Official DLC Speculation Discussion Volume II

[BlondeLombax]

The blood, gore, and fatalities are far from necessary.

I think that toned-down fatalities would work pretty well as Final Smashes. You can keep the brutality of them, just make sure there's no bleeding or dismemberment.

 

[7NATOR]

Honestly, I Imagine Fatalities wouldn't be Final Smash material. They are too important to the MK Brand to just be Final smashes

I Imagine they'd be moves you can input that could Instantly kill an opponent at 100% or higher. I also imagine that they add in ones that could destroy opponents, but in PG Way

I think the Final Smash would be based off the Super Move from Injustice, whether they add Scorpion, Sub-Zero, or etc

 

[Idon]

Honestly, I Imagine Fatalities wouldn't be Final Smash material. They are too important to the MK Brand to just be Final smashes

I Imagine they'd be moves you can input that could Instantly kill an opponent at 100% or higher. I also imagine that they add in ones that could destroy opponents, but in PG Way

I think the Final Smash would be based off the Super Move from Injustice, whether they add Scorpion, Sub-Zero, or etc

The entire point of fatalities is that they're gratification for winner post victory.

They literally don't exist in game mechanics.

 

[SpectreJordan]

What do I know, I just want 2B but she'll be far gone by the time Smash 6 rolls around.

I don’t necessarily think so. She probably won’t be in the sequel. But Automata has become so big & popular that it could end up being the FF7 of the series with 2B being Nier’s Cloud. Thus, meaning she could have a good shot at a future Smash.

Or the next game is somehow even better than Automata with even better characters & we just roll with them too lol

 

[7NATOR]

The entire point of fatalities is that they're gratification for winner post victory.

They literally don't exist in game mechanics.

Technically they do. It's just called Brutalities these days (Different from how Brutalities worked in the OG Trilogy)

If you want you can make the Fatality the Win screen or something, but I do think that a Mortal Kombat character, if they got in, should have the ability to use some type of finishing move in the gameplay

 

[Evil Trapezium]

Technically they do. It's just called Brutalities these days (Different from how Brutalities worked in the OG Trilogy)

If you want you can make the Fatality the Win screen or something, but I do think that a Mortal Kombat character, if they got in, should have the ability to use some type of finishing move in the gameplay

Here is an idea I had for Fatalities in Smash Bros.

When Scorpion hits the opponent with a strong move on their last stock, the screen does the critical zoom as normal but instead of them getting sent flying, they act like they got their shield broken and the opponent becomes dizzy. Then finish him/her/them appears on the screen.

 

[Knight Dude]

I honestly don't understand why Master Chief seems to elude the theory about only one company per pass (excluding Nintendo of course). Sephiroth was believed to kill off any other Square rep, the Capcom mii costumes were believed to kill off the potential of a Capcom rep, I don't see why Steve being in pass 2 doesn't also make Master Chief seem more unlikely? Is it because Minecraft is technically "Mojang"? I get that Master Chief is one of the most popular characters in gaming, but I feel like I've just seen a lot of people apply certain beliefs that a character isn't coming because "X company is already repped" or "Mii costumes from Y company are already in" and still seem to think Master Chief is likely. I'm not saying there is no way he is happening, but it just seems like he gets exceptions from the normal speculation theories applied to so many other characters.

Well, I don't exactly think Capcom's entirely out of the running myself since any character they add could just be from a different series and use Mii Costumes from said series. Though I'd say its certainly less likely.

MC's definitely a bigger deal than most, but I'd say he's in the same camp as any Square character too. Unfortunately, the same can also be said for the people's champ, Fulgore.

The best thing to take away from Sakurai's column is that the Mii costume wasn't holding Rex back from becoming a fighter like many people thought it was.

Can the Dream no longer be a Meme?

 

[TraaP]

To be honest I’ll be satisfied with FP2 being the end of Smash for a long long time. For dlc: Smash 4 only had a year & a half (or so) long dlc cycle - 2014 November to 2016 February. Whereas, Ultimate will be from 2018 December to 2021 December (at the latest) & that’s 3 years, double the length of Smash 4’s.

