I want to watch good matches on fighting games, its the closest thing to sport that i like to watch.
After watching some of the nuts stuff people can do in SF and guilty gear i was really looking forward to MKX and iv'e never though of myself as squeamish.. but the X-rays and brutalizes are bad and when someone fatalities a fighter its just gross..
I know I'm probably in the minority on this, but would anybody like a less bloody version of SF, even if it was just for broadcasting and tournaments?
I never really understood why MK was so popular. Sure it was fun to play and there was a lot of gore, but it really is pretty average in the controls, combos and characters. I used to find the gore goofy in the past eras of low res games. Now the realism is pretty hard to watch like you said so I don't think about playing it anymore.
At least the last time I played an "MK" game was the vs DC one. That one was pretty goofy and had crappy animations which got a good giggle out of me before I got tired of the stupid combos and violence on childhood heroes.
But I don't think it will be an MK game without the blood. So let's keep it as a niche kind of game and let those who want it that way play it.
I don't watch streams of fighting games either so I don't really know. You could watch the popular ones like SF and Tekken. It depends on whether you've played the games to appreciate it really. Some people like Blazblue but I don't really know much from the rare hours I played it for on my cousin's console. However, I do remember playing King of Fighters a lot a few years back so I guess you could look into it if you're interested. I have no idea how the new KOF looks like but it's nice to see the familiar characters and aesthetics.
Whenever I watch streams, I usually watch if the game looks interesting or for the streamer themselves. Some of them are probably the funniest people I've ever heard.
I never liked the blood in Mortal Kombat at all... hence why I never play it! I'm much more of a lighter game, like Kirby (though that has blood in some fights, it isn't terrible or anything...) or Mario or even maybe Suikoden II or Fire Emblem. Yeah.
I was never good at fighting games either, unfortunately! I never enjoyed them due to this, so I always get crushed when a friend wants me to play one... BUT I CAN BEAT THEM IN OTHER THINGS LIKE... LIKE MAKING REALLY COLORFUL AND YET BADLY WRITTEN COMICS!!! And uh... maybe writing? Eh, whatever! Either way, I'm glad someone feels the same way I do! I REALLY hated the 'X-Rays' in Mortal Combat, they were hard to look at (so much so for me that I couldn't look at the screen when they were used on me).
Not to say the game can't be fun... it can! However... I could EASILY do without the large boobs of the females. Sheesh.