Gimmicks can hold people for a month or two. Really, how many times are you going to play through arcade mode to look at the story or how many times are you going to do the same fatality and find it interesting?
Gameplay is what holds people for vast amounts of time. MKDA pretty much proved that the fighting system wasn't good enough. Everyone besides the hardcore people that broke the game basically said there was nothing to do after you unlocked everything. Well... MKD isn't that much different, granted you have more things to do before you have only the fighting engine.. then you gotta ask yourself it that's worth playing.
Because MKDA and MKD lacks a lot of depth... counterhits that give frame advantage/different move properties, ground games, etc. it gets really old really fast, especially since most of your movelist is so worthless. Each character has around 8 lows, at least 5 of them are worthless and not worth using compared to the better ones whereas in other 3d fighters, they give you a reason to use every move, though it be situational.

Tekken? I think you guys should be more worried about Virtual fighter ;(

As far as MK's blood goes, In response to a earlier post, (if you kick somebody in the face 5 times they better bleed) In MK, you kick them once and a ocean of blood poor down across them, and leaves no stains.???
I think Tekken is better cause its a "more" serious game, MK is a novilty fighter where you have main charecters that fart and throw up, fatalities like cutting a head off over and over again, and some simple imature humor. Not theres anything wrong with that, but in comparisent to tekken, which despite the Devile gene twist, they have charecters that use only real martial arts and thats been there thing from the beging, they still stay close to what its all about and don't have to throw away the original concet of the game for new stories (i.e. MK only had one tornament, yet "Mortal Kombat" is the name of the tournamet and the game)
Namco goes out there way for a solid story, and tekken tag was pretty fast, and they slowed it down for tekken 4 cause its simple unrealistc to fight super fast.
Tekken is not "Realistic" by fare, but they are the closes thing in the market, and they have only necceasry charecters involved in the story (and so funs ones to unlock, but they don't get worked into the main story)

also, Tekken is for people who seriously like fighting games for fighting. Example.
If these two games where football games.
Tekken would be Madden, NFL 2k5, and MK would be NFL Blitz (Radien was in a NFL blitz actully)
The Fighting has always been pretty real and acurate in Tekken, I know a little Tae Kwon Do, and Hwograng fights Tae Kwon Do, and thats cool as hell. While MK claims to have real fighting styles, they are not in depth, and its kinda dumb how they all happen to know 2 style and a wepon style, how convinete. Where some tekken carecters dable in a few styles and other stick to one. They even invented there own (Mishima Style) which took alot of time, Forget fireballs and fatalites where the person comes back in the next game anyway, its fun for a while but the realisum is what last, cause the fatalites get boring, and the gimmiks were off

Technically, Tekken is better than MK, but I prefer MK mystic and supernatural atmosphere... In fact, I am a big fan of fighting games: Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, MK... I appreciate each of these games for different reasons, and even if I shall wish to see MK gameplay improving, I don't want to see it becoming a DoA twice, Tekken twice or VF twice... And I don't want either that MK loses its gimmick side, cause MK without fatalities or blood wouldn't be MK any more... :)

Yeah MKD will be hella fun to play, especially with all the gimmicks.
and it's just fun overall,
but Tekken....that's a true fighting game lovers game. None of that crappy soul calibur cheese shit...it has the most logical, natural, intuitive control scheme

