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.

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.

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.

38 Comments

  • onyxdragon7

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 10:03 pm PT

    Good news for Two Worlds 2!!

  • Blaze_Hrimfaxi

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 3:59 pm PT

    @ jeffv541

    Then dont read articles about them.

  • jeffv541

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 3:52 pm PT

    Wrestling games are so boring. I would rather die than play one.

  • MondeEdlu

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 2:56 pm PT

    i clicked on this article cuz i thght it said southPARK

  • Dualmask

    Posted Nov 16, 2009 12:09 pm PT

    Well, the DS is the most popular gaming device out there, but to put a wrestling game only on handhelds...bewildering.

  • pure_impact

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 11:26 pm PT

    This is truly a headscratcher because putting the game out on all the consoles would generate more revenue than handhelds. I wonder what meathead came up with the idea of "hey let's just do a version for the DS and PSP?" Oh well..guess i'll spend my cash on SVR10 and enjoy the create-a-storyline feature.

  • Xyandar

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 5:29 pm PT

    Yeaah im not really looking forward to any new TNA games...I tried the other one for xbox 360 and i just couldn't seem to get into it... so i'll pass.. Two Worlds 2 however.. i'll have to check that one out for sure =)

  • Stryder_18

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 9:58 am PT

    Oh I thought thiis title said SouthPark Pins TNA Wrestling lol I was like wtf?

  • leeko_link

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 5:20 am PT

    I might check TNA Impact DS if it feature online WiFi play, if not then I'll stick to the PSP game. Hope these games last until TNA Impact 2 (if there's one).

  • salvucci91 posted Nov 15, 2009 1:32 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    salvucci91

    Posted Nov 15, 2009 1:32 am PT (hide)

    Wrestling is the ****ING lamest form of entertainent to ever be concocted by man. You either watch UFC or an action movie. Wrestling is a halfway retard

  • mrzero1982pt2

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:32 pm PT

    i had nothing wrong with the first impact, i had nothing wrong with tna when they focused on new fresh talent, but now that they have the following :the dudley boyz, booker t, kevin nash, sting, HULK HOGAN?!!? is this a mash up of the old wwe games by acclaim/thq and wcw games? i have lost all support/love for tna and i wish this game the best of luck, but i dont want legends of wrestlemania tna style

  • Nitecrawler1282

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:00 pm PT

    zzzzzzzzzzzzz

  • x8VXU6

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 3:57 pm PT

    and no one cares

  • theunloved

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 3:31 pm PT

    I always thought a game like that would sell better on a console instead of a handheld.

  • WTFitsPauL

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 3:30 pm PT

    @buffdaddy69

    spoken like a 5 yr old wrestling fanboy.

  • playa42018

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 12:08 pm PT

    Def Jam Fight for NY was the last best "wrestling" game.

  • VR_Verdugo

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 11:52 am PT

    Oh my, TNA wrestling, is that what they're calling it these days? Rated AO I imagine.

  • buffdaddy69

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 10:55 am PT

    @WTFitsPauL

    Spoken like someone whos never been in the ring. You know why wrestlers die of drug overdoses and heart attacks at an early age? Because of all the drugs they take to keep their body from being in constant pain.

  • Matthew_AM

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 7:23 am PT

    I thought they already made a TNA wrestling game. It was called Rumble Roses.

  • FF_fan2004

    Posted Nov 14, 2009 6:55 am PT

    I learn things the hard way when it comes to video games. Anything made by Southpeak is not worth buying and playing.

  • WTFitsPauL

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 9:44 pm PT

    Wrestling only "gets real" in computer games.

  • Y2Jfan23

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:22 pm PT

    I guess there will never be a good TNA game. Atleast not for a long time.

  • soulless4now

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:21 pm PT

    lol I also thought the title said South Park, but sadly it's only talking about SouthPeak. I'm curious about the Two Worlds 2 game though.

  • firehawk998

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:07 pm PT

    Two Worlds 2 coming at a bargain bin near you. Made( destroyed) proudly by Southpeak.

  • unreal_master

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 8:02 pm PT

    south peak is awful. they make awful games with awful nonsense. I told the devs at comic con their games are awful they laughed =/. south peak why dont u let urself get bought out and disappear.

  • Zerobeam

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 6:59 pm PT

    i don't think this is such a great idea. I wouldn't trust SouthPeak to do anything. Two Worlds was a horrible abomination of a game, X-Blades was just terrible, and Legendary was a subpar FPS. The best they ever did was Monster Madness and that was no better than average. How they've managed to make a profit is beyond me. I wouldn't raise my expectations too high for their TNA game...

  • lexxxy52

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 6:38 pm PT

    damn for some reason i thought that said south park in the title... not sure if that would have been a good thing i guess it would have been better than south peak though

  • icytower Site moderator

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 5:15 pm PT

    Ok, so the PSP & DS are getting games, what about iMPACT 2 on the big consoles.

  • monson21502

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:47 pm PT

    2 worlds 2 is gonna be great

  • N0tYrBeezin

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:16 pm PT

    I think there is a reason why WB didn't pick this up when they picked up other things.

  • Colsworl

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 3:11 pm PT

    Damn that sucks. I was hoping a reputable publisher would buy the license and bring it to the 360/PS3. I don't care about handheld games that much and I doubt these 2 will be any good anyway.

    The first iMPACT! wasn't bad, it was just very short on content. I feel it could be a very good game and possibly even better than SvR if the necessary improvements where made.

  • tony382

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:57 pm PT

    Price drop after the first month of release.

  • SLjimbolian

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:38 pm PT

    Just by looking at SouthPeak's resume of "quality" games, this will certainly be hitting a Walmart bargain bin near you.

  • duke-nukem11

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:37 pm PT

    cool. looking forward to seeing samon joe's man=boobs on my ps3 soon lol

  • meta_foxx278

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 2:19 pm PT

    So, wait? No console release of the TNA games? What was the point of acquiring the license in the first place if it's not going to get a proper release? I mean, no disrespect to the handhelds, but still, no console release? Not good, guys. Then again, SouthPeak doesn't really put out interesting games so I'm not counting on anything spectacular here.

  • KittyHeart

    Posted Nov 13, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    as if tna impact wasnt bad already, now theire putting it on ds and psp??

    ok....

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