Midway at E3
Posted by Ben on Monday, May 12 2003

LOS ANGELES – May 12, 2003 (E3 Booth # 800, South Hall) – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading software industry publisher and developer, announced today its videogame lineup for next-generation game systems at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) at the Los Angeles Convention Center, May 14-16, 2003.

Midway Entertainment Titles

ESPIONAGE

ESPionage challenges players to use their most powerful weapon – their mind – as they try to master the first action/stealth game to integrate traditional weapons combat with extensive Psi (psychic) mind powers. Combating a terrorist movement set to overthrow world order, gamers take on the persona of an elite American Psi-Operative who fights using telekinesis (lifting and throwing objects), pyrokinesis (controlling fire), remote viewing (going “out-of-body” to plan attacks), mind drain (draining Psi energy from enemies), aura view (“seeing” elements that aren’t visible in the real world) and mind control (taking control of enemies) to fight against an army of programmed terrorist super soldiers that will stop at nothing to reach their goal. As players strategically navigate eight huge, immersive levels within four distinct compounds, they encounter multiple ways to solve missions, which greatly adds to the replay value. ESPionage is scheduled to ship in fall 2003 for the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.

THE SUFFERING

Midway captures the disturbing and terrifying nature of the horror genre with The Suffering, a compelling third-person action/adventure game set in the mature and gritty world of a maximum-security prison. Unleashing the horror throughout nine levels, The Suffering features dynamic lighting that illuminates frightening visions of horror-filled exploration and frantic combat sequences. In the dark world of The Suffering, creatures


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THE SUFFERING (Cont’d.)

attack from the shadows and emerge from jail cells, chambers, the ground and trees, surprising the player in the
most disturbing ways possible. As Torque, the main character, players encounter a cast of uniquely hardened criminals, prison guards and grotesque apparitions. Depending on how they play the game, players will arrive at three distinct endings for a unique gaming experience. In addition, Stan Winston, renowned creature designer, enhanced The Suffering’s horror-filled experience by creating the disturbing character artwork featured in the game.
The Suffering is scheduled to ship Halloween 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™. For more information visit www.thesuffering.midway.com.

SPYHUNTER 2

SpyHunter is back in the ultimate thrill ride with SpyHunter 2, combining high-speed combat, global espionage, and mission-based gameplay. Gamers take the helm of the world’s most powerful counterintelligence combat vehicle, the completely redesigned G-8155 Interceptor complete with new transformations including the sleek snowmobile and 4-wheel drive off-road vehicle. Within a compelling story of global intrigue and international espionage, the gamer’s mission is to uncover Nostra’s sinister plans for world domination and discover the secrets of a mysterious female agent. In addition, the gameplay includes upgradeable offensive and defensive weaponry, as players fend off enemy vehicles throughout massive levels set across enormous regions. The excitement also continues with the latest version of the Interceptor’s online computer, Leonie 2.0, designed to aid in mission-critical tactics and information. SpyHunter 2 is scheduled to ship in fall 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™. For more information visit www.spyhunter2.midway.com

FREAKY FLYERS

Freaky Flyers drops players into the cockpit with the most unique and engaging cast of characters to ever explore, adventure, stunt-fly and dogfight in the videogame skies. Intertwining stories and engaging aerial combat add to the excitement throughout completely open and interactive 3-D world environments. Increasing the intensity is multiplayer action that allows gamers to battle head-to-head in aerial racing combat. Freaky Flyers quickly lures players in with an intriguing, humorous storyline that includes 13 engaging characters and a hilarious soundtrack featuring eight original songs. In addition, players can travel with more than a dozen unique and alluring characters such as the true-blue American hero, Johnny Turbine; the pinnacle of German discipline, Traci Torpedoes; or the spicy bandita from south of the border, Cactus Rose. Freaky Flyers is scheduled to ship in August 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.

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ROADKILL

Fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world destroyed by a plague and ruled by gangs, players unleash havoc in more than 30 vehicles with weapons such as machine guns, guided missiles and grenade launchers. Assuming the role of the mercenary, players must build a gang following as they battle rival gangs, city guards and anyone else that gets in the way. RoadKill drops players into instantaneous battle with 30 core missions and numerous side missions. The missions place the player into the three cities of Hell County – Lava Falls, Blister Canyon and Paradise City. RoadKill’s dynamic reputation system determines how the world reacts to the way players perform missions, kill and maim citizens, destroy enemy vehicles and build alliances with the gangs of Hell County. RoadKill is scheduled to ship in fall 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™. For more information visit www.roadkill.midway.com.



