Xbox Addict

MK Creator Says Genre’s Complexity Hurt Sales

Mortal Kombat creator Ed Boon believes that the hardcore reputation of the fighting game genre has limited its appeal to a niche audience, but he still wants to add more mechanical depth to the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot.
Speaking with Gamasutra, Boon said that he doesn’t believe there is a large audience for "really complex [fighting] games," and talked about his attempts to keep Mortal Kombat accessible.

"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," he said. "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."

He continued, "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."

Despite that though, Boon said he wants to go after hardcore fighting fans with the next Mortal Kombat game while still keeping it accessible for more casual players.

He acknowledged that casual players are far more numerous, but also noted how vocal core fighting fans can be.

"This game, we are really going after that hardcore player," he said. "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."

It sounds like Boon wants the reboot to be as much Ultimate Mortal Kombat III as Mortal Kombat II. The latter tends to be more fondly remembered, but the former is generally considered to have more depth.

The reboot will be out in 2011.