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MIDWAY ACQUIRES WORLDWIDE RIGHTS FROM EPIC GAMES TO PUBLISH THREE TITLES BASED ON 'UNREAL®' FRANCHISE
- Rights Acquisition Marks Midway's Entrance into the Premium PC Games Market -
CHICAGO JUNE 28, 2004 - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced a multi-year, multi-product agreement with Epic Games to publish three new videogames based on the popular Unreal® franchise. The agreement marks Midway's entrance into the premium PC games sector with a property that has sold more than seven million units worldwide and generated nearly $200 million in revenue at retail since the introduction of Unreal Tournament in 1999.
Under terms of the agreement, Midway obtains worldwide publishing rights for the three Unreal titles from Epic, including Unreal Championship® 2, an Xbox® exclusive title scheduled to ship in 2005, and two future installments of Unreal Tournament® on PC and upcoming next generation consoles. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Only Korean PC rights were excluded from the deal.
"This relationship with Epic further bolsters the strength of our portfolio of top-rated games and allows us to leverage the marketing capabilities of our organization to take the Unreal franchise to an even broader audience of gamers," said David Zucker, president and chief executive officer of Midway. "It immediately establishes Midway as a leader in the PC games sector. Additionally, Unreal Championship 2, scheduled for introduction in February, should further extend Midway's growing track record for distributing top quality games. We are delighted that Epic chose Midway over other publishers and we look forward to working closely with the Epic team to carefully manage this valuable franchise."
"Midway gets it. They hit right at the heart of gamers. Not only did they create many classics including Defender, NFL Blitz and Mortal Kombat, but they're making great new games such as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, The Suffering, NBA Ballers, NARC and Area 51. They make awesome games and don't apologize for it, so we think games like Unreal Tournament will fit in perfectly here," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder, Epic Games. "In our opinion Midway is doing the industry's best marketing and promotional campaigns and they will contribute strongly to the ongoing success of the Unreal franchise."
Scheduled to arrive exclusively for Xbox in February 2005, Unreal Championship 2 brings a whole new level of intensity to the series as gamers are blessed with superhuman agility that arms them for battle against deadly characters or readies them for hand-to-hand melee combat. Taking the battle online and around the world, Unreal Championship 2 pits players against each other in an eight-person Xbox Live! multiplayer challenge where only the strong survive. Built from the ground up for the Xbox, Unreal Championship 2 features all new gameplay elements, including a deep melee combat system that seamlessly blends in with the ranged weapon combat the series is known for, a full story-driven single-player mode, dozens of all new maps, new game modes and an arsenal of new weaponry. Additional information can be obtained through the Unreal Championship 2 web site at www.unrealchampionship2.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games Inc, based in Raleigh, NC and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games Unreal and Unreal Tournament, both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than one million copies. Games created with the Unreal Engine include: 2002 Console Game of the Year winner, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (on PC and console platforms) from Ubi Soft; PC Gamer's 2000 Game of the Year, Deus Ex from Ion Storm/Eidos; America's Army: Operations, from the United States Army, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PC) from Electronic Arts - and many others. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games Jill of the Jungle, Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball. Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com
About Midway
Midway Games Inc. (www.midway.com) is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment software. Midway videogames are available for play on all major videogame platforms including the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, and Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy® Advance.
Unreal, Unreal Championship and Unreal Tournament are registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. Used under license. Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Midway has provided the www.unrealchampionship2.com and www.epicgames.com links solely as a convenience for you. The information on these sites has been prepared by third parties, and Midway does not monitor, endorse or accept responsibility for the content on non-Midway sites.
"This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business conditions and the outlook for Midway Games Inc. (the "Company") based on currently available information that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the financial strength of the interactive entertainment industry, dependence on new product introductions and the ability to maintain the scheduling of such introductions, technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and in the other more recent filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
For More Information Contact:
Reilly Brennan
Midway Media Relations
773.961.2557
rbrennan@midwaygames.com
Tara Bruno
HighWater Group for Midway
212-338-0077 ext. 302
tara@highwatergroup.com
Miguel Iribarren
Midway Investor Relations
773.961.2815
miribarren@midwaygames.com
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Nathan Ellingson
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
212.835.8500
mwy@jcir.com
Epic Games Inc.
pr@epicgames.com
- Rights Acquisition Marks Midway's Entrance into the Premium PC Games Market -
CHICAGO JUNE 28, 2004 - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced a multi-year, multi-product agreement with Epic Games to publish three new videogames based on the popular Unreal® franchise. The agreement marks Midway's entrance into the premium PC games sector with a property that has sold more than seven million units worldwide and generated nearly $200 million in revenue at retail since the introduction of Unreal Tournament in 1999.