Midway Sports

NFL BLITZ PRO

The new direction of NFL Blitz was designed with the sports fan in mind and is based on feedback from both hardcore and casual sports enthusiasts. Nationwide focus testing of sports videogamers produced a clear message: gamers applaud Midway Sports trademark arcade-style gameplay and intense action but also want to experience their favorite teams, players, and stadiums in an authentic professional sports context. Midway Sports answered the call by taking NFL Blitz in a new direction.
Officially licensed by NFL Properties and PLAYERS INC, NFL Blitz Pro will showcase authentic 11-on-11 gameplay with real NFL teams, players and stadiums, while still providing the well-known Midway Sports “edge.” With a solid reputation for delivering the best multiplayer sports games, NFL Blitz Pro continues this Midway Sports tradition with superlative new online play for the Playstation 2, including a unique tournament system, leaderboards, fast head-to-head matchups, downloadable roster updates and up-to-the minute real-time weather effects – everything from snow in Buffalo to sunshine in Miami – to enhance the realistic experience. Along with the advent of the 11-on-11 gameplay format comes the first-ever Blitz-style running game that includes traditional moves such as handoffs, pitches, reverses, and up-the-gut runs, as well as more aggressive trick plays that the pros have yet to attempt. Midway also signed an exclusive deal with Terrell Owens, Pro Bowl wide receiver of the San Francisco 49ers, to appear on the package cover, in advertising materials, and to design plays and provide audio capture for the game. NFL Blitz Pro is scheduled to ship in summer 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.



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NHL HITZ PRO

NHL Hitz has been reinvented, without leaving behind the edginess that has made Midway Sports the leader and only year-on-year successful publisher of extreme-style league-licensed sports videogames. Officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA and featuring real NHL teams and athletes, NHL Hitz Pro retains the well-known Midway Sports “edge,” but with a new emphasis on realistic NHL features, and will showcase 5-on-5 gameplay, game rules and penalties, and for the first time, live online head-to-head gameplay on Playstation 2. NHL Hitz Pro also includes NHL legitimate, 23-man player rosters that bring together pro players and authentic team lines with real offensive and defensive team formations in precise correlation with each NHL team. Alongside the other exciting additional content that hockey fans will adore, new context-sensitive plays such as wraparounds will set a new benchmark for sports games. Midway has signed an exclusive deal with Nicklas Lidstrom, star defenseman of the Detroit Red Wings, to appear on the packaging and cover art for the game, and he also brings his big hits to NHL Hitz Pro’s DVD section. Regarded as one of the top defensemen in the NHL, Lidstrom is a four-time finalist and recipient of the coveted Norris Trophy and member of the 2003 Western Conference All-Star team, leading all players in fan votes. NHL Hitz Pro is scheduled to ship in fall 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.

Midway Sports Asylum Titles
NBA BALLERS
Officially licensed by the NBA and NBA Legends, NBA Ballers is the only basketball videogame to deliver the pure essence of basketball by highlighting the excitement and intensity of the one-on-one confrontation, set within the alluring fantasy lifestyle of the NBA superstars. Featuring online play for the PlayStation2, 60 current and 24 all-time player legends, NBA Ballers takes the game out of the arenas and into some of the most lavish NBA player fantasy “cribs” for an up-close and personal one-on-one experience. Gamers no longer have to debate who is the best NBA player of all time – now the greatest ballers can be matched up in elaborate settings; holding it down at some of the finest private courts in the league. NBA Ballers features current NBA stars such as Tracy McGrady, Chris Webber and Kobe Bryant, and NBA Legends including George Gervin, Magic Johnson and Wilt Chamberlain. NBA Ballers’ online capabilities for the PlayStation2 enable gamers to take on the world in online tournaments and ladder challenges.
By focusing on the one-on-one matchups, Midway Sports Asylum is able to build each and every NBA baller and legend with his specific skill set in mind. Shaq will bang in the paint, Larry Bird will be raining three-pointers and Iverson will be breaking ankles with his killer cross-over. With more then 5,000 polygons per player and facial motion-capture technology, no basketball videogame has ever given the gamer more realistic looking players. NBA Ballers is scheduled to ship fall 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.

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FREESTYLE METALX

Freestyle MetalX™ unleashes anarchy, giving gamers the freedom to do what they want, when they want, in a one-of-a-kind freestyle motocross game that features the best physics, a seemingly unlimited stunt system and truly daring sub-games that rebel against the establishment. Riding it hard, fast and anywhere, Freestyle MetalX is a totally unique offering that caters to the action sport and mass-market gamer with diverse, lawless freestyle motocross mayhem. Gamers and motocross fanatics can “be sick all over” as they experience firsthand the extreme thrills and spills of the first true freestyle motocross videogame. Featuring expansive worlds, eight insane game modes and sub-games, Freestyle MetalX lets players cancan and rodeo their way through vast environments as they interact with and trick-off everything from swimming pools to skyscrapers. Freestyle MetalX also features nine of the sickest riders pulling endless eye-popping tricks in stunning open environments. Pro rider legends include: Clifford “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Adoptonte, Jeff Tilton, Nate “Destroyer” Adams, Jeremy “Twitch” Stenberg, Trevor Vines, “Mad” Mike Jones, Kris “The Rock” Rourke, Doug Parsons and Ronnie “Kung Fu” Faisst. Freestyle MetalX is scheduled to ship June 2003 for the PlayStation2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube™.


