Although highly controversial, the mix of realism and violence propelled Mortal Kombat to widespread and historic renown. Some say the game's graphic violence was gratuitous, and was only included in order to generate a public outcry and controversy that would garner publicity for the game. The original idea of Mortal Kombat was thought up in 1989 along with storyline and game content, but not put to arcades until 1992 (and game systems). The original Mortal Kombat was developed as a reaction to the popular Capcom fighting game Street Fighter II, with simpler controls and digitized graphics.
