Midway files for Chapter 11

by David Hinkle on Feb 12th 2009 11:45AM

Midway has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, but, see, it's okay, because it's all part of the plan. Newly appointed CEO, Matt Booty, says filing for Chapter 11 was "a difficult but necessary decision." He also noted Midway has been "focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution" and that filing for Chapter 11 will allow the company some relief from "immediate pressure from our creditors." To Booty, Chapter 11 is nothing more than the "next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Midway expects to be able to run the company as usual, and even filed a variety of First Day Motions to that end. The court is usually lenient with these Motions and often grants them, so this should give Midway some time to finish up that next Mortal Kombat game and maybe get out of the red.

Source

Tags: bankruptcy, business, chapter-11, matt-booty, midway, mortal-kombat

Reader Comments (47)

Arrggg looks like midway is low on its Booty ye mates....This is making me hang a jib aye....

arharhar....haha? that was bad....

Finish up that next Mortal Kombat game my ass!

"That next Mortal Kombat game" is the exact thinking that landed them right into chapter 11!!

Wall Street wins!

FATALITY!

uh, how exactly does this mean that wall street is winning?

Dozens of stockbrokers have been splattered against its mighty pavements.

I also wonder how Wall Street is winning? Wall Street, like Main Street, is losing. Companies are filing for bankruptcy. They're laying off workers. They're sizing down their businesses. CEOs are being forced to cut bonuses (yes, good for Main Street, bad for Wall Street).

Really, no one is winning. We're all losing, and we have to start winning, or we'll never get out of this (well, we will eventually, but there's ways to speed up the process).

I don't know about everybody else, but seeing the 'until the next MK game' bit at the end just made me shudder.

They're making it ... WHETHER YOU WANT IT OR NOT!

In b4 MK vs DC sucks (It didn't,blame Blacksite and theawful Spy hunter games)

"focused on realigning our operations and improving our execution"

Translation:
We're closing everything down

"immediate pressure from our creditors."

Translation:
They're threating us

"next logical step in an ongoing process to address our capital structure."

Translation:
Hey buddy can you spare a nickel?

I really hope we get to see Wheelman!!

Damn, video game companies are dropping like flies. How many more are gonna fall? The night is darkest just before dawn.

Midway's game quality in recent years has been steadily declining (sans the recent MK vs. DC, I can't name too many memorable Midway games within the past 5-10 years). Hopefully, an event like this will have a silver lining and force Midway to make better games - its survival literally depends on it now.

I think it all started with Blitz the league. when the NFL drop the Blitz game thats when midway went down. not the MK series. Blitz was so much fun I still have the Blitz 99 arcade game. so by introducing a new league that no one care about ppl lost interest in the game it self. thanks to NFL midway is down..

I feel like I should make a joke about the Joker video there, but my heart's just not in it right now

I'm looking over a list of all of Midway's franchises and games and...I'm not sure what they could do, really.
I guess if I were them, my first order of business would be:
• Release a new Mortal Kombat heavy on nostalgia...or shit, just re-make MK II.
• New NBA Jam on WiiWare/XBLA/PSN
• Maybe a new Crusin' USA that isn't a complete embarrassment?

I would personally enjoy a new Primal Rage, but I suspect I'm roundabouts the only one who would...

given the success of The Force Unleashed a new Psi Ops might not be a bad idea

I vote for primal Rage as well........wa...wait? Did I just agree with samfish?

Actually, I liked Primal Rage, if only for scooping up cavepeople and eating them.

As for NBA Jam, it'd be my dream, but I doubt they could get the licensing. Next best solution: Bil Laimbeer's Combat Basketball remake.

Primal Rage was Atari. Midway had nothing to do with it.

So I doubt we'll ever see a new one.

"Primal Rage was Atari. Midway had nothing to do with it.

So I doubt we'll ever see a new one."

Uh, Primal Rage is on the Midway Arcade Treasures 2 compilation...

