Mark Beaumont of Capcom Passes Away

Just the other day, Mark Beaumont, the COO (chief operating officer) of Capcom, passed way “suddenly”. He died of a heart attack.

Capcom issue the following statement:

"Our COO and dear friend, Mark Beaumont, passed away this morning. This sudden loss has left us with deep sadness.

"Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will remember him for his humor, passion and commitment to Capcom and our industry. He was a great leader and visionary and his spirit will carry on in everything that we do. Please join us in memory of Mark."

I must admit that I hadn’t heard of this man, but it seems as though he was a very respected figure in the industry, having had high positions at multiple companies like Midway, Sony, Time Warner, Activision, and Atari. Even greats like John Romero and Ed Boon left tweets on their twitter accounts showing their respect.

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Source: [1] MCUVK

Mark Beaumont of Capcom Passes Away

Some Cool Mortal Kombat Concept Art

The concept art I’ve seen for a proposed Mortal Kombat by former Midway visual creative director ,Vincent Proce, is pretty good to say the least. Not only has some concept art been revealed, but Vince attempted to write a more in-depth back story for the characters, which so far include Sonya Blade, Raiden, Kano, and Scorpion.

“The basis for the idea was a re-imagining of the Mortal Kombat franchise from the original premise but mixing modern multi-player and dismemberment game design with the original fighting mechanic,”
“The game idea isn’t going to happen now that I no longer work there.”

The art for the latter two is very cool indeed. Vince is going to do more art and back stories for other characters in the series as well when “he finds time”. Do Sub-Zero. He’d be cool.

He made this post a couple of months ago though, so I don’t know when there will be any new stuff.

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http://vincentproceart.blogspot.com/2009/09/here-are-never-before-seen-mortal.html http://www.thatvideogameblog.com/2009/11/20/the-mortal-kombat-that-could-have-been/

Some Cool Mortal Kombat Concept Art

John Tobias' Birthday Today

On this day in 1969, John Tobias was born. He turns 40 today.

Tobias, a comic book artist, graphic designer and video game designer, is known for being part of the duo, along with Ed Boon, who created Mortal Kombat. He designed many of the original characters in the game.

In the late nineties, he left Midway, and after that, the mysterious character known as Noob Saibot (which is Boon Tobias backwards), became known mainly as Noob.

Tobias then formed Studio Gigante which later closed down a few years afterwards, and now works as a consultant.

John Tobias' Birthday Today

Another Mortal Kombat Film

And now for a title that we're all familiar with- Mortal Kombat.

Just after the recent trouble over at Midway, the director of the next Mortal Kombat film has cried foul and wants compensation by suing Midway.

That has however, confirmed the rumours that have been circulating about a third Mortal Kombat film. Chris Casamassa, the actor who took the part of Scorpion in the original, has also said he will take the part in this film as well.

Apparently this Casamassa guy is an eighth dan black belt in Karate. I had a geography teacher who was only a sixth dan in Judo.

I suppose we're all wondering why they should bother with another MK film since the second one tanked, but it is an opportune time seeing as Midway is practically gone as far as I know, bought by Warner Bros. and the continuation of the video game series is unknown.

Source:

Rumor: Third Mortal Kombat Film In Development
http://www.sgvtribune.com/news/ci_12742587

Another Mortal Kombat Film

Mortal Kombat for sale

I've been going on about Mortal Kombat quite a bit recently. Well, this is news.

Recently, it has been reported that Midway is definitely considering selling Mortal Kombat, one of its most prized franchises.

Apparently Midway is in a big cash crisis, which is probably not uncommon for many devs and publishers nowadays.

And they say that the videogame industry is recession-proof...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/midway-seeks-mortal-kombat-sale

Mortal Kombat for sale