MK11 Not Returning as Evo 2020 Mainstage game

Evo's main lineup has been announced, and MK11 is missing. What are your overall thoughts on this?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1224896898827309056

 

Well, it's sad for the community but frankly, I really don't care. EVO has never been a determining factor for whether or not I play a game. That's an odd mentality. It does affect the tournament players since they no longer have much incentive to train hard to find new tech in the game.

It's like I said on Twitter, the game not being at EVO is not so bad and it should not determine if you like a game.

For example:
I could care less about playing Smash Bros and I really don't care to watch it while I'm at EVO. I sit in the stands at Mandaly with my son and his friends since they're into it but I could do without it. Translation: EVO does NOT make me love Smash Bros or make it a "must play" game for me.

There is a game that is not at EVO that I do enjoy: Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. PR:BFTG is really fun, plays exceptionally well and deserves to be appreciated by all fighting game fans. Should I stop caring about that game due to it having no EVO main stage presence? Not in my view.

By some of the logic I read in this tread, I should stop watching any movie that has not won some type of an award such as an Oscar. This means that I should stop watching many of the summer blockbusters like the Marvel movies, the Jumanji movies and other fun to watch popcorn flicks.

But, that's just my opinion. You all are free to feel how you want. Also, I agree with others that NRS needs to stop reinventing the core gameplay of MK games. No one can become a serious MK player if the game is so different from one iteration to the next. For example, I can hop from one Street Fighter game to another and confidently pick up Ryu, Ken, Zangief etc and know largely how to play them sans the game's unique tools. I can't do that with any of the recent MK games.

I feel like this is the REAL problem for NRS game players and our community. If NRS wants to make things better, they should use this game as a base and FIX all of the issues that we have found and complained about, namely:

• The pace of the game (Seems slower than it should be in some respects)
• Meter Management is weird. There's no incentive for me to use moves or pressure to build meter.
• Uneven distribution of Krushing Blows
• Lackluster combo paths/potential
• Lackluster wakeup options
• Buggy highs that act as mids in some situations ( Ducking throws and attempting an uppercut counter only to be...thrown :\ )
• Restrictive play mechanics that force you to play in a predefined way
• A poorly implemented break-away system. I say bring back the breaker or, just leave it out entirely

What this game needs is a radical addition to the core gameplay that adds some flash to the action. Something like using the meter to gain a temporary buff to certain moves or giving you access to certain moves, hell, anything that makes this game exciting to watch. It could also use some better pacing and something unrelated to gameplay... BETTER SOUNDTRACK. The soundtrack is well orchestrated but it is boring to listen to.

This is just the tip of the iceberg but, this is how I feel. Does that mean I don't enjoy playing the game? Not at all. I really like playing as Jacqui and Frost. But I wish they would surprise us with some really cool gameplay additions with the upcoming season 2.

 

Did anyone watch the Evo reveal stream? I turned it off after no MK. But Wiz sometimes explains why games don't make it.

 

i´m glad, fuck mk11

 

@mastermalone normally with bigger explanations in threads I agree partially or mostly but this is legit the first time I've run down the list and agree'd completely. Well said, and honestly wish we had a better way to give feedback to NRS.

With all that said though, I still really enjoy the game and still think it deserves a spot at Evo. With more and more tournaments doing their own thing (Capcom Cup, Tekken World Tour, etc) Evo is becoming more of "the big one" as opposed to the penultimate event for a fighting game. Optics wise, it does shine a light on MK11 and why an unreleased game, and 2 smaller population games made the cut before it did.

 

They are not going to tell us why it's not in their lineup. They'll just come up with some BS to avoid backlash.

I mean does anybody actually think Mr Wizard is going to say, "well they did not pay me enough to sponsor their game." Nobody is going to say that even though that's most likely the case.

With enough backlash, sure, I can easily see one side offering up a legitimate reason.

 

For anyone who thinks this doesn't matter for MK11's future or NRS games in general, look to Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm. Once a game slips in the competitive scene, some pro players, casters, team sponsors, and influencers move onto other games. Fans start to trickle out, which cuts into Twitch and YouTube views, which sheds more influencers, pros, and sponsors who are lured by other games that earn more views and money, which then creates a vicious downward spiral that ends with the developer halting pro tournament support.

