Why ask the public when they can do it internally with 2 of there 40 staff members?!
Much easier to do that's why.

It would not even be possible. Unlike beta testing for PC games, where the entire game can easily be transmitted over the internet, Midway would have to take the time of throwing the game in its incomplete state onto a disc, take the time to program that disc to work properly, and send it out to all the people on the Beta Testing list. They have no gaurantee that those people wouldn't illegally redistribute the incomplete games. Even on PCs, the beta testing process is risky when they ask the general public, though in most cases they can just disable access from false users. If the game is distributed on a disc, hundreds of thousands of copies could be made and distributed. Again, same can be done over a PC with a different game, but if they send out a disc it just makes it that much easier, and really screws that dev team. I highly doubt anything like that would happen, and they can simply test it themselves, which is what they usually do.

Like what I said but in more depth.

I've had opportunities of testing the online features of Everquest and several other PS2 games, but turned them all down because I didn't have the time to invest in them at the time.

Plus, a friend of mine who works at GameStop tested RE: Outbreak. Which is a great game, BTW.

Oh no they are going to loose the source code online ala HalfLife!

Well, for one thing it was kind of joke and for another thing it wouldn't be all that unrealistic.

I have beta tested other online games for the consoles before (like the before mentioned Everquest Online Adventures). The companies either do a public announcement for beta testing or they pick people by random (example: people that actually send in their registration cards).

Why couldn't Midway release a online demo for beta testing? It wouldn't be the complete game and if people made copies for other people...Oh well, free advertising for the final product.

Midway is probably working with Microsoft for the X-box version (X-Box Live), but Midway would have to come up with their own setup for the Playstation version.

Besides how many online 3-D fighting games are currently out there right now? DOA: Ultimate has been delayed until June (for unknown reasons) and besides, if they did setup beta testing among players it would probably be done in Japan without us even knowing aboust it.

This is new territory, who knows what kind of testing they still need to do and how they will do it....

while it probably won't happen, who knows if it couldn't?

Wow, I went too long with this, I was also just making a post to test my icon, the topic was Doggwarior's idea....