It appears that the voices of the fans have been heard! Microsoft updated the backwards compatibility list for the Xbox 360 within the past day, and one of the new additions to the list is none other than Mortal Kombat: Deception! This also gives high hopes for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon making the list soon after release, as Midway has told us in the past that if one was made backwards-compatible, it would be trivial to make the other backwards-compatible.

We don't know for certain that it was the petition that prompted the addition of MK: Deception to the backwards-compatibility list, but it seems to be a reasonable deduction. In any event, we'd like to thank all of the MK fans again for signing the petition; you came together in a big way, and helped bring MK to the Xbox 360.

To see the backwards-compatibility list in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the letting us know about this important development!

In preparation for the release of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, Midway Games and GameSpot have come together to announce a new contest! This contest is designed to find the "Ultimate Mortal Kombat Fanatic"; contestants will be asked to submit short films showing why they should be considered the Ultimate Mortal Kombat Fanatic. The winner will be flown out to GameSpot's offices in San Francisco to get a chance to play MK: Armageddon against Ed Boon himself! From the press release:

CHICAGO - August 28, 2006 - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment industry publisher and developer, today announced that it has teamed with GameSpot, a leading source for trusted gaming content and community (www.gamespot.com), to bring fans "The Ultimate Mortal Kombat Fanatic" contest, a competition which allows fans to create unique and creative short films showcasing why they are the biggest Mortal Kombat fan. GameSpot will serve as the contest's host site and will feature the user-generated films throughout the duration of the competition. GameSpot staff will judge the entries and one grand prize winner will receive a trip to San Francisco, CA, and the chance to challenge Ed Boon himself a t Mortal Kombat®: Armageddon™ at the GameSpot offices in San Francisco. The contest is scheduled to begin on Monday, September 18th, and run through Friday, October, 6th.

"We are very excited to be teaming up with GameSpot and to be utilizing the new User Video feature, specifically, for this contest," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Midway is asking our passionate and loyal fan base to tap into t heir creative imaginations and to create short films that are inspired by the Mortal Kombat universe. The entries can range from serious to tongue-in-cheek; we just want to see what the fans can come up with. By entering the competition, fans will get a chance to share their work with the rest of the world in a big way via one of the most popular videogame sites around. We're eagerly looking forward to seeing the ingenious works that we believe the community is capable of creating."

"Midway's 15-plus years of stewardship of the Mortal Kombat® franchise on nearly every imaginable gaming platform has ensured that this series has been one of the most popular fighting franchises on GameSpot," said Henk Van Niekerk, vice pre sident of GameSpot. "This User Upload contest is the type of video event that fighting gamers of all ages can really rally around. It's a chance to show off their skills in front of an audi ence who will truly appreciate their work."

Keep an eye on GameSpot; details of the contest will be released soon. We wish all of the MK fans entering this contest good luck!

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

Once again, the folks over at GameSpot have released another in their series of Official Movies profiling Midway's upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. In this installment, Official Movie 3, GameSpot highlights one of the relative newcomers to the world of MK: the cleric of Chaos, Havik. During the movie, John Vogel, Steve Beran, and Ed Boon discuss Havik from his origins as a new appearance for Noob Saibot to his evolution into the disturbing Chaotic evangelist he became. In addition, Havik is shown in a cut-scene from Konquest mode as he confronts both Taven and Shinnok. As with Official Movie 2, the video begins and ends with Havik's trading card, which gives his brief bio:

A denizen of Chaosrealm, Havik despises order and sees it as a threat to everything in which he believes. His mission is to create mayhem and further unravel the fabric of life. He will also destroy anyone who seeks to control others.

The movie is available to download for registered GameSpot members, and to stream for everyone else. To view the video, click here and choose Official Movie 3.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on this new video!

This afternoon, two more pieces of media were released by Midway from their upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. The first came from the Midway Boards, by way of that ever-popular moderator, Cinder. This screenshot shows Shinnok and Kai in Goro's Lair, as Shinnok summons a skeletal hand to grab Kai (and presumably throw him about for a bit).

The second bit of media comes from the official site, where the page accessible via the eye of the dragon has been updated with a new render. The render features Blaze, arms in the air, as he stands atop his pyramid.

To see the forum thread in which the screenshot was originally posted, click here. To see the page with all of the current released artwork from the official site, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on these two new pieces of media!

IGN has reported from the currently ongoing German Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany in the form of an updated preview of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! While this offers very little new information, it does clarify a couple of points, firstly information regarding the game's Kreate-a-Figher mode. From the article:

...players will also have the ability to spare their favorite fighters this fate by spawning their own characters: there are at least 14 separate character classes that players will have available to them, with hundreds of choices, making the literal combination of created characters in the millions.

Further notes are made on the Create-a-Fatality system as well as the mini-game, Motor Kombat. It seems Mortal Kombat: Deception's Hara-Kiris will not be present in this game due to the development teams focus on this new feature. Motor Kombat will also feature its own version of fatalities, as seen in the following quote:

Before you even wonder, yes, there will be fatalities within Motor Kombat as well. In fact, we discovered that running into walls or off of cliffs can create some very brutal death sequences. We'll have much more on MK: Armageddon as soon as possible.

To read the full article, click here.

Thanks to forum member for sending the lead to this preview.