Midway Games today issued a press release detailing their revenues of the first quarter of 2004, showing a loss of $14.3 million, as compared with a $9.3 million first quarter loss compared to 2003. From the press release:

Revenues for the 2004 first quarter were $20.1 million, down from $45.8 million in the 2003 first quarter. The 2004 first quarter net loss was $14.2 million, compared with a 2003 first quarter net loss of $9.3 million. The 2004 first quarter loss applicable to common stock was $15.0 million or $0.27 per share, compared with a 2003 first quarter loss applicable to common stock of $9.6 million or $0.21 per share. Revenues for the first quarter were higher than the Company’s updated guidance provided on April 6, 2004 primarily due to continued strong sales of The Suffering, which launched March 8, 2004.

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“We are pleased with the results of the first quarter and in particular with the product development and marketing achievements accomplished in the launch of The Suffering. Furthermore, we believe our acquisition of Surreal Software, developer of The Suffering, will increase our internal product development depth thereby strengthening our capacity for creating more high-quality videogames,â€? commented president and chief executive officer David F. Zucker.

The press release also gave a forecast of Midway's 2004 outlook.

For the quarter ending June 30, 2004, the Company expects revenues of approximately $38.0 million with a net loss of approximately $10.0 million. Midway released NBA Ballers in North America on April 5, 2004 for PlayStation 2 and Xbox and has shipped a total of over 600,000 units to date on the two platforms. The Company expects to release two additional titles in North America during the balance of the 2004 second quarter: MLB SlugFest: Loaded and Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy both for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. The Company also expects to release The Suffering in Europe during the second quarter for both the PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

“We believe the successful launches of The Suffering and NBA Ballers are solid evidence that our strategy of focusing on fewer, bigger and better titles is paying off and that changes to our operating processes and personnel are yielding results,â€? commented Mr. Zucker.

For the year ending December 31, 2004, Midway is raising its outlook for revenues to approximately $148.0 million, representing a 60% increase over the 2003 revenue levels. The Company also revised its outlook for a net loss of approximately $18.0 million for the year, an approximately $97.2 million improvement versus 2003. The Company previously expected revenues of approximately $140.0 million and a net loss of approximately $20.0 million in 2004.

In a related article, IGN and GameSpot are both reporting that Viacom CEO Summer Redstone has announced his intentions to buy a controlling interest in Midway. From the GameSpot article:

However, Midway officials couldn't put a positive spin on what happened after their announcement. The company's stock lost 9.8 percent of its value ($0.95) after Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone announced his intention to buy a controlling stake in the company. Currently, Redstone's National Amusements company owns 49.3 percent of Midway's stock, and, according to papers filed with the SEC, he plans on increasing that to "at least" 60 percent.

Speaking to Reuters at a conference, Redstone implied he had big plans for the publisher. "You will see very soon an enormous infusion of great creative talent to Midway--and I mean very soon," he said. Redstone also his interest and investment in Midway was purely personal. "I do not look at this as a Viacom agenda," he said.

As we learn more about this breaking story, we will report on it. To read the Midway press release in its entirety, click here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader may be required to view this file.) To read the IGN article in its entirety, click here. To read the GameSpot article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum members ScorpionKing2003, buterbals113085, and ShingoEX for the heads-up on this story!

TeamXbox recently sat down with John Podlasek, the producer of Mortal Kombat: Deception, for a three page interview about this upcoming project. When asked about his goals for this next installment, John states:

Our two main goals have been to expand and enhance the core fighting game, and create a unique Mortal Kombat universe full of different gameplay types. By adding multiple fatalities, multi-tiered environments, new and classic returning characters, better fatalities and new weapons in the environments we're really expanding how you think about and play a fighting game.

The other goal was to introduce different modes of play set within the context of Mortal Kombat. The biggest and most challenging one is our new Konquest mode. Instead of a linear path of training tasks like in the last one, we're creating something of an RPG-like experience. If you're into strategy and fighting our Chess Kombat mode has 5 different piece classes and mixes board game thinking with classic one-on-one fighting. And the last mode we're really excited about is called Puzzle Kombat. As you move around all these blocks that are falling vertically, a simulated "fight" tied into the player's progress will be going on in the foreground with mini MK characters. At the end of a round the losing side will have a fatality done to them, or things like a 1 ton weight fall and crush the player like a grape. It's real easy to pickup and play, and very addictive (it's not uncommon to hear yelling down the hallway when people are playing it).

To read the interview in its entirety click here. It also contains several new screenshots, some of which we've already released here.

Midway Games has issued a press release officially announcing Midway Arcade Treasures 2, which is the first Midway compilation to feature Mortal Kombat games! From the press release:

CHICAGO - April 26, 2004 - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment industry publisher and developer, today announced Midway Arcade Treasures 2, a compilation of classic Midway arcade games together on one disk. The sequel to the successful 2003 launch of Midway Arcade Treasures, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is currently in development and scheduled to ship Fall 2004 for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft and the Nintendo GameCube™ with a suggested retail price of $19.99.

Midway Arcade Treasures 2 features hundreds of hours of classic gameplay action from all-time arcade favorites including the blood-spurting intensity of Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat® II and Mortal Kombat® 3, the multiplayer collaboration of Gauntlet® 2, the drug-busting adventure of NARC and the no-holds-barred street fighting action of Pit Fighter™, just to name a few.

