I feel secondhand embarrassment from how everyone is dunking on the OP for having such a wrong opinion.
Sales aren't opinions, but you would know that if you had good reading comprehension and/or read the OP. The amount of quality damage control reaction posts in a sales thread continues to amaze me.
Could you please share any reliable source to back your statements about these MK games being major sellers?
I'd assume Tekken always had good sales, but I doubt the crappy MK games released after MK3 and before MK 2011 were big sellers,
Considering you could easily do simple research instead of stating what you believe, finding out multiple sources for sales numbers which the main source is the studio that made the games themselves and at times the co-creator of the franchise, yeah they did.
3.5 Million for Deadly Alliance
almost 3 million for Deception, 1.9 million in a very short time frame after launch and was the fastest selling MK game (at the time)
over 1 million for Armageddon to as high as 2 million.
Tekken is the only closest competitor (and ended up doing better overall once Tekken 5 came out, granted the 360 was out by the time it hit 4 million iirc) no one else came close. Without those two Ips we would be looking at a confined genre for years.
I'd assume Tekken always had good sales, but I doubt the crappy MK games released after MK3 and before MK 2011 were big sellers,
Mortal Kombat Trilogy sold:
1,450,096 PSX Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Midway)
611,161 N64 Mortal Kombat Trilogy (Midway)
That's 2.06 million. And that's just in the US, not including other place it sold.
As for Mortal Kombat 4 there's talk it did at least over 1 million (did over 600k for PS1 but I haven't seen DC or N64 figures) but even if it did or didn't yes it was a decline in console sales for a major first 3D title, and while profitable only did modest in the arcades I hear.
But that was the point of Deadly Alliance, to refresh and replenish the franchise, and it did that. Third best selling MK game until MK9. MK Deception was not far behind. Armageddon was a drop but still did well and MK Vs. DC sold 2.5 million or somewhere around there iirc and that used a refined but still very similar engine to the 3 3D xbox/ps2 games.
Shaolin Monks sold over 1 million, and while not a fighting game it does show the brand strength at the time.
When guys like you wonder about MK selling before MK9 where everyone revises history between MK3 and MK9, in terms of series performance (
NOT QUALITY) I ask
ok compared to what?
Since MK2's console release the only traditional fighter that has competed with MK
on average for sales is Tekken.
Even now with MKX selling over 11 million (long ago it's likely higher) or MK11 at 8 million (which was also a bit ago and likely higher by now) Tekken is at 7 million sales with Tekken 7(lol punny) it's still the only other major selling traditional fighting game franchise.
I will say though after slow sales and being stuck in the 2 million range forever SFV did make a bit of a turnaround especially with the updates and cheap deals. I believe SFV is at 5.2 million now, but it doesn't have much more room to run from what I'm seeing. If they add a budget to SF6 and make sure it's launch isn't broken and complete with content and treat it like RE I can see SF refreshing itself.