 

[Knight Dude]

Why do I get the feeling this is how Sakurai would reveal that Nintendo has a third fighter's pass in development with him at the helm.

As punishment, he'll add a character who's melee attacks have even more range than Sephiroth and Min-Min.

Dunno who'd that be exactly, but someone.

 

[Lamperouge]

Can the Dream no longer be a Meme?
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Dude, I'd totally be down for Mega Man X somehow making it in. The original is still one of the best games of all time IMO.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Here is an idea I had for Fatalities in Smash Bros.

When Scorpion hits the opponent with a strong move on their last stock, the screen does the critical zoom as normal but instead of them getting sent flying, they act like they got their shield broken and the opponent becomes dizzy. Then finish him/her/them appears on the screen.

Problem with that is that the kill screen doesn't always guarantee a kill, not to mention that if it's an off stage kill, the MK character better have a good recovery because a regular kill would be like 6 seconds faster than a shield break animation in the air

 

[Ben Holt]

Iirc, Mortal Kombat characters didn't have fatalities in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
It was rated T, so the violence was non-existent, which is why I think Scorpion COULD work in Smash Bros.

 

[Knight Dude]

Dude, I'd totally be down for Mega Man X somehow making it in. The original is still one of the best games of all time IMO.

I'd be happy with any of the protags from Mega Man's long history, even Zero. It's just that I shill MMX the most since he's my favorite of the bunch.

That said, I'm still doubting Mii Costumes getting upgrades, at least for Season 2 ones of all things. But hey, everyone's got their long-shot hope, might as well have a few of my own.

Then again, Geo and Volnutt don't have Mii Costumes yet.

Here is an idea I had for Fatalities in Smash Bros.

When Scorpion hits the opponent with a strong move on their last stock, the screen does the critical zoom as normal but instead of them getting sent flying, they act like they got their shield broken and the opponent becomes dizzy. Then finish him/her/them appears on the screen.

I feel like Final Smashes that insta-kill at a certain percent are good enough for Fatalites. But if there was someway that Sub-Zero could shatter someone after freezing them, that'd be neat.

Iirc, Mortal Kombat characters didn't have fatalities in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
It was rated T, so the violence was non-existent, which is why I think Scorpion COULD work in Smash Bros.

They do. It's that the Fatalities are extremely toned down and lame in that one. While heroes like Superman have "Heroic Brutalites" since they don't usually kill, except for modern Wonder Woman and I think modern Aquaman. The most violent ones are Deathstroke and Joker shooting the opponent in the face, but they cut the camera away from the loser.

You might be thinking of Injustice, Where they don't exist, but have over the top super moves in places of them and X-Ray moves.

The fact that they can exist in Injustice just makes me think it'd fine if Smash toned them down. Bayo doesn't use her weird sex torture ****. And none of Snake's attacks draw blood.

Hell, a move where Sub-Zero freezes the enemy solid, and break them without any blood and gore could be pretty easy to imagine. Same with Scorpion's Flame just exploding an opponent completely.

 

[SKX31]

Problem with that is that the kill screen doesn't always guarantee a kill, not to mention that if it's an off stage kill, the MK character better have a good recovery because a regular kill would be like 6 seconds faster than a shield break animation in the air

The former wouldn't be much of a problem since a shield break stun would allow for either a fully charged Smash attack or a kill confirm in most situations. While I kinda doubt that Scorpion or Sub-Zero would have 's absurd ways of punishing shield breaks through Gigaflare + followups from it, they'd still likely be able to KO most characters if a shield break happens at 75 % (which this scenario would amount to) and at ledge. You'd just need to prevent the opposite from happening - that is, Scorpion / Sub-Zero stunlocking someone for absurd amounts of time, which would be griefing. I'd propose a cooldown timer for the "Finish X!" idea to prevent that.

The latter could be a issue, certainly - even as that would be the a really disrespectful way to KO someone and thus #WorthIt.

