Let's face it: almost no one wants to be honest about the real factors that surround character modifications in a AAA video game title. But if you really take them into account, you're forced to paint an entirely different picture of what publishers and developers are forced to deal with.
Let's start with Kano. On TYM you might often see statements like this:
"Kano was nerfed because people like you complained that his tools were OP instead of just learning the matchup".
The truth is, that about 4 million people bought Mortal Kombat: 2011, of which people like you and me are a very small percentage. The majority of game-buyers do not have the wherwithal or time to invest hours into learning the intricacies of a matchup. They simply want to play the game, learn the tools of their character on a general level and have fun.
"But this game is made for tournament players!"
This is partially true, but it's not the whole story. Games like Injustice are made for a wide audience which includes brand new and strictly casual gamers, semi-dedicated gamers, all the way up to pros. This means that you cannot balance a game only for the top 1% of players, and expect that the other 99% will be able to deal with vast perceived imbalances that only disappear at the highest level, and have fun.
So why is a character like Kano nerfed? Maybe it had nothing to do with TYM Joe at all; maybe it's because 99% of the people who play the game had issues dealing with basic easy-mode tactics that rendered their attempts at solid gameplay obsolete.
"But people are expressing their frustrations; TYM posters are going to ruin this game!"
Now at this point, I think it's far too early to be talking about nerfs and buffs (besides obvious things, like infinites and 100% easy resets). But consider that once things get to that point, it's not just being balanced for you, and your 100 friends; it's also being balanced for the millions of other people around the world that make up the majority of players and buyers of this game.
So if we could all recognize this fact and stop talking as if these games are only tweaked only for EVO, then most of the discussions surrounding game balance would make a heck of a lot more sense. Right now it's borderline delusional.
You cannot balance a game like this either for the 100% harcore most knowledgeble players, or for the 100% casual Farmville gamers; the balance is a 'balance' and it has to sit somewhere in the middle of those two.
Let's start with Kano. On TYM you might often see statements like this:
"Kano was nerfed because people like you complained that his tools were OP instead of just learning the matchup".
The truth is, that about 4 million people bought Mortal Kombat: 2011, of which people like you and me are a very small percentage. The majority of game-buyers do not have the wherwithal or time to invest hours into learning the intricacies of a matchup. They simply want to play the game, learn the tools of their character on a general level and have fun.
"But this game is made for tournament players!"
This is partially true, but it's not the whole story. Games like Injustice are made for a wide audience which includes brand new and strictly casual gamers, semi-dedicated gamers, all the way up to pros. This means that you cannot balance a game only for the top 1% of players, and expect that the other 99% will be able to deal with vast perceived imbalances that only disappear at the highest level, and have fun.
So why is a character like Kano nerfed? Maybe it had nothing to do with TYM Joe at all; maybe it's because 99% of the people who play the game had issues dealing with basic easy-mode tactics that rendered their attempts at solid gameplay obsolete.
"But people are expressing their frustrations; TYM posters are going to ruin this game!"
Now at this point, I think it's far too early to be talking about nerfs and buffs (besides obvious things, like infinites and 100% easy resets). But consider that once things get to that point, it's not just being balanced for you, and your 100 friends; it's also being balanced for the millions of other people around the world that make up the majority of players and buyers of this game.
So if we could all recognize this fact and stop talking as if these games are only tweaked only for EVO, then most of the discussions surrounding game balance would make a heck of a lot more sense. Right now it's borderline delusional.
You cannot balance a game like this either for the 100% harcore most knowledgeble players, or for the 100% casual Farmville gamers; the balance is a 'balance' and it has to sit somewhere in the middle of those two.
