This trailer shows the different games available in Touchmaster 3.

Midway Games is preparing to issue layoffs and axe its Austin Studio in an effort to stay afloat.
Studios in Chicago and San Diego will suffer losses as well as Midway reduces it’s global work force by a full quarter. Several unannounced non-core games are also under suspension. The titles were scheduled for 2010 and 2011 releases.

The downward economic trend is hitting the game industry, and the stress is forcing companies large and small to take drastic measures to survive. With EA, Midway and many other familiar names in the games industry caught in the spiral of economic depression, companies will be relying on core titles. Proven money makers are much safer than innovative games that may or may not gain a following.

Lord of the Rings Online players that seem to constantly broke can get some advice on saving some silver in those awkward 20 something levels. MMORPG.com has a guide with some straight talk on making and keeping money. Some suggestions like don’t keep hiring horses at 20 silver a pop one way are common sense. There are a few suggestions that may not have occurred to you and are worth checking out.
Read the full article »

Wow. Talk about a loss.. I hope he can write it off (tax benefits I am sure) because Sumner Redstone has sold his majority stake in Midway Games for $100,000. You may recall just a while back on November 21 the New York Stock Exchange threatened to delist Midway Games if their stock did not rise from under $1.00 per share within six months. As of last Friday, stock in the company was going for 38 cents a share.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Redstone’s controlling interest was sold to Mark Thomas for $0.0012 per share and he is now the new owner of the $70 million in debt the company has incurred along with the rumors, lay-offs and trying to get the company back on track.

Shacknews stated that at one time analyst Michael Pachter estimated that Redstone spent between $500 and $700 million on Midway stock since 1983. Yikes.

At least now he has one less problem to worry about. We wish him and Midway all the best.

1UP is appealing to gamers to take a 5-10 minute break from their games to fill out the 2008 MMO Gaming Study survey. Those who make time for this no fail quiz by December 1st will be entered in a Sweepstakes to win a $300 American Express Cheque.

Attention FileFront Community!
We want to hear about your MMO gaming experience. Help shape how MMO games are built and be entered in an exclusive sweepstakes drawing to* win a $300 American Express Cheque. * Survey only takes about 5 to 10 minutes and your input would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, you can earn additional entries into the sweepstakes. The first 500 completed surveys will earn a double entry into the prize drawing.

*Directions for the survey:*
1. Step#1: _[CLICK HERE TO START SURVEY]
2. Fill out the entire survey to be eligible for the drawing. *Please fill out the entire survey by December 1st in order to be eligible.*
One entry per household only, additional entries will be void. The winner will be notified as soon as a winner is selected.

Thanks again for your continuing support.

Midway has spilled its guts about the backstory for Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Apparently the troublemaker is Darkside. As in most fighting games, the plot is pretty shallow which isn’t an altogether bad thing. Do you really play these games for the story, or is it the complete brutality?

According to a post on GamesIndustry.biz, The New York Stock Exchange has informed Midway Games that since their stock prices have fallen below the set standard, the company may be up for delisting.

This warning came after the company failed to achieve the minimum closing price of $1.00 per share for over 30 days in a row. In addition, Midway now has only six months to improve share prices to keep from being delisted.

With losses exceeding over $76 million doubled with the fact that Midway has laid off approximately 30 staff members, things look pretty grim for the gaming company. The cherry on top though was when their company chairperson stepped down–which makes you wonder if they can recoup their back luck and financial loses and start anew in 2009.

On the bright side, if you are a gambling man (or woman), and you are looking to get into trading stock, Midway is about as cheap as they come. Who knows, you may get lucky. Then again, you could lose your ass too depending on how much you purchase.

Put me down for 5 shares–I spend that much at McDonald’s once a month anyway. Skipping one month would be no big deal.

Since MK Vs. DC was announced, most people have been bemoaning the “Teen” rating given the game, because it meant there would probably be some tamer Fatalities. But this video from G4TV’s X-Play shows that you don’t need excessive blood and guts to depict a creative death. All you really need is a real-life ailment or possibly some inspiration from Terminator. Also, Superman? Yeah, he’s kind of a dick.

Midway has unveiled this new video showing off the last few fatalities/brutalities for Mortal Kombat Vs. DC. In all, you can see three finishing moves from Liu Kang, Batman, and Baraka. The best though probably has to come from Liu Kang, who goes into a fiery pose…before an old Mortal Kombat arcade machine drops from the sky onto his opponent. I don’t know if I’d call that a “Fatality” necessarily though, since The Joker is clearly still moving afterwards. The finishing moves in this game may be tamer than past entries in the MK series, but at least Midway seems to be making up for it by including a few zanier ones.

With all of the big releases lately, Microsoft apparently felt you don’t deserve a new Xbox Live Arcade game this week — unless you’ve preordered Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts, in which case you’re likely enjoying the original Banjo-Kazooie right now. For the rest of you, the only updates to the Xbox Live Arcade this week include a new Street Fighter II-themed table for Pinball FX and three additions to the Arcade Hits line — which means cheaper prices. All three games can now be had for 400 Microsoft points ($5 in real money).

The first of the bunch is the original Feeding Frenzy, a game where you lone goal is to gobble up fish. As much as I’d like to make fun of the premise, I won’t, because I know plenty of people who enjoy the game and for $5 it’s a pretty good deal to keep your child occupied for a bit while that demo of Left 4 Dead downloads.

Next up is something much further away from the kid-friendly tag you could slap on Feeding Frenzy: Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3. All of the people disappointed with the lack of excessive gore in Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe when it releases on Sunday will be right at home here with UMK 3’s classic violence. Just be wary of playing on the 360’s godawful D-pad — it can make things tricky.

And finally, we have Worms. Featuring prettied-up graphics and online support, it’s a very solid iteration of the classic series. It doesn’t bring much new to the table and doesn’t include every feature you’d want (namely, the omission of a number of weapons), but now that it’s just $5, it’ll be hard to complain.