Oh brother...here we go yet AGAIN...
Guys, the solution is REAL simple here. Don't like MKs playing style? Play Tekken. Don't like Tekken's playing style? Play MK.
Tada!
Personally, yes, I like MK better. I personally find Tekken boring. But I will admit that Tekken has a deeper fighting engine when it comes to in your face fighting. However, MKD has a lot of things (and not just "gimmicks" lol) that Tekken will NOT have that will affect gameplay:
Teleport moves, like Scorpion's teleport punch that will make you have to react quickly and always keep that possibility in mind. And not just Scorp either...a lot of characters have this type of move now, absent from MKDA.
Projectiles. They seem a bit faster this time around. Tekken does not have that either.
The environment. While a lot of people find this "gimmicky", you cannot really deny that it will affect gameplay. All during the match, you will be keeping an eye out for danger and opportunities to put your opponent in danger. Each player, while fighting, will keep in mind the possibility of putting his opponent into a very uncomfortable position.
That is why I am personally looking forward to Deception. The new play possibilities are going to be killer stuff, and from what I have seen, is really going to feel like the quick reflex action of the MK of old days. That is what I want.
If I wanted a Tekken, I would buy Tekken. MK plays different because it is MEANT to. I cannot seem to emphasize that enough. And please don't flame people because they like MKs style. I like Tekken's style too, but I like MK better because to me it's (gasp) more fun. Imagine that..playing a game for fun lol.
For those that wish to complain about "flawed" gameplay (it may be, it may not be..some claim it is awesome, some claim it is flawed, so who can say? Everyone seems to be an "expert" nowadays), that is your right. But the flaming I have seen on this board is getting out of hand. I also would like MK to be better, but I like it as it is as well. People don't need to be called "stupid" or "uneducated" just because they like MK or have fun with it. Is it perfect? Nope, but show me a fighting game that is. Do I want it to be perfect? Yep, and maybe we can get there together. But some of the flames on here the past few days have been pretty harsh.
My 2 cents.

I think with the exception of a few people, you guys are missing the mark on what is important. I'll start off by saying fighting games and clumped into two categories. Those that emphasize fun, user friendly, easy to pick up, maybe a bit in depth but some aspect of it isn't totaly in depth intentionally to get another fun aspect in. And the other is in depth game, the ones that will be use in tournaments, or the ones that will keep you playing for even 5 years from now, the one where 5 years from now you could still lean abit about the game. Those are mostly for Hard Core gamers.
So back to the mortal kombat vs. tekken discussion. I hear people saying tekken has no blood, tekken has no fatality, tekken has no weapons, but do those really matter. yeah fatality is fun but it eventually gets old after you seen them all. blood is useless other than for visual pleasure unless they have some type of advantage. Like if the person bleeds do they lose a bit of their powers. (by the way that impale move sucked, loss too much powers and you couldn't do anything to stop it). All those things, even things like puzzle combat, chess, are all really just gimmicks, things that adds a bit to the overall playing time but If your game is great and quilifies as hard core, then you don't really have problems with playing time. People say Tekken is slow, but Mortal Kombat characters move like stiff dolls, the falling physics,and the juggling physics are not even close to being accurate. And it may seem like I'm on Tekken's side but I'm really not. I have bought Mortal Kombat 1, 2, 3, ulitimate, 4, and DA, I have bought a grand total of 0 Tekken Games. But if you are looking for most in depth,game for a competition or tournament where you are assured that by playing the game for 3 years I should be better than someone who played it for 1 month then Tekken is ultimately the choice between the two.
Online will play a big role in how much respect Mortal Kombat gets, But we'll see. Ultimately what ends up mattering the most if the game is played at major tournaments and if it is played a lot still 5 years or more later. Take the Evolution Tournaments for Fighting games as an example, Mortal Kombat is no where to be seen. While games like Virtua Fighters 4 evolution, Two different Tekkens, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK, Guilty Gear X2 and Soul Calibur are well represented. Some of theses like Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Tekken Tag, Street Fighter 3 have been around for 5 years or more. I'm not saying all of them are the best, or all have perfect balance which in marvel vs. capcom 2 it is horrible, Its just that there is soo much depth, little tricks, new things to learn, strategies and stuff that these games are still good games from years to come.
an example is Mortal Kombat vs. Street Fighter 2, when they came out people were in their respective corners, but now some 10 years later, can you still play mortal Kombat???? But we can still pick up Street fighter 2 and play for a quick hour and be satisfied.
Mortal Kombat has Great Characters, recently some sucked though. It has a good premise in fatilities and extras that all makes a game better, but it still needs to become serious in fighting game basics like frame data, parries, reversals, to really get to a Tekken, Virtua Fighters, or Soul Calibur level. Ultimately Mortal Kombat is in the Bloody Roar type of gimmicky level, just a better game than bloody roar but it is seen as something similar.

