Mortal Kombat Name
Change? The rumors are ablaze, but are they true?
According to several European websites, Midway is considering changing
the name of Mortal Kombat: Deception to Mortal Kombat: Mystification in
the PAL markets. Intrigued by this rather bizarre-sounding development,
we gave representatives at Midway a call in hopes that they could clear
it up.
"That's just a rumor," replied the spokesperson we talked with. "It's
true that there are some name issues in Europe regarding the title, but
we're aiming to have it called Mortal Kombat: Deception is all
territories. We haven't said anything at all about calling it
Mystification.
And so there you have it folks, the situation as it stands right out of
Midway's own doors. We'll keep you updated with further developments.
MAT2 Preview At TeamXBox
Posted On: Jun 26 2004, 03:57 PM
A couple of days ago
TeamXBox previewed
Midway's upcoming title Midway Arcade Treasures 2. From the
article:
Playing these games is like a brief history
lesson, giving younger gamers a chance to look back and experience the
games that inspired some of the top releases of today. Older gamers will
be hard pressed not to get instantly hooked to these games that ate our
quarters like there was no tomorrow in our youth. Topping it all off,
Midway Arcade Treasures 2 will also include interviews and facts from
the classic days of gaming for even more insight into the era of arcade
gaming. The Xbox version of the collection will support online score
keeping thanks to Xbox Live, but there won’t be any actually
head-to-head gameplay support. While we won’t be able to play against
friends online, we will be able to check out who has the high score for
any of the included games in the package. Midway Arcade Treasures 2 will
hit the stores this coming October so mark your calendars now.
Interview With Producer John
Podlasek
Posted On: Jun 25 2004, 11:20 AM
Yesterday
Bonus Stage published an interview with MK: Deception's Producer
John Podlasek:
BonusStage: Is there anything special that can
be done online in Mortal Kombat: Deception that can’t be done offline
(or vice versa)?
John Podlasek: The great thing about online will be the ability to kick
butt against total strangers...or distant friends. We think the online
modes will be huge since you should be able to find some 24/7 to play
against. The one thing you won’t be able to do online is the Konquest
mode. It’s meant as a single player experience about getting taught
fighting styles, learning the storyline to the game, and finding a few
secrets….
BS: Do you have any plans to have a band (ie. Adema) promote MK: D?
Podlasek: Not at all.
BS: Will there be any features added to the Xbox version that the PS2
version doesn’t include (or vice versa)?
Podlasek: They’ll be identical in terms of feature and content, and look
pretty similar graphic-wise also.
BS: Mortal Kombat is about 15 years old and still going strong. Is there
anything you’ve wanted to do with the series but haven’t just yet?
Podlasek: One of the things that impresses me about the franchise is the
rich storyline between characters, clans, good vs. evil, etc. We also
have some amazing character artists who really know how to bring these
elements out in the characters they create. A game that brings all this
great storyline and character design together could be pretty damn cool.
BS: Are you working or intend on working on any other game(s) (besides
the MK series) in the near future, and if so, which?
Podlasek: We’re buried in work finishing MK: D right now. The near
future will be finish(ing) the game, then everyone catches up on sleep
and decompresses from crunch. After that we’ll get together, see what
the players have to say about the game, and start throwing around ideas
and documents. One of our senior graphics programmers has a little
section on his whiteboard titled, "Next MK?" with technology ideas.
We’ll be sure to pay him a visit too :)
There has been some question as to whether
Midway's upcoming fighting game Mortal Kombat: Deception will support
system link play in addition to X-Box Live for X-Box and GameSpy for
Playstation 2. (For those who don't know, system link refers to having
two consoles on the same local network, like Halo's network capability.)
Therefore, I contacted Midway recently and asked them about the
possibility of a system link capability for MK: Deception. Their answer
was that no, there will not be a system link capability for MK:
Deception.
The latest July issue of the
Official XBox Magazine has a two page preview of MK: Deception.
