As for the roster, how do you figure 24?
(Keep in mind that I would love to be wrong and for there to be more than 24, but my gut's telling me otherwise.)
1) That's all we've seen from the beginning (even this late into the wait).
2) That's what we got for Injustice.
3) I recall Boon saying "it's hard to balance 75 variations" or something to that effect; 75/3 = 25 = 24+Goro. I couldn't find source, so disregard this if you will.
Yes, they said the select screen is not final, but it still hasn't changed (in terms of roster spots - they added two boxes, but they are for Goro and random select/DLC) and they said the same thing about MK9 (and maybe Injustice too), but MK9's remained the same from announcement until release, regardless.
Ed Boon and Steve Beran both said that it would be close to MK9 (which would be about 32 including DLC).
They could have been taking DLC into account, but I believe they were just thinking 25 is a similar number to 27, and I would agree. It's not a big difference; it's somewhat similar. In any case, with DLC I'm sure we'll get more than 30 in the game.
The last roster build also had 26 spots (25 if you don't count the "?" box).
Goro is a bonus that is on the main roster, much like Kratos.
Yes, 2 extra spots for Goro and random select (which I suspect will turn into a DLC slot). Still 24 total, excluding Goro.
Plus, you're forgetting that they said that they were going to put "as many characters as possible on the main roster," before the game ships.
Yes, I didn't forget they said that. Sounds like the quote was taken out of context and he meant they are working hard to include everything they wanted to from the start so that there is no on-disc DLC. Otherwise, just sounds like PR talk that makes no sense because they plan the exact roster out months and months in advance for a number of reasons. I don't believe they have the luxury of being able to jam in an extra 1 or 2 that were not planned without compromising several things, like their role in the story mode.