But yeah, if anything I'm leaning towards Fatalities being "Kill at or above 100 %" Final Smashes, especially since Fatalities fit that over-the-top cinematic style Final Smashes have.

 

[Evil Trapezium]

Problem with that is that the kill screen doesn't always guarantee a kill, not to mention that if it's an off stage kill, the MK character better have a good recovery because a regular kill would be like 6 seconds faster than a shield break animation in the air

I imagine that guaranteeing a kill was what it was supposed to do so I don't think they'd really take into account the near misses. As for aerial KOs, I thought they could either just work normally or the fatality activates when you smash attack an opponent like with Hero's critical hit. Or the Stage can transition like with stage morph into a dark area where the mortal Kombat character is free to input button combinations to do their fatality.

I feel like Final Smashes that insta-kill at a certain percent are good enough for Fatalites. But if there was someway that Sub-Zero could shatter someone after freezing them, that'd be neat.

I think so too but fatalities feel like something that should be final and Final Smashes don't always do that. Honestly X-rays or fatal blows would be more suitable for that. I don't know.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

Iirc, Mortal Kombat characters didn't have fatalities in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe.
It was rated T, so the violence was non-existent, which is why I think Scorpion COULD work in Smash Bros.

They did have fatalities but toned down.

And they were lame, notably Kano's. How the **** does that kill you?

 

[Commander_Alph]

MK vs. DC "Fatality" is just a lamer version of Brutality which could actually work in Smash idk if you could mercilessly punching Isabelle, that in reality could give her a black eye if it weren't for Smash's brand of slapstick will raise the rating?

 

[CosmicQuark]

To be honest I’ll be satisfied with FP2 being the end of Smash for a long long time. For dlc: Smash 4 only had a year & a half (or so) long dlc cycle - 2014 November to 2016 February. Whereas, Ultimate will be from 2018 December to 2021 December (at the latest) & that’s 3 years, double the length of Smash 4’s.

I wouldn't be, unfortunately. There's just no way they can top Ultimate--anything they come up with will feel less interesting. "A new Smash game, that's slightly different than the last and 40 cut characters, and 50 cut stages!" They really should, like a lot of Fighting games, just continue DLC for as long as possible. It's Nintendo's unreasonable stance against DLC that makes them different than a lot of games that would be perfectly fine continuing support for many years/seasons. If the Switch does have that 10 year cycle they want to hit (some people are saying 2024 for a Switch successor--hope not!), there's more than enough time to continue Smash DLC for a few more years and afterwards plan on the Smash sequel for the beginning of the new system. Even then, I can't see myself getting a future Smash game--they have framed Ultimate as truly "ultimate", and there's nowhere to go from here.

One possibility I would be fine with is an Ultimate Deluxe, with all the DLC in the base game, with more WOL stuff to incorporate the DLC (new bosses, boss screen!) and Deluxe exclusive characters. Unfortunately, I don't see that being feasible, given how many third parties they'd have to work with. It may be easier than a new game, but nothing says it would be easy.

 

[Commander_Alph]

I wouldn't be, unfortunately. There's just no way they can top Ultimate--anything they come up with will feel less interesting. "A new Smash game, that's slightly different than the last and 40 cut characters, and 50 cut stages!" They really should, like a lot of Fighting games, just continue DLC for as long as possible. It's Nintendo's unreasonable stance against DLC that makes them different than a lot of games that would be perfectly fine continuing support for many years/seasons. If the Switch does have that 10 year cycle they want to hit (some people are saying 2024 for a Switch successor--hope not!), there's more than enough time to continue Smash DLC for a few more years and afterwards plan on the Smash sequel for the beginning of the new system. Even then, I can't see myself getting a future Smash game--they have framed Ultimate as truly "ultimate", and there's nowhere to go from here.

One possibility I would be fine with is an Ultimate Deluxe, with all the DLC in the base game, with more WOL stuff to incorporate the DLC (new bosses, boss screen!) and Deluxe exclusive characters. Unfortunately, I don't see that being feasible, given how many third parties they'd have to work with. It may be easier than a new game, but nothing says it would be easy.

