News Archive

Midway's losses continue, but pres says better times are ahead Midway loses $25.7 million during the first half of 2004; president David Zucker says, "The extraordinary annual losses are behind us."

Beleaguered game publisher Midway today released financial figures for the first half of 2004. The company lost $25.7 million over the six-month period ending June 30, losing $10.7 million in the April-June period. Expecting to release only three games in the next six months, Midway predicts overall losses for 2004 to be $20 million--$2 million more than it had previously stated.

Midway getting Unreal Surprise deal will see the traditionally console-centric company publish one of PC gaming's premier franchises, possibly for next-gen consoles.

In a move that shocked the industry, Midway Games announced it has struck a multigame deal with Unreal developer Epic Games. The multiyear agreement will see Midway publish the next two PC Unreal games, as well as the Xbox-exclusive Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict, due in February 2005. In an analyst conference call today, company president and CEO David Zucker said the deal could cover "expansion packs and potential next-generation console releases as well."

In a statement, Midway was eager to point out that the deal "marks Midway's entrance into the premium PC games sector with a property that has sold more than 7 million units worldwide." Indeed, the Unreal deal marks the first major foray into the PC game sector for the traditionally console-centric company. Only a handful of games from Midway's catalog are for the PC, the majority of which are poorly reviewed ports of its arcade titles. The company has looked to other companies to help publish the PC versions of its titles. Most recently, it copublished the PC version of The Suffering with Encore Software.

With the Unreal deal, Midway suddenly has a showcase PC franchise in its stable, and company president and CEO David Zucker couldn't be happier. "It immediately establishes Midway as a leader in the PC games sector," he said. "We are delighted that Epic chose Midway over other publishers, and we look forward to working closely with the Epic team to carefully manage this valuable franchise."

The "other publisher" Zucker speaks of is Atari, who had published the Unreal franchise for PCs and consoles for more than four years. "Atari and Epic have enjoyed a 10-year relationship, and we're proud to have contributed to the success of the Unreal franchise," said the publisher in a statement. "However, we have different views on what should come next for Unreal, and we've decided it's time to move on." Atari reps said the two companies plan to continue to collaborate to help sell the 10 Unreal titles in Atari's library, including Unreal Tournament 2004.

Darrius
Origin: Realm of Order
Alignment: Neutral
Favorite fighting style: No preference
Friends: Havik
Foes: Hotaru
Leader of the Resistance in the Realm of Order, Darrius lives a life in the shadows. His ambition is to overthrow the oppressive regime that strangles freedom. To some he is a hero... but to others he is nothing more than a terrorist.

Shujinko
Origin: Earthrealm
Alignment: Good
Favorite fighting style: No preference
Friends: Damashi
Foes: Dragon King, Scorpion
Long before liu kang had won the mortal kombat tournament in earthrealm, shujinko had begun his quest to retrieve the kamidogu for the elder gods. his journey took him to many realms where he met many experience warriors.

Scorpion
Origin: Earthrealm
Alignment: Neutral
Favorite Fighting style: Hapkido
Friends: none
Foes: Quan Chi, Drahmin, Moloch, Sub-zero
In his haste to confront his nemesis, Quan Chi, he was ambushed by two Oni and cast into a powerful soulnado. He would have been torn apart by the souls trapped there had he not escaped into the Void. In this place, he first set eyes on the fabled Elder Gods.

Sub-Zero
Origin: Earthrealm
Alignment: Good
Favorite Fighting style: Shotokan
Friends: Smoke, Frost, Raiden
Foes: Quan Chi, Hotaru, Scorpion
While still in Outworld, the lin Kuei grand master, sub zero, discovers the secret of his true heritage - the source of his mastery over cold temperatures. This discovery will aid him in the fight to destroy the dragon King's vile and bloodthirsty tarkatan hordes.

Baraka
Origin: Outworld
Alignment: Evil
Favorite Fighting style: Baraka Blades
Friends: Shao Kahn, Deadly Alliance, Dragon King
Foes: Bo Rai Cho
Baraka's tarkatan race is a mutated hybrid of netherrealm and outworld species. A loyal warrior, baraka faithfully serves his new master, the dragon king, by preoccupying outworld opposition with his tarkatan hordes, the backbone of the dragon king's terrifying army.