When I first played Deception I was mind blown that Liu Kang was in. D: I was like "A Zombie Liu Kang?! Holy crap. Note that I was 7 or 8 at the time so I wasn't on the internet often and was not aware he was in.

It could be just me, but I just feel like gamers these days enjoy getting spoon-fed instead of actually working to unlock cool characters or features.

How about NRS just include a kombat kode to unlock all the on disc fighters?
It'll be easy to get because the kodes will probably be online the minute the game comes out and have the option of saving the kode so you don't have to punch it in again.

Win/Win right?

I personally prefer earning everything in game. Be it Kombatants, Kostumes, Koncept Art, Arenas etc. It lengthens the games lifespan and that's always a plus.