Yeah, if Midway tanks, whichever business picks up the MK franchise will probably keep the same team who amde MK what we know and love. or at least Ed Boon and his bushy eye brows.

Actually, it was Tobias who made MK what I know and love. Or Tobias and Boon. Or whoever. BTW luv the new look

Well, if MKA is what he knows and loves, then you could safely say that it was Boon who made it.

I'm just going to close my eyes and imagine this for a sec...

mmmm.... that's good MK.

Why does everyone assume that someone would be interested in MK in the first place? Think about this.

Very well said.

It's a well selling franchise. Why wouldn't another publisher want it?

It definitely sells, even though it has never been the most polished game. Now imagine a company picking it up and putting a little more effort into it. They'd make a good amount of money with a game that not just the hardcore, blood lusting fans are attracted to.

Despite its recent failures, Mortal Kombat is still one of the most recognized game franchises in pop culture, put a competent dev team behind that and you can make a lot of money.

Point is, no matter how much respect you have for a publisher (like I respect Konami), the bottom line is to make money. They wouldn't look at that the past MK games have been broken, or not critically acclaimed. They'd look at how much money it made. And that would make MK a franchise worth buying to them.

Company image is a big part of making money.
Brands associated with high quality games or vastly different asthetics would have every reason to avoid the MK trademark, and any potential stigma it may bring with it.

Well, if they're so notorious for high quality games, then it would be the new games that reflect that reputation. It's not like they're gonna be taking credit for the older MK games. Obviously companies like Square Enix, who are notorious for JRPGs, aren't gonna be interested in an American fighting franchise. But a company like Konami, EA, or another company that dabbles in a variety of genres, especially companies with lots of money, would probably love the ownership of a best selling franchise.

It almost seems like you think you're disagreeing...


You're skipping the frontend justification of investing in a brand that carries a stigma, but yes. I'm sure there are companies who would be happy to put their own stamp on an MK game.

Given that most of Konami's Western investments have been in properties with a stronger crossover appeal in the Japanese market, I have my doubts about them being the ones to do it, of course.

Well, it's just an example.
But it's not like MK has a big, heavy stigma. It's no more flawed than games like Silent Hill. As much as I love Silent Hill, it's had its share of playability issues. So has Tomb Raider, King of Fighters, Eternal Darkness, etc.
I don't know, maybe that's not the stigma you're talking about...

As for the history of controversy behind MK, it's pretty irrelevant now. Nobody's gonna get on MK's back about the violence anymore, like they'd get on GTA's back about it.
Violence is no longer controversial, you'd have to add another element like with GTA, violence toward innocent people, or violence toward the police.

lets hope that midway stays in buusiness they have some wicked games

If Mortal Kombat dies, Midway dies with it.

If Midway dies, Mortal Kombat dies with it.

...screwed by either or any other variable IMO.

Let's add Stryker to the game lol

Hey, at least he wasn't running around on the track of Kombat Racing, getting squished by the racers.

MK doesn't need controversy, all it needs is quality gameplay.

What I mean is, if someone else was to consider buying the franchise, they wouldn't be like, "Oh, we don't want to buy MK, because they're always talking about it in the media. It's bad press. It can affect our sales."

if MK got sold to another developer like Namco, or Sega, they would most likely treaty as a second hand frachise. Using Mk characters as guest characters for other games and such, it would suck dick.

Yeah, but I seriously doubt that any Japanese company will want MK.

Maybe by a slim, slim chance, a U.S. company will want it.

There are plenty of Japanese MK fans, trust me. It's probable that a Japanese company would want them, but it's far more likely a US based company would want to pick up the pieces. As it is, MK is pretty much the only American-made fighting game on the market, so I'd assume that sort of home-grown appeal would attract at least a few publishers and developers.

Best case scenario ....... Midway has to sell the franchise, I hit the lottery for roughly 200 million dollars, I buy the franchise, and then make my dream MK game ( which would have a gigantic budget ) and the world would be a better place.

Not if I buy it first.