Under terms of the agreement, Midway obtains worldwide publishing rights for the three Unreal titles from Epic, including Unreal Championship® 2, an Xbox® exclusive title scheduled to ship in 2005, and two future installments of Unreal Tournament® on PC and upcoming next generation consoles. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Only Korean PC rights were excluded from the deal.
"This relationship with Epic further bolsters the strength of our portfolio of top-rated games and allows us to leverage the marketing capabilities of our organization to take the Unreal franchise to an even broader audience of gamers," said David Zucker, president and chief executive officer of Midway. "It immediately establishes Midway as a leader in the PC games sector. Additionally, Unreal Championship 2, scheduled for introduction in February, should further extend Midway's growing track record for distributing top quality games. We are delighted that Epic chose Midway over other publishers and we look forward to working closely with the Epic team to carefully manage this valuable franchise."
"Midway gets it. They hit right at the heart of gamers. Not only did they create many classics including Defender, NFL Blitz and Mortal Kombat, but they're making great new games such as Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, The Suffering, NBA Ballers, NARC and Area 51. They make awesome games and don't apologize for it, so we think games like Unreal Tournament will fit in perfectly here," said Mark Rein, vice president and co-founder, Epic Games. "In our opinion Midway is doing the industry's best marketing and promotional campaigns and they will contribute strongly to the ongoing success of the Unreal franchise."
Scheduled to arrive exclusively for Xbox in February 2005, Unreal Championship 2 brings a whole new level of intensity to the series as gamers are blessed with superhuman agility that arms them for battle against deadly characters or readies them for hand-to-hand melee combat. Taking the battle online and around the world, Unreal Championship 2 pits players against each other in an eight-person Xbox Live! multiplayer challenge where only the strong survive. Built from the ground up for the Xbox, Unreal Championship 2 features all new gameplay elements, including a deep melee combat system that seamlessly blends in with the ranged weapon combat the series is known for, a full story-driven single-player mode, dozens of all new maps, new game modes and an arsenal of new weaponry. Additional information can be obtained through the Unreal Championship 2 web site at www.unrealchampionship2.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games Inc, based in Raleigh, NC and established in 1991, is a developer of cutting-edge computer and video games. The company is best known as the creator of hit PC 3D action games Unreal and Unreal Tournament, both award-winning blockbuster hits having each sold more than one million copies. Games created with the Unreal Engine include: 2002 Console Game of the Year winner, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (on PC and console platforms) from Ubi Soft; PC Gamer's 2000 Game of the Year, Deus Ex from Ion Storm/Eidos; America's Army: Operations, from the United States Army, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (PC) from Electronic Arts - and many others. Prior to their 3D success, Epic Games was well known for the hit shareware games Jill of the Jungle, Jazz Jackrabbit and Epic Pinball. Additional information can be obtained through Epic's Web site at www.epicgames.com
About Midway
Midway Games Inc. (www.midway.com) is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment software. Midway videogames are available for play on all major videogame platforms including the PlayStation® 2 computer entertainment system, Xbox® video game system from Microsoft, and Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy® Advance.
Unreal, Unreal Championship and Unreal Tournament are registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. Used under license. Xbox is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Midway has provided the www.unrealchampionship2.com and www.epicgames.com links solely as a convenience for you. The information on these sites has been prepared by third parties, and Midway does not monitor, endorse or accept responsibility for the content on non-Midway sites.
"This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business conditions and the outlook for Midway Games Inc. (the "Company") based on currently available information that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the financial strength of the interactive entertainment industry, dependence on new product introductions and the ability to maintain the scheduling of such introductions, technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and in the other more recent filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission."
For More Information Contact:
Reilly Brennan
Midway Media Relations
773.961.2557
rbrennan@midwaygames.com
Tara Bruno
HighWater Group for Midway
212-338-0077 ext. 302
tara@highwatergroup.com
Miguel Iribarren
Midway Investor Relations
773.961.2815
miribarren@midwaygames.com
Joseph N. Jaffoni, Nathan Ellingson
Jaffoni & Collins Incorporated
212.835.8500
mwy@jcir.com
Epic Games Inc.
pr@epicgames.com
