Difference between revisions of "Midway Games"

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| logo=MidwayGames logo.svg
 
| logo=MidwayGames logo.svg
 
| founded=1958 (as Midway Manufacturing)
 
| founded=1958 (as Midway Manufacturing)
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| defunct=still in liquidation as of 2011
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| defunct=2010-06-09
 
| mergedwith=[[Williams Entertainment]] (1996)
 
| mergedwith=[[Williams Entertainment]] (1996)
 
| mergedinto=Bally (1969)
 
| mergedinto=Bally (1969)
 
| headquarters=Chicago, Illinois, United States
 
| headquarters=Chicago, Illinois, United States
 
}}
 
}}
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{{sub-stub}}'''Midway Games, Inc.''' was a video game developer and later publisher.
+
{{sub-stub}}'''Midway Games, Inc.''' was a video game developer and publisher.
  
 +
==History==
 
Midway was founded in 1958 as '''Midway Manufacturing Co.''' as an independent manufacturer of amusement equipment. In 1969 it was acquired by [[Bally Manufacturing]], which was a dominant force in the slot machine market, however the two continued to run as separate entities in the Bally family.
 
Midway was founded in 1958 as '''Midway Manufacturing Co.''' as an independent manufacturer of amusement equipment. In 1969 it was acquired by [[Bally Manufacturing]], which was a dominant force in the slot machine market, however the two continued to run as separate entities in the Bally family.
  
−
During the late 1960s and early 1970s Midway produced electro-mechanical arcade machines, but by 1973 the company was beginning to take an interest in the burgeoning video games market. Midway got its big break when it acquired the license to distribute Japanese arcade games from the likes of [[Namco]] and [[Taito]] in North America, including ''[[Space Invaders]]'' and ''[[Pac-Man]]''. Midway would also produce its own video games, most notably the unauthroised modification to ''Pac-Man'', ''[[Ms. Pac-Man]]''.
+
During the late 1960s and early 1970s Midway produced electro-mechanical arcade machines, but by 1973 the company was beginning to take an interest in the burgeoning video games market. Midway got its big break when it acquired the license to distribute Japanese arcade games from the likes of [[Namco]] and [[Taito]] in North America, including ''[[Space Invaders]]'' and ''[[Pac-Man]]''. Midway would also produce its own video games, most notably the unauthroized modification to ''Pac-Man'', ''[[Ms. Pac-Man]]''.
  
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Both Bally and Midway were producing pinball tables separately, so in 1982 it was decided to merge the two divisions, creating '''Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc.'''. From this point onwards most video games and pinball tables were being credited to "Bally Midway", and the company was producing its own video games in addition to distributing imports.
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In 1982, Midway became '''Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc.''' after it was merged with Bally's pinball division. After the summer of 1983{{magref|bb|1983-10-08|30}} Bally Midway purchased [[Sega Electronics]] (formerly Gremlin Industries) for an undisclosed price{{magref|cb|1983-09-10|37}}. Bally Midway became the exclusive North American distributor of Sega arcade games for a short period because of this, before Sega re-entered the market to distribute their games themselves.
  
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After the summer of 1983{{magref|bb|1983-10-08|30}} Bally Midway purchased [[Sega Electronics]] (formerly Gremlin Industries) for an undisclosed price{{magref|cb|1983-09-10|37}}. The majority of Sega's products at this point were coming from Japan, so Bally Midway became the exclusive distributor of Sega arcade games for a short period, before Sega re-entered the market to represent themselves.
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Bally sold Bally Midway to WMS Industries in 1988 and its name was changed back to Midway Manufacturing Co. Despite this, the Bally name would continue to be used for WMS' pinball machines. A few years later Midway would create ''[[Mortal Kombat]]'', a video game that would become one of the main subjects of American congressional hearings on video games.
  
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In 1988 the Bally Midway division was purchased by WMS Industries. WMS chose to distinguish the brands once again, with the Bally name used for pinball, and the Midway name used for video games. The purchasing also led to the video game assets of [[Williams Electronics Games]] being merged with Midway. Williams, who also produced pinball tables, would effectively absorb the Bally pinball division some years later.
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In 1996, WMS purchased [[Time Warner Interactive]] (which owned [[Atari Games]]). Time Warner Interactive was merged into Williams Entertainment which then became [[Midway Home Entertainment]]. Midway Games split from WMS Industries in 1998; Midway gained Williams' arcade game properties while Williams gained Midway's pinball properties.
  