I feel like dragging the game along to the ground with DLC after DLC will just feel stale after a long time, feel like after getting all of Sm4sh mii costume back that's going to be the end. I know that Smash Ultimate is the only game where people encourage Nintendo to milk the series dry.

Unrelated, but feels like people taking Sakurai's word about him happy to work on Smash way too seriously and now saying things like "at least it makes him happy" when talking about Ultimate impending end.

 

[Gengar84]

Assuming we get either Scorpion or Sub-Zero, would it be too weird if we got palate swaps based on the other ninjas for alternate outfits? On one hand, they seem like the perfect costumes but on the other, something just feels wrong about a yellow Sub-Zero or blue Scorpion. If they do this, I would imagine they would go with their classic Ultimate MK3 designs.

Alternatively, I’m not sure if they would all work as semi-clones with different specials. It’s been a while since I played the SNES games so I don’t really remember how many basic moves they have in common.

 

[3BitSaurus]

I think I've said this before, but I think a MK character should have a Friendship as an option of sorts for a Final Smash (maybe give them both a Fatality and a Friendship as FS, like how certain characters have multiple).

It would be a funny and interesting nod to MK's contribution in helping shape game rating boards, I think.

 

[CosmicQuark]

I feel like dragging the game along to the ground with DLC after DLC will just feel stale after a long time, feel like after getting all of Sm4sh mii costume back that's going to be the end. I know that Smash Ultimate is the only game where people encourage Nintendo to milk the series dry.

Unrelated, but feels like people taking Sakurai's word about him happy to work on Smash way too seriously and now saying things like "at least it makes him happy" when talking about Ultimate impending end.

There's a reason people are encouraging Nintendo to milk it--it's an incredible base to add on to, and any future Smash game will be lackluster in comparison. Ultimate has all my favorite characters, and I can't think of any characters they could add in a sequel that would make it a must get. The game sold like crazy, the DLC's likely been a major hit, and they would be crazy to scrap all the work they done to make a subpar sequel. I know that I probably won't be getting any future Smash game, because why would I get something I see as inferior to the previous entry?

The one point I agree with is Smash's popularity has been waning for the past couple years, and a lot of people have dropped off. So I can certainly see them ending it after Volume 2--but that doesn't mean I should be happy with it ending and support it. I certainly don't.

 

[Knight Dude]

I think I've said this before, but I think a MK character should have a Friendship as an option of sorts for a Final Smash (maybe give them both a Fatality and a Friendship as FS, like how certain characters have multiple).

It would be a funny and interesting nod to MK's contribution in helping shape game rating boards, I think.

Well, should it be the Jack in the Box or the Action figure?

 

[3BitSaurus]

Well, should it be the Jack in the Box or the Action figure?

Doesn't matter that much, so long as afterwards we hear Xander Mobus saying "Friendship... Friendship!?"

Or they could reuse the MKII audio clip, that works too, I guess.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

I think I've said this before, but I think a MK character should have a Friendship as an option of sorts for a Final Smash (maybe give them both a Fatality and a Friendship as FS, like how certain characters have multiple).

It would be a funny and interesting nod to MK's contribution in helping shape game rating boards, I think.

Are we really doing this again? Violence debate even though that's been debunked.

 

[3BitSaurus]

Are we really doing this again? Violence debate even though that's been debunked.

...Except that's not what I said at all?

I really just think it's a nice reference. Friendships were put in the games as a response to the controversies surrounding MK, which also pushed the creation of the ESRB.

My point is literally just that: Friendships would be an interesting nod to a part of video game history. Hell, they're so iconic in their own right they got brought back later in the series.

 

[SpecterFlower]

Accurate.

Didn't someone already post that?

well it's missing a ryu every other pack

 

[GillaMonster]

I would not mind if there is not another smash bros. The next one would have a ton of high expectations, and I would really think Sakurai would like to stretch his creative visions elsewhere, he is not one to do sequel after sequel for the sake of it. I think for future consoles, they should simply port Ultimate, maybe add a few more mii costumes, or target smash or something. But I think after this, another smash is not necessary, even if there is another smash bros don't expect the current director to direct

 

[Commander_Alph]

...Except that's not what I said at all?

