Cinder, from the official Midway Games forums, has posted another update for the upcoming Sony PSP exclusive Mortal Kombat: Unchained. This updates comes in the form of two renders of the exclusive characters from this game, Jax & Kitana.

Both renders seem to be ports from the characters default costumes in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. There are minor tweaks for the system itself, but overall the costume design remains unchanged.

To see the original thread in which the Jax render was posted, click here. To see the original thread in which the Kitana render was posted, click here.

Thanks to forum members and for sending in one of each of these links!

The official Mortal Kombat: Unchained site has been updated with content for the very first time. New to the page, we now can view the back boxart of the Sony PSP's version of Mortal Kombat: Deception. Similarly to the MK: Deception box, Baraka's render is featuring with a list of featuring placed in a column.

It appears that the game will be losing nothing from any of the home console versions of MK: Deception. Confirmed to appear are Konquest Mode, both Chess and Puzzle Kombat and all of the original game's death sequences such as multiple fatalities, death traps and hara-kiris. The PSP version of the game also features Wi-Fi wireless play as well as the aforementioned addition of six new characters, four of which are completely exclusive to the portable system. The game will also feature a brand new Endurance Mode!

Featured on the backcover are a few of the game's exclusive characters, including Kitana and Jax. Also featured are Shao Kahn and Goro. The graphics look highly impressive compared to any previous incarnation of portable Mortal Kombat.

Thanks to forum member for sending in this story!

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon website has been updated once again! This time, the second-to-last open slot in the page accessible via the eye of the dragon has been taken by a render; this time, the render is of the Subway

To see the "question mark" page, where all the previously released images on the official site are located (since it switched to Flash format), click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this new render!

That ever-popular moderator over on the Midway Boards, Cinder has posted new concept work from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! The first post he made shows the Battle Arena concept art, which had been previously seen some months ago. However, in the same post, he also made available a clip of the stage music from the Battle Arena; the music is fairly epic, with choral voices and orchestral sounds.

• Battle Arena Stage Music from MK Armageddon

In addition, Cinder posted koncept art of Sub-Zero as he appears in Mortal Kombat; his kart (which looks more like a snowmobile) features skis as the front tires and the back tires are spiked.

To see the original forum thread in which the Battle Arena koncepts were posted, click here. To see the original forum thread in which Sub-Zero's Motor Kombat koncept was shown, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on these new concept works!

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.

Over on the Midway Boards, Cinder made a short but informative post on the status of the much-requested character from Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Khameleon: "Khameleon is not in MKA for PS2 and Xbox... "

The phrasing of Cinder's post is interesting, as it leaves open the possibility that Khameleon may be in the Nintendo Wii version of the game. We'll keep checking on this story; if we learn more, we'll be sure to post it here.

To see the original forum thread in which this information was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this breaking development!

Cinder, from the official Midway Games forums, has once again posted another piece of concept art from Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Instead of stages however, this time we are treated with a detailed work of Liu Kang in his zombie form.

In this artwork, Kang is shown in a very frightening light, appearing more dead and decomposed than he did in Mortal Kombat: Deception. The trademark slouching pose of death, deep gashes complete with blood and a sunken face are among the many details this artwork has to offer.

To read the original thread in which this was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for sending in this new information.

Cinder, from the official Midway Games Boards, has revealed a bit of information crucial to those looking to preorder the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. As previously reported, the premium editions available for the Sony Playstation 2 feature select Mortal Kombat rivalries, as half of one character's face appears up close and their enemy looms in the background. It seems that certain retailers will be selling specific boxarts, and we now know which cover belongs to which store. Preorder locations are as follows:

• Best Buy: Shao Kahn & Sindel
• Walmart: Kano & Sonya
• EB Games/Gamestop: Johnny Cage & Goro
• Gamecrazy: MKA Dragon Logo

To see the thread in which this was originally posted, click here.

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon site has been updated once again, with something of a different image this time around. On the page accessible by clicking the eye of the dragon, the seventh mystery image has been revealed as a photograph of a man on a city street, screaming, as he holds his arms in the air. The pose is reminiscent of the old Acclaim ads for the original Mortal Kombat, where someone on a busy street helds their arms up and screamed the game's title. The people in front of the screaming man holding camera equipment seem to strongly suggest that this is for an upcoming commercial; however, when contacted, Midway refused to comment either way.

To see the page on the official website with this image and previously released ones, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this official site update!

