Like flies to honey, Midway can't seem to stop attracting controversy as it attempts to stay afloat during its "planned" bankruptcy phase. This time around, the besieged developer is coming under fire from its creditors and the government committee overseeing its bankruptcy proceedings for planning to dish out $3.755 million to 29 of its employees as part of a "key employee incentive plan."
According to The Cut Scene, the bonuses were set up to reward the select employees (five of which are supposedly Midway executives) should they manage to sell the Wheelman and Mortal Kombat franchises. The feds and creditors took issue with these goals -- when the "incentive plan" was submitted, Wheelman had already been sold to Ubisoft. The incensed parties also took issue with attaching incentives to the sale of Mortal Kombat -- a duty mandated by Midway's "obligations under the Bankruptcy Code."
There are other troublesome points in the plan, such as the fairly high amount of cash it would dispense -- cash that the owed creditors would like to see in their own coffers. Midway will reportedly file an updated (and likely less lucrative) version of the "incentive plan" before its public bankruptcy hearing tomorrow morning.
Update: The revised "key incentive plan" was submitted by Midway last night and alters the previous plan in a few key ways. Midway CEO Matt Booty has been subtracted from the equation, leaving four out of 28 potential employees receiving bonuses, and of those 28, the bonus will be based on the amount of money various properties are sold at. The sale of the Wheelman property will no longer be considered as part of the bonus requirements and the Mortal Kombat franchise will only count if "all of its assets" are sold along with it. To read more about what has changed, check out The Cut Scene.
Reader Comments (9)
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 2:30PM spin cycle said
Did Ed Boon (seemingly a key employee) get his $1M yet?
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 2:34PM (Unverified) said
Three words: Go bankrupt already.
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 2:39PM latin trident said
I wouldn't be surprised if Prez Obama forced the CEO to resign. Go Bailout, Go!!!
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 2:49PM cdejesus1119 said
@latin_trident
Shame.. the very system that has made games possible (Good ones and Bad) is slowly fading away because of the constant attack of capitalism. Do you really want a President telling companies who to hire and fire? Do you want Government to hi-jack private industry to determine what you should drive, teste, eat, watch and play? and whats with this "Go Bail out Go".. there is no free ride dumb ass.. Can you tell me 1 poor person who has created jobs, or a game studio? Obama is a mistake for Gamers and their wallet!
Shame.. the very system that has made games possible (Good ones and Bad) is slowly fading away because of the constant attack of capitalism. Do you really want a President telling companies who to hire and fire? Do you want Government to hi-jack private industry to determine what you should drive, teste, eat, watch and play? and whats with this "Go Bail out Go".. there is no free ride dumb ass.. Can you tell me 1 poor person who has created jobs, or a game studio? Obama is a mistake for Gamers and their wallet!
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 3:56PM Levi Partridge said
"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.."
Both are vicious animals in my eyes, and I don't care if they tear each other to shreds at this point. The pendulum is merely trying to move itself to a neutral position again. All will become neutral again eventually.
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Both are vicious animals in my eyes, and I don't care if they tear each other to shreds at this point. The pendulum is merely trying to move itself to a neutral position again. All will become neutral again eventually.
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 4:00PM latin trident said
I was being sarcastic. I know there is no free ride. Both Bush and Obama were/are mistakes for our government.
What system are you talking about "Shame.. the very system that has made games possible"?
People with ideas and people that are willing to risk time and energy in something they believe in, create jobs. That is part of capitalism.
BTW, our government already does tell us what we should drive, eat, watch and play (to a certain extent). If you haven't kept up with the news, our govt pretty much forced the CEO of GM to quit.
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What system are you talking about "Shame.. the very system that has made games possible"?
People with ideas and people that are willing to risk time and energy in something they believe in, create jobs. That is part of capitalism.
BTW, our government already does tell us what we should drive, eat, watch and play (to a certain extent). If you haven't kept up with the news, our govt pretty much forced the CEO of GM to quit.
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 4:47PM cdejesus1119 said
Incorrect Sir. One is slavery at the hands of Gov (Tyranny) the other is the slavery of ones own choice. Capitalism fails when citizens decide to be lazy and allow Gov. to regulate, "Evil Corps" are one innovation away from extinction.. but one must muster the desire to take a chance, invest and innovate. This is what makes the USA the greatest country in the world, freedom to fail and succeed without Gov intrusion.
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Posted: Mar 31st 2009 3:25PM Nook said
so let me get this right, Midway dolling out under 3.5 million to 29 'key' employees (read: employees they want back in some form) is a no-no from big bro.
altering the wording on a bailout worth BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of TAXPAYER funded DEBT so that some other institution *coughAIGcough* can issue multi-million dollar bonuses to people that, let's face it - aren't hurting to pay the bills....that's ok.
sounds like midway isn't screwing the right people. namely - the public.
altering the wording on a bailout worth BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of TAXPAYER funded DEBT so that some other institution *coughAIGcough* can issue multi-million dollar bonuses to people that, let's face it - aren't hurting to pay the bills....that's ok.
sounds like midway isn't screwing the right people. namely - the public.
Posted: Mar 31st 2009 5:47PM AoE said
Uh... no, not really... how you spend money while going through a bankruptcy proceeding, and how you spend money that you got with almost no strings from the American taxpayer while you are not going through bankruptcy are two very, very different things. Really, did they seem the same to you!?
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