Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection koming August 31

It's a fine time to be a fighting game fanatic with an Internet connection, as publishers are putting out downloadable donnybrooks left and right. This week has already seen the release of Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition and the announcement of Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown, and it turns out next week will welcome the arrival of Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced that its flagship fighting franchise compilation will launch around the world on August 31.

The downloadable Arcade Kollection will include "arcade-perfect" ports of the original Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II, and Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. While the Xbox 360 has previously received a port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 and the PlayStation 3 launched with Mortal Kombat II available digitally, this will be first time the original Mortal Kombat has been released for either console.

Each game included in the compilation will receive a handful of enhancements, including online multiplayer support, trophies/achievements, and leaderboards. The package is priced at $10 (800 Microsoft points), which might come as a relief to those who remember last year's retail listings for a Mortal Kombat compilation at $40.

Other Ocean has been handling development duties on the game with an assist from Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm Studios. While the studio has produced plenty of family-friendly titles--its latest iPhone game, Scout's ABC Garden, was published by Leap Frog Entertainment--Other Ocean does have some previous experience with WBIE's notorious fighting franchise. The studio was responsible for the well-received 2007 DS port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which earned kudos specifically for its online play.

[UPDATE]: WBIE has since amended the release date for the game, noting that North American PlayStation 3 payers will be able to download the compilation beginning August 30. Players on other platforms and in other territories will need to wait the extra day.