Midway Plans For 'Fewer, Bigger, Better' 2008

Author: by Staff

In a new interview, Midway CEO David Zucker has been discussing the Stranglehold publisher's 2008 prospects, suggesting "fewer, bigger, better" is the tactic to improve the company's fortunes next year. As part of a Chicago Tribune company profile, Zucker indicated that the company is looking to replicate moderate successes such as Stranglehold, which has shipped more than 1 million copies to date worldwide. (However, NPD data indicates the Xbox 360 version of the game sold only 115,000 copies in its first two calendar months in North America.) Midway's most recent results saw sales totaling $36.7 million, up from $27.4 million last year. At the same time, however, the company reported losses of $33.5 million, increased from $22.5 million in 2006. Zucker also commented to the Tribune that the Sumner Redstone-controlled Midway had done "...a lot of work developing the technology foundation...we have put a fair amount of money and effort into doing that. We're putting a lot of the challenges behind us. It's been a tough ride." A recent Gamasutra interview with Midway Chicago studio head Mike Bilder also dealt with the same technology issues, and an exclusive postmortem of Stranglehold in the upcoming January 2008 issue of Game Developer magazine will look further at the challenges of developing cutting-edge next-gen titles. Elsewhere in the Tribune profile, CEO Zucker noted that Wheelman, a prequel to an upcoming Vin Diesel film, will be one of the firm's signature 2008 releases, and that Midway will also announce other, as yet unrevealed movie-licensed projects next year.