Midway Games, Inc.
Overview
Midway Games Inc. is a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Midway videogames are available for play on all major videogame platforms including the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, Xbox and Xbox 360 video game system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube’ and Game Boy® Advance. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the company has many worldwide divisions and subsidiaries. Its west coast division,
Midway Home Entertainment, Inc., operates out of San Diego, California.
Midway has a long and illustrious history, beginning with its founding over 50 years ago as the manufacturing of pinball machines under the name of
Midway Manufacturing Co. The earliest game by the company,
Pong, began a revolution of the industry, and brought millions of people into the living room, nearly as much as TV itself.
Its acquisition in 1969 by pinball competitor
Bally Manufacturing Corporation was an event which started Midway on the road to becoming a leader in the videogames industry. In addition to having a pinball division, the company developed coin-operated videogames for arcades beginning in 1973.
The most prominent event in Midway's history occurred in 1983 when its pinball division and Bally's were combined forming
Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. Five years later, in 1988, Bally Midway was acquired by
WMS Industries and
Midway Manufacturing Co. was reincorporated as
Midway Games Inc.Midway Games Inc. went through momentous changes during the next 10 years. In a nutshell, it was merged, renamed
Midway Home Entertainment Inc. and then set free by its owner WMS Industries. In 1998 it once again became its own company, owned by its stockholders.
Initially Midway Games Inc. handled the coin-op arcade manufacture and sales out of its Chicago location, while Midway Home Entertainment developed games for home consoles from its west coast units. Eventually their Corsicana site was closed down and the company chose the San Diego location for its west coast hub. In 2001 Midway quit coin-op game manufacturing and sold all of the assets to Happ Control, Inc.
In February 2008, the Midway conglomerate employed approximately 900 people (about 700 development staff and about 100 in sales and marketing departments).
On 12th February 2009 the company announced that the company and its U.S. subsidiaries filed voluntary petitions in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. The filing did not include the company's non-U.S. operations, which continued business.
Midway Games Inc. acquisitions that became Studios:
Additional studios:
- Midway San Diego (San Diego, California) - first studio to develop games for Midway. Game Design & Development; Sales (Hqtrs. of Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.)
- Midway Chicago (Chicago, Illinois) - Game Design & Development, Marketing (principal corporate Hqtrs. of Midway Games Inc.)
Midway subsidiaries:
Also Known As
- Midway
- Midway Home Entertainment, Inc.
Trivia
Contact information (August 2008):
Midway Games Inc.
2704 West Roscoe Street
Chicago, IL 60618
USA
Phone: 773.961.2222
Midway Home Entertainment Inc.
10636 Scripps Summit Court
Suite 100
San Diego, CA 92131
USA
Phone: 858.790.3790
Fax: 858.790.3800
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