Mortal Kombat to be Inducted Into the Video Game Hall of Fame

If you know about video games, you probably know about Mortal Kombat. It's been making headlines since the '90s for its mature portrayals of brutal violence. It's also a (normally) rather well-made fighting game. Yet somehow, it's only now being inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame.

According to a report by the Associated Press (through PBS), the 2019 inductees included Colossal Cave Adventure, Super Mario Kart, Solitaire (yes, the Windows OS one), and Mortal Kombat. Each entry was included in honor of their impact on video game and pop culture. Each game will be honored at the World Video Game Hall of Fame in the Strong Museum of Rochester.

You might be wondering why the game, which many would argue is a pillar of video game culture, would go unhonored until now. But it's important to remember that the violent nature of the game franchise was a common target of controversy in the modern media.

There was a court case in 1997, where a mother was suing Midway over the death of her son, who was killed in a stabbing accident with one of his friends. The mother claimed that the kid was trying to imitate a fatal move from the game, where Cyrax headlocks and stabs a character. The case was removed after it was revealed that there was no such move in the game and that Cyrax never performed such actions.

Digital Games Curator Andrew Borman has contemplated such a history before making the decision.
 

"Beyond its controversial content and role in triggering debate about the role of violent video games in society, Mortal Kombat's compelling gameplay, iconic characters and many sequels have kept players coming back again and again."

 
The board can only induct so many games at a time, as well. The honored games were chosen from "thousands of nominations" for the 2019 induction, including games like Myst, Half-Life, and Super Smash Bros Melee.

It's kind of like how Leonardo DiCaprio managed to go SO long without winning an Oscar. He had a lifetime of amazing performances, but every year, someone else did just a little bit better.

It's a certain kind of funny for the franchise to be honored now, not long after the release of Mortal Kombat 11. Especially since the recent title has been under scrutiny for the long grinds and microtransactions.