Game Boy Advance Titles

MORTAL KOMBAT: TOURNAMENT EDITION (Game Boy Advance)
From the best-selling Mortal Kombat franchise, Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition delivers exclusive videogame action to the Game Boy Advance with multi-link play, more warriors and “karnage.” Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition features new bloodthirsty partnership opportunities that allow up to four players to battle head-to-head in tournaments, as well as wager in-game currency, which enables players to place bets on the outcome of linked battles, mini-games and other secret fighting challenges. Also added to the game are two forms of “currency” – available in red (new and exclusive to Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition) and gold – to wager with combatants, unlock or purchase hidden characters, backgrounds and other features in the “krypt.” Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition is scheduled to ship for the Game Boy Advance in summer 2003.



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STATIC SHOCK (Game Boy Advance)
Static Shock, the highly rated, supercharged Kids’ WB cartoon series, sky-surfs to the Game Boy Advance. Join the hip action adventures of Virgil Hawkins as he transforms into the electromagnetic teenage superhero, Static. Gamers try to defeat the super villains, such as Hotstreak and The Breed, with Static’s superpowers as they sky-surf, generate force fields, and throw bolts of lightning. With characters and environments straight from the hit cartoon series, gamers will explore vast, larger-than-life levels. Static Shock is scheduled to ship for the Game Boy Advance in fall 2003.

SUPER DUPER SUMOS (Game Boy Advance)
Super Duper Sumos, Nickelodeon’s highly rated cartoon series and the UK’s number one kids import, brings giant buttocks to Game Boy Advance for the first time. In this fast-paced action adventure, three 18-year-old sumos travel to the modern world with ancient powers to help defend the innocent and assist in battling the evil Ms. Mister and her cohorts. Supersized heroes in a normal-sized world, the sumos use their special powers – “Gluteus Maximus,” “Honorable Thunderball” and the “Sumo Squeeze” – to double in size and destructiveness in order to fight evil. Gamers can choose to play as Boomer, Defender of Peace; Kimo, Defender of Honor; or Mamoo, Defender of Truth. Stomping through stores, Super Duper Sumos is scheduled to ship for Game Boy Advance in fall 2003.

JUSTICE LEAGUE (Game Boy Advance)
Based on the hit Cartoon Network animated series and DC Comics’ famous super hero team, Justice League brings a new hard-to-beat, “Super Powered” force to the Game Boy Advance. Super villains have unleashed a triple threat for global domination and it’s up to the greatest super heroes of all time, the Justice League, to save the world from danger. Justice League provides gamers with an interactive, episodic adventure that simulates the stylistic, animated appeal of the popular series with a new, distinct, dynamic look and feel. Justice League is scheduled to ship for the Game Boy Advance in fall 2003.






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OZZY & DRIX (Game Boy Advance)
The Kids’ WB hit cartoon series, Ozzy & Drix, comes to life on the Game Boy Advance. Gamers embark on a totally contagious, infectious, gross-out adventure with the popular cartoon characters based on the major motion picture Osmosis Jones. Ozzy, a white blood cell “cop,” and Drix, his over-the-counter cold pill sidekick, battle infections within the body of Hector Cruz, an average teenager. They’re “private eyes” ready to wipe out anything that threatens Hector’s health and happiness, such as the common cold, otherwise known as the “Phlegm-alanche.” Ozzy & Drix spend their days and nights guiding the “City of Hector” through the dangers, trials and tribulations of adolescence. Catch the fever, as Ozzy & Drix is scheduled to ship for the Game Boy Advance in fall 2003.


Midway Games Inc. 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, XboxTM, Nintendo GameCubeTM and Game Boy® Advance.
For more information about Midway Games visit www.midway.com.
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MIDWAY, MIDWAY SPORTS ASSYLUM, BLITZ, SPY HUNTER, MORTAL KOMBAT and ESPIONAGE are trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC.

FREESTYLE: METALX, THE SUFFERING, HITZ, FREAKY FLYERS and ROADKILL are trademarks of Midway Home Entertainment Inc.

© 2003 NFL Properties LLC. Team names and logos are trademarks of the teams indicated. All other (NFL-related marks) are trademarks of the National Football League. Officially licensed product of PLAYERS INC. The PLAYERS INC logo is a registered trademark of the NFL players. www.nflplayers.com  2003 PLAYERS INC. Used by permission. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.

The NBA and individual NBA member team identifications used on or in this product are trademarks, copyrighted designs and other forms of intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams and may not be used in whole or part, without the prior written consent of NBA Properties, Inc.  2003 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Distributed and licensed by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.

NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P.(c) 2003 NHL. All rights reserved. National Hockey League Player’s Association, NHLPA and NHLPA Logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used, under license, by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.  NHLPA. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.

STATIC SHOCK and all related characters and elements are trademarks of DC Comics. © Milestone Media, Inc. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.

OZZY & DRIX, characters, names and all related indicia are trademarks of and © Warner Bros.

JUSTICE LEAGUE and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

SUPER DUPER SUMOS © 2003 DIC Entertainment Corp. Software © 2003 Midway Home Entertainment Inc. All Rights reserved. SUPER DUPER SUMOS, and all related characters, names and indicia are trademarks of and © 2003 DIC Entertainment Corp. Distributed under license by Midway Home Entertainment Inc.

“PlayStation” and the “PS” Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance are trademarks of Nintendo.  2001 Nintendo. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.


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 the Company's current Annual Report on Form 10-K and the other filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.