Midway Tackles Mature-Themed Football with Blitz: Playmakers

S

sonycowboy

Member
Thursday December 16, 9:00 am ET
New Football Game to Feature Level of Intensity Not Found in Licensed Sports Products

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 16, 2004--Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY - News), a leading interactive entertainment software publisher and developer, announced today the development of Blitz®: Playmakers, a new, unlicensed videogame exposing the harsh realism and troubling, behind-the-scenes stories of a fictional professional football league. Blitz: Playmakers has been in development at Midway's Chicago studio for the past year in collaboration with a writer from ESPN's controversial "Playmakers" TV series. Blitz: Playmakers goes behind the glitz and glamour of the game through a revolutionary campaign mode that explores the on-field violence, off-field fallout and front-office politics of professional football. Blitz: Playmakers is scheduled for release in the fourth quarter of 2005 on multiple videogame console platforms.

"Midway's Chicago studio has laid the foundation over the past year for what is the ultimate alternative to watered down NFL sanctioned football games," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer of Midway. "No longer bound to the NFL license, there will be no league restrictions on content and gamers will finally experience what makes playing a football videogame really fun: off-field controversies, dirty hits, excessive celebrations and much more. Blitz: Playmakers buyers will be assured of one thing - our game will include all the gameplay and fun the NFL won't allow."

About Blitz: Playmakers

Blitz: Playmakers will feature a powerful story mode that, for the first time ever in a football videogame, explores the realism, lifestyle and drama found in professional football. Players will take the helm of a downtrodden football franchise and retool the players and coaching staff in a quest to guide them to the league championship. Additional features include intense multiplayer action with head-to head online play and complete customization of players, teams, stadiums and more.
 
Sounds kind of interesting--dunno how well it'll fly without the license (of course, that never stopped racing games), but we'll see.
 
Someone should do this with college football. I'd buy it at launch.

Seems like at least Midway was prepared for the EA exclusive deal.
 
Midway has been on a hot streak, no one can deny that.
I think this may turn out being that madden alternative.
The game itself seems sim based. It mentioned dirty hits,
and midway has been talking about making Blitz more
Sim oriented for years.

It seems like a Football/wwe soap opera game, I need
more info but It holds my interest.
 
PhatSaqs said:
Midway was prepared because the NFL wasnt going to grant them a license anyway.
Click to expand...

Haha, I had no idea. Why is that, the controversy over Ballers and the direction Midway sports games have been going in? Or did the NFL just not want their name on a moribund franchise anymore?
 
Catchpenny said:
Haha, I had no idea. Why is that, the controversy over Ballers and the direction Midway sports games have been going in? Or did the NFL just not want their name on a moribund franchise anymore?
Click to expand...
Yeah. Apparently the NFL had become fed up with Blitz and cut Midways water off.
 
Azih said:
I'll be taking the 'make a few million, buy a truckload of weed, quit and relaaaaaax' career path.
Click to expand...

Azih = Ricky Wiliams!

THE NFLPA DOES NOT APPROVE

er

Azih = Riqui Williams-Bally!

THE NFLPA APPROVES
 
PhatSaqs said:
Yeah. Apparently the NFL had become fed up with Blitz and cut Midways water off.
Click to expand...


I didn't know that. I knew that the NFL had threatened Midway and in response we got the last Blitz that was mroe sim-like. I had heard the NFL was fine with it and made peace with Midway. Either way, this new game sounds like it could be pretty interesting. I'll give it a try for sure.

Innovation and new ideas are great for the sports game genre. Maybe this NFL-EA deal will get new ideas from other companies. Since the NFL was negotiating with everyone, I am sure all the companies had contingency plans if they lost the license. It would be interesting to see if the non-NFL football games end up being better than the EA games because the NFL approval process is gone now.
 
sonycowboy said:
"I'm sorry, you can't buy a game for the sole reason of spite."

"OK, then I really like the game."

"Sorry, you already told us spite."
[/sienfeld]
Click to expand...

:lol :lol :lol :lol
 
What the fuck? Did someone at Midway read this board after the EA news broke (when there were conversations about a game of this EXACT SAME NAME practically), travel back in time, and start it in production?

EA can't beat Midway, they have the TIME TRAVELERS! They'll team up with THE PATRIOTS to end EA's evil reign!

"I'm sorry, you can't buy a game for the sole reason of spite."

"OK, then I really like the game."

"Sorry, you already told us spite."
[/sienfeld]
Click to expand...
I think spite is a damn good reason. :)
 
On an epidsode of Real Sports on HBO, they showed some of the scenes from Blitz to some old panywaist NFL executive who acted all shocked and then they showed some parents talking about how they didn't want their kids playing this.

Kudos to Midway, I'll buy this. IF they do it right, it will be a lot more fun than yet another Madden on the current, aging engine.
 
