Midway served NYSE delisting notice

Besieged publisher threatened with stock exchange removal after failing to meet minimum $1 per share average for 30 consecutive trading days.

Wall Street has always been known as a fickle mistress, and game companies across the board are grappling with keeping on its good side. Some, of course, aren't doing as well as others.

Forward, down, forward, high punch.

Midway said today that it has received a delisting notice from the New York Stock Exchange due to its failure to reach a minimum average closing price of $1.00 per share for the last 30 trading days. Midway has six months to raise its stock price--which is up 16 percent to $0.29 as of press time--before the NYSE takes further delisting action. For its part, the publisher said that it "plans to notify the NYSE that it will seek to cure the deficiency."

Earlier this month, Midway continued its extended period of decline, posting a $76 million loss on revenues of $36.7 million for its July-September quarter. Shortly before Midway reported its quarterly results, Shari Redstone, daughter of medial mogul Sumner Redstone, resigned her position as chairperson of the publisher's board. She was appointed to the position in 2004, after her father's company, National Amusements, bought a controlling stake in the publisher.

For the current holiday quarter, Midway hopes to shore up some of its losses, projecting a per-share deficit of $0.20 on revenues of $105 million. Key releases during the period include Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe and Blitz: The League II, and the publisher also expects to see continued sales of recent releases such as TNA iMPACT!, Mortal Kombat Kollection, and the Xbox 360 edition of Unreal Tournament 3.

49 Comments

  • RoC1909

    Posted Dec 10, 2008 9:36 am GMT

    And this is what happens when you mix family and business! WHY did Sumner see the need to put his daughter on the board??? And look what happened! This B**** should NEVER be hired again and I hope this follows here around as she goes from interview to interview! Oh, that's right. Having a rich daddy helps with interviews. Oh well. Just a thought!

  • tonicmole

    Posted Dec 1, 2008 7:34 pm GMT

    It's true that Midway has dug it's own grave with no help from the recession. They have fed off of dwindling MK fans and Unreal 3 flop. Midway and Atari both found them selves relying on the success of a highly hyped title that once released ended up being barely budget title worthy. You would think they would get the point. MK vs. DC was kind of important. might wanted to make sure it wasn't terrible. Atari thought Alone in the Dark could save their company despite being mechanically unsound.....it's kind of funny how stupid they are.

  • subrosian

    Posted Nov 25, 2008 12:06 am GMT

    The "self-taught Finance guru" and "armchair economist" comments are more frustrating than amusing. In an era where Fallout 3, Gears 2, and L4D set sales records, Midway is barely scraping along.

    It's not the economy, it's the company. Midway continues to post massive losses. No matter how much someone likes Mortal Kombat, they're not going to bet their retirement on it.

  • Media_Mind

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 11:10 am GMT

    midway only has MK now...hope it lasts

  • shadowblade99

    Posted Nov 24, 2008 8:28 am GMT

    Oops....

  • tudyniuz

    Posted Nov 23, 2008 9:47 am GMT

    @rotnem: yeah

  • rotnem

    Posted Nov 23, 2008 9:32 am GMT

    Now is the best time to buy Midway shares.

  • chevydriver1123

    Posted Nov 23, 2008 8:10 am GMT

    While the economy has some of the blame, Midway has been tanking for quite some time. The best thing they can do is fill for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which is restructuring and maybe hopefully they can actually start churning out good games again.

  • rarson

    Posted Nov 22, 2008 2:47 pm GMT

    "Lol.. I love how all of you are pretending to be finance experts. All Midway has to do is do a 4 for 1 stock split to make the stock worth $1.20 per share. This really is no big deal. This is why companies have CFOs."

    Wow, do you know what a split is? If a stock splits 4 to 1, that means there are now 4 times as many shares in existence which means, obviously, that the shares are now worth a quarter of their original value.

  • rarson

    Posted Nov 22, 2008 2:39 pm GMT

    Maybe Midway should just ask the government to bail them out. The government seems to enjoy subsidizing bad businesses.

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 9:32 pm GMT

    They can do all they slitting they want, it won't save a dieing company. The fact is that Midway is a sinking ship and has been for some time. I am a finance expert as I work for Bank of America in Global Commerce in Charlotte, NC and I happen to be a gamer.

