Midway Games

Logo descriptions by Logophile and EnormousRat Logo captures by EnormousRat and CuriousGeorge60 Editions by CuriousGeorge60 and KirbyGuy2001 (Logoblin) Video captures courtesy of TheProductreviewsinc

Background: Midway Manufacturing Company was founded in 1958 in Chicago, Illinois, as an arcade game company. It was reincorporated as "Midway Games" in 1988 and formed Midway Home Entertainment in 1996. This point became starting in Midway's post-ages life. In 1998, the company spun off from WMS (Williams Entertainment). Major troubles came in 2008, when Midway closed several divisions, and in February 2009, US-based operations of Midway went bankruptcy. The European assets were sold and two of them renamed "Tradewest". Midway's former divisions, Surreal Software and Midway Chicago (now "NetherRealm Studios") were acquired by Warner Bros.

1st Logo (1996)

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2nd Logo (Late 1996-1998)

Midway Home Entertainment/Digital Eclipse Software, Inc. (1997)Midway Home Entertainment (1997) (with NHLPA N64 and NHL)Midway Home Entertainment (1997) (with NHLPA N64 and Nagano)

Nicknames: "Shooting Stars", "The Circle M"

Logo: On a space background, twelve shooting stars fly from all over the screen and meet in the center. They disappear and the Midway logo (a red elongated arc with a red jacked-up "M" inside it)and "MIDWAY" (all in 3-D) spin toward the screen. "HOME ENTERTAINMENT" appears underneath, conjoined. The words scroll to its proper wording.

Variants:

On Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1, the text are in the yellow color. Plus, the Circle "M" is in polygon style. On the SNES version of Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1, the still version of the variant was shown along with the Digital Eclipse Software logo. Above the logo is "Presented by". Next to the Digital Eclipse logo is "Developed by DIGITAL ECLIPSE SOFTWARE, INC." in stacked words. On Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98 and Nagano Olympic Hockey '98, it's a still logo. Plus on the former, it shares the screen with NHL, NHLPA and N64 logos below along with Wayne Gretzky's signature above. On the PS1 version of former, there's only NHL and NHLPA logos. On the latter, it shares the screen with the NHLPA, N64, and Nagano 1998 logos. On San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing and California Speed for Nintendo 64, the copyright notice is under the still logo.

FX/SFX: The shooting stars, the Midway logo spinning in. None for the still version

Music/Sounds: A low humming. None for the still version.

Availability: Rare. Seen on Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 1 and Maximum Force for the PlayStation and Saturn. Also appears on other games such as Wayne Gretzky's 3D Hockey '98 and Nagano Olympic Hockey '98. Although the PlayStation version of the former has the next logo appearing before it.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1997-1998)

Nicknames: "The Comet", "The Circle M II"

Logo: On a black background, a comet moves counter-clockwise. As the comet moves, it leaves a trail of red fog. The comet then moves from right to left, Midway Games (1997) making an "M" shape as it does this. Then it moves up and down and left and right a couple of times. Then the Midway logo appears as it's formed by the comet, starting with the arc and the "M". It eases back as it does this. After the logo is formed, the comet goes right and "MIDWAY" in white appears near the logo. The fog dissipates.

Variant:

On some games, a copyright stamp appears below the logo. On NBA Fastbreak '98, the logo is in slow motion, but the music still plays normal.

FX/SFX: The comet.

Music/Sounds: The comet flying around. When the logo is formed, electrical crackling is heard, then it ends with a low synth note.

Music/Sounds Variant: Sometimes, on games such as Arcade's Greatest Hits: The Atari Collection 2, the music is in a high tone.

Availability: Uncommon. Seen on Midway games for the PlayStation, such as Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, Gex 3D: Enter the Gecko, Pandemonium 2, Bio FREAKS, NFL Blitz, the PlayStation port of San Francisco Rush: Extreme Racing, Rampage: Universal Tour and Mortal Kombat 4.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (November 10, 1998-February 28, 1999)

Nickname: "The Circle M III"

Logo: On a black background, several red pieces fly in and come together to form the stylized Midway "M" logo. The camera rotates till the logo is facing us. The "M" then zooms out, and "MIDWAY" wipes in to the right of the logo.

FX/SFX: The flying of the pieces, the zooming of the logo, the wiping in of the text.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only known to appear in Rush 2 and California Speed for N64.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (1999-2000)

Nickname: "The Circle M IV"

Logo: On a black background, the Midway logo with silvery shiny sides flips quickly towards the screen. When it gets really close, an explosion appears behind it. Then the logo moves back slowly as the explosion dissipates. As this happens, the letters in the word, "MIDWAY" fly in quickly from top and bottom and one at a time forming the name.

Variant: Different animation was used on 4 Wheel Thunder. The banner zooms in and the name vertically compresses.

FX/SFX: The flipping Circle M logo, the explosion, the company name appearing.

Music/Sounds: When the logo flips, a flipping noise is heard. Then an explosion with two low notes that sustain themselves.

Availability: Not hard to find, but not easy either. Seen on Mortal Kombat: Special Forces, Gauntlet, NFL Blitz 2000(PlayStation and Dreamcast versions only of the latter and the next game mentioned), NBA Showtime: NBA on NBC, and the North American edition of Destruction Derby Raw.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (2000-2001)

Nicknames: "Liquid Lines", "The Circle M V"

Logo: Many flaming lines rush through the inner liquid surface of the cylinder. It moves and becomes the Circle M, with a spark running around it and then creating the word “MIDWAY”. "HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC." also appears below.

