Random: Nintendo Embraces Mortal Kombat's Gore In Stark Contrast To '90s Censorship

1993 - oh no, won't somebody think about the poor pixels?

2023 - violence against pixels is now allowed

I love Nintendo and I hope they stay mostly away from violence and stuff.

I had two friends. One with the Genesis version. The other, SNES. We spent more time at the friends house, with the Genesis version. 😂

I think it’s great Nintendo embraces this, if only to encourage third party support. Was great in Switch’s early years getting games like Breath of the Wild then on the flip side getting Doom - nice to have such a variety of games

It's a complete 180, especially with weeby fanservice games, you go to the Switch to get the true uncensored experience, and it's glorious. I think Bayonetta set them on the right path of changing their ways a little.

I find the violence juvenile and disturbing

@Jhena I wouldn't worry since it's only Nintendo of America's channel that's promoting the game. As you can see it's not on the Japanese channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@NintendoJP

A simple marketing deal in the west isn't going to affect Nintendo's first party development.

Nintendo hasn’t been as strict with violence and whatnot for a long time. It’s those wimps at Sony that take the censorship crown these days.

It seems Nintendo will never fully shed the whole 'kiddie' image no matter how many uncensored violent or otherwise 'mature content' games they freely host on their platform. I have friends to this day that see Nintendo as a platform for babies believing that one is not 'grown up' unless they only play hyper-realistic movie-like AAA games on PS/Xbox. Yet it's obvious Nintendo truly supports 'ages 8-80', which means everyone can find something they like.

@Jhena you have no obligation to buy violent video games. But having the option to play them on Nintendo’s console is healthy for the industry as a whole.

I wish someone had warned me sooner😅 I can deal with this level of violence, but I was so unprepared.

It's still great to see Ed Boon and co supporting Nintendo even to this day cuz when you think about it, Nintendo consoles got almost every MK game ever released, except like a few of them(vs DC, MK9, X and Shaolin Monks are the only ones missing really)

@ComfyAko
Let's wait and see if things will change similarly in regards to sex appeal in games. Some people unfortunately still argue as if the agency and self determination of a bunch of pixels and polygons have any real world value and consequences.

It's funny to think how relaxed Nintendo's position on censorship has become. Part of it can be attributed to the Wii U's failure, where Nintendo felt like it had to embrace all media in order to stay relevant. It's one reason we saw the company adopt Bayonetta.

The irony is I barely batted at eyelid at the pixelated depictions of violence that caused such a stir in the 90s, but I can’t watch the recent games’ photo-realistic portrayals of slow-motion bodily mutilation without feeling physically sick.

@FirstEmperor
Thank you. This is reassuring and I really want Nintendo to stay good at heart.

@PessitheMystic
If Nintendo starts to get really twisted I will not buy even one game from them.
Of course I can easily skip 3rd parties.

This seems like a bit of a non story, Nintendo have allowed many violent games on their systems, GTA, Killer 7 etc.

The only thing that has changed from the mortal combat blood thing is that they have published a few that are pretty violent, the games they actually make have not really changed.

An unnecessary game but hey - if a gamer‘s life depends on it I will not object.

I remember as a kid thinking the sweat was actually concrete and wondering "Why does concrete come out whenever someone gets punched in this game?"😆

@Jhena it’s not a Nintendo game though, so they’re not the ‘twisted’ ones. It just happens to be on their system. I shouldn’t need to have to explain that lol.

Other than when Mortal Kombat first came out, Nintendo had been on good terms with third parties when it comes to violent, explicit, or religious contents in games. As long as those contents doesn't create controversy that affect Nintendo, then they are acceptable but Nintendo just won't be held reliable as keeping contents to its intended audience is the job of third party devs, the consumers, and the ESRB.

I generally don’t consider myself all that shockable, but, boy, did I wince all throughout the MK1 trailer. Sheesh.

@PessitheMystic
I did only say IF Nintendo starts to be twisted. I consider Mortal Kombat a 3rd partie game that has not much if anything at all to do with Nintendo. So I skip the game. As you said I am not obliged to buy the game.

