“We’re actually I think going to go through kind of a settling period for a little while, where we’re going to focus on getting all the stuff that we’ve just acquired well-integrated, and really focus on the games.” – Samantha Ryan, senior VP of production and development at WB
Creditors for Midway Games agreed to settle remaining claims against former majority stakeholder and media mogul Sumner Redstone for $1 million, Bloomberg reported Friday.
The news comes one week after a U.S. bankruptcy court judge approved a liquidation plan for the former Chicago-based Mortal Kombat publisher. That plan will grant unsecured noteholders a recovery of 16.5 percent of their investment, while unsecured creditors will see a 25 percent recovery.
May 21 (Bloomberg) — Midway Games Inc., the creator of the “Mortal Kombat” video-game series, won court approval of its liquidation plan that provides a recovery for creditors from the sale of assets last year to a Time Warner Inc. unit.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross said he was “satisfied fully” that the plan complies with the bankruptcy code before he approved it today at a hearing in Wilmington, Delaware.
Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — Sumner Redstone, the chairman of CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc., and former directors of Midway Games Inc. won dismissal of claims brought by Midway’s creditors over disputed loans to the video-game maker.
Redstone and Midway’s directors, including Redstone’s daughter Shari, didn’t breach their duties to stakeholders or engage in fraudulent transfers of the firm’s assets, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross concluded.
“The decision is not an endorsement of any of the defendants’ actions,” Gross wrote in his Jan. 29 ruling. “The defendants oversaw the ruin of a once highly successful company, only to hide behind the protective skirt of Delaware law, which the court is bound to apply.”
From SouthPeak Interactive’s earnings press release:
Acquired in bankruptcy certain assets owned by Midway relating to video games based on the TNA iMPACT wrestling brand…
Upcoming product releases include My Baby: First Steps (Wii™ and Nintendo DS), Horrid Henry (Wii, Nintendo DS and PC), Miniclip™ Sushi Go Round (Wii, Nintendo DSi™ and iPhone™), TNA iMPACT: Cross the Line (PSP, PSPgo and DS), Dementium™ II (Nintendo DS), Fast Food Panic (Wii and Nintendo DS), Sled Shred featuring the Jamaican Bobled Team (Wii), Crime Scene(Nintendo DS) and Montessori Music (Nintendo DS).
Mark Turmell, programmer on Smash TV and Total Carnage, recently announced on the RetroGaming with Racketboy podcast that Midway was working on a revival of Smash TV when the company filed for bankruptcy. According to Turmell the project was in the programming stage at the time.
Turmell also stated that Smash TV “will rise again” and he expected that Warner Bros. will resume work on the revival.
District Court Judge David H. Coar has ruled that five former Midway executives (CEO David Zucker, CFO Thomas Powell, marketing boss Steven Allison, company controller James Boyle, and senior VP of publishing Miguel Iribarre) are innocent of conspiracy to deceive the public about the financial health of the company.
In Judge Coar’s ruling he noted that the execs did little more “than publicly adopt a hopeful posture that its strategic plans would pay off… such preening for the financial press is classic puffery.”
October 1, 2009 – SAN FRANCISCO – SEGA of America, Inc. announced today that it has named Brad Wildes Senior Vice President of Sales. Mr. Wildes brings more than 15 years of successful management experience in the interactive entertainment industry to SEGA. He has developed results-driven consumer campaigns for all major North American retailers during his career at leading global entertainment companies including Microsoft Corporation, Mattel Inc., Midway Home Entertainment, Konami of America.
London – August 21st 2009 London-based Midway Games Ltd. and Midway Games SAS (Paris) will from now on be operating under the names Tradewest Games Ltd. and Tradewest Games SAS.
Martin Spiess, who previously was responsible for the European publishing and distribution arm of the international game publisher Midway Games Inc. from 2005 onwards as Executive Vice President – International, recently acquired ownership of the UK and French offices of Midway Games Inc. as part of a management buyout.
