Midway Sports Gets Big Assist from Nicklas Lidstrom and Scotty Bowman In Reinvented NHL Hitz Pro.

Entertainment Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 22, 2003

New NHL(R) Hitz(R) Pro, Which Offers Online Play and Authentic

5-on-5 Gameplay, to Feature Star Defenseman and Legendary Coach

Midway Sports(TM), the sports brand of leading software industry publisher and developer Midway Games Inc. (NYSE:MWY), announced today that NHL(R) Hitz(R) Pro will feature cover athlete Nicklas Lidstrom, star defenseman of the Detroit Red Wings(R), as well as coaching legend Scotty Bowman. NHL(R) Hitz Pro, the reinvented version of the successful NHL(R) Hitz videogame franchise, is in development and scheduled to ship September 25, 2003 for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(R) video game system from Microsoft and Nintendo GameCube(TM).

Lidstrom consults on the game as well as appears on the packaging and cover art for NHL(R) Hitz Pro while bringing his big hits to the game's DVD section. The 33-year-old Swede is viewed as one of the top defensemen in the NHL(R). He is a four-time finalist and recipient of the coveted Norris Trophy and most recently, a member of the 2003 Western Conference All-Star team.

Bowman, the winningest coach in NHL(R) history, retired in 2002 following his ninth championship season. Today the Detroit Red Wings(R) continue to benefit from his consulting expertise. Midway's NHL(R) Hitz Pro also tapped into Bowman's vast knowledge for insight on audio game tips in the Hockey School Mode.

"We are naturally ecstatic to have two Stanley Cup veterans in Lidstrom and Bowman," said Helene Sheeler, vice president of marketing, Midway. "Their expertise helped tremendously in delivering the added realism that will be the staple of the reinvented NHL(R) Hitz Pro."

Officially licensed by the NHL(R) and the NHLPA and featuring real NHL(R) teams and athletes, NHL(R) Hitz Pro retains the well-known Midway Sports "edge," but with a new emphasis on realistic NHL(R) features such as 5-on-5 gameplay, league penalties and violations, and live online gameplay for the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system.

The head-to-head online play in NHL(R) Hitz Pro features online player rankings and tournaments. NHL(R) Hitz Pro also includes 100 percent NHL(R) legitimate, 23-man player rosters that bring together pro players and authentic team lines with real offensive and defensive team formations in precise correlation with each NHL(R) team.

Additionally, new gameplay flexibility is built into NHL(R) Hitz Pro to give gamers more control in order to experience hockey the way they like it. Gamers can dial-in the exact gameplay that they enjoy with the new "slider" capabilities. With just a few quick adjustments in the game set-up menu, gamers can change the rules of the game, the speed of the players on the ice and the frequency of checks and fights can be increased or decreased.

NHL(R) Hitz Pro includes an improved AI so authentic that gamers will think they are playing with the NHL(R) pros. Goalie animations feature logic and behavior that realistically capture and feature everything from stick saves to stoning a knee-buckling 5-hole shot to slapping the ice with five seconds left in a power play. Gamers also have the ability to score from anywhere on the ice and will feel the tension and strain of NHL(R) action with a new hit-based Player Fatigue System that causes them to tire out after experiencing tough checks.

Playing on accurately diagrammed rinks, players will get cheers and jeers from the realistic crowd that reacts to the action on the ice. Additionally, an upgraded Franchise Mode allows players to build a Dynasty and lead their team into the NHL; a re-tooled Hockey School Mode teaches and tests gamers' hockey skills; and a Multiplayer Tournament Mode allows a virtually unlimited number of online gamers to challenge each other for dominance in multiple tournament tiers.

NHL(R) Hitz Pro Key Features:

-- New Online Play - Head-to-head gameplay, online player

rankings and tournaments for the PlayStation(R)2 computer

entertainment system.

-- New 5-on-5 Gameplay - Just the way hockey is played in the

NHL(R), 5-on-5. Every team, every player, and every position.

-- Full NHL(R) Penalties and Violations - From offsides to

two-line passing and cross-checking, all NHL(R) penalties will

be enforced in NHL(R) Hitz Pro.

-- 23-Man Player Rosters - 100% legitimate NHL(R) rosters as of

July 21, 2003. All players are available and all authentic

team lines are ready to score on goal.

-- Real Stadiums - NHL(R) arenas are accurately diagrammed in

NHL(R) Hitz Pro.

-- Unique Offensive and Defensive Team Formations - Over 400

unique plays and variations, and NHL(R) team and player

capabilities are based on their actual NHL(R) performance.

-- Player Fatigue System - Just as in a real hockey game, the

more the player gets checked to the ice, the more tired they

become.

-- Line Changes - See your line becoming tired or spot a mismatch

in the defensive team and switch up your line to have the

freshest players on the ice.

