32 Facts About Midway Games

Midway Games Inc, known variously as Midway Manufacturing and Bally Midway, and commonly known as simply Midway, was an American video game developer and publisher.

Midway Games was then purchased by Bally Manufacturing in 1969, and used the Bally Midway name in the 1980s.

In 1973, Midway moved into the interactive entertainment industry, developing and publishing arcade video games.

Midway Games scored its first mainstream hit with the US distribution of Space Invaders in 1978.

In 1988, Midway Games was purchased and re-incorporated by WMS Industries Inc After years as a leader in the arcade segment, Midway Games moved into the growing home video game market beginning in 1996, the same year that it made its initial public offering of stock.

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Midway Games was ranked the fourth largest-selling video game publisher in 2000.

Midway Games terminated the public registration of its securities in June 2010.

Bally Midway was purchased in 1988 by the arcade and pinball game company Williams Electronics Games through its holding company WMS Industries Inc and its name was changed back to Midway Manufacturing.

Midway Games moved its headquarters from Franklin Park, Illinois to Williams' then-headquarters in Chicago, and WMS reincorporated Midway Games as a Delaware corporation.

Midway Games retained or shared some of the WMS executive staff and used some common facilities with WMS for a few more years.

Over several years, Midway Games gradually terminated all material agreements and executive overlap with WMS and had a declining number of common members of its board of directors, until it shared only one with its former parent company.

On June 22,2001, Midway Games announced that it was closing its arcade division due to a decline in the arcade market.

In 2004, in an effort to expand its market share, Midway Games began a purchasing spree of independent video game development studios to strengthen its product development teams In April 2004, Midway Games acquired Surreal Software of Seattle, Washington.

On February 15,2005, Midway signed an agreement with Cartoon Network to publish games, based on properties, namely that of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, and had option to expand their own properties.

Midway Games was ranked as the No 4 video game publisher by sales in 2000.

In 2006 and 2007, Midway Games lost a further $77 million on sales of $166 million and $100 million on sales of $157 million, respectively.

Mindshadow alleged that Midway Games copied Psi-Opss story from a screenplay written and owned by their client.

On March 6,2007, Midway Games reported that it had entered into a new $90m credit agreement with National Amusements, a company controlled by Sumner Redstone.

Midway Games was the third executive to resign from the company in three months.

On November 20,2008, Midway Games retained Lazard to assist it "in the evaluation of strategic and financial alternatives".

The next day, Midway Games received a NYSE delisting notice, after its stock's price fell below one dollar.

In December 2008, Midway Games disclosed that it might default on $240 million of debt after the sale of stock to Thomas triggered clauses in two bond issues totalling $150 million of debt that allowed the bondholders to demand full repayment.

In 2008, Midway Games lost $191 million on sales of $220 million, and Redstone's sale of his shares to Thomas eliminated Midway Games's ability to take advantage of accumulated net operating losses and other tax assets potentially worth more than $700 million.

Midway Games announced on May 21,2009, that it had received a takeover bid from Warner Bros.

On July 8,2009, Midway Games disclosed that it intended to close the San Diego studio by September.

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On July 10,2009, pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement that was approved by the bankruptcy court, Midway Games agreed to pay to affiliates of its majority owner, Mark Thomas, approximately $4.

On July 14,2009, Midway Games announced that it had closed the Newcastle studio and terminated 75 employees.

In September 2009, Midway Games shut down its Chicago headquarters and terminated all but a few of its remaining employees.

In October 2009, the US District Court in Chicago dismissed a lawsuit against former officers of Midway Games alleging that they had misled shareholders while selling their own stock.

The judge ruled that Midway Games's shareholders had not shown that the executives "said or did anything more than publicly adopt a hopeful posture that its strategic plans would pay off".

In February 2010, Midway Games filed its proposed plan of liquidation with the bankruptcy court.

All of Midway Games's remaining unsold assets, as well as the remains of the company itself, were completely dissolved shortly thereafter.