Posts Tagged ‘midway’
Midway acquired by Warner Bros., new name still undecided
Midway’s been in deep water for some time now but finally Warner Bros. has picked them up and acquired all of their assets. But one question remains, what will the studio be called?
It was previously thought that Midway would just cease to exist and now operate under the Warner Bros. brand. However, Midway exec Geoff Mogilner was quoted to have said the following:
The name and the mark are owned by Warner Bros. and it is up to them to figure out the branding strategy.
Well Warner Bros., as long as you come out with a new Mortal Kombat game, we’ll call it even.
Read (Joystiq)
Midway Collapse Killed MK vs DC DLC
When it first began, DLC seemed more like an experiment into how much extra companies could charge for new content than anything else, but these days it’s almost a guarantee for any major release. Though it might not have gotten the acclaim of most other titles in the series, Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe performed well enough to warrant some DLC of its own.
Unfortunately this won’t ever see the light of day due to the financial stumblings of Midway and their buy-out by Warner Bros. Ed Boon posted a render for sorceror Quan Chi onto his personal twitter account with the commentary “Excited about MK9 and WB, but wish we could have released DLC for MKvsDC”. Due to the abbreviated nature of twitter there aren’t any more details but with a huge roster of Mortal Kombat characters who hadn’t made the cut we’d probably have seen a fair number of fan favorites added to the list.
Warner Bros. not buying Midway, 60 days until their death
Not too long ago buzz began circulating the internet that suggested Midway’s San Deigo studios were in the final stages of being purchased by Warner Bros. Unfortunately for them, they have recently released a statement that Warner Bros. will not be picking them up.
And, to make things worse, they said that they have just 60 days to find a buyer before going completely out of business. Common you foreign investors, Midway needs your money help!
Read (Joystiq)
Mortal Kombat Film Producer Sues Midway
If you’ve been following the happenings at Midway you’ll know the company is in dire straits, facing bankruptcy following the failure of Wheelman to pull in the money they needed to keep things going. Recently Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment swooped in with a $33 million dollar offer to acquire most of the company, including of course the Mortal Kombat franchise, undoubtedly the only reason to really put up the cash to acquire the company.
Larry Kasanoff has filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and his company, Threshold Entertainment claiming that in 1993 Midway granted him the rights in perpituity to the film and TV license for the series. Unfortunately for Kasanoff the clauses in his contract don’t actually grant that; his argument says that they ‘amount to the same thing’. He goes on to claim that Mortal Kombat is much more a product of Threshold than Midway since they claim that the characters in the video games were simply flat, stock archetypes who were developed into actual characters by the production company in the various films and tv series. That of course ignores all the inconsistencies between the depictions of the characters in their films and television series, not to mention that the film takes a certain degree of story-related artistic license. In the film both Kano and Shang Tsung are killed, while as established in game canon by Mortal Kombat II (released two years before the film) Kano was a captive of Shao Kahn and Shang Tsung was still living.
Midway Makes Last Push At Avoiding Closure
The once high and mighty development studio Midway is facing imminent closure. Though they weren’t the first company to put blood and guts into video games, they were the first ones to accomplish it in so stylistic a manner that others followed suit soon after, with Mortal Kombat’s ‘fatality’ becoming something of a gamer buzzword. Unfortunately they’ve been on a steady decline for some time and the lukewarm reception of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe and the absolute flop of Wheelman have pushed the company to the grim precipice.
Many of the branches have already been They’re not going quietly into that good night- their Newcastle studio has revealed their last hope at getting a financial backer who can help them pull out of their slump. It’s an open-world action game called Necessary Force, set in the film cliche of a maverick cop in the city who makes his own rules. They’re looking to explore the ‘troubled morality’ of the situation with the game and feature the sort of choice/consequence idea that’s becoming increasingly popular these days.
The website for the game is up and features a trailer which looks good so far, though it seems to be long on rendered environments, concept art and cutscenes and short on actualy gameplay footage, but it does look good. Will this be enough to get someone interested in the studio? Can a non-fantastic open world title that lacks the familiar GTA branding succeed?
Warner offers $33m for Midway
Game publisher Midway has received an offer from Warner to acquire the bankrupt company, its assets and all its debts for $33 million. If successful, Warner would take over many of the popular license like Mortal Combat.
However, the deal will not include Midway-owned studios in San Diego and Newcastle. Midway confirmed that the offer has been made and will have 30 days to consider. The company also noted that several other buyers might be interested, although no formal offers have been made.
Mortal Kombat Team Bailing on Midway?
The internal Midway team responsible for the Mortal Kombat series is looking to leave the company, according to this Kotaku report.
The team, whose latest output was Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe, is currently in talks with other publishers to relocate. Apparently, all this stems from Midway failing to pay out bonuses for meeting the game’s sales targets.
Midway representatives claim that the unsecured creditors committee is holding up the payments. The company recently announced that it plans on selling the franchise, though no further announcements were made.
Midway Hints At “Awesome Announcement”
Video game companies are now discovering the buzz-building benefits of social tools like twitter; instead of generating a full-blown press release or waiting for a magazine to publish a new issue they can give a little hint that something is going to be happening soon. Then hordes of gamers and journalists alike will hover on their websites, clicking the refresh button every few moments in the hopes of glimpsing the update.
