Media conglomerate Time Warner has made a $33 million offer, via its Warner Bros. Entertainment subsidiary, to purchase assets from bankrupt publisher Midway.

The proposal sees Warner attempting to purchase "substantially all of [Midway's] U.S. assets," including the Mortal Kombat franchise plus development studios in Seattle and Chicago. However, Midway was clear that the Warner offer does not include the TNA franchise, the Midway San Diego studio and Wheelman developer Midway Newcastle.

The two companies are now in a "stalking horse" agreement, with a "court-supervised auction process...intended to achieve the highest value possible for [Midway's] stakeholders" set to occur before the court can approve or deny the Warner bid.

Bowing to public pressure, internet provider Time Warner has canceled its plans to expand trials of metered internet usage, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The program, which establishes a hard limit for bandwidth usage and charges users if they go over that limit, was set to hit Rochester, N.Y., and Greensboro, N.C. in August, and will expand to San Antonio and Austin, TX in October.

Many were concerned about impact this could have with the growing popularity of digital distribution and internet streaming technology in games and game-related services.

However, a trial in Beaumont, TX, underway since last year, will continue, with the company claiming that only 16% of users in Beaumont were affected by the caps.

Furthermore, the company will still pursue the concept, which it argues is vital because "Internet demand is rising at a rate that could outpace capacity within a few years."

"While we continue to believe that consumption-based billing may be the best pricing plan for consumers, we want to do everything we can to inform our customers of our plans and have the benefit of their views," said Time Warner executive Glenn Britt.

As it continues to field test metered bandwidth usage in the U.S., internet provider Time Warner has revised, detailed and defended its current and upcoming trials.

The revisions include a lower-priced entry plan and higher data caps. The company argues that tiered plans--in which customers have a set bandwidth limit and are charged if they go over--are necessary because "Internet demand is rising at a rate that could outpace capacity within a few years" and "could result in Internet brownouts."

Overage charges will be limited to $75 per month. "That means that for $150 per month customers could have virtually unlimited usage at Turbo speeds," said the company.

Time Warner is not alone in its hopes to bring the model, which is already used overseas, to the United States. Many worry about the impact this could have on gaming, especially as digital downloads and streaming services like OnLive gain popularity.

The company stressed that these are trials, adding "our plans will evolve as well and aren't set in stone" and that it looks "forward to more dialogue as we... Read more