Retro Sales Game of the Day - Mortal Kombat II - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 01 October 2009 / 10,125 Views
Game of the Day
Mortal Kombat II
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| Europe | Americas | Japan | Total | |
| Genesis | 0.58 | 1.81 | 0.03 | 2.42 |
| Super Nintendo | 0.43 | 1.50 | N/A | 1.93 |
| Combined | 1.01 | 3.31 | 0.03 | 4.35 |
Description: Mortal Kombat II released on the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo in 1994 (as well as the Gameboy and Game Gear and a plethora of other systems later), and was well known by the general audience for the extreme violence featured in the game, including the ability to perform a “fatality” finishing move. Despite the controversy (or perhaps because of it) the combined platform sales for the game totaled nearly 4.5 million copies. Did the game become a success because of the controversy from the degree of violence, was it because of the quality of the game, was it just riding the coattails of its predecessor or was it something else? Read on to find out what we decided.
In the thread, the VGChartz community shared their opinions in a poll to why they thought the game sold so well, and here are the results.
The most popular response from the voters was “It became a cultural phenomenon” followed by “The game offered a unique experience” and “The high quality of the game”.
I think several of those reasons contributed to the games sales, so I’m going to highlight each choice, and examine why it was important to the game’s sales. However; I’m in agreement with the voters that the "Bundles/Discounted Price" choice is not relevant here, and that the “Lack of competition” is not important as the game was released on multiple consoles after some of their biggest games had been released including the direct competitor, Street Fighter II.
Sold well based on the existing popularity of the franchise
The original Mortal Kombat was big in both arcades and when it was later ported to home consoles. So Mortal Kombat II was obviously not responsible for creating awareness in the franchise, as the games had already found a large following before Mortal Kombat II’s release.
The high quality of the game
Mortal Kombat II is typically the highest regarded entry in the franchise, being praised for the increased number of characters, faster and more fluid movement, and the visual upgrade over the original. The quality of the game was also important, as game sales were not as reliant on sells during the launch period back in the 16 bit era, instead games continued selling based on positive word of mouth from other people playing the game, or continued promotion.
The game offered a unique experience
While Mortal Kombat did not create the fighting genre or even make it popular (the game was a response to the popularity in arcades of Street Fighter II and other titles), Mortal Kombat did offer a darker and more violent experience than any other game in the fighting genre. The over the top violence continued on in the second game, and even included finishing moves called “friendships” (befriending the opponent) and “babalities” (turning the character into a baby) in an attempt to mock the people who protested the degree of violence in the first game. Additionally, while the Genesis version of Mortal Kombat included the gore from the arcade version, it wasn’t until Mortal Kombat II that Nintendo permitted gore on the Super Nintendo.
Effective Marketing/Advertising
Mortal Kombat II’s marketing strategy played up the reaction to the violence in the franchise, and even more importantly tried to make the game seem more lifelike, by having actors embody the game’s characters in advertisements and commercials (like the one at the beginning of the article). Slogans aimed at the game’s targeted demographic, young males, like “nothing can prepare you” made the game seem mysterious and intriguing.
Became a cultural phenomenon
While the original Mortal Kombat played a big part in it, the Mortal Kombat franchise did become a cultural phenomenon in the early to mid nineties. T-shirts, action figures and other merchandise for the franchise were all released, and Mortal Kombat benefited from it. The popularity of the franchise could be seen when a live action film based on the series was released in 1995 making 122 million dollars at the worldwide box office (Box Office Mojo), long before every successful video game was turned into a film.
That is my reasoning behind Mortal Kombat II was so successful on the home consoles. Although, it is important to remember that the sales on the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis only made up a part of profitability of the game, as it was huge success in arcades and was also ported to close to a dozen other consoles.
That explains the success of the game, but why is the game still so remembered by games? The VGChartz community also answered that question, and here is what they thought, as well as a couple of members’ opinions on the game.
Khuutra – “It HAD to be because of the violence. It was the only really notable thing about the game.
I mean, it was hard too, but even that seemed tied into the violence.”
Elprincipe – “Mortal Kombat II improved everything from the original: better graphics, more characters, more varied gameplay, better controls, more secrets, more levels...just about everything you'd want in a fighting game sequel, although the lack of Kano and Sonia was a little annoying to fans of those characters. The game was highly successful in the arcade. Teenagers were attracted by the gore (those rebels!).”
That is it for today’s Retro Sales Game of the Day, there will be another edition next week, until then check out the other articles in the “Sales of the Day” series and the most recent Look at Those Legs thread featuring Assassin's Creed.
Most recent "Sales of the Day" articles, Change in Sales, Sales Battle, Retro Sales, Look at Those Legs.
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Very interesting feature. I'd love to see more!
Baraka slashing open his opponents, with a toxic sewer background.. brilliant!
The first fatality I ever saw was Sub-Zero ripping a guy's head off with his whole spinal column attached, on the first Mortal Kombat in an arcade by my elementary school. Everybody was talking about it the next day. Totally a cultural phenomenon. But MK2 and MK3 are still amazing games I play every once in a while.
