Midway Unveils New Wii, DS, GBA Games

Publisher and developer Midway Games announced five new games this morning. Spanning Wii, Nintendo DS, and Game Boy Advance, and covering a wide variety of genres--from racing games to mini-game compilations to licensed platformers--the projects are all expected to ship this November. The latest in the long-running arcade racing series, the Wii version of Cruis'n is in development at Midway San Diego. Said to include "an impressive lineup of licensed cars," Cruis'n will feature 12 different street circuits and various car customization options, such as body kits, turbo, and neon lights. Farsight Studios' Game Party for Wii will bring over over half a dozen skill games to the console and its motion-sensitive controller. With revealed activities including darts, table hockey, hoop shoots, and multiplayer trivia, Midway describes Game Party as "the ultimate party game." As reported yesterday, Mortal Kombat is headed to DS with Other Ocean Interactive's Ultimate Mortal Kombat. A port of Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, the DS version features online mulitplayer and a Puzzle Kombat mode. In addition to the confirmation, Midway sent along several mockups of the game in action. Craig McCracken's Cartoon Network series comes to the DS with Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Imagination Invaders. Developed by Sensory Sweep Studios, Imagination Invaders will pit the charismatic series lead Blooregard Q. Kazoo against the latest of Goo's imaginary creations, the Space Nut Boogies, who have overtaken the house and kidnapped everyone in their pursuit of The Greatest Thing in the Universe. Wrapping up Midway's newly announced games is Independent Arts' The Bee Game on DS and Game Boy Advance. Based on Nippon Animation's television show Maya the Bee, itself inspired by Waldemar Bonsels' classic novel, The Bee Game follows the adventures of Maya and her friend Willie as they hunt down other bees and complete mini-games. "We are very excited to be bringing classic Midway franchises such as Mortal Kombat and Cruis'n along with powerful licensed content like Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends to the massive installed base of Nintendo system owners," said Midway executive VP Matt Booty. "These new games paired with the unique controls of Wii and Nintendo DS will continue to expand videogames to new audiences," noted Nintendo of America senior VP George Harrison.