61 Frames Per Second : midway

The Economy Strikes Again: Midway Files for Bankruptcy

Bob Mackey — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:30:00 GMT

It's strange; at one point in time, news of a major gaming publisher filing for bankruptcy would have been a big deal, and most likely the result of a massive bomb on the level of Sega's Shenmue. But with the current crumbly state of our economy, the collapse of yet another company is a commonplace event with no real need for explanation. That being said, are you shaken to your very core in knowing that popular publisher Midway filed for Chapter 11 today? I didn't think so--though perhaps this quote from GameSpot's take on the story will show you that Midway's status in the industry--despite the whole bankruptcy thing--was far more successful than most of us would assume:

Today's move will allow Midway to reorganize to pay off its creditors, to which the company owes $240 million--or $72.5 million more than the company's $167.5 million in total assets as of September 2008. Currently, the company's worth is substantially more, as it has now shipped (not sold) nearly 2 million copies of Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. The publisher also played up the fact that its TNA Impact title also shipped more than 1 million units, and its Game Party franchise had sold more than 3 million units as of the end of 2008. Its overhead has been drastically decreased as well, after the company announced last December its plans to lay off 25 percent of its workforce.

GameSpot's analysis of the story makes the bankruptcy seem far less of a bad thing than what that scary word usually entails, but I'm not so sure; I've recently had nightmarish visions of a future gaming landscape with nothing available but variants of Wii Play. I'm not entirely sure of my ability to see into the future, but I still think we should all be just a little worried.

Related Links:

How to Create Good Game Economies when Money Grows on Trees
The Economy Strikes Again: Layoffs at Sega
How does the Game Industry compare to the Auto Industry?

Batman Can't Even Land a Punch on Superman in a Video Game

Nadia Oxford — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:02:00 GMT

Those of us who grew up with comics quickly noticed a distinct rivalry between Batman and Superman. Superman was an all-American boyscout, eager to do what was righteous and good just as long as it earned him the right to furrow his brow at Batman and shake his head.

Batman isn't a flying paladin like his red-and-blue counterpart, but that endears him in the eyes of fans. He borders on vigilantism; he doesn't care to do things by the Man's rules because criminals don't follow any rules. He gets the job done.

That doesn't mean he can do more than throw fluttering punches at Superman, though. He can't even beat Superman in a game of Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe. Witness his attempt in the video after the jump.

Of course, Alfred can beat up Superman, but I've long suspected that Alfred already knows everything the Lord intends to tell us on the Last Day.

Related Links:

A Silver Lining to the Dark Knight
Of Children and Lego Games: A Valid Concern

New Year’s Resolutions For a Few Of Our Favorite Publishers

John Constantine — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:30:00 GMT

Now, to close out the first full week of 2009, we will do for videogame publishers what we did for console makers: we will tell them how to live their sordid, godforsaken lives! You’d think developers would make the list, but no. No, I tend to trust them, so they will be left to their own devices, free from the crushing logic of advice from 61 Frames Per Second.

In 2009, the following folks should resolve to do the following things:

EA – Stick to your guns and keep investing in new IP. 2008 was good stuff, Riccitello. Keep promoting Mirror’s Edge and Dead Space, they will find their audience. And EA Sports? How about SSX4 already.

Capcom – Resolve to support Dark Void with an aggressive marketing campaign and release it during the summer. Do not let this one die during the holiday rush. Also, Street Fighter III HD Remix. You know it would be sweet.

Atari – Do not release Ghosbusters until it is perfect.

Namco – Push Klonoa like you have never pushed a game in your entire lives. Tell people it will make them lose weight, tell them it will make them smarter. And knock it off with the nickel-and-dime DLC already, what is this, 2006?

Square-Enix – S-E, I want you to go out tomorrow, hop on a train, and pay Jupiter Games a visit. You cut them a check, and you tell them to make whatever they can imagine. The people who made The World Ends With You should be allowed to make whatever they like.

Konami – Release a press statement claiming you were forced to make Rock Revolution at gun point.

Midway – Um. Hang in there?

Activision – Give Neversoft the vacation they so desperately need and deserve.

