Blitz: The League Tackles Stores Nationwide

Backed by a Major Marketing Campaign and No Longer Bound by NFL Restrictions, Blitz: The League Conveys Darker Side of Professional Football

Chicago – October 17, 2005 – Midway Games Inc. (NYSE: MWY), a leading interactive entertainment publisher and developer, today announced that it has shipped the first-ever story driven football videogame, Blitz®: The League™, for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft.

Blitz: The League is the football videogame that Midway has always wanted to develop given the creative freedom from NFL restrictions,” said Steve Allison, chief marketing officer, Midway. “As a result,we’ve been able to focus our efforts on developing an entertaining sports game that also leverages the controversy of what happens both between the lines and beyond in professional sports today.

Blitz: The League's Multi-Million Dollar Marketing Campaign includes:

• Published under license from FHM Magazine with advertorials, print campaign, sponsorships and other promotions centered around cover athlete, NFL legend, Lawrence Taylor

• National television advertising campaign on multiple mainstream broadcast and cable networks ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, FOX, MTV, MTV2, Comedy Central, Fox Sports Net, Fuse TV, FX, and SpikeTV

• Relationship with SpikeTV program The Ultimate Fighter including mat advertising, in-program placement, and giveaways

• Participation in consumer oriented events & tours such as:
  Game Live's 2005 College Tour (25 colleges nationwide)
  Vibe Game Club featuring Yardfest (20 colleges nationwide)
  FHM Tailgates in New York City and San Francisco
  IGN Live (Oct. 22 & 23 – Anaheim Convention Center)
  GameSpot's G.A.M.E., The Game's and Music Experience (December 2005)

• Aggressive online campaign to top-tier enthusiast and mainstream consumer sites including Yahoo.com, ESPN.com, Gamespot.com, IGN.com, and WWE.com, among others

• Print advertising campaign across multiple major video game and consumer publications including ESPN The Magazine, Game Informer, and Official PlayStation Magazine

• National pre-sell programs at select game retailers, where gamers can pre-order a copy of Blitz: The League and receive The Blitz Cheerleaders 2006 Calendar featuring the Models of FHM for free (Limited time offer, while supplies last)

• Dedicated web presence at www.blitzleague.com , the official website of Blitz: The League

Top-Tier Media Feedback:

• "Blitz delivers action as dirty as the mud in the end zone with a story that charges gamers to turn a down-and-out football franchise into a dynasty. Stuff Magazine

• "It’s football like you’ve never seen and the NFL hopes you never will." – Spin

• "Midway Games Inc. has created a video game the National Football League would never allow." – Chicago Tribune

• "Promises to take the [football videogame] genre in very new, very interesting directions." – Official Xbox Magazine

• "The League will depict a side of the sport fans don’t often see." – GamePro

• "Blitz: The League will include all the things the NFL doesn't want you to think about." – San Jose Mercury News

• "Bone-breaking, skull-smashing football that’s what Blitz is all about." – PlayStation Magazine

About Blitz: The League

Blitz: The League will feature a powerful story mode that, for the first time ever in a football videogame, explores the lifestyle and drama found in professional football. Players will take the helm of a downtrodden football franchise and retool the players and coaching staff in a quest to guide them to the league championship. Additional features include intense multiplayer action with head-to-head online play and complete customization options of players, teams, stadiums and more.

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