Mortal Kombat - Reception and Cultural Impact

Reception and Cultural Impact

Ed Boon reported that the Mortal Kombat series have sold 26 million copies by 2007.

In 2009, CraveOnline ranked Mortal Kombat as one of the "goriest, bloodiest, nastiest" video games of all time, but it condescended on the series. Also in 2009, GameTrailers ranked Mortal Kombat as the ninth top fighting game franchise and as the seventh bloodiest series of all time.

Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 2008 awarded the Mortal Kombat series with seven world records, including "Most Successful Fighting Game Franchise". In 2012, Complex ranked Mortal Kombat at number 37 on the list of the best video game franchises, commenting on its "legendary status in video game history."

In a 2009 GamePro poll, 21% of voters rated Mortal Kombat as their favorite fighting game series, ranking it third, behind Street Fighter and Tekken. In 2012, Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono said, "I actually get a lot of requests for Street Fighter vs. Mortal Kombat on my Twitter feed and elsewhere. I understand why people want it, but it’s easier said than done. Having Chun Li getting her spine ripped out, or Ryu’s head bouncing off the floor….it doesn’t necessarily match."

The series and its characters are also referenced in the various other works of popular culture, such as in the title of Powerglove's debut album Metal Kombat for the Mortal Man and the Workaholics episode "Model Kombat". According to Complex in 2012, "Years ago, MK became a phenomenon far outside gaming circles alone. Its name has become recognizable enough to be name dropped on sitcoms (Malcolm in the Middle and Married... With Children), found in movies (Christian Slater plays MK4 in Very Bad Things), and used as part of cultural studies (see Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins' book From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games)."