A rumor has been going around recently that Midway would not be releasing a PAL version of the upcoming fighting game Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for Xbox. We decided to contact Midway to find out for ourselves, and they confirmed to us that there are currently no plans to release a Xbox PAL version of MK: Armageddon.

For now, this appears to be a rumor founded in fact. However, we will be keeping an eye on this development; if we learn anything more, we'll be sure to report it here.

EDIT - August 14 2006 1:00 PM CDT - Over on the Midway Boards, Cinder revealed that the decision to not release MK: Armageddon for Xbox in PAL territories was made by Midway Europe. To see the forum posting where he makes this clarification and also an address to make your opinions heard, click here. Our thanks to forum member Total-MK for the heads-up on this update.

Also, to those who are confused about what PAL means: PAL is the video format used in such territories as Europe and Australia. Therefore, North American gamers and others are not affected by this. If you're not sure if your area is PAL or NTSC, check with your nearest video game or electronics store and they'll be able to tell you for certain.

EDIT - August 15 2006 2:40 PM CDT - Fellow MK website Total Mortal Kombat contacted Midway London, and got an official explanation as to why the Xbox PAL version is not being released.

We're not producing a PAL Xbox version due to a combination of retail unwillingness to list new Xbox games, the uneconomic return on development investment and a strategic focus on the PS2 for this iteration of the franchise. Rest assured, MK will be back on the next gen. platforms in an even bigger way than ever before.

To read the original news story in which this statement was posted, click here.