Kotaku is reporting that Midway is having to tone down several of the fatalities in Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe in order to secure a T rating from the ESRB. Kitana was one character whose fatality was changed in order to secure the rating. However, another character whose fatality was changed to secure the rating was the Joker's, and in fact it was his first fatality seen that got changed: the joke gun fatality. From the article:

Anyway, it's been changed up a bit, toned down to just slightly less than awesome to secure that highly coveted T-rating that Midway and Warner Bros. are so adamant about. In the latest build, Joker still whips out his prank gun, a "BANG!" flag unfurling. Unfortunately, you won't see the follow up of Joker shooting someone in the face; that actually happens off screen now, the headshot safely out of sight.

It's a minor change, but a noticeable one.

We asked Midway's Ed Boon about the difficulty in getting that T-rating, something he said the team has been working closely with the ESRB on. They've sent "at least three" submissions to the ESRB, going in with something that's full of M-rated content, getting feedback and "scaling it back."

It should be noted that the T rating restriction is not so much from Midway as it is from DC Comics. That said, it is the ESRB who makes the final decision as to what content is allowed, so the ball is very firmly in their court.

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Our thanks to forum member 24_7_666 for the heads-up on this news story!