Ubisoft® to publish in major territories, Midway to direct development for highly-anticipated Vin Diesel driving game
Sydney, Australia — February 20, 2009 — Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, announced today that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Ubisoft to publish Wheelman™, the highly-anticipated open-world driving game starring action-film megastar Vin Diesel as an expert driver for hire. Ubisoft will handle sales, marketing, and distribution of the title in North America, South America, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Midway will continue to direct the development of the title and retains all future rights to the franchise and will sell the title in all other European territories.
Wheelman is scheduled for a March 26, 2009, ship date in Australia and NZ for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC. A pre-launch demo is also planned for the Xbox 360 and PS3.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Midway to bring Wheelman to stores worldwide,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Ubisoft. “The cutting edge open-world driving technology in Wheelman should make for an experience that gamers will enjoy.”
“Ubisoft’s decision to join Midway in a co-publishing agreement is a gratifying validation of Wheelman’s potential,” commented Matt Booty, president and CEO, Midway. “Ubisoft has a proven expertise at bringing new IP to market, which will allow us to reach a broader consumer segment with Wheelman, while helping Midway to balance the risk profile of our product portfolio.”
“The development team in Newcastle, UK, has fine-tuned and polished Wheelman, especially in these last few months, to deliver a true Hollywood blockbuster experience,” said Craig Duncan, studio head, Midway Studios – Newcastle Ltd. “The demo due out for Xbox 360 and PS3 will show that Wheelman’s new game design mechanics like cinematic super moves and vehicular combat will revolutionize driving games.”
About Wheelman
Action film megastar Vin Diesel and his Tigon Studios are again blurring the lines between entertainment mediums, this time collaborating with Midway in the design and production of Wheelman to ensure an edge-of- your-seat gaming experience. Diesel’s voice and likeness will appear as the game’s main character, expert Wheelman Milo Burik.
Combining spectacular Hollywood-style stunts with a gripping storyline, Wheelman provides an adrenaline-fueled, cinematic thrill ride guaranteed to leave you breathless. Weave in and out of traffic, engaging in intense vehicular warfare through the winding streets of Barcelona. Your vehicle is your weapon, leaving wreckage in your wake as you take out anything or anyone that gets in your way. Wheelman is slated for a March 24, 2009, ship date in North America and a March 27, 2009, street date in Europe for Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system, and for Windows PC.
About Tigon Studios
Based in Los Angeles, California, TIGON STUDIOS was founded in 2002 by Vin Diesel with the goal of breaking new ground in interactive franchise entertainment by bringing strong story, high production value and interesting and intelligent characters which can exist in multiple mediums, simultaneously to the gaming and film & television industries. TIGON focuses on creating properties that can be launched in both mediums.
The only game production company founded by a major motion picture star, TIGON combines a film industry style business model with veteran talent from the gaming industry to produce the highest quality of interactive entertainment. In its unique role, TIGON works closely with both the developer and the publisher of its games to ensure clear creative vision and quality in each title. By combining the strengths of traditional film development with the innovations of the video game world, TIGON is in an exclusive position to ensure streamlined production across various platforms.
About Ubisoft
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through a strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has teams in 28 countries and distributes games in more than 55 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge video game titles to consumers. For the 2007-08 fiscal year, Ubisoft generated sales of 928 million euros. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.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.
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