New Mortal Kombat Now Testing As An Arcade Game In Japan (UPDATED)

UPDATE: The consensus is that this game is just using a timer board as found on some arcade equipment importation websites. It seems the most logical conclusion for now, Small Room Aries has added a detailed location test report with some better pictures. They can’t get into the internals of the machine to confirm that 100% but it would seem too good to be true.

This morning I caught an interesting piece of news through AM-Net where they state that “Mortal Kombat” is location testing at a location in Japan by the name of Game Ace. Then I was able to find this article with images confirming it. Here is one showing the arcade stick layout and another that shows “Credits 0 [0/1]” which is not a part of console titles. Another image at their site shows a screen where you can see ~~Xbox~~PS3 buttons(a couple of readers pointed out button differences in Japan so I’ve corrected it) on the screen though so it’s hard to say at the moment if this is just some sort of hacked ~~Xbox~~PS3 version or something official that is being given a chance over there. Even if it is a hacked version running on a timer board, that would not add a coin counter to the game but I suppose an intrepid hacker could possibly manage such a thing in hacking the software. But on the official side, sites like AM-Net do not usually announce “location tests” of hacked bootlegs, only official titles. The next question would be who is doing this on an official basis if that is the case and would they consider testing the game out in the West if this test is successful? As far as anecdotal evidence goes, we ran an online poll about the idea back in March 2011 inquiring of you the readers if you would want the new Mortal Kombat to come to arcades. The response was yes by a large margin. I don’t think that the response would be any different today and would likely be stronger if a special arcade edition were released that had a new couple of characters or a level or two specific to the arcade version to help it stand out a little more. Also not to forget this homemade MK cabinet seen a little while back.

There is no picture of the cabinet yet but most likely it runs on one of those cookie cutter sitdown HD cabinets that are becoming more common in Japan. I have reached out to Nether Realm Studios to find out more but so far have not heard back from them. In case I find out any thing else I will certainly update this post.

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18 comments

Phil "iTossWomenSalads" Arrington August 15, 2012 at 2:11 pm

I’ll be mad if this is legit, because I was asking these fuckers two years ago at E3 if an Arcade in the works…..and they said where’s the money.

editor August 15, 2012 at 7:15 pm

We will get an answer for you.

nowayman August 25, 2012 at 9:34 am

Whoa, calm there, bro.

carlo August 15, 2012 at 10:44 pm

this is not a legit conversion its hacked ps3 with a timer bored made by Chinese its been available for a while now you can buy it on aliexpress.com around 800$ for the full kit

arcadehero August 16, 2012 at 7:06 am

But one thing as I mentioned – even timer boards are not able to hack the software to add the credit counter into the game.

Joey August 17, 2012 at 1:37 am

You underestimate the Chinese. This isn’t the first time they have done something like this.

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/518332101-Mortal-kombat-VGA-Game-Board-high-resolution-high-performance-game-for-VGA-monitor-LCD-monitor-Arcade-wholesalers.html

It is a bootleg.

d3v August 16, 2012 at 12:59 am

PS3 version, you can clearly see Kratos in one of the shots. Also, PS3 buttons, not XBox, X is “back” in Japan (circle is for confirming).

Nomax August 16, 2012 at 2:28 am

Same here. I sent an e-mail to NetherRealm Studios last year suggesting them to team up with Raw Thrills and release an arcade version but got no reply either.

editor August 16, 2012 at 5:02 am

@Normax, I have also emailed NetherRealm – but do not expect any contact back. They will be steamed that the news got out early, and even more uncomfortable that the consumer games media will ask the question, “…hey you guys said there was no business in arcades, but now you work on this… what gives?”
And that will be a number of questions from studios – “…hey everyone said arcades are dead, maybe there is some business for our games that got canned to be re-released as amusements?”

editor August 16, 2012 at 4:58 am

Let me tell you a little story – as a consultancy we some time approach companies with good content and suggest they enter the amusement field under license. I met with Codemasters and proposed supporting that they consider GRID and another game as amusement titles and that we would work with them on finding a licensee. They turned down the proposal as having no interest, only for the following year they licensed the game to SEGA and worked with them!!!

It is a hindrance of my game that I can not force the opportunity to act on my information… or include me if they want to be stubborn and do the project themselves (thinking they know best) – and sadly when they find out they may have approached the opportunity badly, they are usually too angry to admit failure.

No one likes to admit ‘I told you so’!

Nomax August 16, 2012 at 7:57 am

Wow! Interesting bit! I understand your frustration! 🙁

westtrade August 17, 2012 at 7:32 am

Hello, I just wanted to chime in that all of the newer console to arcade “Timer” kits will overlay Insert Coin when the console games are used in a arcade cab. If you look at the 1:51 mark of this video, you will see Street Fighter Vs Tekken used in an arcade cab.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_aFV7jhCGA&list=PLE87D2B06798EC2FC&index=54&feature=plpp_video

By the way, Great Job on the Site.

Ryan August 17, 2012 at 3:03 pm

I hope it’s official! But those PS3 on-screen buttons make me think it’s not.

A game made for the arcades would not show on-screen home console (PS3) buttons.

voltz August 19, 2012 at 4:06 am

I really don’t approve on the idea of games being brought to arcades after they have started out on the console platform originally. I can recall the horror that happened to Soul Calibur III after Namco went into it’s flip-flop phase and leaving their units only to areas where a small minority were able to get their hands on it before fading into obscurity.

arcadehero August 20, 2012 at 7:59 am

I agree with that generally – but what I have observed is that it depends on the game and what is done to make it stand out in arcades. If they add nothing special to the arcade and it just uses standard joystick/buttons then it is pointless. But fighter fans seem to be attracted to whichever version is the latest/greatest so if the Arcade Edition of MK were to add a little more to it as an example then people would play it at the arcade. But this problem plagues fighters more than any other genre since they never do anything different with the controls that gives it an arcade advantage in that realm and that is too easy to get around by releasing a new console patch (i.e. SSFIV 2012). What has surprised me though is Blazing Angels – a console game first, it is a consistently strong earner in my arcade, it’s almost the same every single week and it’s a Top 5 earner. That’s because there is enough that is different with the hardware (and they did change the software some but that’s not a big deal to most people since it’s not a fighter).