Talk:Mortal Kombat II

Arcade release date

A TV show 11 years after the release of the game has been used to site an April 3, 1993 release. The show itself only said April. I find this source dubious.

Second, most databases and fan wikis say June 25, 1993. However, none of them have any visible sourcing.

Most likely, MKII was not in arcade prior to October 1993, and likely a month or two after. First, Gamespot mentions that it was release "just a year after" and "scarcely a year after" the first game, which was October 1992. Second, Play Meter reports that at the October 1993 expo, people were lining up for "a chance to play" Midway's "best new equipment", Mortal Kombat II. Other October 1993 newspapers also mention that a sequel to MK1 may be out "in a couple months". Finally, operating manuals for the arcade that are archived on the internet all appear to have an October 1993 printing date.

The evidence is fairly high that Icons is simply wrong, and no evidence at all for the June 25 date can be found. The system was likely out in 1993, but as of yet I haven't found any direct sourcing. -- ferret (talk) 20:36, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

The magazine Play Meter, in their November 1993 issue, does mention the arcade version of Mortal Kombat II being introduced at the AMOA Expo during October 21-23 in Anaheim, CA. It was released no later than January 1994, as the January 1994 issue of that same magazine mentions that it has been released by then, and given that the issue was released for Jan 1994 but likely written earlier, a 1993 release date is likely. - Aoidh (talk) 20:47, 18 July 2022 (UTC)

I find this source dubious They literally have the creators of Mortal Kombat 2 on the show how is it dubious? Does John Tobias and Ed Boon not know when MK 2 was released? Also to answer your question about the April 3rd date. It lists it as such in Midway Arcade Treasures 2 in the extra selection.--Fruitloop11 (talk) 00:00, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Yes. When we have a discrepancy between contemporary sourcing and sourcing that is decades later, it does cast doubt on the later sourcing. Neither Tobias or Boon say "It was released on April 3, 1993" in the Icons show. A narrator says it over a title card, with no attribution to either of them. As for Midway Arcade Treasures 2, I can't verify anything about that, can you find a video or similar? Either way, it's again a decade later as well. A video I found for Midway Arcade Treasures 2 showing MKII on the selection menu simply says "1993". -- ferret (talk) 00:11, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

1 decade isnt that long ago though. What exactly don't you like about the April 1993 date? Were you not playing it in April of 1993? Do you think G4 just pulled the date put of thin air. Make it make sense. Fruitloop11 (talk) 00:18, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

I feel like I've already explained it. I don't know where G4/Icons got the date. I just know it doesn't agree with contemporary sourcing. How can it have been released in April, yet in October at the expo it was new and unreleased? This simply doesn't line up. And yes, later sources sometimes pull things out of thin air. We regularly find that sources have printed things they got from Wikipedia that were wrong or even outright vandalism. It happens sometimes. The bottom line is the only thing we can say for "sure" is "1993". -- ferret (talk) 00:58, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Further evidence. Washington Post, in November 1993, published that WMS, the owner of Midway and manufacturer of MKII's machines, was blaming it's earnings shortfall on the delayed introduction of MKII, which had not been released yet. The same story was also carried by The Lost Angeles Times, Nov 1993. Chicago Tribute, January 1994 reported that WMS earnings were back up in December due to the release of MKII. And, again back in October 1993, USA TODAY reported that MKII was unveiled at the AMOA expo. A game cannot be "unveiled" if it was already released. Crain's Chicago Business, Dec 13, 1993, reports that 15,000 advanced orders had been taken by WMS for Mortal Kombat II, pretty clearly putting the release in December. Most sourcing is around the time of December 1993, but a few sources indicate cabinets were in the wild in November 1993. -- ferret (talk) 01:35, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

I did find this article mentioning from December 5 saying that the machines in this local area were installed a couple of weeks beforehand, placing it in November, but most articles talking about the new machines are firmly in December. - Aoidh (talk) 01:48, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

@Aoidh Probably enough sourcing we can say "late 1993" you think? -- ferret (talk) 01:52, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

I certainly think so. Here's another source with a new machine in place in early December, so I think late November/early December seems to be when most arcades were getting their new machines playing Mortal Kombat II. Here is an article from November 26 where a new MK2 cabinet got stolen at an arcade. Here is an article that supports the idea that the cabinet was absolutely not available in April, as this is an October article talking about a future release. - Aoidh (talk) 01:54, 19 July 2022 (UTC)

Just a passing note - this actually isn't an abnormal situation for video games on this time period. There's also conflicting reports of the date something as popular as Super Mario Bros came out in the US. Sergecross73 msg me 11:19, 19 July 2022 (UTC)