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{{Infobox Company
| company_name = Midway Games
| company_logo = [[Image:Midway_logo.png|300px]]
| company_type = [[Public company|Public]] ({{nyse|MWY}})
| foundation = [[1958]]
| ___location = [[Chicago
| key_people = David F. Zucker, [[Chief executive officer|C.E.O.]]
| industry = [[Computer and video game industry|Interactive entertainment]]
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}}
'''Midway Games''' ({{nyse|MWY}}) (formerly '''Midway Manufacturing''') is an [[United States of America|American]] [[video game publisher]]
== History==
[[Image:Midway Manufacturing.jpg|right|frame|One of Midway's past [[logo]]s.]]
Midway began in [[1958]] as an independent manufacturer of amusement equipment which was purchased by [[Bally]] in [[1969]]. After some years making mechanical [[arcade games]] such as puck bowling and simulated western shoot-out, Midway became in [[1973]] an early US maker of arcade [[video games]]. Throughout the [[1970s]], Midway was very close to [[Japan|Japanese]] video game developer [[Taito Corporation|Taito]], with both companies regurarily licensing their games to each other for distribution in their respective country. Midway entered the consumer market in [[1977]] by releasing the [[Bally Astrocade|Bally Home Library Computer]]; the only home system to ever be developed by Midway.
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[[Image:Bally Midway.jpg|right|frame|The famous Bally/Midway [[brand]]. In use from [[1981]] to [[1990]].]]
The '''Bally/Midway''' division of Bally was purchased in [[1988]] by the arcade and [[pinball]] game company [[Williams (gaming company)|Williams Electronics Games]] through its holding company '''WMS Industries Inc'''. The [[acquisition]] by WMS marked the end of the original Midway, though WMS retained the majority of Midway's [[R&D]] employees. Midway moved its headquarters from [[Franklin Park, Illinois]] to Williams's headquarters in Chicago and WMS established in 1988 the new (and current) Midway company as a [[Delaware Corporation]]. Midway moved its headquarters from [[Franklin Park, Illinois]] to Williams's headquarters in Chicago and WMS established in 1988 the new (and current) Midway company as a [[Delaware Corporation]]. WMS also obtained the right from Bally to use the "Bally" brand for its pinball games since Bally had completely left the arcade/pinball industry to concentrate on casinos and slot machines.
Under WMS ownership, Midway initially continued to produce arcade games under the Bally/Midway label while producing pinball tables under the "Bally" brand but in [[1991]], Midway absorbed Williams' video game division and started making arcade games under its own name again (without the "Bally" part). Much later, in [[1996]], WMS also purchased [[Time-Warner Interactive]], which included [[Atari Games]], part of the former giant [[Atari]]. 1996 is also when Midway changed its original corporate name '''Midway Manufacturing Company ''' to '''Midway Games Inc''' due to its entrance in the [[video game console|home console]] market. The original arcade division of the company became '''Midway Amusement Games''' and the newly created home division was known as '''Midway Home Entertainment'''.
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Midway, no longer able to use the "Bally" name, also left the pinball industry in order to concentrate itself on videogames. In January [[2000]], Midway changed the name of its "Atari Games" subsdiary to '''Midway Games West''' in order to avoid confusion with the other [[Atari]] company, then owned by [[Hasbro Interactive]].
More recently Midway has fallen on hard times; they were listed as the #20 video game publisher in [[September 2003]] and #19 in [[September 2005]] by the magazine ''Game Developer''. On June [[2001]], Midway shut down its arcade division due to financial losses. On February [[2003]], Midway closed its [[Midway Games West]] subsidiary, putting an end to what was left of
In [[2004]] Midway began a purchasing spree of independent video game development studios which "strengthens our internal product development team and reinforces our ability to make high quality games" (From Midway's May 2005 Quarterly Report). In April of 2004 Midway acquired [[Surreal Software]] of Seattle, Washington. In October of 2004 they acquired Inevitable Entertainment of Austin, Texas (now known as [[Midway-Austin]]). In December of 2004 they acquired Paradox Development of Moorpark, California.
On August 4, [[2005]] Midway acquired the privately-held [[Australia|Australian]]-based developer [[Ratbag Games|Ratbag]]. The Studio was renamed '''Midway Studios-Australia''', however it was still known to most people as Ratbag. Four months later, on December 13th, Midway announced to its employees there that it was shutting the studio down, leaving its employees based at that studio without a job. Two days later on the 15th, the studio was closed and their [[Adelaide]] premises emptied.
Founded in [[1958]], Midway is the oldest [[United States|U.S]] video game company that is still in this industry today. Midway Games is based in [[Chicago, Illinois]].
== List of Midway's Subsidiaries==
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