Hey everyone! I just wanted to give a shout out to Ed Boon and Netherrealm Studios for getting close to wrapping up Mortal Kombat! From what I have seen and played, I think everyone is going to be really happy once they get their hands on it.
Mortal Kombat had a HUGE influence on me growing up. I remember the first time I saw it in the arcade – I almost crapped myself! I was like, “Look what they did to that guy! I’m out of quarters! When well I be able to play this at home?” Then I learned about Mortal Monday, the official launch day when the arcade game came out on the SNES and Genesis. I was a poor college kid at the time, but I circled the date for two reasons: I couldn’t afford it, so I needed to reserve it a month in advance at the video store; and September 13 1993 was my 21st birthday! So instead of going to the bar on my 21st, I ended up sitting with my friends playing MK all night long.
Sometimes, life has a strange way of working out. Here I am, 17 years later, having been able to work on the incredible God of War series … and then one day we get approached to include Kratos in the new Mortal Kombat! This was a complete no-brainer. I remember interviewing at PlayStation eight years ago and seeing Kratos in the very early stages of God of War 1 and thinking, “This guy looks like he was pulled straight from MK!” Which to me, was a good thing. One of the things that I always felt separated Mortal Kombat from other fighters was its character design. When you combine this with Kratos’ attitude and tendency for violence, it’s a match made in heaven!
Another thing that made this collaboration a good fit is that our studios have ties with one another. Several of us at Santa Monica used to work at Midway, including Adam Puhl (Lead Combat Design), Bruno Velazquez (Lead Animator), Chris Sutton (Lead Environment), as well as me, so we all knew Ed and had a relationship with members of his team. It was easy for all of us to get on the same page. It also made the decision on our end to work together because we trust them fully and we know that they will deliver on the promise to make this the most complete and authentic Mortal Kombat yet.
So for me personally, this is a really cool story. Mortal Kombat influenced me when I was younger in many ways, and it is still influencing me today. You can see this plainly by looking at God of War III. I was always encouraging the team to push the gore and violence in the kills, and a large part of that was the way MK struck me when I college kid. It’s one of those games that changed the industry, and is why I bet a lot of people have the “I remember MK because” stories. It is an honor to be involved with it.
Man, when can we see some actual footage of Kratos fighting? Can’t waiiiiitttt
sounds like you had a better 21st birthday than i did. i want this game already
I was so excited for this new edition to the Mortal Kombat franchise when I heard about it at the beginning of 2009! Then I heard that Midway was dropping out of the console gaming race and that MK was dying with their decision I was very saddened. Then when I saw the promo’s from E3 2010 I literally messed my pants when I saw this was coming back! I have loved the Mortal Kombat series since 93 when I was playing it in a small arcade stand in Tokyo Japan while on vacation. Ever since then I have awaited new additions to this franchise and seeing how amazing this looks, and how nestalgic it is with going back to their beginning roots. I’ve already paid for the Tournament Edition in full :D Kudos for getting Kratos into the game as well, he definately is a great addition to the cast!
@84, You do realize there will not be a God of War IV right? Kratos is DEAD.
@101 You do realize after the credits in GoWIII there was a scene with Kratos’s body gone and a trail of blood to the end of the rock. Yeah, eat it son.
EPIC TRAILER! Just wondering, did hiphopgamer have any part in the initiation/influence? Because I know he speaks with you stig a lot, and I remember him asking the MK Dev team. I was just wondering if this input had any influence, or did both teams already have this in mind from the start?
somebody doesnt know that dead in God of War is pretty cheap lol , i hope you know that the end of GOW3 isnt the only time Kratos has died in the series lol
For those of you like me, who have been waiting for the demo to release to all PSN members, the store just started updating. PS Move Heroes Demo just loaded up.
It’s great to see Kratos in MC, but does the Xbox360 version also get to choose Kratos as a playable character? I know it sounds selfish but I’d rather Kratos be PS3 exclusive. Anyone know?
