GameSpot: Now that the news has been out for a while, what do you make of the reaction?

Ed Boon: The initial reaction was a pretty universal "WTF?" There were quite a few people who were very vocal about their opinions and a good number of them were objecting to the idea. At the same time, we understood that this was a reaction to an announcement and a teaser trailer that didn't give many specifics about the game. When little information is released, there are a lot of assumptions and speculation made by people, some of which quickly become (incorrect) facts. Fatalities is a great example of this. I was surprised to see so many stories stating (with so much certainty) that the game wasn't going to have fatalities. As if we made an official announcement. We knew that eventually people would learn the truth and all the confusion would be cleared up. In an odd sort of way, I was actually impressed to see how much passion the MK fans still have for the series. If they didn't care, you wouldn't have seen anywhere near the volume of discussion that came from the announcement.

GS: Is it what you expected? Has there been anything surprising?

EB: To some degree, it was what we were expecting, but not at the intensity level and not the volume. We were really surprised how much of the media that don't normally cover video game news covered the story. We were also surprised by how much speculation and assumptions people made about the game after seeing practically zero gameplay. Again, the MK fans never cease to amaze us. If anything, the intensity of their reaction has inspired us to make the game even better.

GS: Did you see any reactions out there that stood out as being valid or totally off base?

EB: In terms of valid responses, I've been surprised at how many people are recognizing all the assumptions that are going on. People who've pointed out the obvious of "nobody has even played the game yet" have a very valid point. On the other hand, the people who have assumed things like there will be no blood or fatalities in the game have been totally off base. Unfortunately, this assumption has been made by a good number of players and even some of the press, but you really can't fault them when so little information has been officially announced. Again, over time, all of the details will be revealed.