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SouthPeak pins TNA Wrestling

Publisher grabs license from Midway bankruptcy, confirms DS, PSP installments of Impact; Two Worlds 2 set for spring; publisher's sales double, turns a profit.

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Last year, THQ's annual installment of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw faced legitimate competition for the first time in years, as Midway debuted its TNA Impact line of games based on a rival wrestling organization. Impact was well received by critics, enough so that Midway moved ahead with plans for a sequel; plans that were scuttled when the publisher entered bankruptcy.

Soon you'll be able to fit Samoa Joe in the palm of your hand.
Soon you'll be able to fit Samoa Joe in the palm of your hand.

While most of Midway's assets were acquired by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the TNA Impact license was acquired by SouthPeak Interactive, which the publisher revealed in a quarterly financial report this week. In a conference call with investors, Southpeak CEO Melanie Mroz said the company was planning to launch TNA Impact: Cross the Line for the PSP and PSP Go this winter. SouthPeak chairman Terry Phillips added that the company is also publishing TNA Impact: Dual Slam for the DS, although no release date was given.

During the call, Phillips also provided a new release window for the long-delayed Two Worlds 2 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Once planned for release in the first half of 2008 as an expansion to the original Two Worlds, the game was upgraded to a full sequel, and Two Worlds 2 is now set for a spring 2010 launch.

The publisher's actual financial results were much more upbeat than most of their competitors' recent releases. For the three months ended September 30, SouthPeak doubled its revenues year-over-year, from $8.3 million to $16.7 million. The bottom line also showed improvement, as the publisher posted a net profit of $687,000 for the recently ended quarter, compared to a $1.4 million loss for the same period in 2008.

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