E3 Notebook: Expanding the Playing Field

I'll have more from my interview with Zucker in a question-and-answer article next week. But here are some main points:

Although Midway's revenue declined year over year in the first quarter, Zucker still expects sales to jump 40% this year. Results from a single quarter "don't mean anything," he said.

The way for Midway to get out of its rut is to grow rapidly, Zucker says. The company hopes to do that by pushing its franchise titles, such as Mortal Kombat, and increasng its investment in creating more -- and more ambitious -- games.

One part of its effort over the last two years to increase sales has been to stress game quality. Despite mixed or even poor reviews of recent titles such as Area 51 and Narc, Zucker said that an emphasis on quality has been paying off, noting that the average ranking of its premium-priced games has steadily improved in recent years.

The last year has not been particularly good for small publishers. Eidos has put itself up for sale, Acclaim filed for bankruptcy, and Atari (ATAR) struggled with poor sales and reviews of Driver 3, a hoped-for hit. But Zucker said he had no questions about Midway's viability as a stand-alone company, pointing to the strong revenue growth the company posted last year.

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