There is a rumor going around right now that the 9th Mortal Kombat game is "confirmed" for E3 2010. The rumor is growing due to a badly phrased quote from Warner Interactive President, Martin Tremblay. When speaking to Gamepro earlier this week Martin said the following when asked about what to expect from WB Games:
GamePro: Warner obviously comes with a whole library of IP. What should we be looking for from Warner next?
MT: If you look at the landscape of publishers, you'll see is everyone has their own crown jewel. They have their own key franchises that they are they developing for a specific audience, that are expecting that game to come out, with quality. We're no different. We're very serious about Batman, we think Batman: Arkham Asylum showed that taking care of our own franchises can really change things, and can make for a very appealing game. Lord of the Rings is clearly very important to our future. Lego is clearly important. Mortal Kombat, you haven't seen anything yet, but we're very proud of what we have so far. We'll be showing very well at E3.
When you read the bold line by itself it makes it sound like he's talking only about Mortal Kombat being shown at E3. He's actually talking about the Warner Bros Entertainment game catalog will be "showing well" at E3 this year. He's not specifically "confirming" Mortal Kombat to be at E3, just that they will be having a good showing of their many franchises. The best part about that line is actually the "Mortal Kombat, you haven't seen anything yet." That's a clear sign of enthusiasm coming from WB on their upcoming game. That is something to get excited about.
Now we have been seeing a lot of teasingonTwitter from various MK team members about working hard the past few weeks. So it's incredibly likely they have some massive effort under way to finally premiere what they have been working on for the past two years. So we do believe it'll be there in some form, but there is yet to be no official confirmation of anything from Warner Bros. about the game's status for E3 2010. I wouldn't bet against it though.
Sadly we at TRMK are unable to make it to E3 this year due to real-life conflicts. So we are teaming up with fellow Mortal Kombat fansite Kamidogu who will be on hand this year, to bring you the latest news and developments from the show floor if/when Mortal Kombat 9 is unveiled. So stay tuned as E3 is only two short weeks away, until then check out the awesome HD intro Kamidogu has put together for their E3 coverage.
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A highly suspect, but extremely well produced video was uploaded to YouTube, under the account MortalKombatRebirth, yesterday featuring several Mortal Kombat characters in a live-action scripted scene. Questions are abound as there are absolutely no studio credits at the end or beginning of the video. WB Games has been producing cinema quality "viral" videos to promote their games, namely F.E.A.R. 3. Could this be a similar promotional video for Mortal Kombat 9?
UPDATE: It was an independent director's pitch to Warner Bros. See updates below for more detail.
The scene begins in a smoldering "Deacon City, Year: 2010" and features "Captain" Jackson (with the 'ON' scrapped off of the glass office door) Briggs (Michael Jai White) and Sonya Blade (Jeri Ryan) briefing a man named "Hanzo Hasashi", aka Scorpion about the rise of two killers nicknamed, Reptile and Baraka.
Scorpion is informed that a man he thought was Sub-Zero was killed, was actually Sub-Zero's brother. At 7:11 of the clip, a quick flash of the below image displays Sub-Zero's new look.
This image was previously posted on ZBrushCentral by Furio Tedeschi, a 3D Modeler that previously had worked at Blitz Games on a WB Games title Taz: Wanted in 2002.
It is also possible that this could be an independent studio that created this teaser trailer for technical demonstration. Too much is unknown to be able to come to a definite conclusion. Also, the timing of the video seems too convenient to be released almost a week from E3 2010. What is absolutely known is that the production value is extremely high to simply ignore, especially since the video is rendered in full 1080p High Definition.
Update 2:30pm CST: We're hearing that this video is not anything seen before by those involved with creating Mortal Kombat 9 at WB Games. So if it is created by WB as a viral marketing clip, it was done with very few people involved or in the know. We're still waiting for an official comment at this time though.
It does appear to star Michael Jai White from the Spawn movie and more recently The Dark Knight. So it's either a very clever work of fakery or something more serious is being created.
Update 5:50pm: It appears Latino Review is saying this is a test shoot that was done "for Warner Brothers to get funding for a full blown hard 'R' MK movie." They confirm it was Kevin Tancharoen who directed it, along with revealing most of the rest of the cast. This is more likely something the director pitched to Warner Bros himself along with some industry backers. If Warner Bros. wanted it made they wouldn't have leaked it especially if it differs much from the massive marketing plan that is about to launch for Mortal Kombat 9 next week. It's very likely it is a rejected pitch that the people behind it wanted to get out to drum up some support for their vision of a Mortal Kombat remake.