-- Legitimate Stick Handling - Just like the real players in the

NHL(R), glide and move the puck back and forth like a yo-yo

near the net, through the use of the right analog stick.

NHL(R) Hitz Pro offers the most realistic stick and puck

handling of any hockey game to date.

-- Realistic Crowd Reactions - For the first time, a sports

videogame will accurately recreate a realistic crowd and

player emotion based on the flow of the game. You might get a

"ho-hum" reaction from the crowd and your teammates by scoring

a goal to go up 8-0 against your opponent, but the crowd will

flip out and your teammates will rush you when you score the

game-winning goal in overtime.

-- New Color Commentary - Midway is adding a second commentator

to the booth, veteran sportscaster Harry Teinowitz, and he'll

give you his take on the game as well as the lowdown on some

of your favorite NHL(R) players.

-- Upgraded Franchise Mode - The Franchise Mode option lets you

build a Dynasty and manage your team. Draft and trade players

at your whim! Choose the offensive strategy and plot the

perfect defensive scheme to prevent other teams from abusing

your squad. After you create the perfect strategy, now

determine who starts, and who gets left behind on the bench in

your quest to earn Hero Equipment and join the NHL(R).

-- Re-tooled Hockey School Mode - NHL(R) Hitz Pro features

restructured Hockey School where the game player is taught and

the skills tested. Your instructor will introduce a young

NHL(R) All-Star to tell you a little more about what is

important in hockey, as well as provide NHL(R) Hitz Pro game

tips.

-- Score from Anywhere on the Ice - NHL(R) Hitz Pro now has

multiple new ways to score, new context-sensitive plays like

wraparounds and deflections.

-- Multiplayer Tournament Mode - Set up tournaments with

virtually unlimited number of online players. Up to eight (8)

players are supported on each online PlayStation 2.

-- Advanced Options - With different tunable settings and

sliders, you can completely customize your gaming experience,

from game speed, shot and pass accuracy, hitting power and

goalie skill right down to frequency of poke checks and body

checks.

-- Enhanced Fantasy Draft - Choose your favorite team and begin

your NHL(R) season from the absolute beginning where all

players become free game and are eligible for the draft. Feel

like an NHL(R) owner and all the pressures that come when

trying to construct a team from scratch.

-- Improved AI - Smarter players, realistic offensive and

defensive behavior. NHL(R) Hitz Pro delivers such realistic

AI, you'll think you're playing one of your friends.

-- Improved Goalie Animations - NHL(R) Hitz Pro has gone to great

lengths to ensure the best and most realistic goalie

animations in the history of the franchise. From stick saves

to butterfly saves and smothering the puck, if a goalie can

make the impossible save in the NHL(R), he can make it in

NHL(R) Hitz Pro.

-- Improved Goalie Logic and Behavior - From poking the puck away

from the attacker, to sprinting to the bench with one minute

left in the game to give your team the one-man advantage.

Goalies in NHL(R) Hitz Pro behave and react like the real

thing in the NHL(R).

-- New Motion Capture Animations - From new checks, slap shots

and goalie animations, NHL(R) Hitz Pro improves on more than

1,500 motion-captured animations in the game.

-- Killer Soundtrack - New material from some of the best names

in the business including Dry Kill Logic, Kazzer, Powerman

5000 and Diffuser as well as gritty, high-energy rock from

newcomers Exit This Side and Flipswitch make the NHL Hitz Pro 

soundtrack a collectors item.

Midway Games Inc. is a leading developer, publisher and marketer of interactive entertainment software. Midway videogames are available for play on all major videogame platforms including the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube(TM) and Game Boy(R) Advance.

For more information about Midway Games and NHL(R) Hitz 20-04 visit www.nhlhitz.midway.com.

HITZ is a registered trademark of Midway Home Entertainment Inc. MIDWAY and the Midway logos are registered trademarks of Midway Amusement Games, LLC. Used by permission. NHL and the NHL Shield are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P.(C) 2003 NHL. All rights reserved. National Hockey League Player's Association, NHLPA and NHLPA Logo are trademarks of the NHLPA and are used, under license, by Midway Home Entertainment Inc. (C)NHLPA. Officially Licensed Product of the National Hockey League Players' Association.

Nintendo GameCube is a trademarks of Nintendo. (C) 2001 Nintendo. "PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Xbox and Microsoft are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business conditions and the outlook for Midway Games Inc. (the "Company") based on currently available information that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the financial strength of the interactive entertainment industry, dependence on new product introductions and the ability to maintain the scheduling of such introductions, technological changes, dependence on major platform manufacturers and other risks more fully described under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors" in Amendment No. 1 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2002, and in other more recent filings made by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.