Fighting games are a niche genre featuring gameplay that sometimes looks like button-mashing to the outsider, although a lot of skill and precision are needed to be good at them. Within the genre, only a handful of franchises have managed to stand out and become iconic fixtures, and only a select few have been able to compete with Mortal Kombat's impact and influence. The series was first introduced to gamers in 1992 when it was still in the hands of Midway Games, and since then, it has had a conspicuous presence in the gaming world.