According to a report at Gamespot, Steve Allison, effective December 19th, will be leaving his reign as VP of Marketing at Atari Games. The veteran known for his work of influencing Hollywood's participation in video game products, including Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 3, and the involvement of the Wachowski brothers with Enter the Matrix, will be taking over as new Chief Marketing Officer for Midway Games. From the article:

The following Monday, according to a Midway spokesperson, Allison will take over as chief marketing officer for Midway Games. He will report to president David Zucker and be tasked with ramping up marketing efforts for the once-dominant publisher of the Area 51, Gauntlet, and Mortal Kombat franchises.

Speaking with GameSpot today, Allison said his new responsibilities will include marketing strategy for all Midway products, including games that have movie tie-ins, such as Spy Hunter. Über-popular wrestler/actor The Rock will star in Universal's film adaptation of the classic game, which begins production in Spring 2004.

This is just one of several significant changes within the company in the last few months. MK5.ORG wishes Steve Allison the best of luck with his new position!

GameSpot DLX is kicking off their First Annual Game Commercial Awards and Sweepstakes, and Midway's Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been nominated twice in the Action >> Fighting category! From the main article:

Let's face it. Some of the most memorable moments on TV happen in between the shows, and who better to judge commercials for gamers than gamers themselves. More than 120 commercials have been submitted in 17 categories, so here's your chance to unleash your inner ad critic to determine which commercials will be named the best of 2003. And just by participating, you'll automatically be entered to win valuable prizes!

GameSpot registration is required in order to download the commercials, vote, and enter the sweepstakes. However, it is not required in order to stream the videos. To see the commercials and cast your vote, click here. To see the main contest page, click here. Good luck to Midway and MK:DA in this contest!

Our thanks to forum/chat member Murdoink for the heads-up on this news story!

The accolades for Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance continue to mount! Midway Games has just announced that MK:DA has been nominated for an award by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, in the Action Category! From the press release:

Midway Games Ltd. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today that Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance has been nominated in the Action category for the 2003 BAFTA Interactive Entertainment awards.

"Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance took gamers by storm in 2003, and the fact that it sold-through over 2 million units worldwide proves the franchise is continuing to define the fighting genre." Said Matt Broughton, European Marketing Director, Midway. "We are delighted to be nominated for a BAFTA in the Action category, sitting along-side the likes of GTA: Vice City and Metroid Prime."

The 2003 BAFTA Games awards ceremony will take place on February 25th, 2004.

To read the press release in its entirety, click here. To see the complete list of nominees in all categories, click here. Our congratulations to Midway on being nominated for this award, and we at MK5.ORG wish them the best of luck!

Our thanks to MK5.ORG reader Ivan Georgiev and Phil Robinson of Midway Games for the heads-up on this story!

Midway Games issued this morning in a press release and in a conference call, its financial results for the closure of the third quarter ending September 30, 2003. Revenues for this quarter were $11.6 million, down from $52.6 million in the same quarter of 2002. Guidance for the end of the fourth quarter, ending December 31, 2003, project revenues of roughly $38 million. Midway plans to release thirteen domestic titles during that particular quarter.

President of Midway Games, David Zucker, provided the following information on the releases of popular franchise titles in the year 2004. From the conference call:

Our 3rd strategic thrust is to grow our portfolio of existing brands that we own. This means taking franchises like Spy Hunter, Mortal Kombat, Gauntlet, to the next level and making these brands even bigger and better. During the quarter we made significant progress in this area. For the Mortal Kombat franchise we reviewed an internal demo of the next iteration of Mortal Kombat, that we believe will be the most innovative fighting game to date, featuring online functionality and depth never before seen in a 3d fighting game.

Hopefully, this demo or something similar will make its way to the public soon. Also, it is interesting to note that during the call it was mentioned, that while Midway Games is primarily a console-based company, they do expect next year to have a number of PC releases. With Mortal Kombat being the company's top mature rated selling franchise, could it be possible for Mortal Kombat 6 to be released on the PC? It's too early to tell, but with online play confirmed in this next installment, it does leave you wondering.

GameSpot has published an interview they did with Midway CEO David Zucker, in which a wide variety of topics are covered, including a brief word on Mortal Kombat. From the article:

GS: What do you consider the jewels of Midway's back catalog?

DZ: Mortal Kombat is the best-selling M-rated franchise of all time with over $1 billion in sales via four major sequels since it first launched in 1992. It outsells all other M franchises such as Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto series.

Suffice it to say that Ed Boon and our Mortal Kombat team are busy at work developing the next installment, and we have every reason to believe that it will be the most compelling and innovative fighting game to hit the market when it debuts.

The rest of the interview covers a broad range of topics on how Zucker plans on reinvigorating the company, from Midway's place in the sports gaming business, to the recent hiring of John Romero and Tom Hall. To read the entire article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum/chat member Baraka_MK for the heads up on this story!