Bankrupt publisher Midway won't see the bidding war it hoped for, as Warner Bros confirms that its $33 million offer is the only one on the table for the Mortal Kombat house.
"No other bids came in, so there's not going to be an auction," Midway rep Geoff Mogilner told the Los Angeles Times.
This doesn't mean that there aren't some bumps in the road to a resolution at last for Midway. Although the highest-profile dispute surrounding the company, between majority stakeholder Mark Thomas and Midway's bondholders, has been resolved via settlement, the producer of the 1995 Mortal Kombat film filed suit last week, claiming his IP rights are at stake.
While Larry Kasanoff and his Threshold Entertainment want credit for fleshing out the fighting franchise's world and porfolio of characters, Vin Diesel's Tigon Studios is also reportedly seeking $200,000 for Diesel's involvement in Wheelman.
Not included in Warner's bid are Midway's San Diego studio and the TNA franchise. The publisher's Newcastle studio, developer of the recently-released Wheelman is also excluded from the bid, although Warner is expected to keep that franchise and associated assets.
The acquisition must be approved by a court, and Warner is entitled to a $100,000 court expenses fee if it doesn't seal the deal by July 15.
It sucks for Midway but really it's kind of amazing to see how big they were while I was growing up and where they are now where no one wants to buy their franchises.
Disagree you comment say Midway. For that price it's money well spent considering the tech,studios, network,ect already set-up. Midway in this case is just GREEDY, it's disgusting that a few execs are benefitting off a crumbled company they ran to the ground. Also considering the kind of auction they expected to happen..it's spitting in Warners Face saying "We like your offer, but we want more money considering we're IN A POSITION TO EVEN DO THIS!!!" now no one wants to even consider placing an offer makin Midway look even more disfunctional. It seriously serves them right.
Btw Larry Kasanoff helped ruin the franchise if anything, he said he help flesh the characters...he destroyed the mystery behind them which was the appeal behind the franchise, nuff said.
When the programmers run the show and have no concept of story or how to develop strong characters this is what you get. Kasanoff did not ruin the franchise Ed Boon ruined it. Ed is stuck in the 80's and cannot find his way out. It's great that he has a stockpile of cash off the backs of overworking his staff, but he will never be able to create a game like Soul Caliber, Tekken and Dead or Live.
Those fighting games run circles around the MK team always have and always will. Lets seen a Boon driven production sell a game over million that is other than an MK game. (I bet I have a better chance on winning the lotto before that ever happens) The only thing that pushed the franchise back over 2 million was the DC characters other than that sales were declining ever since.
Again no good leadership at the company feel sorry for the people who love Chicago and are to afraid to leave Midway. Guys there are greater opportunities out there, you just have to go find them and stop being lead by the clowns that are running the show!
Disagree you comment say Midway. For that price it's money well spent considering the tech,studios, network,ect already set-up. Midway in this case is just GREEDY, it's disgusting that a few execs are benefitting off a crumbled company they ran to the ground. Also considering the kind of auction they expected to happen..it's spitting in Warners Face saying "We like your offer, but we want more money considering we're IN A POSITION TO EVEN DO THIS!!!" now no one wants to even consider placing an offer makin Midway look even more disfunctional. It seriously serves them right.
Btw Larry Kasanoff helped ruin the franchise if anything, he said he help flesh the characters...he destroyed the mystery behind them which was the appeal behind the franchise, nuff said.
Those fighting games run circles around the MK team always have and always will. Lets seen a Boon driven production sell a game over million that is other than an MK game. (I bet I have a better chance on winning the lotto before that ever happens) The only thing that pushed the franchise back over 2 million was the DC characters other than that sales were declining ever since.
Again no good leadership at the company feel sorry for the people who love Chicago and are to afraid to leave Midway. Guys there are greater opportunities out there, you just have to go find them and stop being lead by the clowns that are running the show!