Amid Midway / Warner Bros. transition, Midway name up in the air [Joystiq]

[DP ServBot]

Various outlets reported this morning that, based on the Twitter accounts of a few Midway employees, the company name will be dissolved in the acquisition of Midway by Warner Bros. Midway's Geoff Mogilner told us this morning that those reports are simply unfounded. "The name and the mark are owned by Warner Bros. and it is up to them to figure out the branding strategy," Mogilner said to Joystiq. In the midst of buying and selling various Midway properties, basic things like the company name can easily be swept under the rug and forgotten about while people talk about intellectual properties and trademarks.

According to Mogilner, when WB officially acquired Midway in an auction last month, it not only bought various IP (Mortal Kombat, Spy Hunter, etc.) but also the branding. "They [WB] bought the assets and the trademark and all the copyrights and the logo and all that ... to say the name is dead, it's silly but, ya know, it's premature -- the company Midway Games, Inc. still exists," Mogilner told us. He is, of course, speaking about the remaining studios still owned by Midway -- Midway Newcastle and San Diego among them -- who he says are still up for auction, "At this point, as long as they're open, we can still get bids. We're actively trying to figure out that situation. We were required (and it was prudent) to give notice to the people at those studios." We've contacted Warner Bros. for comment on whether or not it will continue using the Midway name on future ex-Midway products and have yet to hear back as of publishing.

[Via Big Download]

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Amid Midway / Warner Bros. transition, Midway name up in the air originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 13 Jul 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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[T3chnologyGuy]

i really dont like Midway why cant they just stay down

[le geek]

i really dont like Midway why cant they just stay down

They had a nice Dreamcast line up, but that was NEARLY TEN YEARS AGO...

[Leo_A]

While new games from Midway that are worth playing have been few and far between over the past decade, I hope the name and its classic properties live on.

I'd love to see someone recognize that the main strength of the company lies in its large library of classic titles and starts to milk that with new editions of classic franchises (Midway already was somewhat doing this and did several decent ones like the first couple of Spy Hunters) and rereleasing their classics through things like compilations, XBLA/PSN/WiiArcade releases, cell phone games, etc.

While there were many titles in them that were poorly emulated due to time constraints they placed on Digital Eclipse with extremely short development periods, the Midway Arcade Treasures line was the best thing that came out of that company over the last console generation and I'd love to see some new editions of that which rerelease games already in those collections while fixing problems some games had, along with 20 or 30 other Midway owned classic coinop titles.

[Push Upstairs]

"Gauntlet: Dark Legacy" still rocks.

[CelticJobber]

Wheelman wasn't bad at all, and despite the toned-down violence MK vs. DC also was pretty good. It would be sad to see such a long-running label as Midway go down like this.

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

time to take ol' yeller out behind the barn.

its best days are past, never to be reclaimed. you can have it lurch on, spewing forth a stream of past successes like a boomer who gorged on gamestop's bargain bin, or you can let it die off with what little dignity it has left.

[TonyTheTiger]

MK vs. DCU was the best Mortal Kombat since Ultimate MK3. And Psi-Ops really needs a sequel. Midway has potential. The problem is that much of it was squandered over the last few years on a bunch of "me too" games that got lost in the shuffle. The company lost its identity somewhere along the line.

[The 1 2 P]

Stranglehold was a very good action/shooter game. It helped tide me over as I waited for the announcement of a new Max Payne. Anyway, I think they should keep the name.

[Iron Draggon]

I just hope WB runs it better than it ran itself... I will never forgive them for not releasing MK VS DC on the Wii or the PC... that was simply inexcusable, and a perfect example of everything that was wrong with the company... you don't neglect to release the latest installment of your #1 franchise on the #1 console of the current generation, and then complain that you aren't making enough money on sales... DUH! of course you were going bankrupt, you idiots!

[Cryomancer]

They should make either XBLA versions of Gauntlet Legends or make a full new game and realize the mistakes of seven sorrows (gauntlet...with low color and serious? what.)

Imagine a 4 player online co-op Gauntlet with all the fun of the Legends games...hell yes.

edit: Oh yeah, and XBLA Rampage World Tour couldn't hurt.