FX/SFX: The lines moving.

Music/Sounds: Buzzing and whooshing sounds.

Availability: A little more common than its predecessors, but still uncommon. Seen on Kurt Warner’s Arena Football Unleashed, NBAHoopz, Muppet Monster Adventure, Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Stage 2, the Dreamcast ports of Army Men: Sarge's Heroes and San Francisco Rush 2049,and the US version of Formula 1 2000 for PlayStation, among others.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (September 24, 2001-August 25, 2003)

Nicknames: "CardioSquad", "The Circle M VI"

Logo: A lot of pink cardiograms pass the screen. The closest one suddenly creates the "M" letter instead of heart rate. They all collapse into one single line and the Midway logo appears once the lines vanish.Midway Games (2002)

Variant: On SpyHunterand Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition for GBA, the logo is still and "GAMES INC." was added below. Also, a cardiogram line passes from left to right.

FX/SFX: The lines.

Music/Sounds: An uprising electronic tune with electronic beats that drum faster as the lines move back, then an abrupt stop with a low tone as the logo appears.

Availability: Uncommon. Was only seen on three games, NHL Hitz 20-02, NFL Blitz 20-02,and SpyHunter. Strangely, this was seen on RedCard 20-03, despite being released under the Midway Sports label.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (2002-2006) Midway Games (1997)Midway Games (2003)

Nicknames: "Red Impulse", "The Circle M VII"

Logo: On a black background, an orange and red cardiogram appears twice. The third time, the M-like shape of it suddenly starts to resemble a red line having slashed through the background. This slash mark zooms out and forms the Midway Circle M as the company appears near it. The Circle M slowly zooms in.

Variants:

On Area 51, the logo is tinted green. On Justice League for GBA, the logo has a 3D effect and "HOME ENTERTAINMENT INC." added below. Gauntlet: Dark Legacy didn't use the standard logo too. Instead, it has the M Shield rotating and the text created by a spinning axe, flying through the screen. The company's name is pronounced by a deep voice. On Haven: Call of the King, the logo is still and lies on a white background with a copyright stamp below. Another variant is used in the opening credits, where the logo in 3-D while floating in space. On The Suffering, the logo projects from the blood splattered on the wall. There exists an enhanced version of this logo as well.

FX/SFX: The line moving and creating the logo.

Music/Sounds: Three stylized heartbeat sounds followed by three speedy whooshes and a deep, quick slamming sound while the logo fades out.

Availability: Common. Some of the games that have this logo include Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, Ed, Edd, ‘n Eddy: The Mis-Ed-ventures, and all three volumes of Midway Arcade Treasures (including the Extended Play and Deluxe Edition releases). The enhanced version only appeared on Mortal Kombat: Deception and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (Rampage Variant) (April 24, 2006)

Nicknames: "Monkey Rampage", "The Circle M VIII"

Logo: The Midway logo hangs among the cyan-colored space and casts a shadow. Suddenly an enraged ape lands directly at the logo, breaking part of it, and proceeds with the destruction. It uses the "I" letter to crush the remaining text, then takes the M shield and throws it into the screen, which cracks. The background clears, leaving the banner and cracked glass for one second more.

FX/SFX: The monkey lands and blows the logo to ashes.

Music/Sounds: The falling soundaccompaning the falling ape, then the raging growls and the destruction noise.

Availability: Exclusively on Rampage: Total Destruction.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo (2006)

Nicknames: "Multiplied Midway", "The Circle M IX"

Logo: The background is covered with many M Shields and the "MIDWAY" text. We zoom inside and the Midway logo appears and flashes. After this the background clears out.Midway Games (1997)

FX/SFX: The red light moving through the Midway replicas, and the logo shining.

Music/Sounds: A beating electronic tune followed with the "wzzh" sound.

Availability: Fairly common. Appeared on Rise & Fall, NBA Ballers Rebound (for PSP), Myst (PSP and DS), MLB SlugFest 2006, Blitz: The League (and it’s PSP port,Blitz Overtime), and SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run.

Editor's Note: None.

11th Logo (2007-2008)

Nicknames: "Midway HD Gaming", "The Circle M X"

Logo: The red gyroscope comes into the screen, whirls and forms the Midway symbol, which blasts a ring made of white and rapidly zooms out. Immediately the complete logo returns.

Variant: On HD games, the HD logo appears afterwards.

FX/SFX: The gyroscope forming and whirling.

Music/Sounds: Various bumps and whooshes.

Availability: Common. Appears on games made in 2007, including Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe,Stranglehold,Game Party and it’s sequel, both of which are for Wii (with no HD logo), Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends,Mechanic Master (the latter two both for NDS),and trailers for The Wheelman.

Editor's Note: None.

12th Logo (2008-March 24, 2009)

Nicknames: "Holo Glow", "The Circle M XI"

Logo: We move near the two-layered holographic wall consisting of Midway-licensed franchises. The Midway logo appears over it, with "NEWCASTLE" written below. Then the logo's quality switches to HD.Midway Newcastle (2009)

FX/SFX: The holographic wall moving.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Appears only on The Wheelman and the trailers for it.

Editor's Note: None.