Why I Think Mortal Kombat X's Teaser was Underwhelming

We all knew that Ed Boon's countdown to an announcement would most likely end up being either a new Injustice game or a new Mortal Kombat. While I am more excited about it being the latter, the trailer for its announcement was quite uninteresting to me. To understand my reasoning for this, I'm going to compare the trailer to the announcement trailer for 2011's Mortal Kombat. Hopefully then it will be clear why I think that games' announcement was much more impressive than the more recent announcement of Mortal Kombat X.

Firstly, instead of showing in-game footage, NetherRealm Studios opted for a cinematic fight between Scorpion and Sub-Zero. Within the confines of a wintry forest, they beat each other up until one contender wins, as tradition, in a gory fashion. This is something we have seen before in pre-rendered footage, so I don't why it wasn't revealed in in-game footage to, at the very least, impress viewers. If the game has "unparalleled, cinematic presentation" like the official description said, then show it to us. I generally have an issue with cinematic trailers though. If it's targeting what mechanics will be utilized in the game, then it's very important to see those mechanics in action before getting excited about it.

I have a small problem with the music playing during the trailer. "Can't Stop" by Wiz Khalifa blares throughout the fight, and while I have no problem with hip-hop music it really doesn't fit the tone of the Mortal Kombat franchise. It's not bombastic or silly, it just sounds a little too serious. It's not a huge problem, but the syncing of the track with the cinematic does affect how I feel overall about the trailer, albeit only a small amount.

My biggest complaint about the trailer is that it provides nothing to interesting or fresh to get excited about. Sure, that's common in fighting game franchises. The thing is that Mortal Kombat's announcement in 2011 was quite a big deal, because the game before it was Armageddon, which made a few poor changes. In Armageddon, all characters could create a fatality, but didn't have unique ones. The game also wasn't played in a two dimensional space. Instead, you could revolve around the arenas. These things were changed in the ninth game, as a throwback to the original games. Along with this, it was the first time seeing classic arenas, characters and fatalities in high definition.

While I am sure the game will look good when shown, I feel that this trailer was really a bad decision, in terms of marketing and in general.

Chill out, they are saving the gameplay for E3 which is just a few days away. If there is no gameplay at E3 then you have every right to be mad.

Dude, it literally just got announced. Just be patient.

Cause E3 is why to all your questions. Game play has already been stated to be shown at the show. This is simply a "HEY THIS THING EXISTS" announcement.

I never thought of Wiz Khalifa music as serious.

It's a pre-E3 teaser. That's how these usually work.

I'm certainly not mad about the trailer, just a little underwhelmed by it is all. I don't feel like any announcement trailer is just there for the sake of announcing it, otherwise they wouldn't have put so much effort in a cinematic trailer. As the trailer stands I was disappointed, but that being said it's only a trailer! My expectations are in no way lowered by what the game may provide.

Also, maybe "serious" was a poor choice of words haha, but I do feel that it doesn't fit the trailer.

I thought the music fit with Mortal Kombat pretty well, I guess that's just personal opinion.

I dunno, Street Fighter IV and Tekken 6 had prerendered trailers. Pretty standard approach for fighting games.

Street Fighter x Tekken may have been the last reveal to feature nothing but gameplay. Just because Ryu and Kazuya was so freakin' crazy.

I agree. It's not just to announce the game, it's also to set a tone for the game and get you hyped up to learn more. If you're looking for real details or gameplay, the initial teaser or reveal trailer is rarely ever going to be the place to look.

I really think you might just be overthinking this whole thing. Just wait one week and all of the concerns you brought up are likely to be addressed.

It's common for a lot of games to be announced with a pre-rendered trailer. It seems a bit weird that a mechanics-heavy genre like fighting games would want to show a pre-rendered trailer, but hey. Also, pre-rendered announcement trailers can be done well. I think Arkham Knight's announcement trailer was pretty great. It's normally when they show something really new (especially in sequels) or some form of narrative that I get excited by pre-rendered footage.

I may also add that this is only an opinion piece on a trailer I had to write to apply for a website! I don't feel too strongly about watching a two minute trailer. Well, not to the point that I'm angry about it or something ridiculous like that. I do appreciate the responses, though!

I'm going to wager a guess that MK X is going to look a lot like MK 9. I know, I know... burn me at the stake for saying it.

