Future of MK

[lariat]

Trust me, it is much cheaper to have someone house your event, rather than do everything yourself. A lot of management headache goes away.

Still all things said... I get a feeling that MK12 wasn't supposed to come out this year. I just get this strong feeling right now. Call it gamer's sixth sense.
Cause just what we already saw from SF6, makes MK11 look like a joke content wise. So if NRS was following with the similar model for MK12, then they are in deep trouble. Pretty visuals won't help against the game with full blown customization, open world, mini games, solid netcode and interactive Lobby.
They worst nightmare will be if SF6 is a massive success, that will be used as comparison against MK12 and then Tekken 8 comes out with its own customization system (Director mentioned that Tekken 7's customization was incredibly popular, so they be foolish not to double down on that) and solid content, which will make MK12 look even worse. So for their sake, they better have more, than just MK11 Part 2.

Sony is the only one who would foot the bill to show the game at EVO if there's a game to show at all. I do agree that most likely NRS aren't ready to show anything yet. We keep assuming that NRS has a functioning game ready and the WB CEO is not just BS ing investors knowing the game will have to be delayed till next year. Again I hope I'm wrong but everything keeps pointing to that direction.

 

[RoboticsMKX]

I get a feeling that MK12 wasn't supposed to come out this year. I just get this strong feeling right now. Call it gamer's sixth sense.

Exactly the same thoughts as mine. Maybe the game will be announced this year at E3 or EVO, but delayed to April 2024, when the dust and glory of SF6 will be calmed-down... but there is another brick in 2024 - Tekken 8. MK12 will have to show a lot this time.

 

[Misucra]

Exactly the same thoughts as mine. Maybe the game will be announced this year at E3 or EVO, but delayed to April 2024, when the dust and glory of SF6 will be calmed-down... but there is another brick in 2024 - Tekken 8. MK12 will have to show a lot this time.

Yeah. That's the thing. They are stuck between two giants. I have very little doubt Tekken 8 won't kill it. There is a reason why Tekken has such dedicated player base. MK maybe sold more copies, than Tekken, but Tekken has always had more people playing it. And their Pro scene was always much bigger.
If NRS didn't treat players like idiots, didn't insult their intelligence with idiotic justifications/explanations and PC players weren't left to eat shit, I would feel pity for them right now.

They are lucky, that they still have one thing that allows them to stand out and that is the violence. Imagine if someone also released a violent fighting game. That would be FINITO for them.

 

[Xenon]

They are lucky, that they still have one thing that allows them to stand out and that is the violence.

They're also mature & respectful. Name me one fighting game that is that? You can't!

 

[Commander]

The reason I don't think it was revealed by "accident" / a slip-up is because it was Zaslav himself who leaked it, and isn't this guy supposed to be a cheapskate when it comes to doing things, anyways?
Could have sworn that I heard it either here or elsewhere that Zaslav was always looking for the cheapest way to do things.
What cheaper way is there to reveal that something is coming out than on a conference call with someone where the video was being recorded anyways?
It's word of mouth and MK is a household name by now and everybody and their mother knows that "news" like that will spread like wildfire.
I mean, shit.... withing a few hours it was up on Gamespot and IGN that MK12 was coming out.
Fucking genius not to have to spend money at a Sony State of Play or Xbox Developer Direct to reveal something like that.

Is there a chance Zaslav slipped up? Maybe, but given how NRS had Ed Boon by the balls when it comes to him communicating with the fans, I also wouldn't be surprised if this was on purpose by WB and Boon was in on it.

Did anyone catch Boon's joke Tweet right after?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1628906794780327937

 

[lariat]

I don't think this is some elaborate marketing scheme cooked up by the CEO. I think this is just another cart before the horse situation to entice investors nothing more. The only time I would consider there to be an exception to the rule is the time that GTA6 gameplay got leaked but even in that situation Rockstar owned up to it and issued a apology statement. As far as Boon with his usual nonsense goes, what else was he gonna say? "I just wanted to take this time to thank Zaslav for leaking our game that we're not ready to show .... Thx asshole!'' The Injustice 3 comment is obviously him saying it in a tongue and cheek way.

