The Chicago Sun-Times is running an Associated Press story about Midway Games, discussing the company's financial turnaround in the past year, especially under the leadership of CEO David Zucker. The article also discusses the influence Mortal Kombat has had in making this comeback. From the article:

[Zucker] returned Midway's focus to over-the-top sports games where slam dunks are punctuated by explosions, and mature-rated action games such as the wildly popular ''Mortal Kombat,'' which has turned the Internet into a blood-soaked battlezone.

The ''Mortal Kombat'' series has generated $1 billion since its initial release in 1992, and the latest, ''Mortal Kombat: Deception,'' hit U.S. stores Oct. 4. Midway announced on Oct. 12 it had already shipped 1 million copies, and more than 130,000 matches were played over the Internet in the first week after the game was released.

With the holiday season approaching, Midway hopes ''Mortal Kombat: Deception'' will help it record its first profit since 1999. The company has added developers, streamlined the product line, and revamped its marketing strategy in the last year.

...

''The video-game business is a lot like the movie business,'' Zucker said. ''You have to make great games, of course. But then you also have to create pre-launch awareness so that when (the games) hit the store shelves, there's a lot of demand pent up behind them.''

The article also touches on other projects the company is involved with, including the upcoming Area 51 remake and Spy Hunter movie, and the support of Viacom and its CEO, Sumner Redstone.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

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

Midway Games released a press release today, officially and formally announcing the development of their upcoming action/adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! While the press release doesn't entirely touch on ground that hasn't already been announced, it does give some insight into the game, as quoted by series co-creator and project lead Ed Boon. From the press release:

Mortal Kombat : Shaolin Monks is an Action/Adventure title driven by both intense single and multi-player action. Similar to the recently released Mortal Kombat: Deception, background interactions (i.e., acid pits, living trees, spiked ceilings, etc.), multiple new fatalities, and action-based puzzles will also play an important role in the player's quest for an "outstanding" victory. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks will feature an impressive line-up of Mortal Kombat characters, as well, that make frequent appearances as enemies, in boss battles and during several additional in-game interactions.

"For the first time ever, Mortal Kombat fanatics will get to explore all the mythos and rumors of the Mortal Kombat universe from an entirely new perspective. Action/Adventure fans will be blown away by the intuitive kombat system, puzzle solving and epic storyline that can be experienced in either the single player mode or through co-op play," said Mortal Kombat creator, Ed Boon.

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

Stay tuned; as always, as we learn more about this game, we'll be sure to report it here.

Mortal Kombat Online's Fight Night chat has always been about bringing Mortal Kombat fans into contact with the creative minds behind a franchise that we all know and love. Once again, we have been privileged with the presence of Midway Games' very own Mortal Kombat: Deception development team. Joining us in the Mortal Kombat Online IRC Network tonight were Ed Boon, John Vogel, Steve Beran, Mike Taran, Tony Goskie, John Podlasek, Paulo Garcia, Brian LeBaron, Jon Greenberg, Tony Zeffiro, and Tim DaRosa. These Mortal Kombat gurus spent an hour answering your questions, tackling difficult topics that you wanted to know about. The chat went extremely well, and we would like to extend our thanks to the over 1200 users who joined us for this very succesful Fight Night chat! It was a great opportunity for the MK world to rally together and spend time with the Mortal Kombat team ...

However, Midway did not stop at simply joining us in our chat room for an hour. As an incredible honor to Mortal Kombat Online, staff members CCShadow, Scott-Howell, ]{0MBAT, and Mobster4Christ were all invited to join the team personally in their Chicago development studio! Not only were we able to hang out with the guys all night while we conducted the Fight Night chat, but we were given a full tour of the game studio and even joined several of the team members for lunch. It was a fantastic experience for the four of us to see the birthplace of the Mortal Kombat universe, holding actual Mortal Kombat game props, and picking the brains of the talent behind the giant Mortal Kombat series. The team was very generous with their time and resources (even challenging us to good old fashioned 4-player fun in The Grid!), and we look forward to bringing you an exclusive video tour of Midway Games within the next few days! Stay tuned here to Mortal Kombat Online for our video feature, and in the meantime check out the transcript of tonight's Fight Night chat!

Once again, we'd like to extend our extreme thanks to Midway Games for taking time out of their busy schedules. Their generosity is what helps keep Mortal Kombat Online alive, and we are extremely grateful.

GameSpot has posted two screenshots from Midway's upcoming action/adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! The first screenshot features Liu Kang and Sub-Zero firing off their projectiles at each other,. while the distinct shadow of Santa Claus can be seen flying across the moon. The second image is of Raiden as seen from behind in the foreground, as he speaks to Liu Kang and Kung Lao as they stand in front of a portcullis. Raiden's costume very definitely looks to be based off of his outfit in Mortal Kombat 4, while Sub-Zero's looks like his MK4 or Mortal Kombat II costume.

To see the image of Liu Kang and Sub-Zero, click here. To see the image of Raiden, Liu Kang, and Kung Lao, click here. Stay tuned here; as we learn more about MK: Shaolin Monks, we'll be sure to report it.

Our thanks to forum member kingjolly for the heads-up on this news story!

GameSpot has posted a preview of Midway's upcoming action/adventure game, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks! According to the article, the game will be released for the Playstation 2 and X-Box platforms in late 2005. The preview also gives some information about what to expect from the game. From the preview:

Few hard details have been revealed so far about Shaolin Monks' gameplay or setting--the game looks to be a brawler-style action game, and it's a pretty safe bet that we'll be seeing plenty of places and faces from previous MK fighting games in this new action adventure. Mortal Kombat fans will notice Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Mileena, and the recently returned Baraka in the new screenshots, not to mention backgrounds like the portal and the tower from Mortal Kombat II. Interestingly enough, some screens show several Baraka-like characters fighting at one time. Perhaps we'll finally get some more background on Baraka's often-discussed race of Outworld mutants as Shaolin Monks' storyline unfolds.

The game will have both single-player and cooperative modes, and though the number of simultaneous players hasn't been revealed, it's worth noting that the screenshots don't seem to contain more than two classic characters onscreen at any one time. Like the recently released Mortal Kombat: Deception, Shaolin Monks will contain many backgrounds with interactive features like spiked ceilings, acid pits, and living trees (we appreciate the many nods to MKII that are apparently being included in the game). And of course, no Mortal Kombat game would be complete without a host of gory new fatalities.

The article also contains eight screenshots of in-game action. To see the preview in its entirety, click here.

In addition, GameSpot has posted a news article acting as an announcement of Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Of particular note is a statement by Midway CEO David Zucker concerning the release schedule of future MK games. From the article:

The other big change to the Mortal Kombat series is its frequency. In a statement, Midway president David F. Zucker said a new game in the franchise would arrive each year. “Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks is also our first step toward delivering something that Mortal Kombat fans have been calling for: a new game set in the Mortal Kombat universe every year," he said. "We are planning our Mortal Kombat release schedule with the expectation that we will deliver a new Mortal Kombat title annually.�

To read the news article in its entirety, click here. Keep checking back with us; as we learn more about Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks, we'll be sure to report it.

Our thanks to forum member OmegaOne for the heads-up on this breaking news story!