Atlus – More PS1 reprints!

Take-Two – If Bioshock 2 looks stupid, don’t be afraid to cancel it.

Ubisoft – Release Beyond Good & Evil 2 by the end of the year. Please. PLEASE!

XSEED – Keep on keepin’ on, you guys. Can’t believe you actually localized Retro Game Master. Just awesome.

Tecmo-Koei – No Dynasty Warriors: Dead or Alive games. Just don’t. I know you're thinking about it.

SEGA – Disband Sonic Team. It’s over. Enough.

And that about covers it. Happy New Year, everyone.

Related links:

Microsoft’s New Year’s Resolution
Nintendo’s New Year’s Resolution
Sony’s New Year’s Resolution
Virtual Console New Year's Resolutions

The Sky is Falling: Gaming Industry Job Cuts Roundup

Cole Stryker — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:30:00 GMT

Jiminy Christmas, people. It's tough out there in the so-called "recession proof" gaming industry. And all right before Christmas. My heart goes out to these guys. The industry experienced explosive growth over the last few years, it only makes sense that downturn would come. Hopefully these people will be rehired when things turn around. They will turn around, right?

Scary statistics, after the jump:

Midway: 160? jobs
Factor 5: 37 jobs
Sony: 8,000 jobs
Brash Entertainment: 20 jobs
Electronic Arts: 600 jobs
NCSoft: undisclosed
THQ: 30 or 40 jobs
Ensemble Studios: shuttered
Lucasarts: 75-100 jobs

So what does this mean for the industry? Executives like to pull out words like "restructure" or "refocus" or "adaptive strategy" when tough times come, so it becomes a matter of cutting through the bull. I think that it's going to get worse before it gets better, but the average gamer probably won't feel the hurt. As long as demand stays constant, developers will scramble to come up with innovative ways to capture the market.

Wet is All… Oh, Nevermind

John Constantine — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:00:00 GMT

While it was certainly distressing that promising games like Ghostbusters: The Videogame and The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena fell into no-publisher limbo following Activision’s axing of Sierra Games’ line-up, we knew it wouldn’t be long before some intrepid business would give those wayward titles a home. (Of course, Sierra’s most promising game, Brutal Legend, is still homeless. Boo.) Some games lost in the fire sale, however, should probably stay lost. Take, for example, A2M’s ludicrously named Wet. Wet trades in the same bombastic violence and stars the same sort of big breasted protagonist as Hideki Kamiya’s Bayonetta, but has, from the looks of this game footage, none of that game’s humor or eccentricity. The game actually looks very similar to the John Woo and Midway collaboration Stranglehold, with an almost identical slow motion trick-shooting system. The difference? A Quentin Tarantino-style soundtrack and grainy film filter! Oh yeah, and Chow Yun Fat has been replaced by a lady in impossibly tight clothing.

Word is A2M is still hoping Wet finds a new publishing home. Either they need to spend a whole lot more time polishing this game up or they should go back to making Lizzie McGuire DS games.

Such a shame. The original trailer for Wet was pretty sweet.

(Link: NextGenPlayer via NeoGAF)

Related links:

Face-Off: Bayonetta and the Merits of Exploitation
Ghostbusters. Peter Venkman. Walter Peck. The World is Just.

Screen Test: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe

John Constantine — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:00:00 GMT

Okay, okay. Look. I am, in spite of myself, pretty interested in MK vs. DCU. The positive impressions coming out of E3, the neat fight-ninjas-whilst-plummeting-from-a-cliff play, hell, even the Joker’s fatality have all made the game sound like it might be fun. I can imagine Mortal Kombat being fun again. Not great, but fun, certainly.

Here’s the thing, though. You do not put a screenshot of your game on the internet that has Wonder Woman looking like she’s the one who both smelt and dealt it. You do not have the word “RAGE!” appear above her in that screenshot.

What in the hell were you people thinking? Do you have any idea what the internet is going to do now?!

(Link: Kotaku)

Previous Screen Tests:

Oboro Muramasa
Fable 2
Final Fantasy Dissidia
Fragile
Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Silent Hill Homecoming
Fallout 3
Alone in the Dark
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed