1992 Top-Ranked Video Game's Realistic Graphics Sparked Political Debate
Video games these are realistic beyond our wildest dreams - although fans have been saying that about next-gen releases for decades.
Take Mortal Kombat, for example. When the original installment was released in 1992, gamers far and wide praised the fighting game for its incredible realistic depictions of violence and fatalities.
The launch of Mortal Kombat for home consoles by Acclaim Entertainment was one of the largest video-game launches of all time. All four home versions - SNES, Genesis, Game Boy and Game Gear - were released on September 13, 1993, otherwise known as "Mortal Monday."
In fact, the ultimately controversial release ultimately caught the eye of U.S. politicians. According to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Senator Joe Lieberman put together a case presented to the media in 1993 arguing that the lack of regulation of the video game industry - particularly how easy it was for children to access violent video games like Mortal Kombat - opened the door for dire consequences in child development.
The result of the new-found media attention surrounding video games was the implementation of the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) in 1994. As gamers might well known, it was designed to not only rate video games from "Early Childhood" and "Everyone" to "Mature" and "Adults Only 18+," but also provide advertising guidelines for how particular games should be marketed through media channels.
More than 30 years later, the live-action Mortal Kombat film franchise is still going strong, with the sequel currently competing with another follow-up - The Devil Wears Prada 2 - at the box office. While the Meryl Streep starrer still led the charge this past weekend with $43 million, Mortal Kombat II launched impressively with $40 million, Variety reports. The R-rated fighting movie has a 65% average critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes average and "B" grade on CinemaScore exit polls.
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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 7:22 PM.