[i]Midway Games[/i] announced today, that they’ve formed a partnership with [i]Viacom[/i] divisioned [i]MTV[/i] to market, advertise, and develop soundtracks for three in-development games from [i]Midway[/i]. The details of the partnership read that in turn, MTV will participate in a royalty sharing structure.
“Gaming is an essential part of the every day lives of our audience and MTV is where game publishers turn to launch their biggest titles,” stated Jeff Yapp, EVP, MTV Networks Music and LOGO Enterprise Group. “This unique alliance with Midway allows us to move beyond a traditional advertising relationship and become true partners in the success of these titles. We will integrate our expertise in music, television, and online media to help one of the video game industry’s top publishers deliver exciting, new, culturally resonant games.”
“MTV is a key partner in terms of overall marketing reach; their programming truly defines pop culture worldwide. Together, we will work on finding innovative ways to integrate interactive entertainment, media and programming,” said David Zucker, president and CEO, Midway. “By combining forces with MTV, we ensure that great titles like L.A. RUSH, which are targeted to passionate gamers, get the maximum amount of exposure.”
Sumner M. Redstone, who owns a majority of the voting shares of both [i]MTV[/i] and [i]Midway[/i], said: “I am delighted that Midway is the first to enter into this exciting new business model, which harnesses the power of MTV’s brands, intellectual property and promotional engine to Midway’s top-rated games development and publishing abilities. And I am also delighted to report that the independent special committee of Viacom’s board which oversees relationships between Viacom and Midway recommended board approval, and that this recommendation was accepted by the full Viacom board.”
[b]L.A. Rush[/b] is the only title that has been revealed to be affected by this alliance thus far, and arrives to shelves this holiday season. [i]MTV’s[/i] expected involvement in the latest game of the popular arcade-like racing series, in addition to the obvious marketing they can provide, is to lend a branding label, borrowing elements and likenesses of the hit show “Pimp My Ride”. Certainly the biggest draw though, will be the inclusion of over 75 songs, from 20 different artists, including Twista, Lil’ Kim, Big Boi and DJ Rap.
Two other titles, to be named later, will also benefit from this collaboration.
