SXSW 2020 review: INSERT COIN shows how Midway Games (Mortal Kombat, NBA Jam) revolutionized an industry

While SXSW was canceled this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, we are running reviews of a number of titles that were scheduled to screen at the festival (with permission from the filmmakers and distributors). 

Before video games became something you generally played in the comfort of your home, people packed into arcades to check out the latest releases and challenge each other at games like Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, both produced by the Chicago-based Midway Games. Video game developer and former Midway employee Joshua Tsui now shines a light on the incredibly successful Midway run in the ’90s with the new documentary Insert Coin, a loving look back at the anarchic era when Midway was pushing the limits of live-action motion capture technology while producing some of the most exciting (and bloody) games of all time.

Through a number of revealing interviews with former Midway staff, journalists, and fans, Tsui establishes how Midway became one of the most successful video game companies of the era by combining cutting edge technology that incorporated filmed human movement for an ultra-realistic edge with boundary-pushing violence that shocked the media and parents while delighting gaming fans. The film points to Narc as the major tipping point in the industry (produced by former competitor Williams Electronics after being bought out by Midway); the game rewarded players for violently killing drug offenders, leading to a media uproar and deep lines at the arcades.

From there, Midway’s mandate might as well have been “more is more.” They created the wildly gory Mortal Kombat fighting series, which allowed players to literally tear each other limb from limb. The incredibly controversial game was a massive success, which Midway parlayed into NBA Jam, a basketball game based off the movement of real players that became another huge hit, bringing in a new demographic of fans who were now able to control their favourite players while cracking up at every “Boomshakalaka!” yelled out by beloved announcer Tim Kitzrow.

As successful as these titles were for Midway, the meteoric rise of home gaming eventually took the place of the arcade, with next-generation consoles like XBOX and Playstation seizing control of the market. In many ways, Midway was a victim of their own success; they couldn’t top major earners like Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam, and couldn’t compete with the huge teams developing increasingly complex titles for the home market.

Tsui has put together a great nostalgic look back at an era that completely redefined what video games could be. While gaming has evolved by leaps and bounds since the ’90s, you can’t compete with a packed arcade full of fans cheering as a player maneuvers Sub-Zero to rip out an opponent’s spine in Mortal Kombat.

Insert Coin delves deep into the creators behind these cherished games and showcases how Midway’s bold risks some three decades back are still resonating in the industry today. It will make you long for the camaraderie of the arcade era, and get you jonesing to play these original games that took the world by storm with every fatality and slam dunk.

Insert Coin was slated to premiere at this year’s SXSW film festival and is now available to screen in virtual cinemas and through the Alamo on Demand platform. Tickets are available here.