When MK 9 was announced, it made perfect sense to show off mostly gameplay, because the series as fans knew it had been dormant for so long. People would get excited to see the "classic" mechanics with a shiny coat of paint - which they did. With MK X, if they showed gameplay that looked like a prettier version of the last game, I think "underwhelming" wouldn't do it justice. At least with a pre-rendered trailer, you can set a tone for the game before it's completely unveiled and also show off a pretty cool fight.

I agree it's not the most exciting trailer in the world, but I'm pretty sure a trailer of characters performing combos when we've had MK 9 out there for 3 years would be way less satisfying - especially if they're going to show gameplay in a week at E3.

I thought the trailer had a good mix of CG and gameplay, providing the viewer with a good warm-up idea of what the game will be like.

I guess but then again I'm unclear why one gets "excited" about announces of announcements anyway let alone get "excited" about a fighting game in general.

I'm kind of done with the CG hype trailer. It rarely reflects the delivered product and tells us nothing.

Yeah this announcement trailer sucked pretty hard but whatever. Remember the first Witcher 3 trailer? It was just a camera zooming out from a CG necklace.

Announcement trailers are often super light on anything relevant to the game, so hopefully we see more at E3.

I was pretty underwhelmed too. Not a fan of CG trailer or the music they chose. Really looking forward to some gameplay though.

Well, it's always exciting to see a familiar franchise on new hardware. On top of that, despite being the ninth game I would consider Mortal Kombat to be a step-up for the franchise. I thought that the single player content is something that was hugely improved and it could always be improved more. I understand though, the game might just tread on familiar ground like most fighting games do.

It got you to start a whole thread about it, bringing more attention to the game. As that's the point of any teaser, I don't think you can then honestly say it's a "bad marketing decision".

The only bad teaser is the one that goes completely unnoticed.

It got us to start a new thread complaining about it. I'm already lukewarm on more Mortal Kombat and this isn't helping. One can believe "any chatter is good chatter" but I'm not sure if that is true if it is perceived like a flag to say "Look at how stupid this is!"

1. It's just a damn song, people. If they had just had the beat with no vocals, I doubt people would complain nearly as much.

2. It's a reveal trailer. It's just there to say "LOOK AT SOME COOL SHIT AND GET HYPE BECAUSE MOOOOOOOORTAL KOOOOOOOMBAT!"

3. I'm excited. I'm sad that there are other people that don't seem to be.

Wow, I am surprised. I thought more people would agree with this person. The trailer is bad, it shows a game that we knew that was coming and nothing new about the game.

Sub-Zero and Scorpion are in it? NO WAY. You can use the environment now just like Injustice? NO WAY.

The trailer as a marketing material and as getting players interested (and I am a big fan of the franchise) was a failure.

It could of at least teased returning characters (that were not in MK9) or new ones entirely. Trailers are designed to spark interest and this one does not do this.

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/2/5772190/mortal-kombat-x-teaser-is-everything-wrong-with-modern-trailers

E3 is in 3 days, and they gave us a pretty good idea on what the gameplay would be like, at least, on a superficial level.

MK9 was an awesome announcement because they were going back to their roots and bringing back the MK that everyone loved. It was a significant change. MKX may just seem underwhelming because we knew it was coming and we know what it is for all intensive purposes. Aside from a shiny coat of paint and any new modes/gameplay announcements yet to come this is exactly what everyone expected. Doesn't mean the game won't be as awesome, just that the announcement is less significant in terms of the franchise overall because it isn't going to reinvent the wheel like MK9 did.

What I look at as "bad marketing" is what the trailer communicates. Unlike something like the Arkham Knight announcement, which showed off some of the really interesting new mechanics, this trailer left something to be desired. This is mostly because it's pre-rendered though, which was a marketing decision. Would you have believed someone if they told you that this was a Mortal Kombat 9 trailer? Also, regarding the fact I started a thread was to simply generate discussion. All in all I really should have clarified what I meant though! I have to disagree with your last statement, though. If a teaser is just a logo, then its purpose would be to let people know that it exists. This was clearly created to create hype, which I just think it failed in doing.

I think you're exaggerating a little about me flagging how stupid it is. It's just an opinion, you're free to disagree with it and think my opinion's stupid. If it would be better, I could add an "I think" in the title but I just thought people would assume that something about a trailer would be extremely subjective anyway.