Midway’s community manager said “A sweet new demo of an early-stage game just arrived in my office. Color me excited.” Another Midway representative confirmed that it’s for an unannounced title which they are describing as “awesome”, though I doubt anyone can recall when a game company described one of their upcoming titles with any less bombastic phrasing.
With heavy debts looming Midway is likely hoping to generate significant interest in this new title as soon as possible to keep themselves afloat.
Wheelman Goes Gold
Soon we’ll find out if Midway can pull themselves out of the financial slump they’ve been in for some time. So far nobody has bought Mortal Kombat, so they’ve got to be pinning their hopes on the upcoming open-world action game Wheelman. The game which features Vin Diesel’s gravelly voice and shiny dome has just gone gold, Midway and Ubisoft are reporting.
The game is shipping in North America on March 24th and in Europe on the 27th for both the Xbox 360 and PS3- plenty of time for you to finish Resident Evil 5. Does the typecast anti-hero actor have the pull to get copies of the game moving off the shelves? Has Midway successfully blended shooting and driving action into a delicious gameplay cocktail with hints of axle grease and gunpowder? Or will this ambitious effort simply crash and burn?
Wheelman Demo Now Available
Today Xbox 360 owners can get their first glimpse at Wheelman, Midway’s action driving game that is likely one of their biggest hopes for getting back on track. Playstation owners have to wait until March 12th. While racing games are a dime a dozen this title hopes to mix it up a bit by focusing more heavily on Hollywood style stunts and car-based gunplay along with more standard action. You can do the classic move where you go off a jump, turn over in midair and then blast the enemies immediately below you, as well as other more complex moves including mid-air carjacks.
The demo features a single level created specifically for this bite-sized version of the title. While the main game will be an open-world adventure where you play an undercover agent (with the looks and voice of Vin Diesel) who seeks to infiltrate the Barcelona underground by posing as a driver-for-hire for now you are limited to a specific mission that is designed to effectively display the game’s impressive mechanics and features. After you complete that mission you’ll get two additional side missions, “Made to Order” and “Street Showdown”. Unfortunately you only get to play the side missions three times before the demo expires, but with the game shipping in North America on March 24th you won’t have too long to wait.
Midway Giving Bonuses to Employees, Plans to Sell Mortal Kombat Franchise
Midway’s financial struggles aren’t exactly anything new, but what they are doing is quite interesting: the company has proposed an incentive plan that would see employees receive bonuses for meeting certain goals, but in a rather illogical twist, they won’t reimburse ex-employees for unused paid time off.
Their plan outlined three specific plans. The first – which was recently accomplished – was to find a co-publisher for Wheelman (Ubisoft stepped up to the plate) which will see a $497,500 bonus given out to employees.
The other two plans are to sell the Mortal Kombat property to another company and submit a new reorganization plan. Either is worth $1,292,500.
This move is surprising because the MK property has been a best-selling franchise for the publisher since the original’s release back in 1992.
While all this is fine and dandy, the company is backtracking on its promises that employees would be paid for unused paid time off. The promises were made three days before its recent bankruptcy filing.
Unreal Tournament III getting huge update
I feel Unreal Tournament III was a great game, but not regarded so highly as many. Perhaps Epic’s recent announcement of a huge DLC pack could spurr some forgotten interest.
Included in the Titan Pack are 11 all new maps along with 2 new game modes called Betrayal and Greed. The new Greed mode is described as a “tug of war style kill points battle”, whatever that means. And Betrayal seems to be a mode where teams are changed throughout the match leading you to kill your previous teammates, hence Betrayal.
Other than that, the Titan Pack adds a bunch of new weapons, vehicles, and new characters. Yes, really lives up to it’s name because that’s not all. It also adds support for Steam Achievements and Trophy Support for the PS3. Phew.
The Titan Pack for Unreal Tournament III will be released for the PS3 and PC on March 5th. No update for the 360, I guess.
Read (That VideoGame Blog)
Ubisoft Co-publishing Wheelman
Following Midway’s descent to bankruptcy, Ubisoft has stepped up to the plate to announce that it will be handling sales, marketing and distribution of Wheelman in most major markets.
The action-driving game stars Vin Diesel and offers gameplay in the same vein as the Driver franchise. Developed by Midway’s Newcastle studio, the game is set to hit PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on March 24.
Ubisoft will specifically be responsible for distribution in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK, while Midway will publish it in all other territories.
Midway Filing For Bankruptcy Protection
Despite the success of Midway’s holiday season the company has still been floundering under the crushing weight of over $240 million in debt. In that classic avoidance of ones own failures that often seems in complete contradiction of the capitalist system Midway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. If this goes through the company will be allowed to enter a restructuring phase.
With Wheelman featuring Vin Diesel in the pipeline along with an as-yet unspecified Mortal Kombat title Midway could have enough steam to keep going after the restructuring period, but only time will tell for the developer.
Midway appoints new Chairman
Midway hasn’t been doing so hot for some time now, and the tough economical times don’t exactly help that. But that doesn’t stop them from making haste to fill their executive positions.
They have recently announced that Mathew Booty, current President and CEO of the company, will take up the position of Chairman of the Board.
Booty had recently secured the position of President and CEO of Midway when David F. Zucker resigned, now he’s the Chairman after Peter C. Brown resigned. Pretty soon it will be called Midbooty instead of Midway (insert chuckle here).
Read (Kotaku)