As you begin to celebrate the holidays, the staff at MK5.ORG is also celebrating an exciting achievement in the site's history. Five years have passed since that Friday morning, when a small group of fans were introduced to the birth of what later became the internet's largest Mortal Kombat community. Decked up in Christmas decor, the site created a stir among newsgroups and other Mortal Kombat websites as it claimed it would someday be the dominant source for information on the series. Though many were doubtful the site would stay around with its lack of validity, MK5.ORG has continued to triumph and remain the most trusted name for all that is Mortal Kombat. Becoming successful was not easy by any means. It has taken years of dedication, hard work, and determination to achieve that goal. None of this would have been possible without the people that take time out of their lives to give fans a site they can call home. This list of people includes not only the staff, but also its fans, forum moderators, and chat operators. The site would no longer be standing without the efforts of all of these fine individuals. And for that, we thank you. This has been an incredible experience for myself and my partner Joseph. Words can not fully explain how proud we are of this website.

Looking into the future, trust us when we say 2004 is going to be a very interesting year for not only Mortal Kombat and its fans, but even our website. Though we have clearly gained your trust as the reigning source for Mortal Kombat news, we still have a lot of work to do. Through the thick and thin of the development process of the next installment of the Mortal Kombat series, we plan to raise the bar even higher. If the last five years before us hasn't been enough indication that we are going to cover the MK franchise at the top level, just wait and see what we have in store in the months and years to come. We would personally like to thank Ed Boon for his continued support he has given us, as well as anyone at Midway Games who has helped contribute to our success.

With that, MK5.ORG wishes you all the joys of the holiday season!

To celebrate MK5.ORG's 5-year anniversary, our network site Kombat Pavilion has updated with a collection of Mortal Kombat Animations! Most of them are GIFs or Flash files, while some of them are in Shockwave Director format. Many of you may remember these animations from the MK5.ORG forums over the years.

MK5.ORG and The Kombat Pavilion would like to thank each and every one of the animators who contributed to this collection, and we hope you enjoy it. Visit the MK Animation collection now.

According to a report at Gamespot, Steve Allison, effective December 19th, will be leaving his reign as VP of Marketing at Atari Games. The veteran known for his work of influencing Hollywood's participation in video game products, including Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3, and the involvement of the Wachowski brothers with Enter the Matrix, will be taking over as new Chief Marketing Officer for Midway Games. From the article:

The following Monday, according to a Midway spokesperson, Allison will take over as chief marketing officer for Midway Games. He will report to president David Zucker and be tasked with ramping up marketing efforts for the once-dominant publisher of the Area 51, Gauntlet, and Mortal Kombat franchises.

Speaking with GameSpot today, Allison said his new responsibilities will include marketing strategy for all Midway products, including games that have movie tie-ins, such as Spy Hunter. Über-popular wrestler/actor The Rock will star in Universal's film adaptation of the classic game, which begins production in Spring 2004.

This is just one of several significant changes within the company in the last few months. MK5.ORG wishes Steve Allison the best of luck with his new position!

GameSpot DLX is kicking off their First Annual Game Commercial Awards and Sweepstakes, and Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been nominated twice in the Action >> Fighting category! From the main article:

Let's face it. Some of the most memorable moments on TV happen in between the shows, and who better to judge commercials for gamers than gamers themselves. More than 120 commercials have been submitted in 17 categories, so here's your chance to unleash your inner ad critic to determine which commercials will be named the best of 2003. And just by participating, you'll automatically be entered to win valuable prizes!

GameSpot registration is required in order to download the commercials, vote, and enter the sweepstakes. However, it is not required in order to stream the videos. To see the commercials and cast your vote, click here. To see the main contest page, click here. Good luck to Midway and MK:DA in this contest!

Our thanks to forum/chat member Murdoink for the heads-up on this news story!