Remember all the edgy teenagers and kids from the 2000s saying that Nintendo is the company for little kids and Sony is the company for adults, still clinging on the stories about Nintendo censoring games even though Nintendo abandoned most of their censorship policies in the 1990s?

@outsider83 and that's why MKII came out uncensored later on Super Nintendo hehehe. Although, MK on Super Nintendo looked and played better than the Genesis version.

@Limberlost

They’ve gotten pretty good with the anatomy.

Someone on Netherrealms staff roll went to medical school.

@Dark_Isatari

That’s the entire point of Mortal Kombat. It’s over the top and hilarious violence for the sake of violence.

There’s also a good fighting game engine there too. But MK wouldn’t feel like MK without spine ripping and disembowelment.

That whole first Mortal Kombat port left Nintendo with a stigma for so long ... even though Mortal Kombat 2 was almost arcade perfect with all the blood and gore. Ironic

ABACABB

That is all.

I wish Nintendo would start to censor a bit more honestly. Or they'd make a robust filter so I could take out some of the bullshard games out of my eshop.

@silverdamascus Conker, Eternal Darkness, Geist, and Madworld: "Are we jokes to you?!"

Can't say it does anything good for me directly, but okay. Agree with others that this has been a non-issue for Nintendo for decades, now... except that video games have carried the nihilistic celebration of human dismemberment, torture, and gleeful bloodlust much further, nowadays.

When the Video Game Awards first started and attempted to gain the industry some legitimacy and respect, it really struck me as a contrast from other media when all the big game trailers were just competing for how realistically awful and brutal they were in letting you take part in eviscerating people. I felt embarrassed for the industry in how immature and apathetic to humanity it was showing itself to be. (Shame, too, because many of those games had much more to offer.) It was as if all games were John Wick movies, rather than the true depth and variety of the industry.

Anyway, gross. haha. As I get older and it sinks in just how real this type of killing actually has been and is for many people in the world, it's harder to take joy in it. Rather than censoring, I do think the game industry (and TV and movies, too) could do better at letting people evaluate and even control the content they subject themselves to.

Mortal Kombat 1? I don't want to know what that is or why it is called that. Hard no buy, stupid name.

@JohnnyMind
I really wish more games have options like Bayonetta 3 did. As we all push for accessibility for everyone I don’t see why content accessibility shouldn’t be included in it.

@Deemo37 I started playing an Easy mode of Bayo 3 with my kids - so they could see the story and cool moves - and was disappointed that the Naive Angels mode didn't censor Enzo's language nearly enough.

It was a great idea - I wish they'd have taken it a bit further in cleaning up the language and sexy.

(I tried booting up Bayo 1 and no way Jose.)

The consequence of Nintendo marketing their brand for everyone means that eventually "Nintendo kids" get older, as do their tastes, and Nintendo kids become Nintendo adults who may have Nintendo kids of their own. So it can't truly be an everyone brand if there ISN'T something from Kirby to Mortal Kombat, and that's why Nintendo has no choice not to have a problem with it from marketing and sales perspective.

@aaronsullivan Like you I got older too, but I have never lost the escapism and freedom that games have allowed get away with. As a quick example I enjoy kicking people in GTA, so much that a puddle of blood appears and keep going to see how big it will get.
I am not a violent man in reality but then maybe that's because I had a outlet for it!?!?!?

Lot of people talking about how Nintendo has a reputation for being the console for "kids" and how this is bad. It certainly is seen that way by some and probably prevents some sales, but this is a purposefully cultivated image and Nintendo has greatly profited from it. Nintendo has a lock on that very lucrative market.

a lot of things happened since MK1 on SNES era.
The epic level of degeneracy we achieved is one of them.

I find this article amusing since Japan banned the game outright.

Fun fact: Of the 3 games that created the ESRB, the 3 games that were SO BAD, so heinous, so completely distractive to the moral fabric of society that they needed to be STOPPED and caused the US congress to spend over $100M exploring options like banning video game sales in the country entirely ...

