Midway filed chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the middle of February and is now considering selling storied fighting franchise Mortal Kombat to help keep the company afloat. Despite the company's financial woes Midway's executive team would be given a $1.3 Million bonus if they can reorganize with the sale of Mortal Kombat. $1.9 Million if they can offer up a plan for reorganization that does not include the sale of the franchise.
Source: Gamasutra [ more info ]

I understand having to consider the sale of Mortal Kombat to keep the company alive. But really, how long could they survive after giving up such a key property? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Then again, talking about giving their executives bonuses even as their company spirals the drain shows a certain lack of business wherewithal.

Quite frankly though, after promising their ex-employees compensation for unused paid time off then subsequently withdrawing the promise, I hope Midway sells Mortal Kombat, it doesn't save them, and the company is still smoking from their collission with the zapper when some clever lawyer assembles a class action on behalf of the ex-employees. And if there is any justice the PTO compensation will come out of that $1.3 Million executive bonus pool.

Would make sense to me that if they are hurting, there are better ways to spend that money. Proof that Wall Street isn't the only source fo slapnut jackholes running our economy into the ground.

Would be interesting if our country took a lesson from the Japanese. In post war Japan, executives were at fault if a company failed and not a scapegoat either. It was from the top down. Hell they get paid enough, they should be accountable and not just an excuse away from leaving with all their money intact. I am not saying capital punishment or anything like that, but I think there would be far less incompetents running around if the consequences of the business were tied directly to their wallets! I would like to see them go through some type of shaming like that dude did in Gung Ho. LOL

Sell to Capcom, then we can finally get a SF vs. MK game.

Now if only Ted could get in on one of these bonus programs.

Part of the deal with the Japanese though, is there society is very much Honor based. If a company fails, it brings not only dishonor to the company, but to those running it as well. Here in America, we don't really have a sense of honor and pride when it comes to that level, in the sense that "what i made a company fail? HAH! i could never do that, it wasn't my fault." Personally i think the Zapper is too good for Midway, and that they accidently fly into an electric chair during execution time.

Originally Posted by HalfLife:

Sell to Capcom, then we can finally get a SF vs. MK game.

I havent bought many fighting games in recent years the last one was for the ps2 but i would buy that game if it ever was made and really there should be laws that prevent raises and bonuses for executives in failing companies.

My opinion that MK was the only big game that Midway ever created all of the others didn't come up to level that MK ever did. You cannot run a company with only one game and you have to keep innovating so that you stay viable in any environment.

I have to agree, your pay as a CEO should be based on how well the company does, not how much you think that you are worth. I guess we can say greed it at the bottom of a lot of this stuff.

Originally Posted by Wolfduck:

Personally i think the Zapper is too good for Midway, and that they accidently fly into an electric chair during execution time.

So have Rube Goldberg design the electrocution system? It's still the same basic process. Maybe a venus flytrap would be a more poetic way to deal with the Midway fly.


As far as the bonuses go, the money paid to execs doesn't usually hurt a company, but it doesn't help a struggling one either. Considering the size of gaming companies, though, Midway may really be makign their problems worse. The whole issue is indicative of modern American economics: pay the executives whatever they want, make sure shareholders get a cut, and if the company goes under, ask the gov't for a handout. The airline industry should have self destructed a dozen times in as many years, but they keep getting handouts and their business practices don't change.

Originally Posted by Wolfduck:

Part of the deal with the Japanese though, is there society is very much Honor based. If a company fails, it brings not only dishonor to the company, but to those running it as well. Here in America, we don't really have a sense of honor and pride when it comes to that level, in the sense that "what i made a company fail? HAH! i could never do that, it wasn't my fault." Personally i think the Zapper is too good for Midway, and that they accidently fly into an electric chair during execution time.

Except that everything I can find online (and much more than just Wikipedia, tyvm) is that Midway is a USA company.