@109 Yes, and for the rest of you that ask. Kratos is owned and trademarked by Sony Computer Entertainment. It will not be shown on the 360 version.
iv played mk since i was a kid on my comp hiding it from my parents cause i was way to young and then i started god of war and was addicted and now to see these 2 games coming to one there is only one thing i can say GET OVER HERE KRATOS! i cant wait i pre ordered this game wile back to get scorpions skin and i cant put down the demo lol thanks alot guys for bring us such a epic game !
Stig, that’s why you are one of my favorite director’s of the God of War franchise. You are not only looking to make an awesome game that pleases the fans but are always giving credit to the games that inspired you. Just know this, everytime I hear the word Kratos, you and all the director’s come to mind. It’s because of people like you that I want to become a video game designer to achieve my dream, working not only in Santa-Monica Studios but in a new God of War game. Thanks for being my inspiration. :) J.D.
Dowloading the “non-plus” DEMO of MK now on PSN!!! : )
Hey Stig, when are we gonna get Kratos Avatars for our PS3. SONY don’t care about us hardcore fans or what?
ladder mode, verses mode and online gonna be epic………. is there a single-player mode? does anyone know?
For being a person who never really cared “but played” MK games i will be picking this up since Kratos is in it!
and the trailer was just awesome
dude wtf? its 7pm central time and my ps store still hasnt updated. if they say something is coming out on the 15th of march then the store should update at 12:01 am on the 15th. effin get this thing rolling already!
whoop there it is!
@117 (didjndan) i have the same problem :'(
i hate both god of war and mortal kombat games. there both boring
Thanks for sharing that story Stig, I agree, MK was awesome back in the day and it would be great if this game finally goes back to its former glory. Kratos in MK is definitely a good fit, both games are violent and Kratos can definitely compete with them there, haha. On a side note, I didn’t know you were as old as that! You look younger than what? 38? I would have thought early 30s tbh.
PLEASE PUT KRATOS N THE MK STORY MODE
Give Him Purpose & Reason
The Fighters N MK Will B No More When Kratos Enters Their World
I cannot wait to get this game it looks awesome
The trailers and such got my excited for the new game… but having played many a Mortal Kombat in the past and then playing the PS+ demo the other week… I’m left not caring too much if I get the game any time soon. It’s straight up pure Mortal Kombat, it feels exactly like Mortal Kombat of old – and while that’s not a bad thing… I don’t need to play MK of old right now, believe me, I’ve had my fill.
I loved what Capcom did with Street Fighter IV as it too felt like the game we all grew to love… but it fleshed out and moved forward SO MUCH MORE than this new Mortal Kombat did.
Kratos or no, I’ll prob wait for some time before I get the game.
Eh, personally I can’t say I liked the demo. I was intrigued and I would’ve loved to play more of it, but I balked at the fact that these fighting games are still using that horrible “Down-Left-Right-Right-Highkick” style command system. I get so frustrated trying to pull off a move when it should be so simple. Speaking of God of War, why don’t they take a look at how GoW3 handled the Kratos-Zeus scuffle.
What’s there to say? It’s the most perfect blending of franchises I could think of, and hope MK team don’t read this, but it seems the best addition to their roster since MK4. :]
Funny cause I’m not even north american and I remember Mortal Monday. I got it for my SNES day one… good months after seeing a photo-like sprite character ripping the heart off another (Kano murdering Sonya) on my block’s Arcade…. and I was only 11.
Even more curious, I was living in the US when the original PlayStation launched, and I bought it in a heartbeat. And guess which game was on the release line-up and was my first PSOne game? Ultimate Mortal Kombat.
Well I don’t need to say how badly I am waiting for this new (spiritually old) MK.
Nice to see many have great memories from this series, and give it the deserved respect.
must say the MK series always felt sloppy and sluggish to me (maybe not when it was on the genesis or nintendo whatever), tried the demo for this one and still not impressed, maybe when they add quarter circle commands and half circle ill buy a Mortal Kombat. Visually it looks really good though. guess ill just have to wait for a DOA or a Brand Spanking new Guilty Gear to come out to be pleased as far as fighters go.
Good luck to Netherrealm Studios on thier reboot.