Only Mortal Kombat maintains an "M" rating. "Lethal enforcers" and that game that was actually the one most referenced in the ESRB hearings, "Night Trap" ... are both rated by the ESRB as "T for Teen".

It's also important to note there was not a single console port that DIDN'T sensor the game in some way. The SNES port is just notorious for changing the fatalities and removing blood while not allowing you to change any of it back. The Genesis did what Nintendidn't by letting you put in a simple code to restore the blood and a more complex code to restore some other changes, but even then it lacked the gore of the original ,,, likely more due to hardware limitations then anything.

@Paraka

Sigh, why, with the internet able to dispel this myth when a simple search, do people KEEP REPEATING THIS NONSENSE.

Neither Realms didn't get the game rated in Japan, so it couldn't be sold in most stores. It was their choice, and they made it because marketing data showed the game was unlikely to sell in Japan simply because people weren't very interested.

As of 2006, every MK release sent to the CERO needed to be censored to gain a rating that would allow for it's sale in all game shops and NRs has refused to do so.

But there is no BAN. The government has never treated this game differently then any other video game or targeted it directly. There also never would be a BAN, instead, it would be a "restricted sale" game, only available in age restricted locations. This seems to happen a lot with AU games as well, where people say a game is BANNED because it gets an AO rating, but the game is still 100% legal and available for sale ... just not at game stores and not to people under ... ummm ... I think 21 in AU. I'm not sure. SOME age. It would be like saying ALL porn in BANNED in the US because you can't buy porn at Walmart and have to be 18 to buy it.

NR had the option to do that with all MK games, but again, data showed it likely wouldn't be worth the price of localization. The only way a game (or other media) can get "banned" in Japan is to show uncencored genitals ... and even then it goes into this really weird place where Japan's privacy laws make it legal to own, play, and buy but not to sell.

You know Japan sells perfectly legal games where you graphically rape, torture and murder people, sometimes children, just for "kicks" right? Mortal Kcombat is TAME by "mature" standards in Japan. You could buy hardcore "porn" and ultraviolent games from the Famicom because Japan didn't restrict the sale of unlicensed games. If you were a game or toy store, Nintendo would stop supplying you games if you did, but unlicensed games were commonplace in corner stores and novelty shops that didn't really care about selling mainstream titles, or by mail-order though adult gaming magazines that were already selling the unbelievable wealth of porn and ultraviolent games for the ZX-Spectrum and other PCs.

I remember back when this all made a huge change for Nintendo. The first MK was censored and sold poorly in contrast to the Genesis version even though the SNES version looked and played superior. I had both copies so best of both worlds. Nintendo quickly realized they needed to reign in on the censorship or they’d have more issues going forward. MK1 was selling 4:1 Genesis:SNES.

Nintendo played a nice back and forth game with censorship over the following years, and it wasn’t until GC that they more or less abandoned the idea of requiring devs to censor their games - BMX XXX is just one example.

The crazy part to me is just how far they’ve come, now they’re probably the most open minded company when it comes to such things, as I see articles all the time where a game gets censorship during transition from Asian markets to American/Euro markets on other platforms at the request of the platform holder, usually Sony. Yet Nintendo will allow the game to transition as is:

Still love how Platinum Games decided on their own to include a “family friendly” option on Bayo 3 cause they thought it might be too risqué for some audiences, yet Nintendo was like “Nah man, you don’t need to, I mean if you want go for it, but it’s whatever.” 😂

I think the violence is kind of horrible. I do not think we have come "far". Things have gotten worse. The latest MK games are far worse and more explicit with gore, blood and graphic content. I do not like the way things are going, i would not call it progression if a society or societies accepts more and more violent material as normal or natural.

The age ratings are just recommendations, not restrictions, at least in some countries.

Kind of sad how biased the article is too. Notice how the writer describes the finishing moves on SNES as "boring" and how he clearly expresses his own opinions here: "but to see Nintendo embrace the violence depicted in Mortal Kombat is a nice change of pace for the notoriously strict company.".

