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Tag: Mike Fahey

  • Mortal Kombat 1’s New Microtransactions Are Scarier Than Its Fatalities [Update]

    Mortal Kombat 1’s New Microtransactions Are Scarier Than Its Fatalities [Update]

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    Mortal Kombat 1, NetherRealm’s newest entry in its three-decades-old fighting game series, continues its predecessors’ tradition of pulling gut-yanking, brain-pounding final moves, or Fatalities, to the delight of its gore connoisseur fans. But some of those fans are frustrated. MK1’s recent patch introduces seasonal Fatalities—cool, but you have to pay for them.

    The Week In Games: What’s Coming Out Beyond Mortal Kombat 1

    Is no body horror sacred? October 23 patch notes indicate NetherRealm issued a ton of gameplay and performance changes to its $70 game, like improved AI and more balanced combat, but it hid the less desirable details about the premium Halloween Finisher among them. It won’t actually make it to the game’s Premium Store until later this week, publisher Warner Bros. Games said on Twitter, but it seems likely that it’s the same themed Fatality Mortal Kombat leakers revealed in September.

    Leaked footage shows that, during the Fatality move, you slam a grimacing jack-o’-lantern over your opponent’s face and wait for bugs to slink out. Your enemy then doubles over and you pop their head off with a powerful kick, observing as it flies through space and slams into a front porch decorated for Halloween. The doorbell rings like you’re trick-or-treating, and blood waterfalls around the cracked pumpkin skull. “FATALITY,” the screen announces in vampire red.

    Update 10/27/2023 8:24 p.m. ET: The “Happy Halloween” fatality is now up for sale in Mortal Kombat 1‘s Premium Store. It’s price? A whopping $12 USD. Original story continues after the tweet.

    It looks like a fun move, and it’s October-ready, but fans stopped feeling as excited about it when they realized they’d have to pay extra for it.

    “Pretty bad new precedent set by the devs charging for Fatalities now, and if people pay for it then it will only get worse,” one Reddit user said. “Next they might start charging $0.10 every time we call out our [support fighter] Kameo.”

    “Why the hell did I pay for a [$110] Premium Edition […] yet NR has the cheek to try to force more paid content already?” a Twitter user responded to WB Games. “Greedy business practices before quality.”

    NetherRealm apparently hasn’t learned from its 2019 game MK11, which gained notoriety among fans for what Kotaku writer Mike Fahey called its “oppressive” grind, which encouraged players to spend thousands of dollars on in-game currency to avoid suffering through tedious amounts of gameplay to unlock rewards. MK1 is also offering a free Halloween Variant, a purplish, cobwebbed middle school dance, to the Cage Mansion Arena, but it doesn’t take the sting out of giving more money to a game you thought you already paid for.

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    Ashley Bardhan

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  • MrBeast Now Faces $100 Million Lawsuit After Dissing His Own Burgers

    MrBeast Now Faces $100 Million Lawsuit After Dissing His Own Burgers

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    James “MrBeast” Donaldson, one of the biggest YouTube stars in the world, is now being sued by Virtual Dining Concepts for $100 million. The food company behind his MrBeast Burgers alleges in the newly filed lawsuit that MrBeast is a “social media celebrity who believes his fame” means he can break contracts and say anything. In the view of VDC’s lawyers, “He is mistaken.”

    The Week In Games: What’s Releasing Beyond WrestleQuest

    In 2020, MrBeast partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts, a company that specializes in “ghost kitchen” restaurants that use other, established eateries to produce branded meals that are then sold via delivery apps like Uber Eats. In December of 2020, MrBeast Burgers launched around the country. I was tricked into ordering one. (And then the same thing happened to the wonderful and forever great Mike Fahey.) MrBeast has publicly addressed fan complaints that the burgers they ordered were “inedible” or disgusting, with some looking like raw beef slapped on a bun. So MrBeast filed a lawsuit on August 1 against VDC, claiming the company didn’t care about these quality issues and wanting to terminate the deal. Now VDC is firing back with its own lawsuit that claims he has failed to honor his contractual obligations and has negatively interfered with the business.

