8. Mortal Kombat was the first game to get a “Mature” Rating by Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
Developed and published by Midway in 1992, Mortal Kombat became of the of the first truly gory video games available on the market. A fighting game in which players battle opponents in one-on-one matches, the gory violence of ripping a man’s spine out of his body in “fatality” mode gave many conservatives nightmares. Congress even held hearings regarding video game violence thanks to games like Mortal Kombat, creating the first MA-12 rating for a home console video game. It also led to a pair of mediocre films, and 24 different incarnations of the game.
According to Wikipedia, Mortal Kombat: The Album, an album by The Immortals featuring techno music, was released in May 1994 and featured two themes for the game, “Techno Syndrome” and “Hypnotic House”, as well as themes written for each character. “Techno Syndrome” was adapted for the 1995 movie soundtrack and incorporated the familiar “Mortal Kombat!” yell from the Mortal Monday commercials.
