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Midway And Ubisoft Team Up To Produce The Wheelman

Last week, when Midway filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, an immediate rumor arose: they may have opted to sell their promising IP, The Wheelman , to Ubisoft to net some much-needed income. Well, the rumor was half right.

Yesterday, Midway Games announced that it has "entered into a strategic relationship with Ubisoft to publish Wheelman ," the action/driving extravaganza that stars Vin Diesel as – you guessed it – a master wheelman. This deal puts Ubisoft in the PR seat; they will handle "sales, marketing, and distribution of the title" in most all major regions. At the same time, Midway "will continue to direct the development of the title and retains all future rights to the franchise and will sell the title in all other European territories." Now, at the time this rumor broke, we guessed that if anything significant changed in the production process of the game, it would experience a definite delay. However, the press release confirms that no such delay is imminent; The Wheelman is still scheduled to ship on March 24 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. We can also expect a demo for the PS3 and 360. Said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Ubisoft:

"We are pleased to be partnering with Midway to bring Wheelman to stores worldwide. The cutting edge open-world driving technology in Wheelman should make for an experience that gamers will enjoy."

So for those who have been anxiously anticipating the title, this is good news. We're hoping that Wheelman turns out to be a worthwhile action game; if it does, it could really help Midway's future, too. Cross your fingers.

Related Game(s): The Wheelman

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Zaben
Zaben
15 years ago

I will decide whether to buy based on the review I suppose.

BTNwarrior
BTNwarrior
15 years ago

wow a game that stars Vin Diesel

Where is the appeal

djjake
djjake
15 years ago

wow you read about it so it must somewhat appeal?!?! 😉

i have my doubts about this game though, but hope its good

it's one of those games where it could be good, but ends up lacking on graphics and controls

Orvisman
Orvisman
15 years ago

Well… It is being developed by Diesel's Tigon Studios, which did a little game called Escape from Butcher Bay.

They are also developing the remake plus sequel of that game, Chronicles of Riddick: Assault On Dark Athena.

So, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Cpt_Geez
Cpt_Geez
15 years ago

II need some review for this game mann its just so many games coming out these developer are going to have to earn my hard earned dollars lol.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
15 years ago

Vin seems to be in trouble, he had to make another Fast and Furious and now he's in a racing game. Sucks being typecast I guess.

Godslim
Godslim
15 years ago

dude i dont think hes in trouble at all hes mega rich…..and the reason he made a game is coz he luvs videogames

PS3_Wizard
PS3_Wizard
15 years ago

Hell yeah, remember in XXX? He talked about playing arcade shooters to help his shooting in real life (Well real life on the movie). And how can him being in the new fast and the furious movie indicate that he's in trouble?

That would mean that all of the entire original cast is in trouble, seeing as how they all make a return. I just know the movie is gonna be epic. Better than that stupid drifting sh** from the last movie. Here's to hoping they bring back drag racing.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
15 years ago

He also did "The Pacifier"

JofaMang
JofaMang
15 years ago

I personally blame F&F franchise for ruining the responsible street racing scene I used to be a part of, so i couldn't get behind this no matter how epic it might be~

PS3_Wizard
PS3_Wizard
15 years ago

How did F&F mess up the Street Racing scene? If anything, it put more racers out there. And even if it did, I doubt you were ever as into street racing as you make us believe.

Did you really let a movie influence your decision to stop racing?

JofaMang
JofaMang
15 years ago

Midway + Ubisoft = mediocrity squared.

Ubisoft is another publisher that dissapoints me. Am I the only one who found Far Cry 2 overhyped? Assasin's creed gameply left me wanting for more an hour in, and never did give it to me (own for ps3, "borrowed" for the pc for testing purposes). I have a fairly beefy rig (Phenom 9950 quad, 8gb 1066, 4870×2 x2) so I wont allow the excuse that any game should require a $9000 computer to enjoy.
(Crysis full options on, 1920×1200, steady 45 fps with the very occasional dip to low 30s.) My point is though their dialogue writers are above average, my overall experiences with Ubisoft have been shallow and superficial.

Midway, well, nothing they have done since the late 90s has motivated me to give them any money.

But, on the otherhand, I do love racing games. Might get a rental if it makes it to the light of day.

Tim Speed24
Tim Speed24
15 years ago

You must have missed Rainbow Six Vegas 1 and 2 then. Too Bad…they were good games.

L7 345T

Frenchy17
Frenchy17
15 years ago

Oh and a series of Prince of Persia games. I think Ubisoft is a great publisher.

JofaMang
JofaMang
15 years ago

Prince of Persia games always seemed to low on the challenge scale, seemingly designed for a younger demographic, imo.

My bad for leaving out the Rainbow Six games, I did enjoy those thoroughly.

StrategicGnomer
StrategicGnomer
15 years ago

How's the view up there btw? Is this a di** measuring contest I'm missing? It seems to me you only wanted to show off the size of your… HDD. Midway's not so bad and Ubisoft has made many good games and they're talented advertisers, look at the sales they generate on even their crappiest games, which aren't even too bad. Next time you want to show off, how about doing it with an intelligent argument as to why you don't believe this will be a good combination.

JofaMang
JofaMang
15 years ago

Sales and Ad campaigns do not a great game make. My opinion as a lifelong gamer (25+ years) has been shaped and narrowed over the decades, and admittedly, not in the majority of consumers. I have high expectations for what I choose to spend my money on, having been burnt far too many times over the decades of being a VG consumer.

I have been attacked in other discussions about my dislike for Farcry 2, from ignorant people that assumed I had a dated rig that couldn't produce the intended quality of the game. I apologize for qualifying my opinion of FC2 ahead of time, as I wanted to avoid that same criticism. Was that worth apologizing for? Probably not, but I am diplomatic to a fault.

I am not going to be ashamed of owning a nice gaming computer, and your inappropriate response might say alot about you, but this is not the place for personal attacks.


Last edited by JofaMang on 2/19/2009 3:23:26 PM

bamf
bamf
15 years ago

Fair enough if you didin't like FC2.
I wasn't as keen on Assassins Creed as some may have been. I felt it was a good game for the first quarter, it just repeated itself another 3 times. I enjoy all the Tom Clancy's series and there's lots of them, Rainbow Six Vegas, Advance Warfighter, Splinter Cell. I loved the Brothers in Arms games, for me every Prince of Persia have been good.
I think in the past on PS2 they made alot of bad games in the mix of some good games like Beyond Good and Evil. I think Ubi started to make a good name for themselves when the Splinter Cell games came.

At one point Ubi was my favorite Publisher back then when I was playing Beyond and Tom Clancy games. So IMO Ubi are a good Publisher and their games are liked by many avid gamers, if anything this makes them a good Publisher rather than a bad one.

MSB 007
MSB 007
15 years ago

the only reason i want midway not to die is because of mortal kombat because i really cant wait for the next one as it should be back to blood and guts for it, unlike the crappy latest one

city96
city96
15 years ago

I've always wanted Devs to team up on a game. It jus makes it seem as if its gnna be perfected. I hope Treyarch And Infinity Ward do that.

Tim Speed24
Tim Speed24
15 years ago

Wheelman seems like a Transporter rip-off to me. From the trailers I've seen, this game is one I will probably pass on.

Unless Wheelman the movie kicks-ass!

L7 345T

isaya85
isaya85
15 years ago

I think I might give this a go its something different for a change

PSN ID Biggest_GMoney

slayerkillemall
slayerkillemall
15 years ago

i feel very "skeptical" about this game…

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