Update 6/9/2010: Another confirmation that this was a pitch to Warner Bros. regarding a director's vision of remaking the Mortal Kombat movie series. Actress, Jeri Ryan, confirms on her Twitter account that it was a pitch to studio heads for director Kevin Tancharoen.
It appears that finally there is an answer to this mystery video. It was not produced by Warner Bros. and neither was it produced to hype the upcoming Mortal Kombat 9 video game. Granted, the timing of this release couldn't be better. E3 2010 is just around the corner and everyone has Mortal Kombat on the brain. It has definitely gotten the attention of the Internet and it is spreading like wildfire. It seems like an even bigger stage is now set for the unveiling of Mortal Kombat 9.
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Earlier this morning, the WB Games' Chicago game studio was relaunched officially as NetherRealm Studios, just as was discovered last April. You can find their new logo and home over at www.netherrealm.com. The page is pretty basic right now but it has an awesome new logo which you can see below.
Along with the new studio name is the information that ninth Mortal Kombat game will be a reboot of the franchise. Basically they are rebooting the series to re-establish "the brand with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Mortal Kombat innovates on past games while staying true to the brand’s legendary characters and fighting style." Here is more on the game from WB's Press Release:
The newest chapter of the iconic fight franchise marks a triumphant return to the series’ mature presentation and a reinvention of its classic 2D fighting mechanic. Driven by an all new graphics engine, the fan favorite Fatality is back and presented in more gory detail than ever before. In addition, Mortal Kombat introduces a number of new game-play features including tag team and the deepest story mode of any fighting game. Players can choose from an extensive lineup of the game’s iconic warriors and challenge their friends in traditional 1 vs. 1 matches, or take on several new game modes.
The game will also feature some new gameplay features like Tag Team fighting, and all back in the familiar 2D style gameplay like the first three Mortal Kombat games. Not to mention what will likely be the most gruesome fatalities ever seen in a Mortal Kombat game.
“We can’t wait for players to get their hands on Mortal Kombat,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “This game really is a response to what players have been demanding: mature presentation, reinvented 2D fighting mechanic and the best, most gruesome fatalities ever!”
Mortal Kombat introduces a number of new game modes as well as the most extensive online experience ever seen in a fighting game. Up to 4 players can battle “tag-team”- 2 players can team up in the new “Co-op Arcade Mode” or compete against another team online.
The game will be released in March 2011 for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 systems. Here is a look at it's awesome trailer:
WB Games also launched TheMortalKombat.com as the new home to this new game. Currently it just links to the Facebook fan page but I expect that to change as E3 gets closer. The Mortal Kombat Facebook page has also posted a high resolution copy of the game's new logo. It's a whole new darker stone dragon logo, along with a flat red MORTAL KOMBAT type underneath it. This is the logo:
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It's that time of year again. E3 2010 opens it's floors to the gaming world tomorrow, and along with it begins Warner Bros's marketing push for their newly announced Mortal Kombat game. Part of the marketing push includes giant banners thrown all across the LA Convention center showing silhouettes of various fighting poses & fatalities. One banner says FINISH HIM, and another says FATALITY! Take a look at a one of them courtesy of Bitmob on Flickr.
There is also planned a massively detailed Mortal Kombat (2011) booth in the Warner Bros. area of the floor. Fansite Total Mortal Kombat found a concept render of their booth Theatre over the weekend in the most recent GameTrailers TV episode. It looks like a massive theatre that will be set up to watch video footage and/or demos from Mortal Kombat on the show floor. It's hard to tell how big it really is, but until tomorrow it'll have to do.
We don't currently know if the game will be playable to the public at E3, but we'll find out tomorrow when the floor opens to the public.
Sadly life interfered and no one from TRMK could schedule a trip to E3 this year, so instead we've teamed up with fellow fansite Kamidogu who will be at E3 2010 tomorrow to bring fans news of Mortal Kombat (2011) directly from the show floor. So check back for updates as the day goes on.
Update 10:00pm CST: Kamidogu updated earlier tonight with some awesome pictures of the LA Convention Center. Included in those is a awesome look at the two Mortal Kombat banners back to back.
