E3 06: Midway Blitzes E3 with Wii games

By Tim Surette, GameSpotPosted May 3, 2006 9:59 am PT

Next-gen Blitz: The League heads to 360, Wii, PSP; Nintendo's new console also finds inner child with Happy Feet, Ant Bully.

Earlier this year, Midway held an event in Hollywood showcasing its upcoming lineup of games for 2006. Shown off was the company's new slate of next-gen games, including Unreal Tournament 2007 and John Woo Presents Stranglehold, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that the Chicago-based publisher had more up its sleeve.

Today the company revealed its E3 lineup, and lo and behold, there were a few surprises mixed into what was previously announced.

The biggest bit of news from Midway's lineup tackles next-gen sports fans. Blitz: The League, the infamous nonlicensed, over-the-top football game that was a surprise hit in 2005, is coming to the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation Portable. Midway released only a vague description of the game, which sounds eerily similar to the current-gen version. Gamers will have to wait until E3 to find out if it's a straight port or if it will include new gameplay and features.

That's not all for the Wii. Midway has been very active in trying to tap into the children's market and has secured licenses for games based on two upcoming Warner Bros. computer-animated movies, The Ant Bully and Happy Feet. Both games will appear on the Wii, with The Ant Bully also in the works for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Game Boy Advance, and PC and with Happy Feet also dancing onto the PS2, GameCube, GBA, DS, and PC.

Midway's two previously announced next-gen games will also appear at E3 in some form; however, it's still not clear when they'll hit shelves. The three versions of Stranglehold (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC) are now set for a "Winter 2006" release period, which likely means that the company is pushing for a release sometime during the all-important holiday shopping season. Unfortunately for first-person shooter fans, Unreal Tournament 2007 for the PS3 and PC, which gamers hoped to see sometime in 2006, was noticeably missing any release period.

The full list of Midway's E3 games with the latest release dates are below:

Blitz: The League - Xbox 360, Wii, PSP (October 2006)
John Woo Presents Stranglehold - PS3, Xbox 360, PC (Winter 2006)
Unreal Tournament 2007 - PS3, PC
Happy Feet - PS2, GameCube, Wii, GBA, PC, DS (November 2006)
The Ant Bully - PS2, GameCube, GBA, PC (July 2006), Wii (November 2006)
Mortal Kombat Armageddon - PS2, Xbox (October 2006)
Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run - PS2, Xbox (September 2006)
The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar - PC
Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War - PC (June 2006)
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - PS2, GameCube, GBA (November 2006)
MLB SlugFest 2006 - PS2, Xbox (May 2006)
RUSH - PSP (September 2006)
Mortal Kombat: Unchained - PSP (September 2006)
NBA Ballers: Rebound - PSP (May 2006)

64 Comments

  • RVD61903

    Posted May 30, 2006 7:13 pm PT

    im wondering how the theyre gonna do the online play on the Wii, sorry i dont kow whether the Wii has online or not i dont like Nintendo stuff, but is cool how its coming on the PSP

  • tait007

    Posted May 11, 2006 7:37 pm PT

    Blitz on Wii and PSP. OH YEA BABY!!!!

  • bigplaya295

    Posted May 10, 2006 10:50 am PT

    Where's the TNA wrestling Game they could at least show us some screens

  • Bishop21

    Posted May 5, 2006 6:44 am PT

    Were is Ultimate Mortal Kombat for XBLA!!!!???

  • Supersonic2000

    Posted May 4, 2006 9:29 pm PT

    Alright, Inspector Tequila is back! Also the Wii is finally getting more support. Way to go Midway.

  • Lost2017

    Posted May 4, 2006 3:24 pm PT

    I heard also that they're releasing stranglehold for the "wii".

  • manhunt1001

    Posted May 4, 2006 7:57 am PT

    Intersting list...only things which really excite me are Strangehold and Armageddon. All the Wii hype still hasn't kicked in for me and i dont expect it too right now.

  • jilarson

    Posted May 4, 2006 6:49 am PT

    Blitz isn't very good. It could beat Madden for the 360 since it stunk so bad. I want more Mortal Kombat for the 360!!!

  • GKBeetle

    Posted May 4, 2006 5:58 am PT

    Wii like getting so many Wii games. Wii hope Wii'll be getting many more. It sounds like Wii'll be buying a Wii and an Xbox 360 for the games that are too graphics intensive for the Wii. PS3 will be too expensive for me, sounds like. However, it sounds like Xbox 360 is getting more exclusives anyway, and sounds like it will be getting most of the good ports as well. I can live without UT 2007 and the new Metal Gear Solid 4. MGS4 will suck to not be able to play, but I'm sure I'll get over it.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted May 4, 2006 5:17 am PT

    i never cared much for blitz....so ...... meh.

  • cyrax_smetsers

    Posted May 3, 2006 11:53 pm PT

    OMG Stranglehold is coming out faster then they said it would come out cant wait for this game,its going to be so good think about the Online modes people be sliding and hiding behind sofa's etc counter's desks and u can blow everything up

  • neoand12

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:23 pm PT

    Wii is getting alot of ports

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted May 3, 2006 10:13 pm PT

    will the new blitz for the wii have more or less features than the new madden coming out on the wii

  • troakun

    Posted May 3, 2006 9:18 pm PT

    More and more Wii games... but "Happy Feet"? Is that coming from the film-makers that brought us such amazing crap as "Hoodwinked" and "Doogle"?

  • DrKill09

    Posted May 3, 2006 9:11 pm PT

    Even if Blitz is a straight port, I'm buyin it. It's about time that I can play a good football game on the 360. Madden's too hard.

  • comthitnuong

    Posted May 3, 2006 8:33 pm PT

    for the wii.....

  • KiLLer_ba

    Posted May 3, 2006 7:03 pm PT

    Wii getting more love, with Blitz The League.

  • Imavnas

    Posted May 3, 2006 5:28 pm PT

    "That is one impressive list of games right there.... but I'm sad to see that UT2k7 isn't coming out this year. "

    o_0, theres no release date listed for UT 07'...

  • ToxicEdge

    Posted May 3, 2006 4:36 pm PT

    sweet blitz for the 360 will be sick

  • playwrite

    Posted May 3, 2006 4:27 pm PT

    um...Wii is getting some movie games and a sports game. Wiihoo. Not to say that i wont buy one at launch, but this isn't all that exciting.

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