  • Scorpion16

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 6:58 pm GMT

    As a long time Mortal Kombat fan who's been playing the series since pre-school, I have to say this is truely heart breaking. I've always supported Midway, not just with MK but with other games like The Suffering and Psi-Ops. I wish Midway well and hope they get out of this. It would truely sadden me to see the company that produced the franchise that I enjoyed and cherrished as a kid(MK), go under like that.

  • fourthgeartappe

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 4:41 pm GMT

    This can be resolved with stick splits, or bankruptcy at the very worst. Even bankruptcy isn't the end. It actually allows a company to reorganize its debts without worrying about profitability for awhile. For the time being, it doesn't look like this will even go that far. Circuit City is actually in the EXACT same scenario, with regard to having a notice issued to delist. No big deal.

  • GoldenRamoth

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 4:37 pm GMT

    midway is pretty much dead now. they have a decent game now and then.. but they fail too often to stay afloat.

  • nnamdi85

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 4:29 pm GMT

    And to add to my previous comment; if Midway is delisted by the NYSE it doesn't spell the end for Midway. The can move from a public to a private company and thrive or be acquired by a larger publisher.

  • Bigkx

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 4:28 pm GMT

    I played Mortal Kombat vs Dc and I thought it was a great game, pretty simple combos, making it fun for multiplayer competition with buddies
    I am for sure buying it after having tried it, people should really try it before thinking it is gonna suck

  • nnamdi85

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 4:25 pm GMT

    Lol.. I love how all of you are pretending to be finance experts. All Midway has to do is do a 4 for 1 stock split to make the stock worth $1.20 per share. This really is no big deal. This is why companies have CFOs.

  • zintarr

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 3:39 pm GMT

    To be honest I am surprised they have lasted this long.

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:30 pm GMT

    lindbegh2007...This recession will cause some developers and publishers to go belly up...the ones that make crappy games and have no sales potential. Midway has not made any decent games for a long time. As per October sales reports, video games sales are still very strong compared to regular retail such as Target.

  • ctburesch

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:15 pm GMT

    Citi is not the largest bank in the world. It is ICBC, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China. Then Bank of America is 2nd. Bank of America is MUCH larger than Citigroup. Citi is ranked #7 in the world in total assets.

  • DarthVillainous

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:14 pm GMT

    @Lindbergh 2007

    Most Japanese publishers are doing worse than Western ones, so I very much doubt they'll be buying out anyone for the most part. As for the game industry going bankrupt, that's a joke. Yes, stock prices will fall because of the recession; that doesn't mean tons of companies will go belly up. People are just in panic mode right now, causing shares to go down, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way. Games are still recording record sales, and eventually their stocks will reflect that. And while sales may slump a bit, the hardcore crowd will continue to buy games (the same hardcore crowd which, don't forget, made the industry more money than the film industry long before the Wii). Given the choice between bread and a game, a hardcore gamer will give serious thought to the bread before they choose the game.

    As for Midway, they're going down because they generally make crappy games, and have for years. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of good games they've published over the last decade or so have been developed by others, not by them. Most (again, not all) of their own-developed games have been shovelware, so it's no surprise they're going under.

  • SolidSnakeM9

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:06 pm GMT

    Yea this sucks to see Midway struggling like this, they used to make great games for the SNES, but yea it's just they aren't doing much right now.

    One cool thing they could do is release like Ultimate Mortal Kombat on PSN and XBL, but not just a regular version, do it like Capcom did:

    Ultimate Mortal Kombat: HD Remix, LOL!

    Well that's not gonna dig them out this hole, but it'll help some and get some popularity back for them.

  • MentalGalaxy

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:58 pm GMT

    I bought some shares. I have faith.

  • Amir29

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:51 pm GMT

    Without innovation, you can not win in this economy. Depending solely on sequels to previously innovative titles may help to hold some of your current fanbase. But, without something new to offer, you can't get any new customers. Unfortunately, there's nothing they'll be able to do at this point. It's not like they can make a game and distribute it within a month's time. If anything, let's hope Midway serves as an example to other publishers that expansion and a dedication to quality will save you from a larger loss in the long run.

