What the deal with Mortal Kombat: Armageddon (Premium Edition)?

[Emperor Megas]

I have a few questions about this game.

Were the Premium Editions only released for PS2? I've seen three different covers for them in the premium metal cases -- one with Shao Khan and Sindel, one with Goro and Johnny Cage, and one with Sonja Blade and Kano -- are these all of them? Is there anything different about each variant besides the cover art? Was each cover released in equal quantities? And what's the 'animation cell of the cover art' the back of the package talks about, exactly?

...and 'Kart Racing'? Seriously?

Thanks for any info on this!

[The 1 2 P]

Taken from the games wiki

Releases

There are 4 different limited editions featuring the following content: a 60-minute bonus DVD with a History of Fatalities movie and new videos for more than 50 characters, an animation cell of the cover art autographed by creator Ed Boon, and also an arcade-perfect version of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 included in the main disc. The limited editions are only available on the PS2. Several limited edition versions of the game have different metallic covers exclusive to certain stores featuring different character sets or the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem. The Wii version of Armageddon has a new motion-based control system, along with playability on the Classic Controller and a GameCube controller. It also has a new Endurance Mode, a Wii Remote Training Mode, new menu screens, and Khameleon as a playable character; however, this version does not have online features.

[Emperor Megas]

The limited editions are only available on the PS2. Several limited edition versions of the game have different metallic covers exclusive to certain stores featuring different character sets or the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem.

That's interesting. I wonder which stores sold which covers? I recall seeing the Kano and Sonja one sold at Walmart. I'm curious if any were less common than the others.

[The 1 2 P]

bcks007 would probably be the man to ask. He is a dedicated PS2 collector with a fairly large collection of variants. If he sees this thread I'm sure he'll chime in with his expertise.

[jonebone]

I'm not a PS2 guy, but I'm a fan of the MK series. Sounds similar to what they've done with Mortal Kombat Deception.

I can't remember offhand, but for Xbox Deception, I know there are at least "Kollector's Editions" for Raiden, Mileena, Scorpion and Baraka. Mileena is the most common, as it probably sold poorly so you can always find one on eBay / Amazon. I'd say Raiden / Scorpion are the most "rare", simply because they were popular and most likely to sell. I bet they all had similar print runs though, so the rarity is probably just perceived instead of genuine.

Then on PS2, there was only one Deception special edition, and that's the Sub-Zero premium pack. Unfortunately, Sub-Zero is my favorite, so the collector in me decided to buy this one too. Even though I don't do PS2.

Sounds like they switched for Armageddeon. All sorts of PS2 variants and no Xbox love. Go figure.

[kupomogli]

...and 'Kart Racing'? Seriously?

Motor Kombat and Konquest were both in the regular edition as well. I think if they put time into developing a better fighting game, we would have received something closer to Mortal Kombat 9 sooner. Instead, gameplay seemed the least of their focus on the MK games. On Armageddon we happened to get three poor quality games rather than one good game.