Midway's unseen Treasures

CHICAGO--At its press event in Chicago today, Midway showed off a modest sampling of its upcoming games for the remainder of the year and teased some of its upcoming games as well. However, we weren't about to let company reps off the hook at the event, so we cornered them to ask about what we didn't see at today's event.

Mortal Kombat PSP: The version of Mortal Kombat for the PSP will be called Mortal Kombat: Deception Unchained. The game is slated to ship in the first half of 2006 and will include new characters and content, including some of what was seen on the GameCube version of Deception, such as Shao Kahn and Goro as playable characters. The game is also planned to offer Wi-fi support. More info should be coming in the next few months.

Fear and Respect: The upcoming action game that features the mighty Snoop Dogg as a gangster named Goldie who must fight to gain the respect of rival gangs in South Central Los Angeles and a script by filmmaker John Singleton has shifted its release and destination. The game is now slated to hit next-gen consoles as a result of Midway's desire to make the game the AAA hit it believes it can be.

The Next SpyHunter: Reps were especially mum about any new entries in the SpyHunter series, which is now the subject of a big-budget motion picture that has former WWE superstar The Rock attached to it, saying only the information was coming soon.

MTV Games: Though L.A. Rush was recently announced as one of three games to be part of Midway's partnership with MTV, we couldn't get much more info other than that the second game in the deal will hit in early 2006.

NBA Ballers 2: Following the success of the original Ballers, a sequel would appear to be a no-brainer, right? So where is it? Most definitely in the works, according to Midway reps, who noted that as soon as the NBA season gets ready to kick off, details on the console and PSP entries in the series will start to surface.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Information on the upcoming game based on the popular Adult Swim property is expected to hit in early 2006.

Unreal Tournament 2007: Though shown at E3 in what Midway reps called a very early look, the next entry in Epic's stunning shooter franchise is being crafted by the fine folks at Epic, who are working "very hard" to make a game with as long a shelf life as its predecessors.

John Woo's Stranglehold: The action game from John Woo and starring Chow Yun Fat was teased at the event with the same trailer used for E3. But after a bit of pressing, we found out that, although planned for a fall 2006 release for the Xbox 360, Midway is targeting it to be a launch title for the PlayStation 3 as well.

Next Gen Games: While the company has offered a few hints regarding its plans for content on the next generation of consoles, such as Stranglehold, Fear and Respect, and UT2007 (which it expects will come to consoles at some point), we were hoping for some more word on what to expect. Reps noted that it's reasonable to expect many of the big Midway brands to appear on the next wave of consoles. However, it was interesting to hear that Midway isn't going to make a clean break from this generation as the 360 and PS3 hit the market. There are plans to actively support the PS2 for two to three years with big games, and slightly longer (three to four years) with kids games. In fact, Midway plans to unveil new original content for the PS2 next year.

Compilations: With the PSP version of Midway Arcade Treasures hitting, we were curious to hear about anything else in the wings that tapped the developer's rich back catalog. Though it appears that console compilations are done, there may be some more on handheld systems, and it's safe to bet that more will appear on the next wave of platforms.