I really just think it's a nice reference. Friendships were put in the games as a response to the controversies surrounding MK, which also pushed the creation of the ESRB.

My point is literally just that: Friendships would be an interesting nod to a part of video game history. Hell, they're so iconic in their own right they got brought back later in the series.

Friendship is just a good loophole to replace Fatality, it's both iconic and also a finishing move in MK. I could see a joke coming from Sakurai himself about this problem.

 

[SpecterFlower]

I would not mind if there is not another smash bros. The next one would have a ton of high expectations, and I would really think Sakurai would like to stretch his creative visions elsewhere, he is not one to do sequel after sequel for the sake of it. I think for future consoles, they should simply port Ultimate, maybe add a few more mii costumes, or target smash or something. But I think after this, another smash is not necessary, even if there is another smash bros don't expect the current director to direct

yous see smash bros ultimate sold above 20 million, there's going to be another one, it sold above the best selling zelda game and best selling 3d mario.

 

[Michael the Spikester]

yous see smash bros ultimate sold above 20 million, there's going to be another one, it sold above the best selling zelda game and best selling 3d mario.

And the highest-selling fighting game surpassing Street Fighter.

 

[chocolatejr9]

So wait, was someone making a whole rant about Mii costumes not being a death knell even if most of us agree unfortunately they are?

I ain’t gonna dig, but I’m gonna go with my gut and say they are passionate about either Geno, Travis, or Lloyd. My gut says Geno.

Until we see a new character that is a dlc Mii costume, they stand as a death knell.

I don't know if you figured it out yet, but your gut is right on this one.

Ironically, the user started saying Mii Costumes don't deconfirm after his showed up...

 

[Wunderwaft]

I told you I was doing it, I just never told you when. Y'all gonna learn today. Bootleg Smashboards article time.

View attachment 306751
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The Super Smash Bros. series roster has more than doubled within the past decade with an insane jump from 35 playable characters in Brawl to the base roster of 74 total characters in Ultimate, with now 80 total characters and counting with current DLC. This massive jump is not only thanks to the hardworking efforts of Sakurai providing Ultimate the ultimate experience by bringing back all previously playable characters, but also by expanding their horizons on what characters are introduced to the game. Since Brawl, third-party non-Nintendo characters started as a guest duo of Sonic and Snake to now well over an eighth of the current roster spanning from various franchises, companies, and genres. This begs the question of who isn't eligible to join the roster?

Characters from M-Rated video games and/or from games with heavily violent content have been a tricky subject when it comes to plausible Smash Bros. inclusion. Although the characters Snake, Bayonetta, and Joker come from these mature-rated games, characters from franchises with notorious amounts of gore, blood, and other violence have been perceived as having no place in Smash's harmless fantasy violence. These include characters such as Bethesda's Doom Slayer from the DOOM franchise and the star of this piece, NetherRealm Studios's Scorpion from the Mortal Kombat franchise. Though while the Doom Slayer does appear to have a cult following and an understanding of plausibility from the core Smash speculation scene, Scorpion is perceived in the opposite fashion. However, many of these skepticisms are based on multiple pieces of misinformation, of which this piece will dissect, debunk, and prove that this hellspawn ninja is more precedent than you may first think.

Spoiler: Dumping the rest here because there is a lot to say

Before we start, what even is Mortal Kombat? And why is it important?
View attachment 306760 View attachment 306766
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Mortal Kombat is a fighting game series by the now-defunct Midway Studios that first hit arcade cabinets in October of 1992. Between its current rivals of SNK's Fatal Fury and Capcom's Street Fighter II, it was a smash hit. It was praised for its, at the time, realistic graphics using digitized renders of real-life actors that were filmed and then converted into the game and violent trademark Fatality ending moves that depicted graphic ways to kill your opponent after winning the match. In the United States, it had even usurped Street Fighter II during the holiday season of its release year just three months after its release. By the time it had gained its notoriety in the United States for its graphic violence in the 1993 Congressional hearings, 3 million units were already distributed. I'll get back to the hearings soon.