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The day is just starting, E3 doors are about to open. The first sign of life today was NetherRealm Studios Community Manager Rigo Cortes on Twitter has been posting a few images today. The best is of the finished MK Theatre:
Sony then followed this by showing Kung Lao's second Fatality in 3D. Updated: Added high quality video from GameTrailers. Skip to 2:00 for Fatality, quick bit of gameplay at the beginning.
Update 4:10pm: Also, Jeff Gerstmann from Giant Bomb reports that the button configuration is classic Mortal Kombat, except that "High/Low" is replaced with "Front/Rear" along with standard "Block" and no "Run" buttons.
Also, in watching the above trailer, we're exposed to the game's health meters and a mysterious "power meter" of some sort. There is a "X", "Lightning Bolt", and "S" across a gold power meter. When Sektor shoots twin missiles at Kung Lao, the meter displays the word "X-Ray" and the meter drains to the "Lightning Bolt" icon. Perhaps the "X-Ray" mode is the close up bone-breaking shots we saw in the first trailer. See the below screen capture.
Update 5:32pm: A blog posting on the Wild Gunmen features a multitude of details on what is being shown in the Mortal Kombat theater. They detail the "super meter" along with a brief description of Reptile and Sektor's fatalities along with TONS of pictures from the videos. Updated Also, the select screen features 26 slots in a 4 x 7 arrangement, with 8 characters displayed. The bottom row is made up of a Random Select square, two characters and one Downloadable Content placeholder. Therefore, the minimum number of characters will be 26 + DLC Characters. This is the E3 roster from left to right. Scorpion, Millena, Reptile, Sub-Zero, Kung Lao, Johnny Cage, Nightwolf, and Sektor. Here is the detail on the "super meter".
Level one makes whatever attack you’re pulling off stronger. Fireballs become larger, and attacks like Sektor’s teleport punch add another hit to the combo.
Level two is a combo-breaker – pretty basic, same stuff we’ve seen before.
Level three is the most exciting. Currently dubbed the x-ray attack, it’s a brutal attack that goes into an x-ray mode to show you what you’re doing. Like showing fingers penetrating the skull through the eyes, or breaking someones rubs. In Johnny Cage’s case, it’s the meat sack of the pelvis rupturing after his famous ball-buster.
Update 10:56pm: An interview with Ed Boon over at IGN has uncovered a few more details from the game. First off, the underlying game engine continues to be a "heavily modified version of the Unreal 3 engine" which runs at 60 frames per second, essentially an upgraded derivative of the engine Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe uses.
Secondly, online is planning to be a huge component of the game. Downloadable Content is being promised from the start, with "new characters, new backgrounds, new fatalities" coming out after the game's release. Online play will feature "the one on one combat quick match"; however, the big focus NetherRealm Studios will put towards "community play, where we get eight people together, they're all playing, everybody can participate and comment, and winner stays, loser pays." This feature sounds like a virtual arcade room with up to 8 players that can view matches while two players battle, which will bring back memories of those who played MK 1-3 in the arcades.
We also learn some of the storyline that the game will feature. Essentially the game will be a total re-envisioning of the first three games in the series.
We're also talking about a new take on the series' story. "Mortal Kombat has this timeline - eighteen years of making games, and we really didn't want to just continue, like, chapter seventeen of the whole story," says Ed Boon, the co-creator of the series. "So we're kind of doing a Back to the Future type of thing, where Raiden is about to be killed by Shao Kahn, and just before he delivers the last blow, he sends a mental message to his earlier self, so the camera rewinds back to Mortal Kombat 1. The Raiden from back then gets a message and he doesn't know what's going on, but he knows something bad's going to happen, and the game spans Mortal Kombat 1, 2 and 3, retelling the story with an enlightened Raiden, and he's changing the course of things, so everything you've seen happen before – Liu Kang winning, the guys turning into cybernetic ninjas, are changed around, so you might see a character become cybernetic who wasn't before, and so you see a different version [of events]."
On the subject of the game's roster, Boon mentions that the team is solely focused on characters from Mortal Kombat 1 through Mortal Kombat 3.
That's a recap of the day's events and stories. It has been quite the reveal, after so much uncertainty and silence. We will continue to keep an eye out for more stories as they come in. We'll have some more recaps and information from the show's floor along with various community thoughts and opinions.