Until NRS make a official announcement none of this nonsense matters anyway

 

[Commander]

I don't think this is some elaborate marketing scheme cooked up by the CEO. I think this is just another cart before the horse situation to entice investors nothing more. The only time I would consider there to be an exception to the rule is the time that GTA6 gameplay got leaked but even in that situation Rockstar owned up to it and issued a apology statement. As far as Boon with his usual nonsense goes, what else was he gonna say? "I just wanted to take this time to thank Zaslav for leaking our game that we're not ready to show .... Thx asshole!'' The Injustice 3 comment is obviously him saying it in a tongue and cheek way.

Until NRS make a official announcement none of this nonsense matters anyway

Boon also could have not said anything and played dumb. That's also an option.

I just don't think it was a slip-up considering the type of cheapskate Zaslav is known to be.
They've got us here on this forum, gaming sites and the rest of the fanbase talking about it, and now people hyped up waiting to see when a reveal trailer comes out, so intentional outcome or not, mission accomplished.

 

[Misucra]

Boon also could have not said anything and played dumb. That's also an option.

I just don't think it was a slip-up considering the type of cheapskate Zaslav is known to be.
They've got us here on this forum, gaming sites and the rest of the fanbase talking about it, and now people hyped up waiting to see when a reveal trailer comes out, so intentional outcome or not, mission accomplished.

Yeah, but you can also do a good thing, without realizing you did it.
Zaslav doesn't have two clues about how video games work or the culture around it. This guy is known as Mr. Cheapskate, cause he primarily worked with reality shows. And you know that reality shows have low budgets and are cheap to make.

He isn't a complete idiot, he definitely realizes the popularity of MK franchise. He saw the spreadsheets after all. But that's that. I wouldn't be surprised if he was surprised by how news exploded about MK12. And what to expect? The guy worked with reality shows and documentaries on Discovery channel for years. Those things require proper marketing. Tv commercials, text ads, etc. Games operate in different way. There is a community behind each game.
Executives don't realize that and Zaslav is one of them. They see the world through spreadsheets and conventional wisdom of marketing. For them to make something popular, they have to spend millions on marketing. They don't realize that just dropping a picture in the right place or giving some popular streamers an early access, would save millions of dollars in marketing. They keep underestimating the power of people talking with each other.

Hell, even Hogwarts Legacy success. I can bet anything, that they are shocked on how popular it became. And it shows. They are already talking about Hogwarts Legacy sequel. They don't understand what makes games popular, how gaming community works, they just follow trends and use what is safe and popular.

If they were actually this smart, they would realize that making anything that goes against Wokeism is a money maker right now. Wokesters/Activists are literally free marketing and people are so sick of politics that they buy multiple copies of anything, that goes against that. And yet... as they burn and crash, they still cling to that nonsense. Cause they don't know any better.

 

[Commander]

Yeah, but you can also do a good thing, without realizing you did it.
Zaslav doesn't have two clues about how video games work or the culture around it. This guy is known as Mr. Cheapskate, cause he primarily worked with reality shows. And you know that reality shows have low budgets and are cheap to make.

He isn't a complete idiot, he definitely realizes the popularity of MK franchise. He saw the spreadsheets after all. But that's that. I wouldn't be surprised if he was surprised by how news exploded about MK12. And what to expect? The guy worked with reality shows and documentaries on Discovery channel for years. Those things require proper marketing. Tv commercials, text ads, etc. Games operate in different way. There is a community behind each game.
Executives don't realize that and Zaslav is one of them. They see the world through spreadsheets and conventional wisdom of marketing. For them to make something popular, they have to spend millions on marketing. They don't realize that just dropping a picture in the right place or giving some popular streamers an early access, would save millions of dollars in marketing. They keep underestimating the power of people talking with each other.

Yeah, but if he realizes the popularity of the MK franchise then he shouldn't be at all surprised that by saying something like that it'll get people clamoring to see what's next (pun not intended).
11 million copies of a game is nothing to sneeze at and from a spreadsheet perspective Bethesda's Fallout 4 only got about 1 or 2 million more copies sold.

Hell, even Hogwarts Legacy success. I can bet anything, that they are shocked on how popular it became. And it shows. They are already talking about Hogwarts Legacy sequel. They don't understand what makes games popular, how gaming community works, they just follow trends and use what is safe and popular.

