Versus like SM? Sure it was fun as a spin off, but I wouldn't want it to become part of the main series

I would...mainly for purposes of creativity, and more importantly for the story element. Mk has always had a tremendous amount of potential in these two areas but, it never really feels like they were allowed to throw their weight into letting us explore more, or experience more. MKD got really close with the konquest mode for me, and MKSM got even closer despite the story being pretty wacky (that's why I still like those games I think).

I think utilizing a vehicle like SM, given it be taken as seriously as the flagship title, could yield a wonderful outcome. Less MK done carefully and superbly vs more MK done quickly and sloppily.....yes please.

Far as MK starting another trend.... I can see it. Trend setter once can be a trend setter again. I'm just gonna wait and see, the opportunity is still pretty well out there for them. They have the technology, money, a big name, a bigger name backing and pushing the product, and the space and time. We'll see.

I would love a mksm 2.

I'm pretty much with Pred (as usual). MKD's Konquest mode was a dream come true for me, a chance to explore the story in a free-roaming story/training mode. The only way they could have improved it for me would have been to make it character-specific with areas that only certain characters can access. I can only hope they will do that with MK9, but if they never do a Konquest like that again, I can at least rest knowing my near-perfect mode was already made.
MKSM was a jewel in many ways, but in other ways (story, voice acting) it made me so angry that it took away a lot of the joy from it for me. Not to sound cynical, but I am worried what would happen if they did another one.

As far as gameplay, MK could certainly seperate itself from the crowd by offering a different fighting experience. In a way, they already do. There aren't many 3D fighters out there as outlandish as MK, especially where special moves are concerned. Most other fighting games don't have anything like the special moves MK offers (telekinesis levitation, projectiles, teleports, etc), and if they do, they don't do it as well as MK. Say what you will about infinites, dial-a-combos, and what have you. When it comes to special moves in a 3D fighter, I think MK is king of that arena. If the other things can be fixed (glitches mainly) as well as a few aesthetics in the gameplay itself (why do characters still share winning poses? MKA's Blaze, Motaro, and Onaga screamed "we didn't feel like working anymore" just by their shared winning poses), then MK could certainly seperate itself further.

As far as HOW to seperate the actual gameplay from other 3D fighters, that is beyond me. Perhaps a different perspective of the gameplay? More free-flowing movement? I'm not sure. But taking what MKvsDC started, and building on that, may be a step in the right direction.

Of course MK can compete. The only people who complain about the lack of technicality/sophistication are hardcore fighting gamers, and they're not the majority. For the most part, MK is a thriving franchise.

I don't think MK needs cross-up combos, wave dashes, and guard breaks to be a good fighting game.

@Temporary User Name

It's not about technicality and sophistication, it's about trying to beat franchises like Tekken at their own game. They can't do that, hell, Capcom can't do it and they know it.

So instead of Mortal Kombat trying to throw its chips into an occupied market, why not resuscitate a genre that's begging to get back on the shelves?

Good brawlers come out nowadays and don't sell because they got no name recognition or they're not mainstream enough. Mortal Kombat is still a huge name, so if they grabbed onto the beat em up market while there's NO competition in sight...it's a done deal...

yes it is a thriving franchise for casuals fighting gamers which is why it sucks in terms of gameplay. i dont think ed even wants to make better gameplay anyways, because of mk's causal fan base. but they should try to make it for casuals and pros like sc, sf and tk. that works out pretty good for them in pro tournaments and casual sales.

I don't believe in the "casual" and "hardcore" stuff.

if you're playing a genre whose biggest name (Tekken) isn't as relevant as Donkey Kong in 2010, you're not that mainstream. Remember that Donkey Kong hasn't had a proper game in 10 years.

That said, if MK switched up to the Shaolin Monks system, it'd probably solve all their problems. Smoother movements, easier fatality input, bigger variety of special moves, good combo system...

the casual hardcore stuff is very true, but forget about that.......can someone explain what they mean by mksm system and how they are going to translate it to 2d or 3d gameplay?? are yall talking about the one on one battle arena mode in mksm because that would suck.......

The one on one versus mode in MKSM was cool, they just need to make it bigger and deeper for a main game.