Midway Games issued today in a press release and in a conference call, its financial results for the closure of the second quarter ending June 30th, 2003. Revenues for the quarter were $5.0 million, down from $28.1 million of the second quarter in 2002, which was due to less product releases. Midway also gave their guidance for this third quarter with Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition still set on track with its release next month.

David Zucker, president of Midway Games, commented in the conference call of how the company's strategy is now going to give a larger focus on its most popular intellectual property. From the conference:

Going forward, new intellectual property will represent a smaller percentage of our new release mix. While we will continue to release and introduce more intellectual property, we are first going to do a better job of leveraging our own brand and franchises, i.e. Spy Hunter, Mortal Kombat , Gauntlet, Area 51, NARC, and so forth, and be more proactive in associating other brands, licenses, or notoriety with our games.

Also, when asked about the expectations of the Mortal Kombat franchise, it was noted that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has already qualified as part of the Playstation 2 Greatest Hits program. David Zucker also commented on the anticipated Mortal Kombat sequel due out fourth quarter 2004:

The next installment of Mortal Kombat will ship for the 2004 holiday season, I can't go into details, but I can tell you Ed Boon and the team are very optimistic about the game and its coming together, and we are committed to making it the top selling fighting game in this cycle.

As always, we will keep you informed of all developments.

The latest publications of Game Informer and Electronic Gaming Monthly are throwing out some of the first reviews of the soon to be released Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition for Gameboy Advance. Though a matter of opinion is certainly in play, as it is apparent from EGM's review, which placed on the game ratings as low as 4.0 (out of 10). However, in Game Informer the viewpoint from reviewers is on the flipside, with an overall rating of 8.5/10. From the article:

The core gameplay mechanics haven't changed in the slightest since last year's phenomenal handheld conversion of Deadly Alliance. Tournament Edition simply adds depth to the experience. On the multiplayer end, up to four players can compete for a trophy in tournaments or team up in an intense Tekken Tag-style two-on-two team match.

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition is set on track with a release date of late August 2003. Remember that you can pre-order this title by visiting our online store at any time. Thanks goes to Total-MK and nthdimension of our forum for posting this information.

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating a little early this year? Fear not, MK fans, as Costume Shopper brings you the latest MK: Deadly Alliance Halloween Costumes. As of right now, children from 7-14 can choose to go as either Scorpion or Sub-Zero while getting free candy this year.

Thanks to MK5.ORG user MK_Man for the tip.

Mortal Kombat co-creator Ed Boon's official website, Noob.com, after months of being offline has finally returned. All that's up right now is the Noob.com logo... but this is a good sign that we may see some activity soon regarding MK6 information.

Gamespot is reporting that sales for Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance have reached the two million mark worldwide! From the article:

Midway Games has today announced that more than 2 million copies of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance have been sold worldwide since the game was released in November 2002. The combined figure includes sales of all four versions of the game.

"Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance took gamers by storm, and these numbers prove the franchise is continuing to define the fighting genre," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway.

For the full article, click here.

We at MK5.ORG congratulate Midway and the MK: Deadly Alliance development team on this achievement. If you have not yet picked up MK: Deadly Alliance, you can buy it at the MK5.ORG Online Store.

Our thanks to forum member shaolin and site reader Jesse for the scoop on this story!