"Midway Arcade Treasures has been so well-received that it was an easy decision to give gamers more of what they want while, at the same time, help to evolve Midway's classic arcade titles to today's next generation gaming consoles," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Midway Arcade Treasures 2 features many of the arcade era's biggest hits such as, Mortal Kombat, Primal Rage® and Cyberball 2072 that once ruled arcades across the nation."

With Midway Arcade Treasures 2, gamers will have the option of enjoying their favorite games in one-to-four-player game formats, depending on the title, and will experience a collection of classic titles that represent a fresh, new era in gaming relative to other "classic" game compilations. The bonus DVD content in the game will also feature several classic video montages of original commercials, launch trailers and making of the game videos for several of the classic arcade titles included on the disk.

As stated in the press release, the game is scheduled to ship this fall. Keep checking back, as we will post more about this game as we learn it!

To read the press release in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member buterbals113085 for the heads-up on this story!

GameSpot has just posted an article reporting that Midway has officially announced their upcoming compilation game, Midway Arcade Treasures 2! This is the first Midway compilation game featuring the first three Mortal Kombat games. From the article:

Priced at $19.99, Midway Arcade Treasures 2 is scheduled for a fall 2004 release on the Xbox, PlayStation 2, and GameCube. The Xbox version of the collection will let players post their high scores on Xbox Live, which will also list world champions. Depending on the game, up to four players can play Midway Arcade Treasures 2.

No mention is made in the article about Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, nor is online play mentioned. The article also calls the games "ports", which might suggest that these are not the original arcade ROMs run through an emulator. We will hopefully know more come E3.

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Our thanks to forum member Thelonius-Monk for the heads-up on this update!

The latest issue of Game Informer has hit newsstands, containing a four-page preview of Mortal Kombat: Deception! This issue sheds some new light on the game, and confirms some rumours that had been making the rounds. This article is more of an interview, with members of the MKD design team answering the magazine's questions.

The first point brought up is the character list, and John Vogel confirms that the boss is the Dragon King, and "he's been very 'deceptive'." Steve Beran confirms some of the returning characters: Baraka, Mileena, Noob Saibot, Smoke, Tanya, Ermac, Sindel, and Kabal are all returning. In addition, Luis Mangubat confirms that Liu Kang will be returning as both a ghost and a zombie. The reason for Sub-Zero's altered appearance is also explained, as they wanted to make him look more Chinese and distinct from Scorpion. Herman Sanchez also gives the names of some of the new characters, such as Kira (a female Black Dragon member, whose sketch is shown in the magazine; her costume looks similar to Sonya's), Dairou (a ronin samurai with a score to settle), Ben (a martial arts champion; possibly the source of the "Ken Masters" rumor?), and Ashrah (a mystical demon huntress).

In terms of gameplay, Ed Boon revealed that the characters will again have three different fighting styles, but that they will be even more distinct from one another this time around. Stage weapons were also touched upon, as Jay Biondo explained the stage weapons were much more powerful than standard weapons, but harder to get to. He explains that "getting these weapons will be a challenge, as they are placed near death traps, hidden in secret locations, and sometimes even encased inside other interactive background elements." In the realm of combos, Ed Boon explained that each fighting style and character will have more combos, but each character will also have "break out" moves (similar to combo breakers from Killer Instinct?). As he explains, "This should really even the playfield when fighting against someone who has mastered a character's combos."

They also discuss fatalities as well. Carlos Pesina confirms each character will have two "tasty" fatalities. In addition, he explains, "Unlike Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, limbs can be severed and there will be several Fatalities that take advantage of this new feature. One example would be the fatality in which the attacker rips the opponent's arms off and then beats him with them." A couple of new stage fatalities are also seen in the form of concept drawings. The first shows a multi-layer ice cavern stage, where characters break through floors of ice. If a character is knocked through the bottom-most one, he is devoured by the gigantic ice worm lurking below. In another, a large structure shaped like a dragon's mouth is at the side of an arena; when a character is tossed into it, it chomps down like a rock crusher and crushes the character within it. In addition, Mike Taran gives an idea of what to expect:

"... you will see opponents get buried in rock avalanches, smashed by giant steel presses, ripped to shreds with grinders, eaten by giant slugs, gored with spikes, shaved into chunks with spinning blades, boiled in lava, impaled on stalagmites, or cut to pieces by lasers... Awww yea!"

The article also covers Konquest, Chess, and Puzzle Kombat modes. Nothing really new is covered concerning the first two modes, but Nick Shin gives a bit of new detail concerning Puzzle Kombat:

"You select a character that's unique by their special move abilities. Some of them have offensive power moves that fill up your opponent's screen, while others have defensive moves to help clear our your own screen. Each background in this game mode is also unique in that you get to see Fatalities performed on the victim of a poorly played game. Oh yeah, both of these games modes will be playable online."

As always, we are not able to post scans of this article. However, this issue should be available at your local newsstands, so go on out today and pick up your copy!

Our thanks to all those who wrote in concerning this story, and especially forum/chat member GuiltyByDesign for providing us a copy of this article!