After a quiet week on the news front, our friends over at Midway Games have given us five exclusive screenshots from the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! One screenshot shows a close up of a female Kreated Kombatant in the fine-tuning of her appearance. Another screenshot shows Taven in Konquest mode, as he fights what could almost be Lin Kuei warriors in an ice arena. The other three screenshots are in kombat mode. One shows Sub-Zero giving a flying kick to Stryker in Kahn's Arena. Another shows Shang Tsung delivering a flying kick to Frost in an unidentified arena with eggs mounted around the fighting area. The third, and most interesting image, shows Kintaro facing none other than Motaro in Kahn's Arena. This is the first screenshot we've seen of Motaro; the rumours appear to be true in that he is bipedal, as opposed to having four legs in Mortal Kombat 3.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is slated for an October 9th release in the States, and October 20th in Europe.

Our thanks to our friends at Midway for these new screenshots!

MK Unchained, the upcoming port of Deception for the PSP, now has its own website which has gone live:

http://www.mkarmageddon.com/MKU/

Our thanks to forum member for this informative news post!

Cinder, from the official Midway Games forums, has posted another piece of concept art from the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. This time, it is of the Wastelands' catapult deathtrap.

This deathtrap was seen in action back at E3 2006, but this concept shows the design's team original idea for this fiery trap located in one of Mortal Kombat 2's most memorable stages, remade. It was one of the favourites seen at the event.

To see the original thread in which this concept was posted, click here.

Thanks to forum member for alerting us to this story!

Prima Games, known for producing the Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks guide and E-guide, have announced the official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Game Guide. A brief overview of the guide is given, mentioning what exactly will be covered:

• Moves for all fighting styles, weapons, and finishing moves for all 60 playable characters.
• Detailed maps expose all traps and danger zones.
• Detailed walkthroughs help you master all "Breaker" and "Parry" technique.
• All secrets and unlockables revealed.
• Tips and tricks to help you make the most of the new Create-A-Fighter feature.
• A pull out poster listing all of the characters moves and finishing moves.

This 176 page guide is scheduled to be available on October 9th, 2006. Retail prices are $16.99 U.S. and $22.95 Can. To preorder now from Prima Games', click here

Thanks to forum member for originally submitting this lead, and all others for contributing to this being posted!

Today, MK fans got a double-dose of concept art from the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon! Both images are concept works of Blaze's Pyramid Arena. The first image, posted by Cinder over on the Midway Boards, is a sketch of the Pyramid from above. The second, posted on the official site, shows a painting of the Pyramid as seen from its base.

To see the original forum thread in which the sketched out Pyramid was posted, click here. To see the page on the official site where the Pyramid was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum members and for the heads-up on these new concept pieces!

Over on the Midway Boards, everyone's favorite Midway moderator Cinder has posted another piece of artwork from the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. This time, he posted a render of that ever-popular MK arena probably seen in more MK games than any other: Goro's Lair!

To see the original forum thread in which this render was posted, click here.

Another day, and the official site of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been updated once again. A new piece of artwork has been added the eye of the dragon semi-hidden menu and it is yet another main menu type screen similar to the Premium Pack box art. This time featuring two of MK's staple characters. Scorpion (who seems to be clad in his main costume from Mortal Kombat: Deception) and Sub-Zero (with frozen forearms) are featured in what appears to be a rendition of Mortal Kombat's The Pit arena.

Half of the hidden menu is now complete, leaving another five images to be added at later dates. To access the current menu with the remainder of the revealed artwork, click here

Thanks to forum member for alerting us to this new artwork.

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon website has once again been updated! This time, yet another of the hidden renders in the page accessible via the eye of the dragon has been unveiled. This time, it's a render of the Bell Tower arena. This arena was a particular favorite at E3, with the bells acting as comical environmental hazards, and a rather sadistic death trap waiting at the bottom for unwitting kombatants...

To see the page on the official site with all of the currently released images (four down, six to go...), click here.

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

Midway Games has released over on the official site an updated trailer for Mortal Kombat: Unchained, the exclusive Sony PSP port of Mortal Kombat: Deception. The new video showcases various fight scenes from the game, including as well quick glimpses of the new Endurance Mode, Chess Kombat, and Puzzle Kombat. The new video is currently housed on the Midway Games homepage, however in case it turns up missing, we have provided it for download on our servers.

• Mortal Kombat: Unchained Trailer

Mortal Kombat: Unchained is set for a Fall 2006 release.