I definitely saw some MK9 animations in there so I'm hoping that that level of detail is what they're shooting for in the final game with a better framerate. I think it's feasible!

Agreed, and it's obvious that they'd build up from what they started.

Okay? I'm really not sure what you intended just linking to someone else's thing with no comment of your own, but I'm just going to assume that you agree with me and that this teaser getting its own write-up on a major games site like Polygon is a huge success.

The argument that it doesn't show you anything about the game is just wrong. I gleaned three big potential elements, even without seeing actual gameplay; you can use the environment to fight, X-ray moves are still a thing, and there might be weapons. Pretty obvious. But way more importantly, this is the Xth sequel in a huge franchise that has always had pretty simple mechanics... we already know what it's going to be like.

The purpose is to put the thought in people's heads that this game is a thing that is coming out. All these complaints are just making that way more effective.

To be fair, if you believe that there "might" be weapons then the trailer obviously didn't communicate it very well, which is why I didn't mention it as something fresh. You're absolutely right about the game having simple mechanics, but to just assume that you know what it's going to be like seems strange considering Mortal Kombat 9 was a long awaited return to it's old roots (which felt fresh for 2011), and Armageddon before it felt quite different. As I've said, I think it's clear that the trailer is there to create hype, along with Boon counting down to it.

This was just an announcement trailer. I assume they choose CGI because gameplay is either not ready to be shown, or will be shown very soon say at E3.

We've seen this become the norm this year, announcing your game before E3 so that it doesn't drown in a sea of game's coverage. This gives MK X a distinct time period and news cycle for fans to be informed and to get excited. It doesn't need to communicate anything more until the time and place it available. E3 provides hundreds of gaming press all in one place, seems like a good chance to reveal or talk about more.

It's just a trailer, a teaser even. Getting upset over teasers and trailers seems like a waste of time. Just wait and you'll know more about the game and can adequately form an opinion. Until then you're worrying over Wiz Khalifa which no one should do.

It's just a tease for E3. I didn't have a problem with it. Looking forward to seeing what the actual game looks like. And if it continues the story of the last game or not.

Mortal Kombat has always been wildly self-serious, against a backdrop of absurdity. I think hip hop music kind of fits that role perfectly, actually. And apparently the people making it agree.

I didn't mean to come across as upset or angry in the piece. It was completely unintentionally on my part! Also, I hope people understand that I'm not trying to criticize a new Mortal Kombat game being announced but an announcement trailer. It's pretty trivial so if you're excited about a new Mortal Kombat game and this trailer succeeded in exciting you then that's great! Regardless of my opinion of a trailer the final product shouldn't be worried about until it's actually shown.

power of a thread title my friend, thread title immediately read very objectively , immediate glance at that sets the expectation and the mood to be of a groan. if i didnt see the other posts you made afterwards, i would think you were being serious with your tone.

for the record i see where your coming from, but its also been a good long 3-4 years since mortal kombat 9 and there's kind of nothing else quite like mortal kombat as a whole (im talking stylistically as well), so just seeing the iconic fighters going at it with subtle hints at the new additions is exciting enough, especially when the full gameplay reveal is apparently confirmed for E3.

and they did reveal some more details about the game. which if they pull this off, sounds pretty exciting

“Mortal Kombat has always been about over-the-top, visceral fighting and with Mortal Kombat X we wanted to utilise the power of new-gen consoles to give players our most intense game yet,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The team has worked hard to make sure Mortal Kombat X delivers everything fans expect along with new characters, new game modes and an all new graphics engine.”

Mortal Kombat X combines cinematic presentation with all new gameplay to deliver the most brutal Kombat experience ever, offering a new fully-connected experience that launches players into a persistent online contest where every fight matters in a global battle for supremacy. For the first time, Mortal Kombat X gives players the ability to choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style. Players step into an original story showcasing some of the game’s most prolific characters including Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while introducing new challengers that represent the forces of good and evil and tie the tale together.

As I've tried to say, the point specifically isn't to communicate those things, so it can't be considered a negative. It's a teaser. It exists to tease something about the game, and specifically not detail what the gameplay is.