I do not know, why should a company which sells cute games like Kirby and Pokemon aimed for kids "embrace" very violent games like Mortal Kombat 1, which are clearly not appropriate for kids?

Maybe Nintendo should not forbid the game to release on Switch but i do not think it should be embraced either.

And it is kind of hypocricy how many players and comapneis are extremely sensitive to some things (some tend to complain about representation for example) but completely open to violence. It is kind of a double standard really. Anything goes with violence but nudity or poor representation is sensitive matters. Or female stereotypes. Or how you are only able to choose a male or female character in some games, which makes a very vocal type of people shout about gender and such things.

Yeah, it is quite clear how some topics are much more sensitive than others.

Making fun about how some people have critical views about violence and writing about the whole thing as kind of a joke, meanwhile no one dares to joke about other things or take them lightly. I do not know what others think, but personally i think it is far worse for a kid to get exposed to a lot of violence (especially immoral violence, such as in GTA V) than how a character is slightly stereotypical or how some games feature an all white cast of heroes. It is kind of tiresome.

I actually enjoy the censorship in mortal kombat. Oddities like babalities and "friendship fatalities" helped lighten it up as the game didn't take itself too seriously. The numerous sequels afterwards didn't bother me with its violence either but something about this new game does. Guess I'm just getting old.

After watching the new trailer I found the fatalities unnecessarily vulgar and over the top (frankly disturbing/gross even for Mortal Kombat standards)

It would be nice if they could offer the ability to turn off the gore but that's what other fighting games are for. I think less would be more as gaming approaches realism more and more.

@PessitheMystic

Which I always find amusing, because while of course there are some people murmuring here and there when it comes to them censoring things, people went out of their way to not to have the same energy when it came to sony. All the whining and hand wringing that went on when it was Nintendo was suddenly muted to a near hush when sony got to censoring. Something that's been going on for a while actually. Heck, I remember even back in the GameCube era when that garbage game BMX XXX came out and sony made sure that it was censored. Apparently it was only a foil and a big deal when Nintendo did it.

This is a good thing, since Mortal Kombat 11 sold well enough on Switch to justify WB Games releasing Mortal Kombat 1 on the hardware and it's nice to see Nintendo promoting a major third party title to let Switch owners know it's coming to their system.

A good move from Nintendo.

@PessitheMystic given how many of the devs of the recent MK games have reported mental health issues as a direct result of working on the games, I don't think it's as clear cut as that.

@EvrgrnCmln what has that got to do with anything I said or the article in general?
Also, you’re not even correct. I could only find 1 story about 1 particular dev who was diagnosed with PTSD due to ‘violent dreams’ that they were having. If you’re gonna @ me with irrelevant info at least get it right.

Now if only Nintendo would get around to releasing mother 3 outside of Japan.

@Dark_Isatari I think that's pretty much the point. It's a video game. Fantasy.

@Simon97 Evolution denotes the gore will only increase, that is what it is. Die hard fans of the series would likely become fairly opinionated, if they suddenly released a game that was vastly cut back. Yes, the violence is quite excessive, but it was also quite excessive in 1992, and the world was a vastly different place then, to the one that we live in now. That's that whole evolution thing. We live in a terrible, and violent world, those are simple facts. If this game isn't for you, don't buy it. The bulk of the people who will make up the sales, do love it, and expect it. It's there not only as the hallmark of the franchise, but to boost and guarantee sales. There are far worse things in the world to be concerned with than fantasy violence in video games, which are optional to view and play. Your daily news shows you far worse every day, do you think young persons should not be allowed to watch that as well? I would personally like to see a reboot of Mortal Kombat from the Xbox 360. That game was the perfect homage to the classic days of the series and didn't feature this hi-def gore, but still retained enough to be faithful. The drive for sales, and the need to shock, means that the MK games will continue on the path seemingly forever. But, you must remember, the violence hasn't really changed, only the ability to present it and the world around it has.

