11 Major Rivalries That Changed Video Game History

10. Mortal Kombat Vs. Street Fighter

This fan-debate is often referred to only by its two biggest proponents, but to be honest we can throw Tekken in there too, as once you'd picked a fighting game of choice you were done. The genre itself only truly shines when you've picked a certain character (or three) and learned every frame of animation that compiles their moveset, taking to the arcades or online matches to prove your superiority (depending on what decade you were born in). On the one hand you had a game that was the introductory title to thousands of people for the fighting genre in Street Fighter, with gameplay that appeared to only have a few moves, only to open up drastically to those who scratched the surface. On the other though was one of the original parent-scaring franchises whose reputation preceded it; Mortal Kombat's tight gameplay was often overlooked by the tabloid-baiting levels of gore that meant those who were into Street Fighter could scoff at the likes of the Kombat-devotees, laughing that they were taking this blood-heavy franchise "so seriously". In the end both are still going strong in 2014, and although Street Fighter has seen more releases than your average horror series, it's Mortal Kombat that returned with part nine in 2011 to hugely positive critical reviews, leading to fervent anticipation yet again for the tenth.