Shouldnt David Jaffe be the one to be honored to be making this post since kratos came from his mind? (yes i know Stig was in charge of 2&3)
@24: You haven’t played through GoW3, right??? If you did, you would have known that IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE GoW4 since this title would suggest a DIRECT SEQUEL to GoW3… If there is another GoW on PS3 (or PS4, depending on the release date, lol), it will most likely be a kind of spin-off like Chains of Olympus or Ghost of Sparta (both great games).
They should add Zeus in there as a pre_order special or something that would rock!
Love the God of War series..seeing Kratos(a god killer) in mortal kombat waz a surprise to me at first until i realised that there are characters n gods with powers in the mortal kombat universe so hopefully hes balanced out with the MK cast bt nonetheless glad to see him in the game n cannot wait to use him =D also… MK is back to it roots! First day buy for me.
MK is back! It was one of my most beloved series till MK 4, then I got lost in touch and heard that the series also lost its root. Now… its back!
played the demo and I’m surprised at how much like the originals they made it. It’s a welcome change to the general direction that they were headed in aha can’t wait to see kratos (who makes a perfect match for the MK universe) in this next Mortal Kombat =)
Hi Stig Asmussen.
I loved God of War III but at the end of the game the STORY set in the Greek mythos also ended and should not be resusitated with yet more obscure gods.
Let GOD OF WAR IV begin Kratos’ story anew set in ancient EGYPT. Starting from the beginning. The PYRAMIDS! Imagine it with Ra as the Zeus/ god of gods figure. The beautiful Isis as the love interest. Anubis the evil lord of the dark realms. Think of the movie, The Mummy with an army of dog-headed warriors.
As the series progresses you could have Kratos having slight memories of… something. The story would not be a retelling it would be a continuation from GOW III! It would have been Zeus’ way to escape into a parallel existence however, as scripture foretells “The ending of this story will not change…!”
Is there going to be stage fatalities for the kratos stage? btw i always thought kratos would be a perfect fit for MK
hey stig,hows it going man?how long will you continue to ignore the core god of war fanbase dude?
w0w this is a surpirse for me stig :D my birthdays on september 13th aswell :D altho i was like 8 or so when u were playing mk on the snes but i just love both god of war franchise aswell as the mk series :D already got the god of war 3 collectors edition and preordered the mk kollectors aswell :D hoping i get a chance to duel with u online in MK :D
time for kratos and GOW to get their own fighting series
Personally, I think the term, “honor” is a bit of a stretch. Its a video game folks. :-)
Regarding the game itself, the graphics are pretty good, working with what the PS3 has to offer. I do wish that the control scheme was kept canon, however; this is my largest complaint about the demo: non-standard control ( MK, MK II, MK III).
Lastly, I hope that the nature of the downloadable content is kept reasonable. I am not a fan on purchasing a game for full price, only to find it crippled and pruned of an otherwise full release. Little Big Planet was well done and the DLC was balanced, as it were. But there have been a few titles, usually download-only titles, that abuse these “micro-transactions”. Let us hope that will not happen with MK.
I’m really glad to hear so much is going into this game. I was a die hard fan as a kid (spent my allowance over the course of a year on 1-3 plus ultimate 3 on my sega genesis). After playing the demo last week, it actually did feel like those games, which made me happy.
Also being a die hard God of War fan, I am really considering picking up this game, and I haven’t purchased a Mortal Kombat game since Ultimate 3.
It really makes me happy when game developers are actually fans of the franchise they are developing for, it makes some really awesome things happen.
they could of put another god of war character dont you guy think ?
@ [DELETED] asking for GoWIV
They have already said mutiple times, God of War III will be the last sequel, but that doesn’t mean they wont continue making some prequels. Look it up
This is great news. Now I will reconsider buying this game.
i really enjoyed playing the demo. Cant wait to play on Kratos.
Thank you for putting Kratos into the new mk . The demo that is on the psn is freaking awesome !! . I have the Platinum for God ow War 3 and i can’t wait unitll a new relese for the ps3 comes out . Thanks agian Buddy :)
Fellow G.A.P Member ,
Warren Jones
I hope Kratos’ main line is: “You will not live to see the end of this day!!”