@YANDMAN Yea I’m kind of surprised to see some comments in favor of censorship. The MK games are known for the extreme violence and why would it be censored? Sure the world has changed but that’s always going to be happening, violence or not. The 90s I think were one of the most dangerous eras (Keep in mind, I haven’t recently read a study so it may be outdated). We are also more exposed to violence thanks to social media and having more outlets, so it seems like we live in a violent society.

I just don’t know why people can’t leave some things alone, don’t like it don’t buy it.

The world loves violence and gore more than ever now-a-days, whether it be from Hollywood or gaming. Yet it cries out when real tragedies happen in the real world. Go figure. You reap what you sow.

@Jhena

I like having the option for a variety of games. I hope nintendo embrace every game they can get on their systems. Sometimes, I feel like playing something wholesome and whimsical, sometimes I like ultra-violence and gore. Variety is the spice of life, especially when it's completely optional and/or consensual.

@daveMcFlave
I see, but I prefer the old days when videogames were not as violent as nowadays. And I really dislike the amount and detail of violence nowadays. I do not like it in real life and I do not like it in videogames.

Of course I will not tell you what you should play. Just wanted to tell you my point of view as you did yours.

Nobody cries about violence in fiction anymore. It’s too glorified in culture these days.

The new thing to cry about is fictional female character showing some skin even if same game has male character 80% naked.

@Jhena

That's fine. I prefer mostly mild stuff myself, but I like the option to play a gory game now and then, even on a nintendo system.

@Jhena "good at heart"

Nintendo actively has a hand in countless evil activities, including but not limited to fighting game preservation, underpaying/overworking testers, and forcing people to engage in lawsuits to get their analog sticks fixed. Among countless other things.

Compared to the real evils multinational corporations (like Sony, MS, and yes, "good at heart" Nintendo) commit, the over the top fantasy violence in the MK1 teaser is remarkably tame.

@axelhander
I am sorry to hear what you say about the corporations, but what I mean when I say good at heart, is the spirit or soul of Nintendo. The kind of games they produce. The tone and such things. And Nintendo is from my point of view one of the biggest developers of child friendly and harmonious games on the market.

@Jhena Cool. Nothing wrong with having your preference. What I said stands.

@axelhander Nothing you said stands with the possible exception of underpaying/overworking testers, and that's only if the allegations are true.

@axelhander
To me Nintendo is a quality corporation with a soul, that is positively contributing to the entertainment market, so personally I consider them at least good enough and not evil. I would not be visiting this site if I disliked Nintendo.

Nintendo never harmed me and when I had problems with the hardware I simply send the item in and got it back after a week or two for free. From my experience this is good and fast service.

@FirstEmperor Nope. Everything I said is verifiable. Facts don't care about your feelings.

@Jhena WHAT. I. SAID. STANDS. In addition, you can visit this site regardless of Nintendo being verifiably as evil as every other corporation, because you want to know about Nintendo-related news. It's why I visit this site, too. I love my Switch and Nintendo has made some of my favorite games. But, again, what I said stands: they're evil, for reasons already stated, and thus, spewing nonsense about how the Mortal Kombat 1 trailer tarnishes their name or whatever is lunacy.

@axelhander
Nah seriously they are just producing quality games and stuff and ask for good money. They are not going for anyones life or something like that. I really do not see them as a threat.

I could visit this site. But why would I if I did not like it? I am a lover not a hater.

@axelhander No it doesn’t, and no amount of projection/all caps/misuse of punctuation from you will ever succeed at brainwashing me.

@FirstEmperor See my last post.

@Jhena You too.

@axelhander I’m not going to waste time rereading that nonsense. You clearly don’t know anything about morality if you think “fighting game preservation” falls under any reasonable definition of evil.

@axelhander
In the last years I bought a lot of old games on Ebay, even Nintendo games. Some with the original package. Not once did I receive charge by Nintendo or any other game company for owning or preserving video games. And I saw people on Youtube (The Completionist?), who bought and downloaded every game plus DLC from the Wii U and 3DS eshop. They also did not get into trouble for it.

Of course if you do not mind supporting and paying for a corporation you consider evil, I will not stop you or anything like that. You are free to do what you want with your money as long as it is legal and I am not here to judge you.