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Midway developed and published some of the most successful video games of the 80s before striking gold in the 90s with the ''Mortal Kombat'' series of fighting games and ''NBA Jam'' series of sports games.
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Their output started to decline in the 2000s — and their bottom line plummeted, leading to their bankruptcy in 2009. [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]] currently owns most of their IP assets.
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In 1994, WMS would purchase [[Tradewest]] and rename it "Williams Entertainment". Then, in 1996, WMS purchased [[Time Warner Interactive]] (and [[Atari Games]]). Both were subsequently merged into a '''Midway Games''' brand - Williams Entertainment became [[Midway Home Entertainment]] while Time Warner Interactive became [[Midway Games West]]. In 1998 Midway Games split from WMS Industries, becoming its own separate company once again.
 
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Their output started to decline in the 2000s — and their bottom line plummeted, leading to their bankruptcy in 2009. Warner Bros. currently owns most, if not all, of their IP assets (bar some Atari Games assets, now owned by a different Atari Inc.).
 
  
 
==Softography==
 
==Softography==

Revision as of 00:45, 4 October 2021

https://segaretro.org/images/3/32/MidwayGames_logo.svg

MidwayGames logo.svg
Midway Games
Founded: 1958 (as Midway Manufacturing)
Defunct: 2010-06-09
Merged with: Williams Entertainment (1996)
Merged into: Bally (1969)
Headquarters:
Chicago, Illinois, United States

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Midway Games, Inc. was a video game developer and publisher.

History

Midway was founded in 1958 as Midway Manufacturing Co. as an independent manufacturer of amusement equipment. In 1969 it was acquired by Bally Manufacturing, which was a dominant force in the slot machine market, however the two continued to run as separate entities in the Bally family.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s Midway produced electro-mechanical arcade machines, but by 1973 the company was beginning to take an interest in the burgeoning video games market. Midway got its big break when it acquired the license to distribute Japanese arcade games from the likes of Namco and Taito in North America, including Space Invaders and Pac-Man. Midway would also produce its own video games, most notably the unauthroized modification to Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man.

In 1982, Midway became Bally Midway Manufacturing Co., Inc. after it was merged with Bally's pinball division. After the summer of 1983[1] Bally Midway purchased Sega Electronics (formerly Gremlin Industries) for an undisclosed price[2]. Bally Midway became the exclusive North American distributor of Sega arcade games for a short period because of this, before Sega re-entered the market to distribute their games themselves.

Bally sold Bally Midway to WMS Industries in 1988 and its name was changed back to Midway Manufacturing Co. Despite this, the Bally name would continue to be used for WMS' pinball machines. A few years later Midway would create Mortal Kombat, a video game that would become one of the main subjects of American congressional hearings on video games.

In 1996, WMS purchased Time Warner Interactive (which owned Atari Games). Time Warner Interactive was merged into Williams Entertainment which then became Midway Home Entertainment. Midway Games split from WMS Industries in 1998; Midway gained Williams' arcade game properties while Williams gained Midway's pinball properties.

Their output started to decline in the 2000s — and their bottom line plummeted, leading to their bankruptcy in 2009. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment currently owns most of their IP assets.

Softography

Electro-mechanical arcade

LaserDisc hardware

System 1

Arcade

Master System

Mega Drive

Game Gear

Mega-CD

32X

Saturn

Dreamcast

Atari 2600

Amstrad CPC

  • Tapper (1984) (as Bally Midway)

Apple II

Atari 8-bit family

BBC Micro

Commodore 64

IBM PC

ZX Spectrum

Gallery

  • Midway Manufacturing logo (1958-1982)

  • Bally Midway logo (1982-1991)

  • Midway Games logo (1996-)

References

  1. ↑ Billboard, "October 8, 1983" (US; 1983-10-08), page 30
  2. ↑ Cash Box, "September 10, 1983" (US; 1983-09-10), page 37
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