In an interview with Gamasutra, Mortal Kombat producer Ed Boon comments on the fact that fighting games have been seen as hardcore and hard to get into - which has been reflected in sales numbers during the last couple of years. With the new Mortal Kombat, that is planned for release next year they've been trying to mix the two worlds by making the game easy to pick up while still having the depth that will attract a more hardcore player base.
"Oddly enough, this [new {Mortal Kombat}] is the first one in a while that we've really made a conscious effort that we are going to focus hard on the hardcore player," he told Gamasutra. "At the same time, we want to stay accessible. But the simple numbers of it is that there are just far, far more of the casual player than the hardcore player."
As long as we can tear out spines and set our opponents on fire we're happy, Ed.