The pro scene and influencer count will drop substantially if players feel they can make more money and for a longer time by dedicating themselves to other games that get better tournament representation/viewership for more years in a row. NRS needs to either add more depth to their games than MK11 or release a new game each year like ArcSys if it wants to be top tier in the FGC. (But, hey, this might not be a priority for NRS; after all it doesn't need a substantial competitive scene to generate more sales than other fighting game titles.)

The community needs to get out of their way, too. TYM insisted that balance supersede fun and complained about how broken a wild game like MvC2 is. Yet here we are.

 

Don't worry guys, I have insider information that Urien in his original thong outfit and 2B in a Burka will guest star in the next season. I'm pretty sure this will bring Mk11 back in the spotlight.

 

"It’s about money, plain and simple." Which official entity said that? Maybe it's about money but you don't know HOW it's about money. I want more official sources.

if they can’t monetize the content, who’s gonna pay for Boon and his hair loss treatment?

 

Amazing how the loudest people in this thread are some of the most ill-informed & disconnected from reality & what goes on with events.

you probably the leader of those people, you have no idea what you talking about.

 

Melina fans doing the most

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1225026140923817985

It makes the most sense

 

That's surprising given Spawn of all characters is dropping soon. I would have thought there would have been more interest in the character, but I guess Mr. Wiz said "Fuck Spawn". Is this the first time MK hasn't returned for a second evo? Pretty sure it is. I don't really find the game fun anymore, but for the ones that do, it sucks.

 

Good now now I don’t to watch a mortal kombat game with a top 8 of all a dc character.

 

That's surprising given Spawn of all characters is dropping soon. I would have thought there would have been more interest in the character, but I guess Mr. Wiz said "Fuck Spawn". Is this the first time MK hasn't returned for a second evo? Pretty sure it is. I don't really find the game fun anymore, but for the ones that do, it sucks.

It doesn’t matter even if they Donald Trump in the game, if they can’t monetize the content then Boon/WB doesn’t get paid. Simple as that. Boon’s probably lost another inch on his hairline in the last week, guy is probably all kinds of stressed right now.

 

Sources for what? Have you not heard streamers complaining about the YouTube purge and all the new guidelines? They tried everything too, they tried to censor with black and white filters and it helped awhile but if content is not considered “safe”, it can’t be monetized and in some cases, you aren’t able to share it either or add it to a playlist. If they can’t monetize the content, then they can’t make any money. Very simple.

This is 100% true. Ive censored tons lately and even then its a crapshoot as to if its monetized.

 

@mastermalone normally with bigger explanations in threads I agree partially or mostly but this is legit the first time I've run down the list and agree'd completely. Well said, and honestly wish we had a better way to give feedback to NRS.

With all that said though, I still really enjoy the game and still think it deserves a spot at Evo. With more and more tournaments doing their own thing (Capcom Cup, Tekken World Tour, etc) Evo is becoming more of "the big one" as opposed to the penultimate event for a fighting game. Optics wise, it does shine a light on MK11 and why an unreleased game, and 2 smaller population games made the cut before it did.

Thank you sir. I tend not to sugar coat the truth. The simple truth is the game as it stands needs some updates to address our concerns which we all unanimously asked for. I want to see MK as a series continue to do well, but I also want the current MK11 to thrive with or without an EVO presence.

 

It doesn’t matter even if they Donald Trump in the game, if they can’t monetize the content then Boon/WB doesn’t get paid. Simple as that. Boon’s probably lost another inch on his hairline in the last week, guy is probably all kinds of stressed right now.

Seriously doubt that. MK11 was the best selling game last year at one point. I think another game surpassed it, but Boon is probably bathing in money every night bruh

 

I don't get how people can say "We don't need Evo" and in the same post also mention how Evo 2019 was the biggest Mortal Kombat tournament ever.

 

Seriously doubt that. MK11 was the best selling game last year at one point. I think another game surpassed it, but Boon is probably bathing in money every night bruh

I’m not saying the game wasn’t a success, I’m saying major organizations like Evo and big name streamers can no longer monetize MK content because it doesn’t follow the new guidelines. If a guy like JWong can’t monetize MK content then that means no one is making money. I knew MK11 wasn’t going to be at Evo when I saw guys like Maximilian complaining about his MK videos and learned about what happened, I knew this was going to be bad for them but I figured there was going to be at least some dedicated people who ran a side tournament there but that hope died 10 years ago when a certain “Network” of individuals destroyed the legacy of MK.

Fast forward 10 years later and these websites are full of casual fans of the new games and a bunch of balding guys making fake home-brewed versions of the classic MK games. I’m very upset with the state this community is in and I’m even more upset with how much of a sellout Boon has become. All because he can’t stop thinking about his hairline and how he’s going to fix it. It makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.

