Wheelman Dev Midway Newcastle Shuts Down

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The last-minute revelation of Necessary Force wasn't enough to save developer Midway Newcastle, as the studio failed to find a buyer and has now been officially closed.

Newcastle, responsible for last year's action-driving title Wheelman, was not among the assets Warner Bros. recently picked up from bankrupt parent company Midway. Warner now owns "substantially all of [Midway's] U.S. assets," including the Mortal Kombat, This Is Vegas and Wheelman properties plus studios in Seattle and Chicago.

Roughly 80 people were let go, according to Kotaku, with Midway looking to close TNA series developer Midway San Diego in September if a buyer cannot be found. Other franchises still up for grabs include the TNA license and the rights to Necessary Force.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
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    July 14, 2009 10:36 AM

    Good fucking riddance. That's what you get for making shitty games.

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      July 14, 2009 10:36 AM

      Please some respect for the artists and programmers that lost their jobs, often they can't do anything about it what game they have to make, shitty or not.

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      July 14, 2009 10:46 AM

      Fuck you. People just lost their jobs in the midst of a terrible economy.

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        July 14, 2009 12:06 PM

        Well he does make a good point, produce sub-par products, expect what you sow. Never fun when someone loses a job, but you know the quality of the product your working on.

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      July 14, 2009 12:34 PM

      Did you even play Wheelman? What the fuck, it was actually a load of fun, but hey, troll away.

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      July 14, 2009 3:14 PM

      They lost jobs that they weren't qualified to have in the first first place. When you make shitty, overhyped and overpriced products then bomb. You don't deserve to be in that business then.
      Welcome to Capitalism! Don't like it? Go live somewhere fucking else then.
      The game is nothing but a half assed, vanilla GTA clone like the recent "Driver" titles.

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        July 14, 2009 3:42 PM

        The driving in Wheelman is nothing like the driving in GTA. PS1 Driver is a closer comparison, with Burnout even better.

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