Midway Games goes bankrupt

[terry78]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204585.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1

Sigh...from the days of the arcade Arch-Rivals to present day Blitz: The League..we hardly knew ye.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

fatality

 

[citizenpain]

this is already being discussed in the mk vs. dc thread...

http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=300429&page=225

 

[terry78]

Yeah, but it needs its own thread. It's a major event.

 

[hippie_hunter]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6204585.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;1

Sigh...from the days of the arcade Arch-Rivals to present day Blitz: The League..we hardly knew ye.

fatality

They aren't dead yet

 

[citizenpain]

yeah, just because they're going bankrupt doesn't mean they're done. on the contrary, they're trying to turn things around. a few weeks ago they even announced that there will be another mortal kombat game, and we're still supposedly getting downloadable characters for mk vs. dc.

 

[Addendum]

They aren't dead yet

No they're not. They'll be stone dead in a moment

 

[hippie_hunter]

Midway's bankruptcy agreement says that they hold over $281 million in total debt.

They owe Wells Fargo Bank $150 million in unsecured notes. Owner Mark Thomas' Acquisition Holdings Subsidiary $40 million in an unsecured loan. Over $20 million to Sumner Redstone's National Amusements. The NBA over $17 million over licensing fees and a settlement agreement. Tangible Media Inc. over $8.5 million for marketing. Warner Bros. over $6.6 million in licensing fees for use of DC characters in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Developer A2M $2 million for developing The Ant Bully, Happy Feet, Ed, Ed, and Eddy: The Mis-Edventures. Epic Games $2 million for use of the Unreal III engine. FarSight Studios over $1.2 million for developing the ****** Game Party games. They owe Tigon Games and TNA Entertainment hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees for using Vin Diesel's likeness in the Wheelman and for TNA Impact. And every major retailer (Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, K-Mart, Gamestop, Sears, Toys R Us) for customer credits..

 

[hippie_hunter]

- The Wheelman, one of the games that Midway has been depending on in 2009, has been taken over by UbiSoft.

- The NYSE has suspended trading Midway's stock and is preparing to delist them.

 

[Addendum]

Bring out your dead

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

- The Wheelman, one of the games that Midway has been depending on in 2009, has been taken over by UbiSoft.

Kotaku say it´s only a rumor until official announcement, but yeah, i´m 90% sure that to be true.
Next one, who will publish This is Vegas?
But, also from Kotaku, they filed bankruptcy under the chapter 11, not chapter 7, which means they still want to get back on their feet (chapter 7 would mean they would be liquidating).
But, no matter if they want to stay in business or not, they own money to a lot of people, one of them being Epic, which they made a deal to publish the Unreal series (whihc will go back to Epic).

I say that, either someone buys them, or we will see the selling of their Ips.
But, then again, what does Midway have that would make someone buys them:

Area 51
Gauntlet
Mortal Kombat
Psi-Ops
Rampage
Spy Hunter
Blitz
Arch-Rivals
The Suffering

The funny thing is, back in 2007, Eidos and Midway were in talks for a merger...look at both now...

 

[Havok83]

Psi-Ops

when the hell are they going to give this game a sequel. I loved the original and wish they'd make a new game

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

when the hell are they going to give this game a sequel. I loved the original and wish they'd make a new game

There was a lawsuit against Midway, filed in 2007, by William L. Crawford III, stating that he had written a screenplay title "Psi-Ops" sharing a similar premise and other similarities with the game including some of the characters and their psychic abilities, and that Midway wrongfully misappropriated and exploited Crawford's work without his permission.
On December 2, 2008; the judge issued a ruling granting summary judgment on all counts in Midway's favor.
That´s why there never was a sequel.

So, Midway won, a sequel would have been made...if not for the bankruptcy.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

After filling in for bankrupcy, and after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court decided to let Midway spend money to keep its operations running for a few more months, Midway has been officialy delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

When will they sell MK?
And to whom?

As for The Wheelman, Ubisoft just confirmed they did made a deal with Midway to publish the game in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom.
But Midway will retain the Ip, continue to direct the development of the title and will sell the title in all other European territories.

 

[3dman27]

After filling in for bankrupcy, and after the U.S. Bankruptcy Court decided to let Midway spend money to keep its operations running for a few more months, Midway has been officialy delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

When will they sell MK?
And to whom?

good question

 

[PyroChamber]

So which company would take Mortal Kombat? My guess would be EA

 

[Hush]

They are trying to sell MK.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/958/958287p1.html

 

[3dman27]

who's douc the dc-mortal kombat game ?maybe the're interested in buying the rights

 

[Joker]

My guess is a big company will try to snatch up MK. Activison and EA seem the most likely contenders. I'd rather have EA get it, because we know Activision would "exploit" it on a yearly basis, drive it into the ground, and leave us with a line of subpar games where when you do a fatality you get KFC points to use to buy Sub-Zero Toyota themed clothing.

My personal dream would be to have Capcom buy it, so we can get MKvsSF.

 

[venom892]

that be nice but for some reason I think the gaemplay for Mk and SF don't mix so well.

 

[citizenpain]

just because midway is considering selling mortal kombat doesn't mean it will actually happen. on the contrary, according to a more recent blog on variety.com, midway is making sure that ed boon is still well-paid amidst their financial crisis. well, if they're keeping ed boon around, it would seem to me that they'd also want to keep their biggest franchise which he's responsible for.

anyway, here's a link to the blog: Mortal Kombat kreator Ed Boon's $1 millon bonus

 

[Hush]

Well I would prefer it did because honestly it is going no where with Midway.

 

[BATZARRO WWD]

just because midway is considering selling mortal kombat doesn't mean it will actually happen. on the contrary, according to a more recent blog on variety.com, midway is making sure that ed boon is still well-paid amidst their financial crisis. well, if they're keeping ed boon around, it would seem to me that they'd also want to keep their biggest franchise which he's responsible for.

anyway, here's a link to the blog: Mortal Kombat kreator Ed Boon's $1 millon bonus

AY! I would hope they don't, because Mortal Kombat is the best they got.

 

[Nathan]

It might be the best they good, but they aren't really doing it any justice. The last couple MK games have been medicore. MKvsDC was ok, but they didn't make any big improvements. I'd gladly see another company have a go at it.