Midway reconfirms commitment to quality during Gamer’s Day in Las Vegas

By Michael Lafferty

LAS VEGAS – 7/11/03 - The heat generated in Las Vegas will scorch the hide right off you – and we are not even talking about the record-setting temperature outside.

Midway is turning up the heat in the videogaming market and is hopeful that the lineup of titles trotted out for Gamer’s Day 2003 will do just that. David Zucker, Midway’s Chief Executive Officer, was direct in pointing out that the producers and game developers that are part of the Midway family are a group of tremendously talented individuals who care deeply about releasing quality products. He freely admitted that in the past mistakes in title releases had been made, but said that was a thing of the pass.

In his opening statement to the journalists assembled in Las Vegas, Zucker said that not only does he “believe that video games are the future of entertainment,” but that he believes Midway is “posed for creative and commercial success of the coming years.”

“Quality matters – it is all that really matters,” he stated.

“What will happen during my tenure at Midway is we will release games that measure up to our standards of quality,” he said. “Now the onus is on us to deliver.”

To that end, the developers working with Midway have been given time to fully develop their titles. Some titles, like Espionage, have been delayed, while others, like Riot Race, have been cancelled altogether. Longstanding titles, like the NFL Blitz and NHL Hitz franchises have undergone some changes to deliver more of what gaming enthusiasts want, while still holding true to the Midway game signature.

Granted, many of the titles shown at the Gamer’s Day had already been viewed during E3 in May, but more details were released about them. Not only has Midway revamped some of its sports titles, but it seems to be pushing the limits in its entertainment releases, getting a little grittier and edgier.

While titles like SpyHunter 2 (with a soundtrack provided, in part, by Vanessa Carlton) will continue the line of success for the arcade/car combat genre, other titles like Roadkill will take it to another level. Sporting rock soundtracks featuring Blue Oyster Cult, April Wine, Judas Priest and Foreigner (among others). The post-apocalyptic car combat title pulls no punches in the areas of language and violence. 

Shooter games are also on the front burners with Area 51 (which purports to allow gamers the opportunity to find the truth about an area the U.S. Government denies even exists). Once again top talent has been brought in to aid in the game’s design. Stan Winston (on of Hollywood’s top monster creators) designed the alien races rendered in this game. He also worked on creating the monsters in The Suffering. NARC is a third-person action shooter in which players take on the role of police officers to return justice to the drug-filled, crime-ridden streets by whatever means they deem fit.

NARC is another example of a game that features a dynamic soundtrack (with songs by artists such as Lynyrd Skyrnyrd, DMX and Curtis Mayfield) and dialogue that is not for sensitive ears.

Sports fans will not only get Pro Editions of NHL Hitz and NFL Blitz, but will get to lace up those high-tops for some one-on-one roundball action in NBA Ballers. With a wealth of NBA talent which have been very well rendered, and Midway’s penchant of tweaking the pureness of the sport just a bit, Ballers will be an alternative to those who dislike the formality of real basketball.

Midway Arcade Treasures harkens back to a simpler age of arcade gaming while Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition takes the dynamics of the MK series to the Game Boy Advance. Four titles, based on animated series and features – Justice League Chronicles, Static Shock, Super Duper Sumos, and Ozzy and Drix – should also give Midway fans more options in the GBA field  while overlapping with games that children can enjoy.

Promises were made about the quality of releases pending from the company and one of the elements to that end was in abundance at Gamer’s Day – enthusiasm.

Share | Digg This | Glink It

---