I really don't see how anyone, especially a CEO, would be shocked by the success of Hogwarts Legacy given that there's Harry Potter books, 8 main movies, (5 Fantastic Beasts of which 3 are out) side story movies and theme park attractions at Universal Studios. It's not like Harry Potter is a niche fanbase. Hell, there's a train that connects you from 1 park to the other park (Universal to Islands of Adventure) that's ALL Harry Potter themed. That's like a CEO of Marvel stupidly being shocked that Spider-Man is a household name and people will go to watch any of those movies.

 

[lariat]

I'm sure WBs' CEO understands the power of brand recognition but that doesn't necessarily mean he understands how the gaming industry works. He is human at the end of the day and most likely just slipped. I think people are looking way to far into this.

 

[Misucra]

Yeah, but if he realizes the popularity of the MK franchise then he shouldn't be at all surprised that by saying something like that it'll get people clamoring to see what's next (pun not intended).
11 million copies of a game is nothing to sneeze at and from a spreadsheet perspective Bethesda's Fallout 4 only got about 1 or 2 million more copies sold.


I really don't see how anyone, especially a CEO, would be shocked by the success of Hogwarts Legacy given that there's Harry Potter books, 8 main movies, (5 Fantastic Beasts of which 3 are out) side story movies and theme park attractions at Universal Studios. It's not like Harry Potter is a niche fanbase. Hell, there's a train that connects you from 1 park to the other park (Universal to Islands of Adventure) that's ALL Harry Potter themed. That's like a CEO of Marvel stupidly being shocked that Spider-Man is a household name and people will go to watch any of those movies.

Disney also has Star Wars themed parks. They also have Star Wars Battlecruiser Hotel.
Do you see anyone losing their crap over Star Wars? Hasbro keeps crying, that nobody is buying Star Wars toys. And their hotels and theme parks aren't making as much. Both because of the high costs and just simply, because nobody cares about Disney Trilogy.
Even that Star Wars series called "Andor", got extremely low viewership, even thought the series was actually decent, but people are just simply tired of Star Wars nonsense.

Harry Potter has been damaged goods as well. The last Harry Potter movies called "Fantastic Beasts", did extremely poorly. The fatigue was there and people were already forgetting about the brand. Trust me, I know. I follow the business side of this pretty closely.
Hogwarts Legacy blew all expectations. You really think that anyone at WB was expecting Hogwarts Legacy to make 850 million dollars in two weeks? Especially after how badly Fantastic Beasts did it?

I can bet my nuts right here, right now, that these guys were sitting and watching numbers shot up, with their eyes wide open.

WB has been getting hit in the nuts for months, with loss after loss. Their movies suck and nobody cares about James Gunn DC Universe. And yet somehow they managed to muster enough optimism "Oh yeah. We have been bleeding money for years now. Everything we released is dog shit. "Fantastic Beasts" lost us money. But you know what? That Hogwarts Legacy game is going to make us a Billion bucks. Easy."

I mean Zaslav is clearly no complete idiot, but come on man. This is the guy that green lit the firing of Henry Cavil. Basically the daddy of the DC universe. And he also thinks that Ezra Miller and Amber Heard are worth the trouble of keeping.

He knows how to count money, but he has no idea how to run in our world.

 

[BBBLP]

You guys vastly overestimate Ed Boon if you really think he was "in" on the CEO slipping MK12 in an investor call lmao. Zaslav probably doesn't even know who the fuck Boon is.

My money is on 12 being revealed at E3. WB games is likely going to be there, and I can see gameplay being revealed at Evo since they brought MK11 back, despite it being one of the least watched games.

 

[Misucra]

You guys vastly overestimate Ed Boon if you really think he was "in" on the CEO slipping MK12 in an investor call lmao. Zaslav probably doesn't even know who the fuck Boon is.

My money is on 12 being revealed at E3. WB games is likely going to be there, and I can see gameplay being revealed at Evo since they brought MK11 back, despite it being one of the least watched games.

Aye. That's what I am thinking, too. WB is massive. It has numerous studios and people under it.
When Zaslav came in, his first target was CNN. The guy butchered that place and put both people and resources in attempts to fix the network.
After that, his attention went for DC Universe. Which is natural, as he has worked in that territory for years. Video games is a whole different ball game for this guy.

Listening to investor call, he sounds like someone who is reading from the list. "Oh and there is this highly anticipated MK12 coming out."

Also dude. You come here after a while and immediately choose violence. Chill, mate. I despise MK11 too, but no need to butcher them like this. Game is shit, we know. So no need to add more salt, by reminding everyone, that barely anyone watches that garbage as well.

