Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment
publisher and developer, announced today that it has entered into a
strategic relationship with Ubisoft to publish Wheelman™, the
highly-anticipated open-world driving game starring action-film megastar
Vin Diesel as an expert driver for hire. Ubisoft will handle sales,
marketing, and distribution of the title in North America, South
America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland and
the United Kingdom. Midway will continue to direct the development of
the title and retains all future rights to the franchise and will sell
the title in all other European territories.
Wheelman is scheduled for a March 24, 2009, ship date in North
America and a March 27, 2009, street date in Europe for the Xbox 360®
video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3
computer entertainment system and Windows PC. A pre-launch demo is also
planned for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
"We are pleased to be partnering with Midway to bring Wheelman to
stores worldwide,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and
marketing, Ubisoft. "The cutting edge open-world driving technology in Wheelman
should make for an experience that gamers will enjoy.”
"Ubisoft’s decision to join Midway in a co-publishing agreement is a
gratifying validation of Wheelman’s potential,” commented Matt
Booty, president and CEO, Midway. "Ubisoft has a proven expertise at
bringing new IP to market, which will allow us to reach a broader
consumer segment with Wheelman, while helping Midway to balance
the risk profile of our product portfolio.”
"The development team in Newcastle, UK, has fine-tuned and polished Wheelman,
especially in these last few months, to deliver a true Hollywood
blockbuster experience,” said Craig Duncan, studio head, Midway Studios
– Newcastle Ltd. "The demo due out for Xbox 360 and PS3 will show that Wheelman’s
new game design mechanics like cinematic super moves and vehicular
combat will revolutionize driving games.”
About Wheelman
Action film megastar Vin Diesel and his Tigon Studios are again blurring
the lines between entertainment mediums, this time collaborating with
Midway in the design and production of Wheelman to ensure an
edge-of-your-seat gaming experience. Diesel's voice and likeness will
appear as the game's main character, expert Wheelman Milo Burik.
Combining spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline,
Wheelman provides an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride guaranteed
to leave you breathless. Weave in and out of traffic, engaging in
intense vehicular warfare through the winding streets of Barcelona. Your
vehicle is your weapon, leaving wreckage in your wake as you take out
anything or anyone that gets in your way. Wheelman is slated for a March
24, 2009, ship date in North America and a March 27, 2009, street date
in Europe for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and
for Windows PC.
About Tigon Studios
Based in Los Angeles, California, TIGON STUDIOS was founded in 2002 by
Vin Diesel with the goal of breaking new ground in interactive franchise
entertainment by bringing strong story, high production value and
interesting and intelligent characters which can exist in multiple
mediums, simultaneously to the gaming and film & television industries.
TIGON focuses on creating properties that can be launched in both
mediums.
The only game production company founded by a major motion picture star,
TIGON combines a film industry style business model with veteran talent
from the gaming industry to produce the highest quality of interactive
entertainment. In its unique role, TIGON works closely with both the
developer and the publisher of its games to ensure clear creative vision
and quality in each title. By combining the strengths of traditional
film development with the innovations of the video game world, TIGON is
in an exclusive position to ensure streamlined production across various
platforms.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive
entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a
strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has
teams in 28 countries and distributes games in more than 55 countries
around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality,
cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal
year, Ubisoft generated sales of 928 million euros. To learn more,
please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
About Midway
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with
offices throughout the world, is a leading developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software for major videogame systems and
personal computers. More information about Midway and its products can
be found at www.midway.com.
WHEELMAN is a trademark of Midway Home Entertainment Inc. "PlayStation”,
"PLAYSTATION” and "PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony
Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft
Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Ubisoft,
Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in
the U.S. and/or other countries.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Midway
has provided the www.ubisoftgroup.com
link solely as a convenience for you. The information on this site has
been prepared by third parties, and Midway does not monitor, endorse or
accept responsibility for the content on non-Midway sites.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
concerning future business conditions and the outlook for Midway Games
Inc. (the "Company") based on currently available information that
involves risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements
include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s
expectations concerning the continuation of its day-to-day operations
during bankruptcy. The Company's actual results could differ materially
from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of
these risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, (1) the
impact of the Company’s Chapter 11 filing on its operations; (2) the
ability of the Company to continue as a going concern; (3) the ability
of the Company to operate pursuant to the agreement with its secured
creditor for the use of its cash collateral; (4) the ability of the
Company to develop, pursue, confirm and consummate one or more plans of
reorganization with respect to the Chapter 11 cases; (5) the ability of
the Company to obtain and maintain normal terms with vendors and service
providers; (6) the ability of the Company to maintain contracts that are
critical to its operations; (7) potential adverse developments with
respect to the Company’s liquidity or results of operations; (8) the
ability of the Company to fund and execute its business plan; and (9)
the financial strength of the interactive entertainment industry.
Discussion of additional factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from management’s projections, forecasts, estimates
and expectations is set forth under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in
the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007, and in more recent filings made by the Company with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Each forward-looking statement, including,
without limitation, financial guidance, speaks only as of the date on
which it is made, and Midway undertakes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the
date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or
unanticipated events or circumstances, except as required by law.