    RIP Midway. Thanks for the memories. However, your fall has been long overdue (in my opinion).

  • jazzyrider

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:31 pm GMT

    tough economy - ouch

  • DrKill09

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:26 pm GMT

    Hmm... maybe now Midway will realize MK vs DC was a BAD idea.

    I mean, I really like Blitz the League II, but it didn't exactly reinvent the wheel, and what do they got other than that and the new mediocre MK? I can't think of much. Unreal Tournament 3 (or UT4, as it really is) wasn't that impressive, either. It was like UT 2004 with all the color taken out of the graphics.

  • KingTuttle

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:13 pm GMT

    The whole market is tanked...Citi - largest bank in the world...trading under $4 a share.

  • LindBergh2007

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:13 pm GMT

    It's really hearbreaking to see the video game software crash like this and major publishers go belly up it's also tragic to see that America's pride has been damaged by this crisis and very few gamers see how much it's hurting the industry.

    I would really been saddened if Midway goes under. Mortal Kombat is a footprint of my childhood. But I actually believe that most of the major publishers will be brought out by thier Japanese competitors i.e. SEGA,Capcom,NamcoBandai,Konami. My advice to Midway is if NamcoBandai offer to buy them, submit and do not decline the offer.

    Everybody needs to get ready. The video game industry is going to be hit hard as the crash takes effect and console manufacturers may start losing money(What will happen to demand for the consoles if all of the major western publishers go bankrupt? If development cost remain high then you will see console sales decline)

    Whoever rates this comment down, needs to do a study in contrast so they can see that 3rd party games have a huge market share in gaming it's absolutely foolish to believe that this software market will have little effect on consoles.

  • NND1

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:08 pm GMT

    MK vs DC is not bad at alll kind of sick actually

  • Cobra5

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:05 pm GMT

    Hmmm... the only game I can think of I have interest in is Unreal Tournament. If Midway goes down, they better not take unreal with them.

    Other then that I really don't care.

  • enoslives7

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 1:04 pm GMT

    Sad....I use to love Midway arcade games.....RIP

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:52 pm GMT

    Unfortunately to many the MKvsDC looks like a last desperate ploy to milk the MK series for all its worth ... why else include a random comic book series unless they are desperate?

  • DrgnLrd

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:46 pm GMT

    midway's recent games suck. they need to modernize more or the company's gonna crash and burn or get picked up by some other company

  • flameducky

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:36 pm GMT

    Come on Midway! Think fast!

  • Hedfix

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:34 pm GMT

    I have faith in Midway. Might buy some shares.

  • Eko_Eko_Azarak

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:32 pm GMT

    I hope Midway doesn't die. It would be sad. This is a game company whose games I've grown up playing and I would hate to see them die.

  • Saurosy

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:28 pm GMT

    Sad :/

  • bigboss2010

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:17 pm GMT

    I hate to see this, Midway has made some decent stuff through the years and it would be bad to see a veteran development company dissappear.

  • necronaux

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 12:13 pm GMT

    Doen't look good, with the economy crashing. Can MK vs DC and the holiday season boost sales enough to save them? Hope so.

  • MFDOOMED

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:50 am GMT

    I haven't played a Midway game in ages.

  • rktPYZQShWz

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:41 am GMT

    Why can Gamespot write a blog about Midway losing money but not a review 5 days after the game has been out? (MK vs DC)

  • Timstuff

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:39 am GMT

    Sad times indeed. Midway is one of those publishers who used to be huge, but got hit really hard by the collapse of the US arcade industry. I'm really going to miss them if they go under.

  • MaxCadillac

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:31 am GMT

    Times is hard.

  • nightharvest

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:30 am GMT

    You wouldn't be happy if you bought Midway shares 12+ months ago....

    Then again, you wouldn't be happy if you bought any shares 12+ months ago.

  • grigjd3

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:26 am GMT

    Midway hasn't shown much creativity in a while.

  • Jamaipanese

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:16 am GMT

    poor Midaway

  • TruthOpinionSpk

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:16 am GMT

    Circuit City was served one and were delisted subsequently. Midway could save themselves with a Hydro Thunder sequel.

  • maddad5000

    Posted Nov 21, 2008 11:06 am GMT

    Ouch

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