Midway Share Increase 21%

Midway Share Increase 21%

Beginning this fall, Midway will release at least 31 new games, including 12 for PlayStation 2, 10 for Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, and another nine for Nintendo Co.'s Game Cube. Both the Xbox and Game Cube are set to debut in November.

Recently, Midway has found success with an action game called ''Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.'' The game was the top selling PlayStation 2 game from May 6 to May 19, according to research firm NPD TRSTS.

''Clearly, Midway is taking the right approach with respect to the console market,'' said Paul Kaump, equity analyst with Dougherty & Co. in Minneapolis. ''Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo are each going to spend about $1 billion promoting their systems so there is going to be a lot of focus on the industry, which will be good for Midway,'' Kaump said.

Shares of Chicago-based Midway were given an extra boost on Tuesday when the stock was upgraded to strong buy from hold by UBS Warburg analyst Mike Wallace.

In a report, Wallace said that 2002 should be a breakthrough year for Midway with the introduction of games with names like Spy Hunter, Arctic Thunder, and Mortal Kombat 5.

Earlier this month, Midway announced that it had received $42 million in financing to develop games for new video-game platforms such as the Xbox.

Shares of Midway were up $1.95, or more than 21 percent, at $11.00 in late-day trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

SOURCE: Reuters