View attachment 306765
Grabbed from magazine Play Meter Vol. 18, no. 13, December '92.
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It was such a smash hit that it had spawned an entirely new genre of fighting games that used its art style of digitized actors; similar to how Fatal Fury and Street Fighter's success spawned a wave of less successful imitators. Surprisingly, even Capcom had tried it with their two different versions of the video game adaptation of their movie adaptation of Street Fighter II. Mortal Kombat had countless sequels since its inception, with the trilogy of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Mortal Kombat III (and its update UMK3) continuing to dominate the arcade charts for years while being critically acclaimed by critics and gamers alike. And on top of that, home console versions were also selling millions of units per entry with great reviews. It was on the SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo, where although the SNES MK1 was notorious for having its blood permanently censored (the Genesis version was also censored, but had a well-known blood-enabling cheat code), the blood returned for all future installments, which is one of the first seeds of misinformation being how much Nintendo actually supported its graphic content at the time. The awkward handling of the first game's port was mainly due to...

The 1993 Congressional Hearings and the Present Day Kombat​

The U.S. Senate held a hearing discussing violent video game franchises in December of 1993 and March of 1994. These meetings discussed the concerns of parents who believed that violent video games would have a negative effect on children as the technology evolved to display more graphic scenes in realistic fashions in an unregulated manner. To Congress, they believed that the industry was purposefully marketing violent content to children and threatened to take action. Four games were brought into the spotlight: SEGA's Night Trap, ID Software's DOOM, Konami's Lethal Enforcers, and of course, Mortal Kombat. These hearings forced the industry to create the ESRB rating system we have today in the United States.

Mortal Kombat by this point had become the most well-known violent video game. And though that would seem to detract it from audiences, the Kombat train was still going stronger than ever. By the turn of the century, home console versions of Mortal Kombat Trilogy and its first dive into 3D with Mortal Kombat 4 were well-received and sold well. However, the series had begun to enter a decline entering the 2000s, selling fewer copies per entry, and eventually, the main publisher of the franchise Midway Studios became defunct in 2009. However, the series was purchased by WB Interactive and repurposed as NetherRealm Studios, and the franchise made a massive rebound when Mortal Kombat (also known as MK9) released in 2011. It alone saved the franchise after being acquired by WB and launched a new era for the series.

Following to the present day, Mortal Kombat 11 is beloved and is currently recorded to have sold over 8 million copies as of October 2020. It had even won Best Fighting Game in The Game Awards 2020. It is still going strong with a recently enhanced version for next-gen consoles on Xbox Series X and PS5. It has also been a juggernaut outside of the gaming scene. This is partially thanks to Warner Bros. owning the series and allowing it to flourish in multimedia formats. There have been comics, figures, cartoons, collaborations with DC, and currently three movies full-length with an upcoming fourth one in production. It is far bigger than one would initially expect.

That is practically all of the history you need to know of the series, but that doesn't solve why many believe a Mortal Kombat character is improbable. It has to do with misinformation being spread about various things. For starters...

Japan uses CERO
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The ESRB is only applied in North America. For Europe, there is PEGI. For Japan, their rendition is the CERO, which rates games slightly differently than how we do in the West. Mortal Kombat has an M-Rating in the ESRB. That equivalent in Japan's CERO would be a D rating, which is where the Metal Gear Solid and Bayonetta games are placed. Therefore, Mortal Kombat would also be in the same ranking, right? Not quite. Due to its excessive violence and gore, it actually receives a Z rating, the maximum rating that is equivalent to the ESRB's AO (Adult Only) ranking. However, certain acts of violence such as decapitation and massive amounts of blood loss are strictly prohibited and would have to be changed. Even the games listed above have some sort of censored violence that is uncensored in the Western release. Another example would be the No More Heroes franchise, where excessive blood is replaced with enemies turning into blackened ash.

