Midway Games has issued a press release announcing their financial revenues for the second quarter of 2005. According to the press release, Midway's revenues for the second quarter were less than forecast, and also less than the same quarter last year. From the press release:

Net revenues for the 2005 second quarter were $36.9 million, compared with 2004 second quarter net revenues of $47.3 million. The 2005 second quarter loss applicable to common stock was $29.9 million or a loss of $0.35 per share, compared with a 2004 second quarter loss applicable to common stock of $11.2 million or a loss of $0.17 per share. The second quarter results were below previously provided expectations primarily due to lower-than-forecasted sales of Unreal Championship 2, as well as the writedown of capitalized product development costs for upcoming releases and the need for additional reserves for markdowns.

The press release also has a section detailing the outlook for the rest of the year, including a piece of information not previously reported that may be of interest to MK fans. From the release:

For the quarter ending September 30, 2005, the Company expects net revenues of approximately $30 million, with a net loss of approximately $19 million. During the quarter, Midway expects to release Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Midway Arcade Treasures 3 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube, and a compilation of Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and 3 for the PC. Midway also expects to ship The Suffering: Ties that Bind for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC at the end of September, 2005, although due to the timing of its shipment at the end of the quarter, the Company expects to recognize the associated revenues in the fourth quarter.

During the fourth quarter of 2005, Midway expects to release Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Blitz: The League for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, Ed, Edd n Eddy: The Mis-Edventures for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, GameBoy Advance, and PC, and L.A. RUSH for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. In addition, the Company also expects to release its first two PlayStation Portable (PSP) titles: Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained and Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play during the quarter.

This is the first information that we have seen that indicates Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3 will be coming to PC. Whether these are the full versions of these games is yet unknown; however, if it is, it will be the first time since 1998 than a Mortal Kombat game will be making it to PC. We'll keep an eye on this game; as we learn more, we'll be sure to report it to you!

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

Our thanks once again to forum/chat member DECEPTION for the heads-up on this breaking news story!

Gamecloud has posted an interview with Shaun Himmerick, producer of Midway's upcoming action/adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. While the interview doesn't touch on very much that hasn't already been revealed, one of the things that IS mentioned that might draw the interest of fans is the number of playable characters. From the interview:

Gamecloud - What familiar Mortal Kombat characters will be playable in Shaolin Monks?

Shaun Himmerick - Liu Kang and Kung Lao are the two characters the story centers around. From there the player will go though the realms and interact with a lot of different MK characters. In the Wu Shi academy the player works along side of Johnny Cage to defeat the enemies. Later the player faces Baraka in a boss Battle. We have Many MK characters from history in the game.

As the player progresses they can unlock 2 other playable characters for the adventure game. One is Sub-Zero. The other is a secret.

For Versus mode there will be 8 total characters available for the players to use once they are unlocked.

Also, the interview touches on the fact that special moves are not the only thing to get upgrades. From the interview:

Gamecloud - What other unique gameplay features will Shaolin Monks have?

Shaun Himmerick - When you set out to make a Mortal Kombat game you must include fatalities and Mortal Kombat Shaolin Monks is no different. We have fatalities. We have included some old school fatalities that get some updates with new technology in the 3D world. But we also have made some new fatalities for the characters to give the players variety as well.

Additionally we have taken the concept of Fatalities and upgraded them. The player will unlock the ability to do Multalities, which is a fatality performed on multiple enemies at one time. And finally also unlock the ability to do Brutalities as the final upgrade to the Fatality System.

Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is scheduled to be released on September 19th. To read the interview in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member fraysol for the heads-up on this interview!

Cinder over on the Midway Boards has released two more pieces of concept art from Midway's upcoming action-adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! These pieces of concept art (which are smaller than the previous two that Cinder released) feature the Edenian princess-turned-assassin Kitana and everyone's favorite Shokan Goro!

To read the thread in which the concept art was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member |Khaos| (of fellow MK site MK Outworld) for the heads-up on this new concept art!

