Midway Announces Deal With Double Fusion And Broadening Of In-Game Advertising Strategy
Company Expands Commitment to Seamless Product Integration Through Dynamic In-Game Advertising Deal and Hiring of Key Executive
Chicago, Illinois, February 23, 2006 - Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY) announced today the broadening of its in-game advertising strategy with a multi-year multi-game deal with Double Fusion to provide dynamic, in-game advertising exclusively to select, upcoming Midway titles. Midway and Double Fusion expect to be working together to integrate real-world ad-campaigns into multiple next generation titles, including Stranglehold, developed in collaboration with John Woo, and other products currently in development. Under this agreement, the Midway titles are to incorporate Double Fusion's dynamic ad-serving technology to serve advertising campaigns which will be sold by Double Fusion's worldwide sales force.
"Along with our strategy to create immersive, engaging content, we believe that the technology to allow for dynamic, in-game advertising will add a sense of cultural relevance and context for the mass-market audience," said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. "Our relationship with Double Fusion will not only add potential incremental revenue on top of our existing static ad placements, but allow us to work with a partner sensitive to game development and committed to making ad placements organic and credible."
"Double Fusion's unique approach will allow Midway to incorporate dynamic advertising into their leading properties, and benefit from the tremendous market interest advertisers have in reaching the video game audience," said Elie Wurtman, chairman of Double Fusion.
Midway also announced it recently appointed Sarah McIlroy as director of in-game advertising and promotions for Midway Amusement Games, LLC, reporting directly to Midway's chief marketing officer, Steve Allison. Formerly with Atari and with more than 12 years of experience in promotions, marketing communications, and strategic partnership development, Ms. McIlroy will be responsible for developing relationships with advertisers and ensuring that products are presented in a way that enhances gameplay experience.
Mr. Allison remarked, "One of Midway's core in-game advertising strategies is to infuse our games with cultural context through the integration of static in-game product placements. We believe static promotions in conjunction with dynamic advertising will represent an attractive revenue opportunity for Midway. Sarah is arguably one of our industry's most experienced professionals in this emerging field, and we anticipate that she will manage the process for static ads as well as dynamic in-game ads with Double Fusion in an effort to maximize incremental revenue from our top titles."
About Double Fusion
Double Fusion (www.DoubleFusion.com) is a leading provider of real time, dynamic in-game advertising solutions for video games. The company was founded in 2004 to address the needs of video game publishers by offering an avenue to generate additional revenue, while at the same time incorporating advertisements as way to enhance the realism of their video games. Double Fusion's in-game advertising solutions allow advertisers to reach attractive demographic audiences while providing game publishers and developers with incremental revenue streams. Double Fusion is backed by Accel Partners, JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners) and JVP Studio. Double Fusion is represented by United Talent Agency's digital media group.
For information on Double Fusion sales and marketing advertising opportunities please contact: sales@doublefusion.com
ABOUT MIDWAY
Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with offices throughout the world, is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for major video game systems and personal computers. More information about Midway and its products can be found at www.midway.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 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, the upcoming console platform transition and other technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and in the more recent filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Each forward-looking statement, including, without limitation, financial guidance, speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and Midway undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances.
For More Information Contact:
Reilly Brennan
Midway Media Relations
773.961.2557
rbrennan@midway.com
Geoffrey Mogilner
Midway Investor Relations
773-961-2222
gmogilner@midway.com
Sean Kauppinen or Eric Gonzalez
Kohnke Communications on behalf of Double Fusion
415-777-4000
sean@kohnkecomm.com; eric@kohnkecomm.com