The most interesting information of all is that a possibility of a new
finisher is mentioned:
Longtime fans will also remember Babality and
Friendship finishers. As for their inclusion in the game, series
co-creator Ed Boon has hinted at the idea, but perhaps he has something
more devious up his sleeve. Can you say Lover Fatality? Neither can we.
Our very first affiliated site
Total Mortal Kombat also offers scans from the magazine:
Scorpion Appears in Psi-Ops
Posted On: Jun 22 2004, 08:32 PM
In
Midway's brand new game
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy there is a way to unlock several
skins for your character by using a secret code. One of these characters
is Scorpion from MK: DA. Below is the explanation how to
unlock the skin:
To obtain Scorpion in the PS2 version of
Psi-Ops, highlight the "Extra Content" option on the main menu and press
R1. For Xbox users follow the same instructions, but press the right
trigger. This will bring up a keypad, upon which you need to enter the
code 546546. The game will then notify you that Scorpion has been
unlocked!
New MK: Deception Info Revealed
Posted On: Jun 15 2004, 08:21 PM
On
G4Ed Boon has confirmed the return of three classic
Mortal Kombat characters. They are Sektor, Smoke and
Kabal. One more arena has been announced - The Living Forest.
All of the characters will have a completely new look.
Update - 06.19.2004:
Today
Mortal Kombat Online informed that this news was actually fake and
that Ed Boon has never made an appearance on
G4. We, here at
Mortal Kombat Secrets also want to apologize to you for the wrong
information. We will made all we can to avoid further misinformation
like this one.
Interview With Linden Ashby
Posted On: Jun 15 2004, 08:10 PM
In an interview for
TV GuideLinden Ashby confirmed that the third Mortal
Kombat movie will begin shooting this summer. The same thing has
already been confirmed by Chris Casamassa himself only a month
ago.
And is it official that you're set to star
in Mortal Kombat 3?
I have been talking to the producers for the past month or so pretty
intensely, and they say we are set to go. I'll be reprising my role as
Johnny Cage. It's supposed to start shooting this summer.
Kenneth D. Cron Named Chairman Of
The Board
Posted On: Jun 15 2004, 07:54 PM
In a press release
Midway Games has announced a few changes of the board of the
directors of the company:
Chicago, Illinois, June 14, 2004 - Midway
Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY) announced today that the Company’s Board of
Directors has appointed Kenneth D. Cron, 47, as Chairman of the Board.
The Company’s Board of Directors also appointed Shari E. Redstone, 50,
as Vice-Chairman of the Board. Mr. Cron and Ms. Redstone were elected as
Directors at Midway’s June 10 annual meeting. Midway also announced
today the appointment of Joseph A. Califano, Jr., 73, as a new
independent director, effective immediately. With the addition of Mr.
Califano, Midway’s Board now has eight members.
Midway’s new Chairman, Kenneth D. Cron, stated, “I am a firm believer in
the strength and future of the games industry and its growing prominence
in the entertainment market. I believe Midway has many of the core
assets to be an important player in this dynamic market. To that end, I
am honored to lead Midway’s newly-elected Board, and I look forward to
helping the company realize its potential.”
Midway’s largest shareholder is Sumner M. Redstone, who directly and
through his ownership of National Amusements Inc. owned approximately
70.4% of Midway’s outstanding shares as of June 9, 2004.
Mortal Kombat Gold Emulation
Progress
Posted On: Jun 14 2004, 02:37 PM
The first alpha version of ChanKast
appeared two weeks ago and totally blew away the whole emulation
community. This small program was able almost perfectly to emulate
Sega DreamCast and to run a lot of commercial games at pretty good
speed. Unfortunately the first release wasn't able to run Mortal
Kombat Gold due to a problem with the VGA cable settings. Two days
ago appeared the second official version of the emulator, alpha 0.2.
The problem has been fixed and I really hoped that I will finally have
the opportunity to play Mortal Kombat Gold on my PC.
