Midway LA Impact!ed by closure

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Jul 22, 2008 10:06 am PT

TNA Wrestling studio's operations to be merged with publisher's San Diego development house; majority of employees offered transfers.

The studio developing Midway's new TNA iMPACT! game is apparently down for the count. The publisher today announced that it is folding its Los Angeles development house into its existing San Diego operations.

Midway said in a statement that the entire TNA team is being offered the option of transferring to the new location. The majority of employees in the Moorpark, California-based studio will be given the chance to join the San Diego team, the publisher said.

The reason given for the merger was to make it easier for the TNA team to work with the San Diego-based third-party production, licensing, and quality assurance teams. The move should also "further leverage synergies with Midway's other development studios in Chicago, Austin, Seattle, and Newcastle, UK," the publisher said.

A Midway representative told GameSpot the move won't impact iMPACT's release date.

"The game is going through final testing now and is still scheduled for September," the representative said. "This studio move will help ensure the long term success of the TNA iMPACT! franchise."

Midway's LA outfit is best known for the successful action adaptation of the Mortal Kombat fighting franchise, Shaolin Monks. Prior to being purchased by Midway, the studio was Paradox Development, and created the Backyard Wrestling series of games.

The San Diego studio produced Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows, the Ready 2 Rumble series, and Freaky Flyers before reports of its closure surfaced in late 2005. However, weeks later, Midway revealed the studio was alive and working on Rise & Fall: Civilizations at War.

52 Comments

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Jul 25, 2008 10:00 am PT

    ouch! at least everything is okay liked planned.

  • QuagmireJ

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 7:11 am PT

    WWE was the bomb back in the day, with the Rock and Stone Cold, etc.
    Now it has crappy characters and even crappier storylines. IMO TNA and WWE bl0w.

  • LazyPenguin1989

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 5:28 am PT

    Well at least the game is still on for finishing i want to play this.

  • TheBuck27

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 5:07 am PT

    So let me get this straight, the studio responsible for Backyard Wrestling, is merging with the studio responsible for Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows? As a paraphrase of what the Angry Video Game Nerd might say, that's like chucking up on a pile of, feces.

    But it should still be a good game. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe. Right??? Ehh who am I kidding?

  • Colsworl

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 5:03 am PT

    To Alpha gamer:

    This is the line-up to tonights edition of iMPACT!

    Johnny Devine vs. Consequences Creed and Eric Young

    - Matt Morgan vs. Trevor Chavis

    - Strap Match: The Motor City Machineguns (Sabin and Shelley) vs. Beer Money (Storm and Roode) w/Miss Jackie

    - TNA Knockouts Title Match: Taylor Wilde © vs. Velvet Sky

    - TNA X-Division Title Match: Petey Williams © vs. "Black Machismo" Jay Lethal

    - Tag Team Tables Elimination Match: AJ Styles, Christian Cage and Rhino vs. Kurt Angle and Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon)

    As you can see, only one match features former WWE stars and even then that will be a 5 table elimination match featuring some of WWE's best sars and AJ Styles of course.

    Lots of WWE fans are missing out on some great entertainment, shame.

    Edit: I forgot Morgan was in WWE before but WWE dropped the ball with him.

  • Eternal_Insane

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 1:41 am PT

    Its not just THQ that was involved with the old WWF N 64 wrestling games, it was Yukes, Yukes is the people who gave us the options of multiple attires, and if that wasn't enough we could change the wrestlers hair, and faces, and costumes, and not to mention the costume colors, we want this back!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • AlphaGamer469

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 10:17 pm PT

    TNA watchable? That's a joke, right? All you get is ex-WWE wrestlers whining about Vince, has beens trying to act cool and rejects that will just end up being ECW mid carders when they finally realize how much they have wasted there careers away. Not to mention Tenay and that other baffoon are the worst commentaters in wrestling. Heck , they make Tony Shivone seem like Gordon Solie. TNA is the WWE's Single A farm club

  • Shtinky

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 9:32 pm PT

    joshua6775 nothing says excitement like playing as a 67 year old Sting and his merry band of C-list wrestlers. Pass.

    at least TNA is in a much better state than WWE. TNA is still watchable, unlike WWE.

  • Aries03

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 5:51 pm PT

    who care's,really....?

  • joshua6775

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 4:00 pm PT

    nothing says excitement like playing as a 67 year old Sting and his merry band of C-list wrestlers. Pass.

  • Bandit_Haze

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 12:35 pm PT

    to Henninger

    THQ are also the same people who haven't made a good wrestling game since the N64 days.. like you say they "had" the formula, as much as i'd hate to say it, but it seems they've miss placed it somewhere.. maybe midway can do better

  • VenomRitual

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 11:43 am PT

    "The reason given for the merger was to make it easier for the TNA team to work with the San Diego-based third-party production, licensing, and quality assurance teams"

    all the better than.

  • Setsuka13

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 11:29 am PT

    Sounds like a great idea to me. The game could even get a few improvements as well. I suppose we will see.

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 11:13 am PT

    No Vince merged raw and smackdown into the Indy Racing Legue, so now they will be having live matches on the track durting the Indy 500

  • Henninger

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 10:01 am PT

    I personally dont care about the game. wrestling games haven't been good since the N64 days so im not gonna buy or rent it. & on top of that THQ isn't making this game so who cares. If u don't know, THQ is the publisher that made those old N64 games. They had the formula with what worked 4 a wrestling game & thats what i wanna play.

  • necronaux

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 9:26 am PT

    TNA is still around? I thought Vince bought/merged everything into raw & smackdown.

  • jtthegame316

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 9:08 am PT

    Candyman90 come on EA they are dreadful most of the time they make the odd good game here and there but it is mostly crap that comes from them. plus most the games that are good from ea are only published by them and not made by them. anyway i look forward to tna impact cause they messed up SVR 2008. plus tna is better than wwe anyway.

  • Irve

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 9:06 am PT

    AlphaGamer469 :
    ok .... your entitled to your opinion
    the difference is there aren't many people that have jumped from TNA to the WWF ... who have you got Monty Brown ?
    the big names in TNA are still there

  • Candyman90

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 8:17 am PT

    #1, if anything, i think TNA should've chosen EA as the company to do the game.
    #2, People, it's SAMOA JOE! if you're gonna make fun of him, spell the country's name right.

  • ps3thabest

    Posted Jul 23, 2008 7:50 am PT

    im gonna get this game support little companys

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