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon has said the demand for complex fighting games has waned over the years.

Speaking with Gamasutra, Boon said there's a misconception among the public that fighting games more for the hardcore.

"While I certainly think there is an audience for that, there's not a very huge audience for the really complex [fighting] games. Unfortunately, the sales numbers kind of demonstrate that," said Boon.

"When we make Mortal Kombat games, we've always tried to keep them accessible," said Boon. "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.

"Unfortunately, I think that some people are associating [with the fighting genre] this kind of complexity that they don't want to learn. That makes some developers shy away from [the genre] because it's really such a niche market," he said.

"We pretty actively play all of the fighting games that come out," Boon said. "In terms of what we feel would've done well and what maybe could be done better, we really try to look at them. As far as Street Fighter is concerned, I'm a huge fan of Street Fighter, I have been since it came out. So Street Fighter IV and Super Street Fighter IV, I have a lot of respect and admiration for. But again, they have a different kind of pace and tone from us."

While Boon laments the public's preconceived notions one the fighting genre, he admitted to Gama the new Mortal Kombat will be aimed at the hardcore fighting player.

"Oddly enough, this [new Mortal Kombat] 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," he said. "At the same time, we want to stay accessible. But the simple numbers of it is that there are just far, far more of the casual player than the hardcore player.

"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."

The new Mortal Kombat will include four-player and two-player modes, is out next year on PS3 and Xbox 360, and contains a "most robust online" system.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

In this article
Awaiting cover image

Mortal Kombat (2011)

Video Game

Related topics
About the Author
Stephany Nunneley-Jackson avatar

Stephany Nunneley-Jackson

News Editor

Stephany is VG247’s News Editor, with 22 years experience (with 15 of them at VG247). With a brain that lacks adhesive ducks, the ill-tempered, chaotic neutral fembot does her best to bring you the most interesting gaming news. She is also unofficially the site’s Lord of the Rings/Elder Scrolls Editor.

Comments