Despite this, Mortal Kombat still exists in Japan.​

I've seen articles everywhere discussing bans on Mortal Kombat, saying that it's been prohibited from release. This isn't the case, the newer entries are simply unlocalized or were canceled releases, not outright bans. It isn't that Japan is banning these games from ever reaching store shelves, it is that WB Interactive doesn't want to pursue heavy censoring just to enter that market. However, that doesn't stop any Japanese player from playing any Mortal Kombat, even after the last official Japanese release being Mortal Kombat Trilogy on the PSX. There was even a televised tournament where Japanese players tried to defeat a blind American in Mortal Kombat: Deception, despite it never being localized. The blind player won, by the way.

Furthermore, there are two easy ways to play Mortal Kombat as a Japanese player:

1. Import the games. It's been done with both Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat 11. You can do it on all platforms, even Switch.​
2. Play on PC, because CERO only regulates console releases. MKX and MK11 are available on Japanese Steam services.​

An audience for Mortal Kombat in Japan is also precedent. Although it is a more underground scene, you can find content either on YouTube or nicovideo where Mortal Kombat is being played. and the view count is substantial in thousands and sometimes millions. My point is that a player base exists in Japan. Of course, an official localization would mean more, especially to a Japanese company such as Nintendo. But they do know. In fact...

Nintendo is actually into Mortal Kombat and wanted it on Switch.​

At least, this was Nintendo of America's interests. When WB Interactive introduced MK11, they were concerned that the mature title would conflict with Nintendo's family-friendly console. However, they persisted that they actively wanted this title on their platform and were confident in their sales. Below is the panel from NoA representative Scott Hawkins and his discussion of Mortal Kombat 11's success on Nintendo Switch (the stream is in Portuguese, but the voices are in English):

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And they were very much correct. Mortal Kombat 11 has sold extremely well on Nintendo Switch and even toppled Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, even being yet another million unit best-seller. Go into the eShop right now and you will still find MK11 on their best-selling section of listed games still after being on the platform for over a year now. While graphically the game is lacking, it is a technical marvel for a Switch game and went well beyond Nintendo's original expectations, which was already positive. What does this tell us?

Nintendo is aware. Nintendo knows that there is an audience for Kombat.​

As long as CERO remains the same, Mortal Kombat will likely not see an official localization on Switch. But that is fine. Mortal Kombat was never even translated for its 90's era localizations; they're all in English. The knowledge that Nintendo has about the cultural icon that is Mortal Kombat is enough. You can argue adding a character such as Scorpion detracts from the charm of Mortal Kombat's violent themes, but that is similar to characters like the Doom Slayer or Ryu Hayabusa where violence held a key component in aspects of their games. It is not needed to fulfill the character, the character itself is represented to celebrate the video game industry, and this would be selling one of the best-selling fighting games to date; the third rival after Fatal Fury and Street Fighter.

Final Words​

The main message of this piece is not to say that Scorpion is a must-have that everyone must accept and open their eyes to. The cultural challenges of Mortal Kombat have persevered and clashed with Japan, but that doesn't make him an impossible inclusion, especially not the fact that it is an American creation that mostly sticks Western. After all, Banjo Kazooie is prominently known to be a bigger success in the Western market than in Japan. Four playable characters in the game are designed by Western companies (with Dark Samus being one American-designed character). SNK (and by translation, what Terry Bogard brought) dominated the Latin-American scene with the NEOGEO more than its Asian scene. Much like how a series that's predominantly popular in Japan that isn't so paraded in the West can and has gotten into Smash, the reverse can apply, and Mortal Kombat is a shining example.

Mortal Kombat's history might appear to paint it in a negative light, but the inclusion of the rating systems has benefitted the gaming industry; as it had prevented government involvement in the industry that could have done far worse. Nowadays, the games and series that were once brought to court in 1993 are beloved. You can buy DOOM and Night Trap on Nintendo Switch eShops today. To say that Scorpion would be impossible is to also assume that the Doom Slayer must also be impossible, even if he was able to localize into the Japanese market.