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 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.

The folks over at GameSpot have released another video in their series of Official Movies about Midway's upcoming fighting game, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. In this movie, titled Official Movie 2, the (now-undead) champion of Earthrealm, Liu Kang, is profiled. The video shows off Liu as he has appeared in gameplay throughout the MK series, and also shows his death at the hands of Shang Tsung in the opening movie of MK: Deadly Alliance. In addition, a brief preview of one of MK Armageddon's FMVs is shown; he steps out of the shadows in front of the pyramid shown in the MK: Armageddon trailer, snaps his head back upright, and confronts a stunned Shang Tsung. The beginning and end of the video also show his trading card, which gives a brief bio:

The former champion of Mortal Kombat and member of the White Lotus Society, Liu Kang was murdered by Shang Tsung. He now exists as a living corpse fueled by vengeance.

The movie is available for download for registered GameSpot members, and to stream for everyone else. To view or download the movie, click here, and click on Official Movie 2.

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

To our surprise the Mortal Kombat: Armageddon listing over at EBGames.com happens to have four new screenshots from the upcoming game which is listed on the site for a price of only $39.99 USD, with a pre-release date set at 10/9/06. The four screenshots shows the kreate-a-kombatant mode, Sheeva and Sektor, Shang Tsung and Frost, and last Reptile and Kintaro. (Notice Reptile is again sporting his MKSM outfit). These aren't full size screenshots, but if we come across them, we'll be sure to post them here.

To view the pre-order page on EBGames ie_test=1&product_id=210941"> click here. Thanks goes out to for sending in the news lead!

EDIT - August 11th 2006 3:54 PM CDT (by DArqueBishop) - Our sources at Midway have sent us better-sized versions of the original screenshots. To see the new versions, click on the thumbnails below.

The official website for Mortal Kombat: Armageddon has been updated once again. This time, another piece of artwork has been added to the semi-hidden page located within the eye of the dragon. This time, the added artwork is what we presume to be another main menu background similar to the Premium Pack box art. The image is of Shang Tsung (while retaining his appearance from Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, looking older due to wrinkles around the eye) in the foreground, with the zombie form of Liu Kang in the background, as they stand on one of the roofs of the rain-swept Sky Temple.

With three spaces on the page filled, there are seven pieces of artwork remaining to be unveiled; to see the hidden page with the current available renders, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this new piece of artwork!

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon website has updated once again. As noted in our previous update, when you clicked on the dragon's eye in the logo of the MK Dragon, you were treated to a new updated family portrait of all of the combatants. Now if you click the dragon's eye, you are sent to a page where you can access a new render background of The Wastelands! The official site also leaves another eight placeholders, hinting that more content will most likely be available. To visit the secret area on the official website click here.

Thanks goes out to for the heads up on this find!

On the heels of the previous story concerning Game Informer interviewing Ed Boon about Mortal Kombat: Armageddon on the Nintendo Wii comes an interview by 1UP about the same subject. In this interview, however, less emphasis is made on the different possibilities that could be seen with MK: Armageddon on the Wii, and more on Ed defending his earlier comments about the Wii. From the article:

1UP: We've seen a few less than enthusiastic comments about Wii from you in the past, so it was a surprise to hear that Armageddon is on its way to the system. How did that come about?

Ed Boon: Actually, my comments in the past were not "less than enthusiastic" -- rather they were responses to questions that I was asked about how Mortal Kombat could be done (with the traditional play mechanic) on a new controller. Since the Wii controller has fewer buttons than a traditional PlayStation or Xbox controller I was wondering at the time what we would be able to substitute for the missing buttons. Remember, at the time of the original interview, I hadn't even touched a Wii controller. As far as doing something new, there are obviously a million new ideas that come to mind in working with what we now know as the Wii controller.

How did Mortal Kombat come to the Wii? Midway has always made games for Nintendo consoles and there's no reason to think that Wii wouldn't support their new system.

1UP: Was it your idea to make the Wii version of Armageddon, or did someone show you a way that it could work that convinced you?

EB: While I'd like to think that I have a role in the decision making here at Midway, there are many more factors involved in making that call. It was a collective decision to bring Mortal Kombat to the Wii, along with several other upcoming Midway titles.

1UP: Have your thoughts on the system being risky for Nintendo ("I think Nintendo would be crazy to bet the farm on such a dramatic departure from what people are accustomed to." -Electronic Gaming Monthly, December 2005) changed?

