Midway appoints new chairman, board members

US publisher Midway, currently the subject of a takeover by Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone, has appointed Ken Cron as chairman - replacing outgoing chair Neil Nicastro, who resigned after Redstone became the majority shareholder in the firm.

Cron is a personal selection of Redstone's, and he joins two other new members on the Midway board of directors - Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone, and Viacom director Joseph Califano.

Shari Redstone will be undertaking a role as vice-chairman at the publisher, which Califano will act as an independent director. Interestingly, he is also chairman and president of the National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University - a fitting coincidence, given that Midway's biggest forthcoming title is drugs-focused action game NARC.

"I am a firm believer in the strength and the future of the games industry," Cron said in a statement, "and its growing prominence in the entertainment market. I believe Midway has many of the core assets to be an important player in this dynamic market."

Although Redstone is chairman of media giant Viacom, his investment in Midway remains a private one. However, it has been speculated recently that he may be planning to sell the publisher to Viacom once he has successfully privatised it, in order to give the corporation a toehold in the games industry.