Again, I am not saying to expect Scorpion or to think he's a priority. I am saying that with the information we have of him, we understand that Nintendo recognizes the Mortal Kombat franchise and respects it. They understand both it and its history as both one of the biggest fighting games and game series in history. My goal was to correct the constant misinformation I have heard about him and to clarify that the shaky history of the franchise overseas does not disqualify him or any other Kombatant. And I hope I was able to deliver.

Just don't be surprised if the day comes where Mario gets hooked by a kunai and dragged away to Hell Netherrealm in a Smash trailer.

@Venus of the Desert Bloom Can I get the transparent S/B logo stamp to add onto this to totally make it legit? I'm kidding.

So basically Scorpion is in, right?

Jokes aside this is a great article you wrote. A lot of misinformation is sadly spread regarding MK and it's popularity in Japan so good on you for fighting against the waves.

 

[PeridotGX]

i think this puts the nail in the coffin for an ARMS rep. Sorry to all the Spring Stans.

 

[Gengar84]

It’s kind of funny how funny how close the different MK ninjas come to fitting each costume slot. We’d only miss out on either Tremor or Chameleon and neither are that important. We could have Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Smoke, Noob Saibot, Ermac, Rain, and one more just as different palate swaps using their MK Trilogy/Ultimate MK3 designs.

 

[Flyboy]

It’s kind of funny how funny how close the different MK ninjas come to fitting each costume slot. We’d only miss out on either Tremor or Chameleon and neither are that important. We could have Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Reptile, Smoke, Noob Saibot, Ermac, Rain, and one more just as different palate swaps using their MK Trilogy/Ultimate MK3 designs.

This is why I think if we don't get a fighter, an MK Ninja Mii costume would be so sick to have. Make it like Bomberman and have it change colors based on the favorite color you pick for the Mii.

 

[SpecterFlower]

View attachment 306790
i think this puts the nail in the coffin for an ARMS rep. Sorry to all the Spring Stans.

Is this new? i remember them saying it was still happening last year.

Edit: upon further research i would take this with a grain of salt, i think it's 50/50 whether it's cancelled or not, the writing is done and the art seems mostly done, it seems to be what the writer though happened to it but dark horse can still publish it later if they want to. i think.

 

[RoboFist]

To be honest I’ll be satisfied with FP2 being the end of Smash for a long long time. For dlc: Smash 4 only had a year & a half (or so) long dlc cycle - 2014 November to 2016 February. Whereas, Ultimate will be from 2018 December to 2021 December (at the latest) & that’s 3 years, double the length of Smash 4’s.

It's kind of a bittersweet thing because Ultimate needs to end eventually. I'd rather such a triumph of a crossover event go out with more of a bang than drag on and on until nobody cares anymore.

Concert leak was a big ol' lie, but the concept behind it was great. I know I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but I'd love for Nintendo to do something celebratory once development wraps. Even just releasing the final version of the mural would be really damn cool.

I also really want to know what Sakurai could possibly do next. He's got some really fun ideas as a director and he clearly knows how to stay faithful to a character's roots. I'd love to see him dust off another Nintendo franchise. Like, I could see him reinvent Ice Climber as a sort of Kirby-esque vertical platformer, or maybe even resurrect F-Zero or Mach Rider. This is the guy who brought back Kid Icarus as a rail shooter, he can do anything and that's so exciting.

Or more likely, maybe he'll just finally rest...watch the sunrise on a grateful universe...

 

[Will]

I think you guys are misunderstanding some Fatalities, especially Scorpion's. His trademark one just burns you into a skeleton. That's pretty tame, there's not even any blood involved.

MK vs. DC "Fatality" is just a lamer version of Brutality which could actually work in Smash idk if you could mercilessly punching Isabelle, that in reality could give her a black eye if it weren't for Smash's brand of slapstick will raise the rating?

Bro we got guns you worrying about the wrong type of violence.

 

[Otoad64]

I think you guys are misunderstanding some Fatalities, especially Scorpion's. His trademark one just burns you into a skeleton. That's pretty tame, there's not even any blood involved.

that doesn't sound very tame...