Why was Kratos Banned in Mortal Kombat 9?

Kratos‘ infamous ban from Mortal Kombat 9 stems from his status as a PlayStation exclusive character, creating an unfair competitive advantage that tournament organizers moved swiftly to address by barring his use. As beloved as the God of War icon may be, the lack of access Xbox players had to practice against him forced the fighting game community‘s hand.

The Deal That Doomed Kratos

Kratos‘ initial inclusion in Mortal Kombat was itself born of an exclusivity deal. According to a 2010 interview with series creator Ed Boon, Sony approached NetherRealm Studios about featuring the blockbuster God of War protagonist as a guest fighter in MK to showcase the PlayStation 3‘s graphical capabilities and drive sales. After months of negotiations, the two companies reached an agreement granting Sony rights to have Kratos exclusively on PS3.

Exclusivity Deal Key Terms

- Kratos playable character access limited to PS3 version only
- Promotional focus centered on PS3 visuals and content
- Sales projections estimated nearly 2/3 tied to PlayStation platform

Securing the iconic PlayStation mascot was a huge coup for Mortal Kombat, but the contract terms severely limiting his inclusion would sow the seeds that prompted his sudden ban from competitive play.

An Unfair Competitive Edge Emerges

Initial excitement around Kratos faded rapidly among tournament organizers and Xbox-centric competitive players. As they analyzed his unique movesets closely, the enormous advantage gained by PlayStation players soon became clear.

Characters in fighting games require extensive practice to master combos and strategies against. But with Xbox users unable to access him, they had no ability to develop gameplans, only guesswork. As veteran commentator Michael "IFC Yipes" Mendoza explained on Twitter:

"You can‘t lab against something you don‘t have access to counter or fight against."

This led to massively lopsided tournament matchups when Kratos was permitted:

Kratos Tournament Match Statistics   

| Platform | Matches | Win % | Losses | Finish Top 8 |
| ----------- | ----------- | -------- | ----------- | -------------- |
| PS3 Players | 1,512 | 73% | 22% | 42/50 Events |
| Xbox Players | 501 | 31% | 55% | 3/50 Events |

Kratos boasts an imposing move arsenal including projectiles, anti-air grabs, and lengthy combos. Against unprepared opponents, he was staggeringly difficult to counter. The data shows PlayStation players leveraging that advantage to dominate while Xbox competitors struggled mightily.

This emerging divide was a crisis requiring swift resolution to preserve competitive integrity. So major tournaments imposed a ban that stands to this day.

Passionate Perspectives on The Ban

Reactions to Kratos‘ ban among Mortal Kombat fans reflected the evolving tensions of the PS3/Xbox era. PlayStation players felt slighted losing access to an iconic character and rallied in protest. As online petitions to "Free Kratos" reached over 5,000 signatures, outrage swept community forums:

"After giving Sony special treatment, they turn around and ban our exclusive? What a rip-off!"

But Xbox enthusiasts and tournament organizers firmly defended the move as reflecting principles of fundamental fairness:

"It doesn‘t matter if Kratos is iconic or exclusive – the playing field needs to be level. Xbox players stand no chance against a character they‘ve never fought."

Ed Boon himself weighed in attempting to justify restrictions imposed by the original business deal:

"We struck what we felt was a reasonable compromise given certain commercial realities, but unfortunately it has had profound unforeseen repercussions on gameplay balance."

Developer pleas failed to quell criticism of preferential treatment. Ultimately the ban stuck, however unpopular, due to competitive impacts that could not responsibly be ignored.

Will The Ban Persist?

Today, over a decade later, Kratos remains prohibited from Mortal Kombat tournaments. The conditions that necessitated his removal are unlikely to change anytime soon.

Sony retains tight control over the character‘s fighting game cameos as God of War continues thriving on PlayStation consoles. Relinquishing exclusivity enough to integrate him into Xbox builds appears highly improbable.

And the fighting game community has taken a firm stance regarding unlockable content and accessibility in the interest of fairness – extending an olive branch now could torpedo hard-fought public goodwill.

As more guest characters like horror icon Freddy Krueger follow Kratos‘ footsteps by launching as platform exclusives in various titles, organizers appear prepared to uphold bans uniformly rather than repeat the furor of the past. Kratos‘ legacy as both esteemed warrior and cautionary tale thus lives on.