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After the full reveal at E3, excitement for Mortal Kombat (2011) has been spreading all across the internet. From major media sites to reactions on Twitter, there is a definite buzz in the air around the game. Some of today's biggest excitement for those of us not at the show came with the leaking of a shaky cam video of a few of the game's Fatalities from the website Screw Attack. You can watch the video below, but beware it's not for the queasy.
Ed described the blood, which now has ultra-realistic properties. Blood sprays depending on the attack, meaning if Scorpion slashes his opponent in a circular motion the blood sprays in a curved fashion. Other advancements include proper bodily damage, which have been expanded to include actual lacerations in the skin. Not only do the characters lose blood whilst doing battle, they can also stain each other. Blood from your opponent can spray onto your kombatant, and stay there for the remainder of the match. The longer it stays exposed, the more it decays and turns darker
Long time Mortal Kombat fan and friend of TRMK, Dan Amrich aka Activision's own One Of Swords had a lot of good things to say about it.
"MK is going to make every old school fan very very happy"
"... MKII, much prettier, much faster, much freer-flowing combos"
Dan also posted the first screenshot of the game's menu that really shows the detail in the game's character models. I can't wait to see full 1080p stills in the future. This is an obvious step up in fidelity from Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe.
GameSpot also did a video interview with a clearly excited Ed Boon. He discusses many things including online and single player modes that we will see much later.
I wanted to bring up the interview with Ed Boon by IGN again as in this interview they touched on something I've been feeling missing in Mortal Kombat.
But what about Babalities and the like? "Certainly this Mortal Kombat game we're taking a little bit more seriously, so we're probably not going to have a friendship move and whatnot," says Ed, "but if we were to do something like that we're definitely not going to document it. That's what I think was part of the fun of the old games. 'You turned the guy into a baby!' What? Or, 'you pulled out a rainbow'! What the? It's such an odd thing. We really want these events – if they happen – to be almost rumors. That's a big part of what Mortal Kombat was. The question mark about - what else is in this game?"
I agree 100% with Ed, and feel that the game needs to ship with some hidden undocumented content. Stuff that you can't find in a Strategy Guide or even a moves or FAQ list until someone actually discovers it. The internet was in it's infancy but everyone in the newsgroups used to work together to uncover these hidden moves and secrets. This was great about the old arcade games, and I hope it's something they aim to do again with this game.
Also TRMK Forum member Tedakin gave us his review of the game. He touched on how detailed and lively the game's backgrounds are this time around:
When the characters are fighting in the Living Forest there's dynamic lighting breaking through the trees and casting accurate shadows on them. Also, there's a lot going on in the backgrounds. People are being tortured and strangled by vines. Birds are flying around. The big thing I noticed was in Kahn's Arena there is a second fight going on in the background featuring a giant monster that looks like a rancor battling a small group of warriors.
Tedakin also posted the first full picture of the game's select screen which clearly shows that Downloadable Content (DLC) will be possible in this game.
Mortal Kombat feels like a solid return to form, a gory, bloody bash, full of what made fans fall in love with the series, a few smartly borrowed mechanics that could make non-fans appreciate what it has in the fighting department.
It sounds like there's potential for some sort of MK-specific hardware down the line, too, as the game's more advanced moves, like tagging and throwing, can be done by hitting multiple buttons on the classic five-button MK setup, as well as via their dedicated shoulder buttons. It'll be interesting to see if that develops.
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Gamespot just concluded a live stream of Mortal Kombat (2011) a few minutes ago over at their Live E3 Site. It was the internet debut of the much anticipated fighter. In it they sat down with MK Team members: Ed Boon, Paulo Garcia and John Edwards. The host interviewed Ed while Paulo and John demoed some gameplay.
John Edwards, Paulo Garcia & Ed Boon
One new previously unknown bit was revealed. There will be a system of respect points in the multiplayer mode of the game. It sounded that other players spectating your fight can reward you respect for doing well, etc. These points will work towards Achievements and Trophies along with other things, Ed said.
"George Lopez was in the theater. MK will get a mention on his show." - Rigo Cortes on Twitter
We just got word that George's segment on E3 will be airing during the Tuesday June 22nd 2010 episode that is also featuring actress Helen Mirren and comedian Cedric the Entertainer. Lopez Tonight airs at 10pm Central (11pm in every other timezone) on TBS. Check your local listings for an exact time and channel in your area. We should have a clip and more details of the episode once it airs Tuesday night.
Thanks to Jennifer for the heads up on this news!
Update 11:00pm CST: It appears the like the E3/MK segment was bumped. We will let you know if we get word of it airing later in the week.
