In the world of video games, the sports genre takes the cake when it comes to uniform annual sales. Whether it’s the latest NBA 2K or EA FC, the majority buy and consume them to feed their desire for on-screen competition.
As these are tied to real-life rules and regulations, the sheer authenticity helps them top the charts of their respective genre. However, there are some franchises, especially within the fighting universe that appear to fall under the sports category.
The Mortal Kombat series is one of them. Sharing the core similarities with franchises like UFC and WWE 2K, this action-packed blockbuster is often considered a sports game. But is that really the correct term to relate it to? Let’s find out.
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What Is A Sports Game?
Before we deduce whether or not Mortal Kombat falls under the sports genre, it’s important to know what defines this category in the first place. For a franchise to be associated with sports, it must satisfy the following conditions.
- Simulate any real-life sports such as basketball, racing, football, and fighting.
- Offers at least the basic rules so the game plays like the genre it’s representing.
- Logical mechanics and physics that does not violate the boundaries of the athletes.
- Authentic presentation and vibes. From teams to venues, everything should have a game-day or ring-like feeling.
- Fair competition that happens with true-to-life skills, nothing too fictional.
With even half of these fulfilled, the franchise is more than welcome inside the sports universe. Take the Inazuma Eleven series as an example. Yes, it does offer fictional elements, but thanks to its presentation and basic soccer rules, it can still be safely associated with the sports world.
Is Mortal Kombat A Sports Game?
So, is Mortal Kombat also safe for this category? Well, after discussing all the typical sports characteristics, the Mortal Kombat series doesn’t look promising. Similar to UFC and WWE 2K, it also offers a competitive fighting experience, but that doesn’t mean it belongs to the same family.
As the name already suggests, it’s a fictional series that showcases brutal combat. Unlike the actual sports fighting games, this franchise offers fatalities, impossible moves, and inhuman characters with supernatural abilities. Each of these aspects significantly violates the real-world logic, knocking Mortal Kombat out of the sports category.
The correct term for this franchise is just “fighting” minus the sports. Since too much simulation can sometimes take away the fun element, players can dive into Mortal Kombat and ignore the real-life boundaries. Its arcade nature brings tons of joy, making it one of the fan favorites of all time.
