How Mortal Kombat trolled anti-video game congressman Joe Lieberman

Former congressman Joe Lieberman has died aged 82 - he was someone that campaigned heavily against video games and in one case, Mortal Kombat poked fun at him after he said he wanted the series banned.

The former vice presidential candidate died after complications from a fall, his family said in a statement.

Lieberman is probably best known to gamers for his take on the industry, causing moral panic in the 1990s.

He campaigned heavily against violent games franchises such as Mortal Kombat and the Night Trap game, saying he wished he could 'ban them constitutionally'.

Mortal Kombat is a fighting game franchise. Night Trap, released in 1992, was heavily controversial as it depicted violence against women - it was even banned for a time in America before it was re-released.

Lieberman, together with Wisconsin Democrat Herb Kohl, helped lead the Senate on video game hearings in 1993 and 1994, which eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which 'provides information about what's in a game or app so parents and consumers can make informed choices about which games are right for their family'.

For example, games in America have ESRB ratings to this day, such as 'E' for everyone, 'T' for teenagers and older and 'M' for mature, for people aged 17 and over.

When Mortal Kombat II was released by developer Midway in 1993, at the height of this campaign against video games, it included 'Friendships', which co-creator John Tobias added as a nod toward the Congressional hearings that were going on at the time.

A 'Friendship' is a finishing move introduced in response to the public controversy surrounding the gruesome 'Fatality' finishing move in the original Mortal Kombat.

Mortal Kombat II All Friendships Arcadewww.youtube.com

Although Lieberman helped to introduce the rating system, and even later said it 'was the best, better than the movies', he continued to criticise games, such as Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which came out in 2002, blasting it as 'horrendous'.

Violence within video games continues to remain a contentious topic to this day, stemming from the debate Lieberman was at the forefront of when it started in the 1990s.

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