Update 9:45pm CST: Rigo Cortes posted to Twitter: "Looks like Mortal Kombat will be on Lopez Tonight at 10Pm CST this evening on TBS." We'll have a video clip up tomorrow if it does in-fact air this time!
Final update: We finally got the HD video of the segment edited and uploaded to YouTube. Enjoy!
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A few minutes ago Mortal Kombat (2011) Producer Hector Sanchez revealed that the official Mortal Kombat podcast, MKast (iTunes Link), will be returning soon. There hasn't been a MKast since December 2008 shortly after Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe was released to stores. But thankfully we'll be back to hearing semi-regular updates in podcast form from the NetherRealm Studios gang. Hector didn't say when the new MKast will be available, but I don't think we'll be waiting too long for it.
To celebrate MKast's return, Hector has put some extra Mortal Kombat E3 2010 T-Shirts on the line for a giveaway that will only happen if the Official Mortal Kombat Facebook page reaches 85,000 fans. Seeing the page is already at just under 84,000 that shouldn't be an impossible feat.
If we can get to 85,000 fans on our Facebook page, I'll raffle a couple of t-shirts off to followers on our next MKast #mkastkonfirmed - @hecterrific on Twitter
Here are a few pictures of the T-Shirt from TRMK friend Dan Boczarski.
Front
Back
The T-Shirts are very rare, and were given out to those who got to sit through the Mortal Kombat Theatre demonstration at E3 2010 last week. The demonstration was so popular that they ran out of T-Shirts before the show even ended. Since E3 has ended only a few have made it to eBay, and one even fetching a massive $102 price tag! Luckily Hector saved a few for the fans out there.
Update 6/29: The Mortal Kombat Facebook page has well over 88k fans now. Last week Hector updated his Twitter with a few more details about the contest:
Hey so re:shirts. waiting on a box of extras. once we hand some out to the team, i'll grab a few for y'all.
FYI: No Warner Bros. entity, including NetherRealm Studios and WB Games Inc., is a sponsor of or associated in any way with this giveaway.
So we just need to wait for MKast to get released for further details.
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The first award it won was Best Stage Demo. Their ranked all the games that got a live on stage demo to the GameSpot viewers, and Mortal Kombat came out on top of the rest. Here is a bit on what they said, be sure to visit the award page to see their full reasoning behind the win.
"This year, Ed Boon, the cocreator of Mortal Kombat, took to the stage with members of his NetherRealm Studios development team to present gameplay from the new Mortal Kombat to the general public for the first time. And if you're a fan of the older Mortal Kombat games, it just might have brought a tear to your eye."
The second award is the most important for the game we feel. Mortal Kombat (2011) won Best Fighting Game! When pitted against the highly anticipated Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat came out a clear winner according to the GameSpot Editors. Here is a bit on what they said, be sure to visit the award page to see their full reasoning behind the win.
"In a lot of ways, this Mortal Kombat represents a homecoming for the series with a return to a style of 2D gameplay (with some new features, like the Tag mode) that made those first Mortal Kombat games distinct from their competition. Of course, it doesn't hurt that the gore and unrepentant violence that made those games popular is in full effect as well. One look at Kung Lao's hat-into-saw-blade fatality will make even the most hardened Mortal Kombat fan wince or, at the very least, crack a fiendish grin."
Congrats to everyone at NetherRealm Studios for all the hard work you have done, the game is awesome and I know I speak for the fan community when we say the awards were well deserved!
Now here comes the important part for you readers out there. From now until Friday July 9th, you can vote for Reader's Choice Awards of E3 2010. Mortal Kombat was nominated for Best Stage Demo, Best Fighting Game and Game of the Show. So be sure to visit each respective voting page between now and Friday July 9th to cast your vote for Mortal Kombat in each category! Lets do the game creators proud and show them we love their game! As of press time Mortal Kombat is still leading the charts for the two awards it already won, but lets see if we can get all three awards under it's belt!
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Do you live in New York City? Do you like music? Are you a fan of Mortal Kombat? Then you should go buy tickets for a live demonstration of Modal Kombat. Modal Kombat is the game of Mortal Kombat played live using musical instruments to control the characters. For the low price of $15 you can get tickets to the live event that is happening all summer long as part of the Brick Theatre's Game Play event that is celebrating video game performance art.
Earlier today GameSpot announced their 