 

I don't get how people can say "We don't need Evo" and in the same post also mention how Evo 2019 was the biggest Mortal Kombat tournament ever.

Fighting game history. MLG held the most important Smash tournaments ever until MLG dropped Smash. Then they simply decided that they didn't need anyone and held their own events. Years later TO's were begging to have them at their events because the numbers are so strong.

While I think EVO is important and should be overlooked, I also strongly disagree with this notion that not being at EVO means you simply roll over, and die.

At the end of the day, the only ones who can kill your game or your scene, is your own community. As a younger scene (NRS specifically, not MK) we've been riding EVO and the Capcom 09' bubble from the start, and it's made some people complacent. If we want our scene to thrive, it's still in our hands.

 

Can't say I'm totally surprised, EVO is known for its core values

 

Our community was much better and far more dedicated back then. We supported our own game and made a big deal out of it even though it was broken.

We held tournaments just to get people to tournaments. And some of us gave our own pocket money so people could make events because we didn’t have sponsorships yet.

MKX was the beginning of the “We’ve arrived/NRS owes us something” era, where everyone started to get lazy because of the ESL and Machinima promotion. So people basically assumed that we could do anything and not really support the scene, because we were guaranteed to have tons of money and promotion no matter what.

And now we’re at a point where we need to be a community again and support our own stuff, and we’ve forgotten how to do it. All they want to do now is complain about someone else.

There is A LOT of truth to this. The "We've arrived/NRS owes us something" is real. At some events that have a low turn out we hear "NRS should have put some money in if they want me there".

 

This might be the single handed most ignorant thing I have ever seen on this board. No profit initiatives? EVO insignificant? The biggest FG tournament, HUGE advertising opportunity...

The following information was shared with me by a senior NRS employee at EVO in a hotel elevator as we were heading to someone else's room to play.

(I am paraphrasing) "It's so difficult to convince our executives why these tournaments, including EVO, are good for the game because all they ever focus on is sales. However, we always try our best and will continue to do so".

I have other similar stories. I just choose not share them to protect people's privacy.

But go on. Pretend you know something about a subject that in reality you know absolutely nothing about.

Besides, you do not even have to believe my story. Excluding Smash, Mortal Kombat 11 has outsold all the other fighting games... combined... with arguably copies left to spare. Why would NRS give a damn about EVO? Why does the NRS community give a damn about EVO? Mr. Wizard collects most of the money and throws pennies at the players.

 

@M2Dave , You are correct. An EVO presence does not dictate the sales of the game as many, most casual fans have no idea of what EVO even is. They know exactly what MK is and they buy every single iteration of the game. The sales are the only thing that matters to the executives and the investors. Nothing in the roadmap for MK11 includes EVO during the C-level meetings, I can assure you all on that. We all live in an FGC bubble where we believe that EVO determines the legitimacy of a given fighting game. In some sense it does but ultimately it is WE who determine the legitimacy of this game if we choose to support and play it. Not EVO.

With that being said, what this does diminish is the legitimacy of the game in the eyes of the "elite FGC" members. They see a game having legs if it appears at EVO and trash if it doesn't. Smarter people know better than that.

 

There is A LOT of truth to this. The "We've arrived/NRS owes us something" is real. At some events that have a low turn out we hear "NRS should have put some money in if they want me there".

Screw NRS! I’ve said since MK4 came out that all Boon cares about his hairline and you know that too! I wrote letters before Midway even announced MK4 about how beautiful the game was and I said in all the letters “Boon, you have to keep it in 2D though.” And did he listen? Of course not! You saw what happened too! The extra dimension created a lot of issues that we all saw coming, especially when the characters would move into the foreground near a corner.

Look at the smash community, they were playing Smash n64 less than 10 years ago at Evo, why?? Because their leaders actually care about the game and because Sakurai’s not worried about his damn hairline!

We’ve let that bald bastard steal our money for the last 10 years and we keep saying we’ll put our feet down but then we all know what happens when the new MK comes out. I have to pretty much sell everything I own so I can buy whatever console the games on to play it. I do it every god damn time, well not anymore. Can we all just agree to say “F U Boon” and play MK Trilogy at Evo this year??? Marvel 2 is gonna be at Evo this year for Christ’s sake, what’s wrong with everyone??

 

Keef already reacted to it