Retro documentary Insert Coin: Inside Midway's 90s Revolution has mere days to reach a final Kickstarter target of $75,000!

The project was recently featured on Mortal Kombat Online, and in the short time since, has added even more incredible incentives to reward backers who help the time warped tale become a reality!

If you don't know the name - you know the face. Former Midway Games developer Josh Tsui gave the second Sub-Zero identity in one of the series' earliest bombshell twists - his Mortal Kombat II arcade ending. Tsui later provided the basis for Mortal Kombat 4 Liu Kang, and has worked on the development of games including Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero and the ill fated 2000 third-person shooter: Mortal Kombat: Special Forces.

There was more than one version of the troubled Special Forces spin-off a limited few fans played at the turn of the millennium -- just one of the memories Tsui discussed with Mortal Kombat Online during a recent interview.

The retrospective is inspired by Insert Coin - a documentary project dedicated to the bustling arcade boom of Midway in the early nineties. Recently featured on MK Online, Tsui is seeking Kickstarter crowd funding for the project, which promises to unearth untold tales of Midway Games from the mouths of those who made them. Learn more about Insert Coin and consider joining Mortal Kombat Online in helping make it become a reality.

In 2009, Midway Games filed for bankruptcy. "11" was to be the final chapter for a developer whose reign in the American video games market lasted twenty-one years. Throughout this time, there were many spectacular successes, and that's what former Midway Developer Joshua Tsui hopes to revisit with his film: Insert Coin!

By his own admission, the John Tobias of twenty years ago had no idea he was creating one of the most successful franchises to come out of American gaming. As a young artist in Chicago, Tobias had big ideas, envisioning a fiction that endures to this day (in some shape or form), but the journey to 1992's breakout hit -- Mortal Kombat -- would take more than ideas.

Together with Ed Boon, Tobias holds the credit of co-creator of Mortal Kombat -- an acknowledgment that goes beyond the arcade and home consoles, to result in a massive multi-media phenomenon spawned from ideas and characters!

In Part 1 of our conversation with John Tobias, he took us through some of the early influences that helped shape the series to follow. From abandoned name choices, props and influences, to movie references and guest stars, the games origins are there to scrutinize.

In this second part of our twentieth anniversary retrospective, we continue the conversation, entering the explosion of Mortal Kombat into other mediums, and addressing the final chapter of Tobias' time with the series before his departure in 1999.

Modern Prometheus: John Tobias confronts Goro - brought to life for the 1995 film.

Our friends over at TRMK are reporting on the strong possibility that WB Games Chicago (the home of the MK team) will be renamed to Netherrealm Studios. According to gaming blog Superannuation, WB Games has registered the name "Netherrealm Studios". Following up on that, Patrick McCarron of TRMK did some checking, and found that the domain name netherrealmstudios.com has been registered by WB Games. While the name currently does not resolve, it's certain that it will be up and running at some point soon. From the TRMK news posting:

According to a report seen on Kotaku, all of Midway's titles on Xbox LIVE Marketplace have been removed. This also includes the sole MK title on Arcade: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. According to the article, the titles are still available on the console if the titles were already purchased, and could possibly still be downloaded if deleted. However, it is not possible to purchase them at this time. The cause of the removal is not known at this time, but it's very possible it's due to rights transfers between Midway and Warner Bros. Games.

Ed Boon: Did you play last night? What bugs did you run into?

After months of speculation and legal maneuverings, the sale of Mortal Kombat developer/publisher Midway Games is finally going through. Within the past day, the court overseeing the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Midway noted that there were no other bidders for Midway's assets, so the only bidder for the company was Warner Bros.. In addition, all objections to the sale (including Threshold's question over IP rights and Vin Diesel's Tigon Entertainment questions about owed payments) were resolved, clearing the way for Warner Bros. to purchase the company. From the Chicago Tribune article:

Today, Midway Games confirmed what had been rumored for a while: the first next-generation Mortal Kombat title, up until now called "Mortal Kombat 8" by the community, is officially titled Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. As the title suggests, it will be a crossover with the characters and setting of DC Comics. Further information about the game should be forthcoming.

GameSpot has posted another video in their Developer Interview series of videos for Midway's upcoming Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. In Developer Interview 3, Ed Boon and Shaun Himmerick discuss a wide array of topics, ranging from Paradox (now Midway L.A.) approaching Midway with the game that would eventually become MK: Shaolin Monks, to Midway L.A.'s dedication to the sanctity of the Mortal Kombat II era as shown in the game, the game mechanics and fighting engine (including the kombat puzzle system, block/lock-on mechanics, and the boss battles), and even the future of the Mortal Kombat franchise and how they want it to branch out. For example, an RPG is specifically mentioned as a type of genre, but nothing is confirmed and Ed admits branching out "is a little intimidating, but at the same time, I think it's necessary".