The Mortal Kombat Pinball Machine That Almost Was

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Feb 25, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Ed Boon reveals MK pinball machine nearly happened multiple times but never shipped.

Summary

Ed Boon, legendary arcade/pinball designer and co-creator of Mortal Kombat, reveals in a Game Informer interview that a Mortal Kombat pinball machine has come close to production multiple times but never materialized. Boon expresses continued interest in seeing one built and reflects on his pioneering work on Williams FunHouse and the evolution of game development from small teams to modern production scales.

Key Claims

Ed Boon programmed pinball machines in Assembly language 15-20 years ago and stopped programming around that time
high confidence · Direct quote from Ed Boon in Game Informer interview
A Mortal Kombat pinball machine has come close to production multiple times but has not been made
high confidence · Ed Boon: 'The one I'm hoping will happen someday – and it's come close a few times – is a Mortal Kombat pinball machine.'
Williams FunHouse was loosely based on the movie Magic, which featured an evil puppet
high confidence · Direct quote from Ed Boon describing FunHouse's inspiration
Ed Boon provided the voice for Rudy, the talking puppet in Williams FunHouse
high confidence · Stated in article introduction and confirmed by Boon quote
A Street Fighter pinball machine was previously produced
medium confidence · Article author reference: 'There was a Street Fighter pinball machine, so why not MK?' (factual observation by Knapp Arcade author)

Notable Quotes

“The one I'm hoping will happen someday – and it's come close a few times – is a Mortal Kombat pinball machine. I think that would be really cool. I would love to have one of those in my basement.”
Ed Boon @ Game Informer interview (Feb 2022) — Reveals MK pinball as a long-desired project that nearly happened, establishing industry interest in the IP for pinball
“I have friends who are still programming pinball machines. I stopped programming at least 15 to 20 years ago. There's no way I would be able to keep up with them.”
Ed Boon @ Game Informer interview — Indicates Boon's departure from active pinball development and acknowledges evolution of the medium's complexity
“FunHouse is kind of loosely based on that. There's this puppet who is taunting the player. I'm the voice of that puppet.”
Ed Boon @ Game Informer interview — Confirms FunHouse design inspiration and Boon's creative role in iconic Williams pinball machine

Entities

Ed BoonpersonWilliamscompany Mortal KombatgameFunHousegameStreet FightergameGame InformerorganizationFunHouse 2.0 KitproductEd FriespersonMatt Bootyperson

Signals

?
community_signal: Virtual pinball community has created fan-made Mortal Kombat table in VPX, indicating grassroots demand for the IP in pinball
high · Article notes: 'Someone did produce a virtual Mortal Kombat table in VPX'
?
design_philosophy: Classic era pinball (FunHouse, 1990) drew creative inspiration from contemporary film and pop culture (Magic movie)
high · Ed Boon explanation of FunHouse design genesis based on Magic movie's evil puppet concept
?
licensing_signal: Mortal Kombat pinball licensing has come close to fruition multiple times but has not closed, suggesting IP licensing or business negotiations as the bottleneck
medium · Ed Boon: 'The one I'm hoping will happen someday – and it's come close a few times – is a Mortal Kombat pinball machine'
?
rumor_hype: Fighting game IP (Mortal Kombat) as recurring pinball development prospect within industry, with historical Street Fighter precedent
medium · Author notes Street Fighter pinball existed and questions why MK hasn't been produced despite clear interest from game creator

Topics

Unrealized Mortal Kombat pinball machineprimaryEd Boon's pinball design legacyprimaryWilliams FunHouse design history and 2.0 upgradeprimaryEvolution of game development from small teams to modern productionsecondaryFighting game IP in pinball (Street Fighter precedent)secondaryVirtual pinball community adaptations (VPX table)mentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Nostalgic and appreciative tone. Boon expresses genuine interest in seeing MK pinball realized. Author celebrates pinball history and legacy. No criticism or negative sentiment present.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

This evening I came across a great Game Informer interview with the voice of Rudy from Williams FunHouse…gaming industry legend Ed Boon. The article provided a fantastic look at arcade and pinball history, but one particular passage really stood out to me: ”You said you are feeling nostalgic. Any thoughts of making a new pinball game? I have friends who are still programming pinball machines. I stopped programming at least 15 to 20 years ago. There’s no way I would be able to keep up with them. To give you an idea of the timing, I did all my games in Assembly. The one I’m hoping will happen someday – and it’s come close a few times – is a Mortal Kombat pinball machine. I think that would be really cool. I would love to have one of those in my basement. You know, Ed Fries [former vice president of game publishing at Microsoft] went and made a Halo game on Atari 2600. He did it the old-school way. You could do the same thing for a Mortal Kombat pinball machine! I was talking to Matt Booty [head of Microsoft Studios] the other day and he was telling me about this group that is still making Atari 2600 games. He was telling me all about them and sent me links and everything. As great as it is to make video games now, when it was a two- to three-person team, the turnaround of idea to on-screen could be as short as two hours. Now it’s months. The hands-on experience and working with a close, small team, there was nothing like those really special days.” A Mortal Kombat pinball machine was almost produced and one of the creators of the game would still like to see one happen? Cool! There was a Street Fighter pinball machine, so why not MK? Another story that I found interesting was the origin story of Williams FunHouse, which is particularly timely given the 2.0 Kit that just released for the pinball machine: ”Give me the big one that people would recognize. That was probably FunHouse. It had a talking puppet. There was a movie called Magic that had an evil puppet in it. That puppet made its owner do bad things. FunHouse is kind of loosely based on that. There’s this puppet who is taunting the player. I’m the voice of that puppet.” Ed Boon On His AIAS Hall Of Fame Induction And Career In Video Games And Pinball https://www.gameinformer.com/2022/02/24/ed-boon-on-his-aias-hall-of-fame-induction-and-career-in-vid The only physical Mortal Kombat pinball machine that has ever been made lol Someone did produce a virtual Mortal Kombat table in VPX