EB: I believe my comment was referring to the idea of Nintendo only making the new Wii controller and not offering a traditional game-pad controller as another option. I thought they would be crazy to not allow more traditional games to be made for their system and as I suspected, Nintendo decided to also offer a traditional game-pad controller, as well as the new Wii controller. Obviously, Nintendo isn't crazy. Wii all know that!! [Smiles]

...

1UP: I understand you can't provide specific details on the game at this time, but can you confirm whether it's in the plan to use the "shell" controller for the game or not?

EB: Unfortunately I can't confirm the use of any of the controllers at this time. But I can assure you that we are definitely going to look into all of the controller options available to the Wii. Wii would be crazy not to. Sorry, I couldn't resist. [Smiles] We'll be sure to let you guys know later this year what we at Midway decide to do... we're obviously excited to look at all of the possibilities that the Wii has to offer.

MK: Armageddon for Nintendo Wii will be released in the first part of 2007; as we learn more about it, we'll be sure to report it here.

To read the interview in its entirety, click here.

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

Game Informer recently got an interview with Mortal Kombat co-creator and project lead Ed Boon concerning one of the more recent developments concerning Mortal Kombat: Armageddon: the upcoming version for the Nintendo Wii. In the interview, Ed not only discusses the possibility MK: Armageddon playable with the Wii-mote, online play is discussed as well, as well as the possibility of MK being on the Virtual Console. From the interview:

Game Informer: Let’s get this out of the way first thing – Will Mortal Kombat: Armageddon utilize the Wii remote for some kind of motion control or will it focus on the traditional controller?

Ed Boon: Without a doubt, I would love to use the Wii remote in MK: Armageddon. Obviously, a million ideas come to mind but I would much rather come up with a new fighting mechanic and/or perspective (that could take FULL advantage of that unique controller) rather than to shoe horn the controller into a fighting scheme that was originally made for the standard controller we’ve been using for so many years. Unfortunately, time is an issue and we don’t have time to redesign the fighting system from the ground up.

GI: Will the Wii version look any better than the current-gen versions?

Boon: I think if there are new tricks that the Wii hardware can do in displaying our characters and backgrounds, then we will certainly try to use them in making Armageddon look as good as it can. But to me the most important aspect of this version I want to concentrate on is the game play and what innovations we can add using the new controller.

...

GI: Will you utilize the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection for online play?

Boon: I don’t know yet. We don’t have a lot of information about Nintendo’s online plans so its hard to give a very definitive answer as far as online is concerned.

GI: Does this open the door to a Virtual Console relationship for classic Mortal Kombat titles?

Boon: If you mean, is there a chance that a classic MK title might appear on the Wii, that would be great. I would love to see that happen.

To read the interview in its entirety, click here.

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

Midway, having released the four different box arts for the Premium Pack versions of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, has gone ahead and released the final box art for the regular Playstation 2 and Xbox versions of the game. The box art is identical to the dragon/skulls artwork seen on the official website; the design was also seen in one of the Premium Pack versions, albeit with a metallic finish.

MK: Armageddon is scheduled for release on October 9th.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this box art release!

Cinder, that ever-popular moderator over on the Midway Boards, has come through for the fans again. Following the announcement of the Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Premium Pack and its separate box art designs (and the release of the metallic box art design as part of the press release), he has posted two of the individual box art designs. The first shows Johnny Cage in the foreground, with Goro in the background in Goro's Lair. The second shows Kano in the foreground, with Sonya in the background in the Subway. These layouts are identical to the ones seen in the main menu of the E3 build of MK: Armageddon.

To see the original thread in which the Cage/Goro box art was posted, click here. To see the original thread in which the Kano/Sonya box art was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on these new box art releases!

EDIT - 3:45 PM CDT - Cinder has just released the final remaining box art design, featuring Shao Kahn in the foreground, with Sindel in the background in the Wasteland.

To see the original forum thread in which this box art was posted, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on the final Premium box art!

Following up on news stories posted by IGN and Games Radar yesterday, Midway issued a press release this morning announcing that Mortal Kombat: Armageddon would not only be available for the Playstation 2 in four different premium editions, there would be a version released for the Nintendo Wii in early 2007. From the press release:

CHICAGO -- August 2, 2006 -- Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment industry publisher and developer, todaya nnounced that four, all-new limited Premium Editions of Mortal Kombat®: Armageddon™ will be available for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system when the latest iteration of Midway's best-selling fighting franchise ships to stores nationwide, currently scheduled for October 9, 2006. Midway also today announced that Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, currently in development at Midway's Chicago studio, is expected to be available for Nintendo Wii™ in Q1 2007. More specific details on Mortal Kombat: Armageddon for the Wii will be unveiled later this year.