Tekken is a Jerry Springer game.... revolves around ONE family damn mishima/kazama.... and mk has many stories and it doesnt stick to one clan or family....
SO Tekken.... you just got served....(dunno just thought i just say that)

Tekken has a better gameplay I guess. But its so boring.
I hate the gameplay, really, and the game itself lacks so much.
I dont mean to sound like a "fanboy", but Mk has always been, to me, a better game then Tekken will ever be.
While Mks gameplay may NOT be the best, its not the worst, its fun and its good.

Forgive me for asking this, but isn't the reason that MK is not represented at most major tournaments because of the Mature rating it has, seeing as quite a few of the gamers there are under 18?

incarnate Wrote: Online will play a big role in how much respect Mortal Kombat gets, But we'll see. Ultimately what ends up mattering the most if the game is played at major tournaments and if it is played a lot still 5 years or more later. Take the Evolution Tournaments for Fighting games as an example, Mortal Kombat is no where to be seen. While games like Virtua Fighters 4 evolution, Two different Tekkens, Street Fighter 2 Turbo, Street Fighter 3, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Capcom vs. SNK, Guilty Gear X2 and Soul Calibur are well represented.

queve Wrote: Tekken has a better gameplay I guess. But its so boring. I hate the gameplay, really, and the game itself lacks so much. I dont mean to sound like a "fanboy", but Mk has always been, to me, a better game then Tekken will ever be. While Mks gameplay may NOT be the best, its not the worst, its fun and its good.

I don't see how better gameplay can equate to boring. If only playing one player mode...yes, tekken is boring(as are all fighters in one player mode). If you buy fighters for a story or blood... then yes, tekken is boring, but I play fighting games to fight against friends, family, and any other competition I can run into.
I play to win and am competitive in nature. I do not care about the story. The story doesn't mean squat in a fighting game to me. It's all about the gameplay. So, to me, if gameplay is better... it is less boring.
After unlocking everything in MK:DA, it was played maybe 2 weeks against others... I'm being very generous in my estimation here. After the first couple of days, there was nothing different. My style of play was simple and there wasn't anything I needed to do to become better and I never had to look out for new things from my opponents. All I had to do was be quicker than the opposition. It took no thinking, no anticipation, no creating my own style to combat another person. Tekken gives all of these in its gameplay. I still play TTT today, and am constantly acquiring more ways to dispatch my foes. MK:DA just didnt offer enough options or freedom of thought in its playstyle. There were no situational instances where a slower move would be better. The fastest move in MK:DA always seemed to be the best.
Every game I play in Tekken.. even if the same 2 fighters are going at it, looks different because of constant variation and adaptability to those variations. MK:DA always looked the same.
I guess my biggest beef is that while I do possess decent reflexes, I by no means am the fastest person alive. In MK the fastest reflexes always wins. In Tekken, I can play someone with superior reflexes to mine and still give them hell due to creative thinking and mental games.
That is why Tekken wins in my opinion. Not only does being a good gamer give you the edge, but being smart helps as well. Being rewarded a win for strategy is so much more appealing to me than just being faster than someone else.
Conclusion... I'd rather beat someone in chess then in a 100 yd. dash. I have always loved MK, but after playing Tekken 2 when it came out for the ps, I realized MK needed to step it up a bit. I'm still dreaming for an MK of SC, VF, or Tekken calibur, but not too sure that it will happen.
To those who say.. if you like Tekken more, play tekken... I love MK's special moves and fatalities which those fighters do not have. I just want MK to have deeper fighting while retaining everything that makes it so unique... then it will be hands-down the best fighter ever.

In the short term, visuals like blood and things like fatalities give you something fun to watch, but in the long term they get boring and stale.
All the story mode is used for is giving you an excuse to play through the main mode, once you've done that there's not much reason to go back to it unless you have no-one to play against.
These are not, and I repeat are not what you judge a game's quality on, especially a beat-em up, which is about the fighting, not blood, fatalities or story.

No, the reason why mk games arent in tournaments is that while mk games are fun to play, they are far from being complete, and are seen as a joke in the fighting game community