Industry market research analysts, NPD Group, released their video game sales numbers for the month of September 2005. In the console specific categories of Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks came in at the tenth spot in both lists.

Given the game's mid-month release, Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks put up some good numbers for its initial release; however, it was not enough to break the top 20 of all console games combined for the month of September 2005. It could be quite interesting to see if Shaolin Monks can keep its position in the top ten in the following month's numbers.

Check out the entire break down of the September 2005 numbers over at GameSpot.

Midway reported third-quarter earnings for the year along with the rest of the year's outlook on game releases and beyond.

Later this year, Midway's first title for the Sony PlayStation Portable, Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play, will be released December 12th. Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play features 21 games from the first two classic arcade collections released earlier on current generation consoles, featuring wireless multiplayer of the first three classic arcade Mortal Kombat games.

Initially slated for a year-end release, the first new-generation Mortal Kombat fighting game for the Sony PSP, Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained, has been officially earmarked by Midway for a first quarter release in 2006. Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained is an extension of the current-gen Mortal Kombat: Deception featuring wireless multiplayer options.

Midway's classic arcade game collection makes its way on to the PC next week in Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition. Midway sends along twelve new screenshots from Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition to hype the game's impending release. This 4-disc set includes a compilation of all 28 games from Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3, which the former contained Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3, previously released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube.

Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition includes a wide-array of games that range from the battle cries of victory in both Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 to the squealing tires in S.T.U.N Runner. Get ready to out-maneuver your friends in Super Off Road or meet them in the ring in Pit Fighter. Racing skills from San Francisco Rush 2049 and Offroad Thunder: Mud, Sweat n’ Gears can be used to out-drive and out-wit the bad guys in A.P.B. Arcade-perfect PC versions of such classics as Gauntlet II, Kozmik Krooz’r, Rampage World Tour, Timber, Primal Rage, Wacko, San Francisco Rush the Rock: The Alcatraz Edition, Badlands and more are all included in Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition.

Order it Today @ EBGames.com: [color=yellow]Midway Arcade Treasures Deluxe Edition

Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition will be released on November 14th at a suggested price of $19.99. The games will not feature any network multiplayer support.

Get your weekend started with a little 4-player wireless Q&A session with Digital Eclipse, the developers of Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play. We cover the nostalgia of classic arcade gaming, the unique strengths of the Sony PSP system - including wireless support - and the tender loving care the first three Mortal Kombat games received this go around.


To view a list of all games included in Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play, along with numerous screenshots, visit our Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play GameRealm.

Microsoft has announced the list of games that would initially be backwards compatible on the Xbox 360 at launch on November 22nd.

The only Mortal Kombat game on that list is Mortal Kombat: Deception, possibly for its large Xbox Live presence and huge sales numbers, which are two of the selected criteria for initially supported games. One would expect Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks to be next followed by Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance. Hopefully Midway Arcade Treasures titles would be supported soon as well, or we at least get an upgrade for the Xbox 360 with fixes and enhancements through Xbox Live Arcade.

One added benefit for being Xbox 360 backwards compatible is that Microsoft will be upgrading the games to run in High Definition resolutions of 720p and 1080i. Also, the games will feature better anti-aliasing due to the increased power and feature-set of the Xbox 360's custom ATI graphics chip. This will make a huge visual difference in Mortal Kombat: Deception, which already looked really good in 480p.

Bungie, the developers behind the Halo franchise, posted up photos of the difference on the Xbox 360 for both Halo and Halo 2, you can check those changes out here. We hope to have some details of the difference before the Xbox 360 Launch Day, because we'll be getting the system early due to a win in the Mountain Dew Every10Minutes promotion.

Lastly, Microsoft posted a Backwards Compatibility Q&A with Todd Holmdahl, Corporate Vice President of the Xbox Product Group, that covers all aspects of the Backwards Compatibility. Including how gamers will be able to upgrade backwards compatibility once new games are supported.

Xbox.com: How is your backward compatibility solution going to work?

Todd: As you've heard from us before, backward compatibility on Xbox 360 is done through software. Now that we've solved the technical challenge and the emulator is working, we're certifying each original Xbox title by hand to run on Xbox 360.

What I'm really proud to tell you and your readers is that it's easy to get the emulation software, and it's free. We'll give gamers a choice - you can get the latest software updates from Xbox Live, burn a CD from xbox.com or sign up on Xbox.com for a CD that can be delivered to your home at a nominal shipping and handling fee. Once you get the CD, put it in your Xbox 360 and you're ready to go.

Also be sure that you know, if you purchase the cheaper Xbox 360 "Core System", you will need the Hard Drive upgrade to play backwards compatible Xbox games.

Midway's classic arcade games compilation for the PC, Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition, was previously scheduled to be released yesterday; however, the day passed and no word was mentioned about the game's release. We shot an e-mail over to Midway and got a response back that the game has been pushed back a few weeks to December 5th. A quick look at the entry at EBGames.com confirms this date.

Midway Arcade Treasures: Deluxe Edition features 28 arcade games that were featured in Midway Arcade Treasures 2 and Midway Arcade Treasures 3. For Mortal Kombat fans, the former included both Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3. While the PC platform does have substantial networking possibilities, no games are planned to support networking in any form.

Join our parent network site, RealmMedia.com, this Sunday (11/20) as we break the seals and take off the wraps of a retail Xbox 360 in our Xbox 360 Exposed feature, days before the North American launch of the next-generation console. We will delve deep into the menuing system, check out the Xbox Live Arcade and Xbox Live Marketplace.

Most importantly, we'll take a big look at the new features backwards compatible Xbox games received, including an in-depth look at the upgrades Mortal Kombat: Deception is sporting on the Xbox 360.

Expect a slew of pictures, screenshots and impressions as we expose the Xbox 360.

Link: Xbox 360 Exposed (RealmMedia.com)

Midway has released 3 new screenshots from Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play for the Sony PlayStation Portable (Sony PSP). Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play includes 21 arcade games that are the "best of" both Midway Arcade Treasures 1 & Midway Arcade Treasures 2, including Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 with wireless multiplayer.


If you haven't already, check out our interview with the developers, Digital Eclipse. Midway Arcade Treasures: Extended Play will be available December 12th for the Sony PSP portable system at the suggested retail price of $29.99.

[NOW WITH VIDEOS] As previously reported earlier in the week, announced that Mortal Kombat: Deception would be with their new console, the . While the Xbox 360 isn't due to be released until this Tuesday, TRMK has gotten a hold of the Xbox 360 early this weekend, and we expose several issues in our special feature: Mortal Kombat: Deception on Xbox 360.

Unfortunately, the fight scenes are emulated fairly poorly. The game camera keeps getting blocked by polygons that pop over the action constantly. The character I was playing with would develop some polygons stretching out past the camera view. It would only get worse the next round, as I find some stages are worse than others. The game started to slow down and redraw polygons across the camera surface, totally making the game unplayable. In one stage the screen was completely covered in a rainbow of polygons, so bad that I had to force a reboot of the system to quit out of the game.

Continue on to read the entire Mortal Kombat: Deception on Xbox 360 feature and view numerous screenshots and videos of the problems exhibited by the Xbox 360 running Mortal Kombat: Deception.

Also, stay tuned to our parent network site, new feature for more photos and reviews of the newly released Xbox 360 over the next week.