Random_Hajile said:
NFL did not revoke the license... Midway passed on the NFL.
Click to expand...
IGN said:
According to an interview earlier this year with Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal, an NFL spokesperson confirmed that they were through working with Midway: "Midway has been quietly dropped in a 'mutual decision' as an NFL videogame licensee after years of controversy over the level of violence in its NFL Blitz game."
Click to expand...
Fired, Let go, or resigned?
 
Maybe there is a Way Back Machine?

wayback.jpg
 
PhatSaqs said:
Fired, Let go, or resigned?
Click to expand...

After beating the dead horse known as "Blitz" for this long, I'd say put out of their misery.

Don't get me wrong, though; this was a smart move on Midway's part given what they had to work with. They've been surprising me like this all year.
 
Kudos to Midway for making this. Could be really interesting. I'm getting a bit of a "FUCK YOU NFL & EA" vibe from this, and I like it. They could have just thrown in the towel making football games, but instead they may really be on to something here.
 
This sounds interesting actually. The competition shifting to trying get a leg up on a non-NFL-licensed football game may end up bringing in some excellent new gameplay concepts and/or presentation (style, theme, etc) ideas.
 
You can bet I'll be getting a copy. The NFL loves to sweep their dirt under a rug - how many convicted felons are running around on Sundays again? And they pressure ESPN to cancel Playmakers because it doesn't show the league in a good light? Hypocrisy, thy name is.....you know the rest.

+1 sales
 
I'm no sports guy... but I'd often tease my EA-playing brother that sports games should include random elements of drug use, cheating, getting in fights with fans, and the problems that ensue. :lol Who knew?
 
Well NCAA Football 2005 (and maybe in the years past, first time I've bought it was this year) did have things similar to that where you'd have to discipline a guy or be concerned about the NCAA cracking down on you.
 
:lol

Holy shit I don't think some of you realize how big a shot Midway is throwing at the NFL! :lol

They are doing practically EVERYTHING the NFL wouldn't allow them to put in a NFL game as the NFL is very particular about their professional image! I think this might be one of the biggest FUs ever! :lol

This is exactly the type of non licensed NFL game which can succeed. Will be interesting to see how an unrestricted Blitz game takes a chunk out of NFL Street.
 
Mrbob said:
:lol

Holy shit I don't think some of you realize how big a shot Midway is throwing at the NFL! :lol

They are doing practically EVERYTHING the NFL wouldn't allow them to put in a NFL game as the NFL is very particular about their professional image! I think this might be one of the biggest FUs ever! :lol

This is exactly the type of non licensed NFL game which can succeed. Will be interesting to see how an unrestricted Blitz game takes a chunk out of NFL Street.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think Midway is in a good position to benefit from this situation, especially if other companies shelve their pro football games next year.
 
eXxy said:
this better not have a bunch of the sim elements from the last blitz games
Click to expand...

I don't think they will. The sim elements basically got forced on them by the NFL. They disapproved of the style of play Blitz games represented.
 
eXxy said:
this better not have a bunch of the sim elements from the last blitz games
Click to expand...

I doubt it. I think I've heard that those sim elements were concessions to the NFL to let them keep their license.
 
Did the NHL force them to make NHL Hitz more realistic as well? I know that they went to full-size teams for that too. Did Slugfest get "simmed" up too?

Midway does stand to benefit from this, provided they can get the game out on time. They have pretty consistently shipped their sports games 2-3 months into the season (long after competitors), and I think that has killed them more than anything else.
 
Wow, this is great. Hopefully it will innovate enough to make EA sorry that they made that deal (yeah, that was a pretty stupid statement) but still...

It's rare that a few days after everyone on the internet saying "You know...someone should really make a "playmakers" type game, since the license is gone" that a company actually does it. The speed and timing of this press release makes me think one of two three things

A) They knew about the EA deal a long time ago, and were (obviously) prepared

B) The EA deal was a complete fluke, and this is remarkable timing (doubtful)

C) They rushed this together in the past week ( :lol )

Based on EA's statements about "multiple bids", it seems more than likely that Midway found out that they were outbid, and began work on this game right away. It's too hard to believe that they'd be this lucky if they didn't know about the deal. Anyway, it's a great sign that football games are far from dead, just because EA bought the NFL. I can't wait to see what VC counters with.


Edit: Shit, I missed this "Midway was prepared because the NFL wasnt going to grant them a license anyway." Well if you're right, then that makes sense..
 
kojima can do that football game he wanted to do

something i read about in this months or last months gaming mag, EGM or lamepro
 
I heard the MLB bitched about Slugfest, and rather than make the Basebrawl stand out, Midway went serious for all of their titles.

Hitz 2004 am cry.
 
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