Published in Gaming

Midway burning cash quickly

by on04 March 2009

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Sales of IP only hope of survival at this point

As we explained the other day, Midway is in rough shape, and while they are trying hard to keep the wolves at bay, it would appear as we predicted that the only thing that might save the company is its ability to sell off enough of its IP to make one last effort to get out of the trouble that they are in.

The latest reports suggest that Midway is going though cash at a breakneck pace and the little cash reserves that the company has could, in fact, be exhausted by as soon as May if sources prove to be correct.

With the deal that the company did for Wheelman with Ubisoft in a joint publishing arrangement, from our understanding it is unlikely that the company will start seeing any money from this arrangement soon. The only thing left is the sale of its IP, and the biggest asset that appears to be on the block is the Mortal Kombat franchise. It is difficult to predict how much Midway could get for the rights to the Mortal Kombat franchise, but it is likely that they will have many bidders.

Beyond Mortal Kombat, the other IP that Midway owns isn’t as attractive. Many of the titles are classic video game titles such as Defender, Joust, and Gorf. Some titles could be a gateway brand to a revival such as NARC, San Francisco Rush, and Spy Hunter. It is hard to imagine that the company will survive if they sell off much of their core IP, including some of the older classic arcade titles.

We will keep you posted as the story develops, but we suspect that whatever happens Midway will go down in a blaze of glory; and we expect the unexpected at this point in the game.

Last modified on 04 March 2009
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