Available exclusively on the PlayStation®2, three of the four Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Premium Editions will feature metallic packaging covers that highlight some of the franchise's most popular character duos, including: Sindel & Shao Kahn, Johnny Cage & Goro, and Kano & Sonya. The fourth Premium Edition set will feature the general Mortal Kombat: Armageddon retail box art on metallic packaging. The Premium Edition sets have a suggested retail price of $49.95 and will also include the following:

• An arcade-perfect, playable of the original Ultimate Mortal Kombat® 3
• Over 60 minutes of bonus DVD video content featuring a "History of Fatalities" movie, along with new videos for more than 50 of the Mortal Kombat characters
• An embossed metal package created exclusively for the limited edition Premium Edition sets; there will be four unique box fronts in total
• Animation cell cover art autographed by franchise co-creator, Ed Boon

To read the press release in its entirety (as well as see an image of the box art from the PS2 premium pack), click here.

EDIT - August 3 2006 10:30 AM CDT - We have confirmed through our sources at Midway that there are no plans for a premium pack of MK Armageddon for the Xbox, and that only premium packs of the Playstation 2 version will be available. If in the unlikely event this changes, we'll be sure to report it.

The official Mortal Kombat: Armageddon site has been updated once again! This time, when you click on the eye of the MK dragon, it takes you to an updated cast render as was seen on the site previously. However, several changes were made; Scorpion now sports his UMK3/MK4/MKD alt costume, Reptile sports his MKSM appearance, and Meat, Chameleon, and Motaro have been added.

To see the official MK Armageddon website, click here.

Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this new render!

Over on Games Radar, and confirmed by Midway Boards moderator Cinder, the four limited edition versions of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon have been revealed. Not only do the limited editions come with extra goodies such as a history of MK DVD and a port of Mortal Kombat 3, three of the box art versions show adversaries facing off against each other. From the news article:

In a press release the rest of the world will get tomorrow, publisher Midway has announced four different Premium Packs for the PS2 version of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon. Retailing at $49.95, three of the higher-end limited editions of the game will ship with different embossed, metallic covers that feature paired characters Sindel and Shao Kahn; Kano and Sonya; and Johnny Cage and Goro. The fourth edition's box art will be identical to that of the "regular" edition of the game (the MK logo), but metallic.

While the boxes are different, all four versions appear to feature the same "kontent:" A 60-minute bonus DVD with a History of Fatalities movie and new videos for more than 50 characters, an animation cell of the cover art autographed by creator Ed Boon and an arcade-perfect version of Mortal Kombat 3.

Cinder has also hinted that more news will be available tomorrow morning; when it breaks, we'll be sure to report it here!

To read Cinder's thread confirming the news story, click here. To read the Games Radar story in its entirety, click here.

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

- August 2 2006 12:00 AM CDT - Cinder has posted that one aspect of the Games Radar article is wrong; the included game is Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, not standard MK3. The thread in which he states this can be found here. Our thanks to forum member for the heads-up on this correction!

IGN is reporting on a news story that's even catching us at MK Online by surprise. Midway has announced that in addition to the Xbox and Playstation 2 versions, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon will be released for the Nintendo Wii in early 2007! From the news article:

"We are extremely excited to be bringing the action of Mortal Kombat: Armageddon to the Nintendo Wii in early 2007," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Our Chicago studio, under the direction of Ed Boon, has been working extremely hard to make Armageddon stand out in a big way with the inclusion of the entire Mortal Kombat character lineup, the Motor Kombat mini-game, a new Konquest mode and several other innovative gameplay additions that help keep the franchise at the top of its genre. We're confident that Wii fans will truly appreciate the finished product when it's ready to hit store shelves."

...

Midway has not yet revealed how it plans to take advantage of Nintendo's unique controller for the Wii version of the title.

Keep in mind, however, that in addition to the "Wii-mote", the Wii will support GameCube controllers and an additional style control more akin to an SNES gamepad. We'll definitely be keeping an eye on this story, so stay tuned!

To read the original IGN story in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member for the heads-up on this breaking development!