Crispy Gamer News

It’s looking like a rough holiday for everyone in the game industry lately. This morning, we reported on last week’s layoffs at GameSpot. Now comes word that Midway is also having to join in the holiday layoffs.

Early this morning, the troubled video game publisher announced that it’s in the process of taking some major cost cutting measures including cancelling a number of unannounced games, shuttering its Austin based studio, and laying off a total of about 25 percent of its workforce. The layoffs will take place over not only the now-defunct Austin studio, but also the company’s Chicago and San Diego studios as well.
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2008 has not been a very good to Midway, and things only seem to be getting worse as the year is wrapping up. Last week, it was reported that Sumner Redstone had unloaded his controlling stake in the company for the fire sale price of $100,000. Now comes word that Redstone’s stock dump may have triggered events which could force Midway to face off against the immediate repayment of $240 million in debt.

According to a Chicago Tribune article posted on Friday, Midway had hired financial advisory firm Lazard Ltd. to evaluate “strategic and financial alternatives” to help the company deal with its ever-growing debt. Also, the company was apparently unaware of Redstone’s plan to unload his 87 percent stake to private investor Mark Thomas for about $100,000 plus $70 million in debt.
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We can argue whether or not the interactive entertainment is recession proof or not, but the bad economy is certainly affecting companies in the sector in a very bad way. A good example of this is what is happening at Midway, according to published reports in the Wall Street Journal and Seeking Alpha. According to those reports, Midway’s largest shareholder, Sumner Redstone, has sold all of his holdings in the company to a private investor. That individual, Mark Thomas, has reportedly agreed to buy Redstone’s 97 percent stake in Midway for approximately $0.0012 a share, or $100, 000.

What this all means is unclear, but the bad economic climate has put Redstone’s National Amusements Company in deep financial trouble. That company, which also holds a controlling interest in CBS (which owns GameSpot) and Viacom (which owns MTV and in turn Harmonix), will realize a 2008 tax loss of more than $800 million from the sale of its Midway holdings. Redstone has already unloaded some of his holdings in the aforementioned companies as he tries to pay for $1.6 billion in debt – half of which apparently has to be paid off by year’s end.

Meanwhile, Midway announced this morning that it has received a notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)that it no longer meets the criteria to be listed. On November 24, 2008, the company received notification from NYSE that it has fallen below the standard for continued listing of its common stock on the NYSE - NYSE requires a minimum average market capitalization over a 30-day trading period of at least $75 million and a minimum stockholders’ equity of at least $75 million. The company has 45 days to get its ducks in a row.

Midway announced today that Hollywood action star Vin Diesel will be peeling out to retail shelves early next year with the February 16th release of Wheelman on the Xbox 360, PC, and PS3. The upcoming open-world driving game is currently in development at Midway Studios - Newcastle Ltd., and is being co-produced by Vin Diesel and his Tigon Studios video game production studio. Midway and Diesel also plan for Wheelman to eventually hit the big screen, based off a script already in development.

“We’re designing Wheelman to play like a Hollywood blockbuster,” said Diesel. “Playing this game will be just like taking control of the greatest car chases from feature films, except this time you’re in the driver’s seat.”
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Midway’s newest game, which Evan Narcisse described to me as a “guilty pleasure” is in stores and now widely available in North America. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and is rated “T” for “TEEN” by the ESRB. I assume Evan is working hard on the review, which should go live today or tomorrow..

Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a beat ‘em up that puts you in the boots of popular characters from the Mortal Kombat fighting series or the biggest heroes from the DC Comics universe. All your favorite heroes will be in there including Batman, Superman, Flash (my personal favorite), Wonder Woman, and villains like The Joker, taking on such MK icons as Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Liu Kang, Sonya and more. Many of these battles will take place in familiar locales set in both universes (Metropolis or the Batcave, for example) using a new fighting system and a unique storyline written by top comics writing team Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray.

Look for the game in stores this week and look for our no-holds barred review very soon.

Like many comic book fans, I’m anxious to see just how the whole Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game comes together. Meanwhile, the gamer in me was a bit disappointed when I found out that the game’s Teen rating meant some of the content had to be a bit … well … “sanitized”. Now, in a strange twist of fate, it looks like European gamers will be getting their hands on a version of MK vs. DCU that’s just a bit more hardcore.

In an interview at Videogamer.com, senior producer Hans Lo told the site discussed the news that Fatalities, particularly the Joker’s now infamous pop gun finisher, would show up on the European version uncut and intact:
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Midway will nearly double its projected loss for the third quarter, based on the “cancellation of future versions of related game properties and associated development expenditures,” the company revealed today. While Midway did not name names in its release this morning, but it did say that its previously projected loss of $0.49 per basic and diluted share would rise to $0.70 per share on a non-GAAP basis (which includes approximately $0.10 of non-cash convertible debt interest expense).

“The resolution of these licensing arrangements on good terms for the company is a very positive step as we continue to review Midway’s involvement with underperforming projects and focus on our core properties,” said Matt Booty, interim CEO and president. “Our fall lineup and strong pipeline of games that tie in to market-leading licenses like DC Comics and TNA Wrestling underscore our strategy of aligning with consumer and entertainment properties that can drive a solid gaming experience.”