WBRZ News 2 Louisiana is reporting on their website that movie production company Threshold Entertainment, producers of the Mortal Kombat movies and TV series, has expressed in opening a facility in New Orleans, Lousiana that would double as a movie studio and theme park. Moreover, the report states that Threshold is planning on filming the third movie in Louisiana. From the article:

The producers of the "Mortal Kombat" video games and movies would like to build a $150 million studio and amusement park on the banks of the Mississippi River, which would be the first of its kind anywhere, the company's chief executive said Monday.

...

Meanwhile, Threshold Entertainment, which is planning to film "Mortal Kombat III" in Louisiana, is interested in building out 100,000-150,000 square feet of production space that would double as a tourist attraction.

"I believe there's an extraordinary opportunity to build a state-of-the-art production studio-slash-Hollywood theme park and training facility right in the middle of town," CEO Larry Kasanoff said.

...

The project's future would depend on how much cooperation and support Kasanoff receives from the various governing bodies on the river, which include the Port of New Orleans, city of New Orleans, and even the state, said Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu, who met with Kasanoff this past weekend.

" 'Mortal Kombat' has made $5 billion. He wants to bring a $150 million studio theme park," Landrieu said.

"In politics, I'm always skeptical about people bearing gifts, but Kasanoff is real.

"He is the head of an entertainment company that is very fluid and very wealthy."

To our knowledge, this is the first official news we've seen about the third movie's actual production, outside of actor's comments. We'll be keeping an eye on this story. As we learn more, we'll be sure to pass the information on to you!

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member DECEPTION for giving us the heads-up on this breaking news story!

Computer and Video Games has just published a preview of Midway's upcoming action/adventure game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. While the preview doesn't really cover any new territory, it does give a concise look at what is to come. For example, concerning the characters' moves:

Alongside the two playable characters' complete move sets from the original games, developer Paradox has added a host of new abilities, all seamlessly integrated into Shaolin Monk's multi-directional combat engine: Liu Kang's classic fireball, upper cut, flying kick and bicycle kick moves, and Kung Lau's hat throw, spin and teleport attacks, are now joined by special grapple moves and aerial abilities, all upgradeable using experience points you'll rack up during play.

Grapple moves are generally used to chuck enemies around the environments while aerial combat lets you pull off some fancy tricks like slinging would-be assailants into the sky then leaping up to continue piling on the pummelling before either of you rejoin the ground. Of course, in the finest MK tradition, it's possible to combine your arsenal of abilities and do things like hop onto the shoulders of marauding monsters, then use a well-aimed kick to the face to launch higher still and reach previously inaccessible places.

In addition, the preview describes how the puzzle system in MKSM works. From the article:

In fact, despite the game's adventure elements, including new wall-running, climbing and swing moves, combat plays such a huge role that many of the puzzles can only be solved through judicious use of violence. The idea behind this, according to Himmerick, is to avoid the passive nature of most puzzles in other games and give a real visceral thrill when gamers encounter a solution. We saw a whole host of examples in action: in one part of the game, the only way to progress passed a sea of salivating serpents is to wrench up your opponents and sling them straight into the snakes' gullets, until they're satiated. Another of our favourites was a sequence where the deadly duo launched oncoming combatants over the edge of a platform into huge whirring blades - the goal to shatter the blades under all that bodily butchering and reach the lower levels of the dungeon.

In fact, interactive environments play a huge part in bringing the game world to life, with areas including all sorts of breakable bits alongside spikes to skewer your opponents, man-eating trees and catapults - what's more, from our brief playtime with the game, it's evident that all these extra opportunities for malicious maiming add a significant amount of depth to the already impressive fighting focus.

In conclusion, the article has this to say:

At this stage, the whole package is looking very encouraging, with a surprising amounts of depth promised behind the frantic, claret-drenched arcade action. Our initial run through of the game only left us with a few concerns - namely that visually, the whole looks a bit lacklustre, and more troublingly, the almost constant focus on combat started to feel a little repetitive by the time we'd reached the first boss. However, the demo we played was from an extremely early part of the game - the emphasis was clearly on teaching players the basic of fighting while more complex combos and features were kept firmly out of the picture.

To read the preview in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member KaizuDragon for the heads-up on this preview!