Is 'Ice Rage' the next Mortal Kombat game ... or a prank? [Updated]

by Justin McElroy { Apr 1st 2008 at 9:05AM }

You'd have to be what the French call "les incompetent" to buy anything at face value on April Fool's Day, but for the life of us, we can't figure out if this is supposed to be a joke. So, here's the skinny: There's this site, noob.com, and it definitely features a Mortal Kombat logo and was registered by Midway, so it seems official. It features a countdown to April 17, a picture of two eyes, a picture of some animals, and some numbers.

Reader Batzarro did a little decoding and decided that (if you allow that the animals each represent their first letter in their name) that it translates to "Ice Rage." We decrypted the yellow numbers below using a numerical alphabet code and got "FREE TOUCH KLOSE." OK, so you officially know as much as we do, what's the verdict? Gag? Or something else?

UPDATE: Hmm, where to start? OK, so 1. This page belongs to MK creator Ed Boon. 2. Hidden on this page is the message "It is with deep regret that after over 20 years with Midway, I will be leaving as of today to pursue my dream of becoming a chef. I will never forget the incredible experience I've had with such an amazing group of talented people." So it seems the actual 4-1 gag is Boon leaving for cheffing (cheffery?). Hope that clears it all up.

Tags: mortal-kombat

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

RBecho @ Apr 1st 2008 9:12AM

This has been out for a while and noob.com is Ed Boon's (one of Midway's Lead devs on MK) personal site. No April fools, just reported on this day.

Jerk Face @ Apr 1st 2008 9:14AM

Joystiq is just... is just so FRENCH today.

riggs @ Apr 1st 2008 9:23AM

vraiment

Skipjimroo @ Apr 1st 2008 9:33AM

Not quite Jeefster: Justin's just having a nice little Home Alone moment to himself. I'm guessing he must have watched it recently in an attempt to get a little 90's nostalgia fix. That's just how some folks roll.
As for me, well, I'd rather kiss a toilet seat...

Jerk Face @ Apr 1st 2008 9:36AM

Every post one April 1st has at least one phrase in French.

Skipjimroo @ Apr 1st 2008 10:06AM

Mon Dieu, it seems you are correct sir. Such are the pitfalls of using the Joystiq RSS feed for all your gaming related web-shindiggery. I think I'll be going back to surfing the net the way my grandpappy did lest I fall prey to the egg/face syndrome yet again.

SoxFan13 @ Apr 1st 2008 9:22AM

"Look what ya did ya little jerk!" McElroy you kill me.

Superstar90 @ Apr 1st 2008 9:24AM

noob.com wasn't taken already? Are they gonna waste prime internet real estate on some april fools joke?

Nevermind, it's the internet.

baby sea tuna @ Apr 1st 2008 9:24AM

Aww, I remember back when Mortal Kombat was still relevant. I think I might still have been in high school...

Hansworth @ Apr 1st 2008 9:25AM

aye movie reference made my day

Will @ Apr 1st 2008 9:26AM

I decided to take a little peek at the page source. and found this cryptic bit of text..

"It is with deep regret that after over 20 years with Midway, I will be leaving as of today

to pursue my dream of becoming a chef. I will never forget the incredible experience I've

had with such an amazing group of talented people

"

x2416 @ Apr 1st 2008 9:27AM

It's a fake.

The domain is registered to Ed Boon, and the address is actually the address to Midway Games in Chicago. However, the phone number is registered to:

Wms Garnings Inc
3401 N California Ave
Chicago, IL 60618

The webpage design doesn't look like the usual Midway marketing fodder. I believe it's a fake.

Happy April Fools! :)

riggs @ Apr 1st 2008 9:28AM

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/promotions/2008/spring/default.htm

xFenixKnightx @ Apr 1st 2008 9:50AM

Haha, cool!

voodoo_craig @ Apr 1st 2008 10:19AM

I REALLY want the vintage XBOX, that is simply the best thing I have ever seen!

Luke @ Apr 1st 2008 9:30AM

The graphics and countdown have been evolving for the past few weeks. Check out this thread on the TRMK forums about it.

The real joke is written in black text below that graphic, regarding Ed Boon leaving Midway to become a chef. Again, there's a story on TRMK about this now.

Luke @ Apr 1st 2008 9:31AM

Sorry, tried to link it myself.

Forum post: http://forums.realmmedia.com/showthread.php?t=11368
Ed Boon, master chef:
http://www.trmk.org/news/11400/ed_boon_leaves_midway_becomes_chef.html

Geo @ Apr 1st 2008 10:25AM

What does NOOB means..?

Wes @ Apr 1st 2008 10:39AM

Select All to reveal more text in the footer.

"It is with deep regret that after over 20 years with Midway, I will be leaving as of today
to pursue my dream of becoming a chef. I will never forget the incredible experience I've
had with such an amazing group of talented people."

baby sea tuna @ Apr 1st 2008 10:48AM

It's Boon backwards.

See also: Geo.

Derick Eisenhardt @ Apr 1st 2008 1:04PM

Wow...you guys (including Joystiq) have never heard of noob.com before? Ed Boon's been using this web address since MK2 days.

As for the Free Touch Klose... I'm going to just assume it has something to do with the next Mortal Kombat (which has already been confirmed to be in production a few months ago) having some new control scheme called "free touch."

If you've followed Mortal Kombat for the last decade or so, you'd know they always try to be cryptic and interesting...but generally fail to be that creative or good at it :P

[.sm0ke.] @ Apr 2nd 2008 12:31AM

And the "klose" bit could mean that the announcement or release of the new game is close, but with a K because it's Mortal Kombat and their alphabet doesn't kontain the letter C.

Mr.ESC @ Apr 1st 2008 1:10PM

I wonder if he is leaving for realz I mean is still April fools.

dvnt @ Apr 1st 2008 3:33PM

Ed's retirement was also posted on the Midway forums by moderators and Scorpion's official MySpace posted a bulletin about it.

AlphaOmegaSin @ Apr 1st 2008 6:57PM

Even if this was a fake or not, if he died right now it wouldnt make any sort of a fuckin imprint in todays gaming. maybe back in 1993 or so but not now, he hasnt dont shit for the industry but rehash the same old shit with newer hardware so if he really did wanna go make food, maybe hed be better off then :D and no i dont hate the guy, i just think his creativity has gone stale and doesnt seem to be getting any better.