Press Release
MIDWAY ACQUIRES EXCLUSIVE WORLDWIDE VIDEOGAME RIGHTS TO TNA
WRESTLING
Chicago – November 7, 2005 –
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment
software publisher and developer, today announced that it has signed
an exclusive worldwide, multi-year agreement with TNA Entertainment
to publish videogames based on Total Nonstop Action Wrestling™.
Under the terms of the agreement, Midway has the rights to develop
and publish games for the console, handheld and PC platforms. The
first TNA Wrestling™ product is scheduled to ship in 2007 for
current generation game systems.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is the future of sports
entertainment. TNA iMPACT!™ airs exclusively on SpikeTV on Saturdays
from 11 PM – midnight ET/PT with an encore on Mondays at midnight
ET/PT. In addition to the weekly show, TNA Wrestling also produces a
monthly pay-per-view special where its top stars such as Jeff
Jarrett, AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Kevin Nash and Rhino compete in,
above and beyond the signature six-sided ring.
"TNA Wrestling is one of the fastest growing and most exciting forms
of sports entertainment available today," said David F. Zucker,
president and CEO, Midway. "It’s fast, powerful and cutting-edge in
both presentation and style. We are very pleased to be working with
TNA and look forward to leveraging our expertise in the fighting
game genre to create the most compelling wrestling experience yet."
"Our brand of wrestling is perfectly suited to videogames and Midway
is the perfect company to create them," said Dixie Carter,
president, TNA Entertainment. "We are very excited about this
collaboration and the opportunity to expand TNA Wrestling to a new
medium."
About TNA iMPACT! (working title)
TNA iMPACT! is set to be the most complete wrestling videogame to
date. Featuring top talent such as Raven, Jeff Jarrett, Monty Brown,
Rhino, Christopher Daniels, Jeff Hardy, AJ Styles and more, TNA
iMPACT! will deliver all of the excitement and action of the
top-rated weekly television show.
About TNA Wrestling
TNA Entertainment, LLC is a privately held company headquartered in
Nashville,TN. TNA iMPACT! airs Saturday nights at 11 PM ET/PT on
Spike TV. TNA programming is currently available in 118 countries
and is also available on monthly pay-per-view on iN DEMAND, DIRECTV,
Dish Network and TVN as well as Viewer’s Choice, Bell ExpressVu and
Shaw PPV in Canada. The names of all Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
televised programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and
all TNA Wrestling logos and trademarks are exclusive property of TNA
Entertainment, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. For more information, visit
www.tnawrestling.com.
About Midway
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois,
with offices throughout the world, is a leading developer and
publisher of interactive entertainment software for major videogame
systems and personal computers. More information about Midway and
its products can be found at
www.midway.com.
TNA, TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION, and other TNA indicia used on or in this
product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of
intellectual property of TNA Entertainment, LLC and may not be used
in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of TNA
Entertainment, LLC. © 2005 TNA Entertainment, LLC. All rights
reserved. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment
Inc. MIDWAY is a registered trademark of Midway Amusement Games,
LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
companies. Midway has provided the www.tnawrestling.com link solely
as a convenience for you. The information on this site 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" within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
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, the console platform transition and other
technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers
and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk
Factors" in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2004, and in the more recent filings made by the
Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each
forward-looking statement, including, without limitation, financial
guidance, speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Midway
undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to
reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made
or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events
or circumstances.