Unfortunately the emulator crashes at the Sega opening screen, so
it is the only thing you can see. We, here at Mortal Kombat Secrets
are very sure that Mortal Kombat Gold will become playable very
soon. Keep an eye on this site, because we will continue to inform you
about all the latest emulation news that regard Mortal Kombat.
Below is the screenshot I took from the emulator.
Our very first affiliated site
Total Mortal Kombat updated with the first Scorpion render. Their
source has also mentioned that "This render is
an early, original render and that it is in no way a polished piece of
art."
New MK: Deception Video
Posted On: Jun 9 2004, 11:25 AM
GameTactics updated with a new MK: Deception video from E3.
Steve Beran is this time the person who present the game. The
interesting information is that Rain has been announced to return
in Konquest mode, just like all the characters from all previous
games. Each background will have its own fatality.
The movie is in wmv (Windows Media Video) format. It is 7,86MB.
You can download it from
GameTactics.
Viacom CEO increases stake in
underperforming publisher; puts daughter on board and hires specialist
to advise on takeover.
All signs point to the eventual takeover of the venerable but limping
game publisher Midway by Viacom CEO and Chairman Sumner Redstone. Such a
scenario is bolstered by reports that Redstone, in a filing with the
Securities and Exchange Commission today, said he has hired a financial
advisor to evaluate options should he increase his interest in the
publisher to 80 percent of its common stock from its current 72.4
percent level.
In addition, Dow Jones is reporting that at Redstone's request, Midway
will reduce the number of seats on its board of directors from eleven to
eight, and that Redstone has nominated his daughter, Shari E. Redstone,
to join the board.
In spite of the stock reporting 17 consecutive quarterly losses,
Redstone has demonstrated unflagging interest in the company, increasing
his stake in it from less than 30 percent at the beginning of the year
to its current level. He now owns 49,389,066 common shares of Midway
Games, including 687,600 additional shares he purchased on both Friday,
June 4, and Monday, June 7.
A survey of analyst's comments in a number of business journals today
suggest a timeline that would see Redstone acquire sufficient Midway
stock to take the company private, to be followed by the sale of the
company to Viacom. Such a scenario would give Viacom the means to enter
the game space through the Midway Games infrastructure. Viacom could
then leverage its many brands--including MTV and Nickelodeon--to become
a significant publisher.
As the Wall Street Journal reported: "Viacom's stable of high-profile
content is likely to remain among the most sought-after intellectual
property for video games for the foreseeable future."
It is no small benefit to Redstone that a known opponent to Viacom's
entry into the game space in no longer a factor--Mel Karmazin, the
former Viacom president, resigned from the company last week.
Reportedly, Karmazin was not in favor of such a move.
Midway shares closed today at $12.63, up 65 cents, on the news of
Redstone's SEC filing. Before close, shares of Midway hit a 52-week high
of $13.49.
More News On MK: DA On Cell-Phone
Posted On: Jun 9 2004, 10:36 AM
Mortal Kombat Online contacted Eric Engstrom, CEO of
WildSeed to get some exclusive information on the newest version of
MK: DA for cell phone. They uploaded a MP3 file from the
interview. The file is 19,2MB. You can download it from
here.
Mortal Kombat Projects: Back In
Action
Posted On: Jun 6 2004, 08:56 PM
Veselaki, the webmaster of
Mortal Kombat Projects is the person who gave us a lot of
high-quality skins of famous Mortal Kombat characters for
Unreal Tournament 2003. All of these skins you can find in our
download section. Now, after he finished this project he started a new
one. Veselaki
plans to convert all Mortal Kombat Gold characters into
UT2003/2004 models. Mortal Kombat Secrets received the first
three exclusive renders of this projects. The renders are of the two
already finished characters: Cyrax and Johnny Cage.
Warning: Some of the links on the
pages in the news archive may be broken, because the news are old and
some of the sites have updated their database and probably they have
deleted the linked files.
Statistics:
- Our News Archive contains 695 news articles
- Most news (47) were posted in September 2006