 

[BBBLP]

Aye. That's what I am thinking, too. WB is massive. It has numerous studios and people under it.
When Zaslav came in, his first target was CNN. The guy butchered that place and put both people and resources in attempts to fix the network.
After that, his attention went for DC Universe. Which is natural, as he has worked in that territory for years. Video games is a whole different ball game for this guy.

Listening to investor call, he sounds like someone who is reading from the list. "Oh and there is this highly anticipated MK12 coming out."

Also dude. You come here after a while and immediately choose violence. Chill, mate. I despise MK11 too, but no need to butcher them like this. Game is shit, we know. So no need to add more salt, by reminding everyone, that barely anyone watches that garbage as well.

I'm honestly worried about 12 because of 11. They normally use Injustice as a buffer to test out all their weird ideas, but with 12 coming immediately after I'm afraid its just going to be 11+. That would break my fucking heart. 11 is so mind numbingly boring. Playing X is so crazy because you think of all these amazing special moves and abilities and how just a single variation would be butchered into multiple special slots that don't work with eachother.

Like I main Reptile, and holy shit they could NEVER put his Basilisk in 11. Slows down time, speeds him up AND makes him a combo god? Yeah no lmao. If that shit was in 11 he'd barely move faster, he'd have massive scaling on his damage and it would take all of his meter to use.

 

[Misucra]

I'm honestly worried about 12 because of 11. They normally use Injustice as a buffer to test out all their weird ideas, but with 12 coming immediately after I'm afraid its just going to be 11+. That would break my fucking heart. 11 is so mind numbingly boring. Playing X is so crazy because you think of all these amazing special moves and abilities and how just a single variation would be butchered into multiple special slots that don't work with eachother.

Like I main Reptile, and holy shit they could NEVER put his Basilisk in 11. Slows down time, speeds him up AND makes him a combo god? Yeah no lmao. If that shit was in 11 he'd barely move faster, he'd have massive scaling on his damage and it would take all of his meter to use.

Well... all things considered. NRS is known for having an annoying habit of reinventing the wheel, especially when nobody is asking.

So for all we know, it could be even worse, than MK11.
The only thing I am sure of, is them doubling down on currencies and monetization. Which won't be popular for sure.

Oh and if the rumor is true, and they are adding a crafting system for gear... Oh boy...

 

[BBBLP]

Well... all things considered. NRS is known for having an annoying habit of reinventing the wheel, especially when nobody is asking.

So for all we know, it could be even worse, than MK11.
The only thing I am sure of, is them doubling down on currencies and monetization. Which won't be popular for sure.

Oh and if the rumor is true, and they are adding a crafting system for gear... Oh boy...

Make it crazy, I don't care. Just as long as it isn't boring. MK11 was a fucking slam dunk on the aesthetics, some characters have literally never looked better, but their gameplay is snooze city.

 

[Misucra]

Make it crazy, I don't care. Just as long as it isn't boring. MK11 was a fucking slam dunk on the aesthetics, some characters have literally never looked better, but their gameplay is snooze city.

Ironically the best designs for me, were the characters that weren't playable. Sektor and Cyrax killed it with their designs and Ermac looked classy af.

 

[BBBLP]

Don't get me started on them giving me the best design my favorite character has ever had, only to make him unplayable, kill him in story mode, and then hang his corpse up in the Krypt.

Ermac I actually love the evolution of his design in MKX. How without Shao Kahn's maintenance he's slowly decaying, needing to have his chest stapled together. It was like a better version of MK Gold Baraka

 

[Misucra]

Don't get me started on them giving me the best design my favorite character has ever had, only to make him unplayable, kill him in story mode, and then hang his corpse up in the Krypt.

Ermac I actually love the evolution of his design in MKX. How without Shao Kahn's maintenance he's slowly decaying, needing to have his chest stapled together. It was like a better version of MK Gold Baraka

Well on the bright side. At least they didn't take your character, butcher her and made her into a walking blender with zero functioning brain cells.

Glad that at least Fujin fans, weren't fucked.

 

[Commander]

Glad that at least Fujin fans, weren't fucked.

Not with the character himself, but when they finally put him in it's in the weaker of the 3 NRS made MK games.
The few characters aside from Fujin that I'll will admit were pretty awesome in both looks and gameplay for MK11 (imo) were Geras, Nightwolf, Sheeva and Shang Tsung.