It's been one year since Mortal Kombat was first released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, ushering in a new era for the much loved franchise.

With this milestone in mind, we began the month with a customary April Fool [read on], indulging the inevitability of the cutting room floor. To mark the paper anniversary, Series Director, co-reator and frequent tweeter, Ed Boon, has revealed some of the real discarded assets from the latest release -- unused covers!

"For the 1 year anniversary of MK(9)'s release, check out these cutting-room-floor box
art designs we didn't use." [via Twitter]

The covers demonstrate two very distinct design philosophies, deviating from the now iconic image used, featuring series icons. Scorpion and Sub-Zero [full story].

Baring the iconic Dragon Logo in its most recent form -- one of the covers [pictured right] recalls the long tradition of an ironically minimalist approach for MK cover designs. The lone logo is a look many fans favoured in the lead-up to the franchise reboot, a fitting choice given the games redefining return to the beginning of Kombat mythology, and the fresh start a new fighting engine has given.

The other cover [pictured left], picks up on a more recent trend of featuring famous feuds from the franchise fiction, a design brief used more specifically in special covers for Armageddon (2006). Kitana and Mileena get a cameo opposite the usual suspects, but the ominous image at the centre alludes heavily to the plot, which begins with Raiden's final moments in battle with a post-Armagedonn Shao Kahn. The foreboding image also recalls the shortlived shadows advertising campaign, begun early in the promotional cycle during 2010 [read on], and continued in various art assets.

Did Boon and co. make the right the decision? What would the MKOmmunity like to have seen? Share your thoughts about the discarded cover and more on the forums.

Later in the year, MK turns twenty, a fitting milestone in this Year of the Dragon! While you're on the forums, post some of your nostalgic memories from the long history of Mortal Kombat! Mortal Kombat Online has already begun to look back with features on the history of famous MK hoaxes, and our Top 10 Hidden Kharacters!