If this is the only video thing that they ever put out for MKX, then sure, I'd agree that it wasn't very informative. But that's ridiculous, because we all know that there will be many more trailers showing exactly what folks say is missing from this one.

Consider these teasers:

Maybe you don't like those either, and that's fine. But they did what they set out to do; announce that the game exists, give a sense of the tone, and make people want to see more.

The MKX teaser is no different. If you weren't engaged by it, that's also fine, but clearly many others were, so trying to argue that it's underwhelming based on your own reaction just seems flawed.

Yeah I can see the title being misleading, and my writing has always been a little robotic so I can definitely see why people think that I'm angry haha.

I'm just glad Goldberg is finally going to be in a Mortal Kombat game

Again, arguing why I thought this was underwhelming is what this is. It's clear that some of the points I make are purely subjective, so the initial title I had was a poor choice on my part. You're right, more trailers will be shown, but this piece is about why this trailer was underwhelming to me. A lot of people don't feel trailers don't need to be informative, and that's fine. It's something that a sequel requires to get me interested, though. I appreciate the fact others disagree though, as this was only to generate discussions about the trailer. Also, I'm afraid I can't see the teasers. What were they? I'll look them up

Expectingtoomuchitis will be rough this E3.

@kut_u_up said:

I'm just glad Goldberg is finally going to be in a Mortal Kombat game

so thats where that damm joke came from,

For the most part i think you are right but i would guess it has more to do with it being leaked early and them just throwing a trailer up real quick to make things official. I'm sure we will see more at or near E3.

You're right I do agree with you. I just had to smile that there is a GB thread complaining about this particular teaser and a big article on polygon too.

I think this teaser strides the line between teaser and trailer and while I didn't find it particularly exciting and think they could have done a better job in the end it did what it was supposed to. It's just a reminder that MKX exists and a hint of what we can expect. That being said the edition select feature is a pretty cool addition and they could have worked that in somehow.

In the end people are not going to remember the announcement trailer anyway because there will be a bunch of gameplay and other stuff from the game out there. The game comes out next year so it doesn't really matter anyway how much exposure this teaser gets especially for the well established fighting game MK is.

Cyberpunk is kind of an exception here because that teaser was fucking awesome. It basically sold me on the game already and I think that is the highest point you can reach for when you announce a game like this. Friend of mine even asked me how that game with the awesome teaser was coming along. He remembered it even though the teaser came out more than a year ago.

Look at your calendar. It says 2014. The game comes out in 2015. Why bother caring about a trailer for a game so far away. There's very few positives and a ton of negatives to be had by showing gameplay at this point.

There are plenty of forum posts about how people are excited after watching the trailer and I am just on the other side of the fence. It's enjoyable to hear discussion about trailers, especially when E3's in a week.

I think they get away with it because E3 is so close, so a few more days and we'll probably see gameplay, but you're right, fans of fighting games need details not teasers, we need to know what the game is like pure and simple before it means anything to us.

If we're equating the teaser to actual gameplay, we can say it's going to have terrible animations and will have environmental weapons you can equip and use, like weapons in previous MK games, MK9 was great to me because it went back to basics instead of having all the superficial weapon stuff, i hope this doesn't falter by trying to bring them back.

I agree. This is also a sequel of an established franchise, with fundamental mechanics that will remain the same. I think something like Cyberpunk's teaser works because of the mystery behind it (it is an original ip after all). This is a game where we understand the basics, but I would like to know what else it has to offer. As a lot of people have said, we'll probably find out soon enough.

hmmmmmm, I kinda don't blame you... I think I'm more excited about the announcement. If the graphics are on par with that on Current Gen, then OKAY, That's amazing.... but no, it's probably prerendered by blur studios. But I loved those rubbery arms cracks, something that wasn't serious but at least I could imagine it's in game. But yeah, I can see your point.

Also MK9's music was handled by Jess Keeler of Death From Above 1979, I do hope they have more musicians involved in the game's sound tracks.

I second that I am simply more excited about the announcement that anything I viewed in the trailers. I love Mortal Kombat and even the awesome poster leak got me super pumped up. I think there are some really cool teaser trailers but I am fine with this one. The Wiz song didn't really bother me although I would have preferred a track from the previous games or a new remixed one. Hopefully they will come out big at E3 and show some for real gameplay. I'm skeptical but if it looks anything near this then man is this game going to look beautiful.