Midway Poised For Change In 2008

December 29th, 2007 by Brian Lockhart in Business, News, Online, Xbox360

Atari may be going down the crapper, but that doesn’t mean Midway plans on joining it. Midway is not the prime example of success in the videogame world. The company as a whole has been floundering, trying to make a buck by flooding the market with as many titles as possible. Of course, most of us realize how a company can create a title worth purchasing, but it’s often easier said than done. At least Midway seems to be coming to the realization that their not going to get lucky and find a gem amongst all their junk, but have to work for it.

How does Midway plan on changing things up in 2008? Produce less titles, invest more time and effort into the ones they do decide to release, and maybe get lucky with a Hollywood movie tie in or two. A few snippets from their strategy:

Zucker described his 2008 strategy as “fewer, bigger, better” titles. The company is hoping Hollywood tie-ins will prove lucrative… Zucker said that in addition to “Wheelman,” Midway will announce other movie-related projects next year… Zucker said Midway will have more major releases in 2008 than it did this year. Highlights of the first half will be streetball title “NBA Ballers” and “TNA Impact,” which is based on a professional wrestling program on Spike TV. At the end of next year, the company will release another iteration of “Mortal Kombat.”

Also mentioned is that Midway currently plans on investing far more development towards the two successful Nintendo platforms. A solid idea considering the overwhelming number of sales and relative ease of development compared to other platforms. Hopefully with some careful planning and effort, Midway does invest in a few quality titles worth purchasing, and doesn’t go way of Atari.

Tags: Business, News, Online, Xbox360