TRMK confirms that a high definition Mortal Kombat arcade update is currently in development for the PS3. Tentatively called Mortal Kombat Kollection, the collection will collect every 2D Mortal Kombat Arcade games (MK1, MK2 and UMK3) into one. But that’s not all, taking a page out of Capcom’s Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Remix, the MK Kollection will be in high definition. Meaning the graphics wouldn’t just be an upscaled graphics port, but rather re-shot entirely in high resolution graphics!!
Because the original game used photo capture from live actors, in order to properly recreate the series in HD, Warner Bros. is expected to film actors performing the moves like they originally did 20 years ago.
Here’s what TRMK had to say:
Resorting to hand-drawn characters, or using 3D models in place of real actors would just not look right and cause many fans to revolt. However, things are not as simple as that. Since the previous actors are now 20 years older and – in most cases – wouldn’t look to be the right age in high definition, Warner Bros. has hired new actors for the various roles and have been busy capturing them over the past few months at a Warner Bros. Studio in Los Angeles. TRMK has also heard that some of the original cast is involved in the filming in some capacity as well.
Clearly back then, the camera used was not of the highest quality. Also, many of the filming sessions were not shot in front of a blue/green screen for easy chroma key. Obviously, a reshoot would be necessary in order to get a proper High Definition worthy image of the characters for an updated Mortal Kombat game.
You can read more speculations over at TRMK.
Meanwhile, you can watch this video below detailing how the original Mortal Kombat game was created and see some of the actors that played Sub-Zero, Sonya, Johnny cage, etc.