Midway owns the rights to Atari's original arcade division and their IPs.

I swear to god Jack of No Trades used to be a troll some time back. As in, several months ago. I'm not really sure who this new guy is, but I remember seeing someone by a similar name posting here a while back.

I'll assume that Scorpion represents the Mortal Kombat franchise and Kano represents 3D gaming, because that would be a correct analogy to my own feelings about it.

We can be pretty deep sometimes here at Joystiq.

You work in a basement?

No, an oil tanker, below the equator.

Took em long enough.

I just hope Gauntlet and Mortal Kombat continue!

I don't know how I feel about this. Sure it does suck for a big name company like Midway to flop but they really haven't been so innovative lately. Should companies be able to survive if they depend on 15 year old franchises that have long ago lost their originality? The business world is like the animal kingdom(survival of the fittest). You have to evovle with the times, offer some new ideas to the table. I think Midway should go back to the arcades and innovate there , well maybe not the arcades, but bars are in need of some new franchises.

My hopes for Stranglehold 2 keep dwindling more and more these days...

I feel bad for its employees but the company has been sucking for a while now. Ever since the greatness that was MK: Deadly Alliance the MK games have sucked.

This whole MD vs DC shit was a disaster of a game in my opinion. All that money spent on it should have gone towards another game.

Oh well the recession wins.

NBA Jam would be so awesome. Stupid lawyers. Maybe they can make WNBA Jam, so long and there was a scissoring mini game.

Or maybe just use a bunch of C list celebs, and call it VH1 Jam. I dont care, make it happen midway.

*This was intended as a reply to samfish

I would be thrilled to play either of those. I would be thrilled to play any Jam game, so long as it's still basketball, I could care less about the NBA license at this point. The View Jam?

This Is Vegas shall save them!

....which I am morbidly curious about. I mean an open-world Vegas game is at least intriguing.

How about what everyone actually wants.... a new San Francisco rush that is made CORRECTLY and doesn't suck. They made one for like wii and it was so horrible and bad that they probably think there is no money in that franchise. But before that game came out I wanted to play it so bad and then I realized it was terrible.

If they actually made a GOOD one... like "Las Vegas Rush" or "New York Rush" or like... "Africa Rush" who even cares. If it had good graphics, and good racing, and wasn't based entirely around a lame-ass storyline like Need For Speed.... wow I would love to play that game seriously.

AY! I think it won't be long now before Midway is bought out. Hopefully it won't be EA or Activision, though. They have too much of the industry in them.

Midway is the new atari
PASS IT ON!

Except Atari is still in business, sorta.

Hopefully they can secure the necessary credit to make it through this as they have some really interesting unannounced projects that are in development... They may even be able to make it long term, as a leaner firm, if they can survive to release at least one of these titles...

Finish him.

They need to release a new NHL Hitz! I'll buy two copies!

Maybe Square Enix can buy them too...

Was he reading from a script of the circuit city chapter 11 filling? That worked magically for them

Midway, through some really amazingly boneheaded legal maneuvering, managed to lose the rights to the name "NBA Jam" to Acclaim several years ago when they had Acclaim do the console ports. I have no idea how they managed it, but that's why it's been NBA Shootout and Ballers and whatever else since. Even though Acclaim subsequently went bankrupt before the name was bought by Howard Marks and he started doing . . . well, whatever it is he's doing, Midway still can't use the name.

I know this is so old news but I just read about midways file for chapter11 and I had to comment... wow. This booty dude, seriously, what the hell did he ever do to deserve this promotion? I used to work for Midway. He completely sank the Gauntlet franchise and his bad decisions were the final dagger in Midway’s San Diego division.. I was there, I remember him saying straight to our faces that he would take accountability if his decisions f’d up Gauntlet and MW san diego. Apparently the only fallout was for him was a damn promotion..

And you wonder how Midway got where it is today?

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Midway files for Chapter 11

Reader Comments (47)

Posted: Feb 12th 2009 11:50AM The Kong said

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