    As first reported by Bloomberg on August 7, VDC filed a lawsuit against MrBeast in New York City that alleges the star behind many viral videos has “schemed to exploit [his] leverage and renege on [his] agreements.” VDC says this is all being done to get a “better, more lucrative deal.”

    The MrBeast Burgers lawsuit features a lot of tweets

    In the lawsuit, VDC says that when it didn’t agree to new terms with MrBeast he began to disparage both the food company and MrBeast Burgers—a joint brand owned by the YouTuber and VDC-via a series of tweets, some of which he has since deleted.

    “If I had the ability to close it, I would have done so a long time ago sadly. Sometimes when ur young you sign shit deal [sic],” reads one of MrBeast’s tweets, as seen in the lawsuit.

    VDC calls the negative tweets and MrBeast’s complaints about quality control “baseless” and “unlawful,” citing a non-disparagement clause that was included in the contract between the YouTuber and the food company. The company also claims in the lawsuit that the deal was set to expire in 2024, but MrBeast extended it “indefinitely” in 2022.

    VDC argues in the suit that as a result of these negative tweets—and MrBeast’s team taking over MrBeast Burgers’ social media accounts to block promotions—the company’s reputation has been damaged and that it also lost vendors, suppliers, and customers. VDC alleges the total amount of monetary damage it has faced is “in the nine-figure range.”

    Screenshot: Kotaku

    As for the complaints about burger quality, in a comical section of the lawsuit, VDC suggests that complaints were within the normal expected amount for a venture this large. It then includes a screenshot of a negative review of MrBeast’s “Feastables” candy brand.

    Kotaku contacted MrBeast’s representatives but received no comment. VDC sent this statement to Kotaku:

    VDC looks forward to holding Mr. Donaldson and BI accountable for their actions. In the meantime, it is business as usual for MrBeast Burger and VDC to the greatest extent possible, and VDC looks forward to serving many more satisfied customers and continuing to help the restaurant industry.

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    Zack Zwiezen

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  • Mr. Beast Sues Food Company Over His ‘Revolting,’ ‘Inedible’ Burgers

    Mr. Beast Sues Food Company Over His ‘Revolting,’ ‘Inedible’ Burgers

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    Image: Kotaku / Dave Kotinsky (Getty Images)

    James Donaldson aka Mr. Beast, one of the most popular YouTube stars in the world, is suing the virtual kitchen company he partnered with after fans complained about poor-quality food being delivered to their homes. Mr. Beast says that the company sacrificed quality control in order to expand as quickly as possible.

    The Week In Games: What’s Releasing Beyond Baldur’s Gate 3

    In 2020, Mr. Beast partnered with Virtual Dining Concepts, a company that specializes in “ghost kitchen” restaurants that use other, established eateries—like Macaroni Grill or Brio Italian Garden—to produce branded items that are then sold via food delivery apps like Uber Eats or Door Dash. In December of 2020, Mr. Beast Burgers launched around the country and I was tricked into ordering one. (And then the same thing happened to the wonderful and forever great Mike Fahey.) The burger I ordered was pretty bland, not great, and too expensive for what I got in the end. But at least it was cooked and not raw beef slapped on a bun, which is what some fans seem to have received after placing their order for a Beast Burger.

    As reported by Bloomberg, Mr. Beast has sued Virtual Dining, claiming in the lawsuit that his fans have been leaving negative reviews, calling the burgers “disgusting,” “revolting,” and “inedible.” In the lawsuit the influencer states that he complained about the issues but Virtual Dining Concepts didn’t seem to care.

    Kotaku has contacted Virtual Dining Concepts about the lawsuit.

    Mr. Beast and his legal team allege in the suit that Virtual Dining Concepts wasn’t concerned about quality issues or angry fans but instead was focused on rapidly expanding its company and using Mr. Beast Burgers as a way to pitch the idea to other famous actors and celebrities. Since the Beast Burger deal, Virtual Dining Concepts has created similar branded ghost kitchen offerings for NASCAR and Mariah Carey.

    It’s also claimed by Mr. Beast that Virtual Dining Concepts used his image on social media without permission and even registered some trademarks related to his brand that were outside the scope of the contract. Mr. Beast is asking the court for the right to completely terminate the business deal.

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    Zack Zwiezen

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