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Sooner or later, we'll see the positive by-products of this, although for Warner Bros., that day has already arrived. Variety reports that Warners has acquired "most of" Midway Games' assets in bakruptcy court for a little north of $30 million. That gives Warner Bros. Interactive the rights to Spy Hunter, Joust, Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pac Man, Defender, Rampage, and Robotron 2084, among many other titles.

Whether or not Warner Bros. exercises those rights into movie spin-offs is not known, although with the epidemic of board games and other favorite toys from the 1970s and 1980s, it certainly seems like a distinct possibility. The company already has a relationship with Midway, thanks to the Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe game. DC Comics is also a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner.

Until Thanksgiving 2008, Viacom chief Sumner Redstone owned Midway, but took a major loss on the company in the down economy. He sold it for $100,000 and an assumption of $70 million of debt, and in February, new owner Mark Thomas filed for Chapter 11. Warner Bros. made its $33 million bid in May.

It appears that the immediate focus will probably be on the games. Warner has been shoring up its video game properties for a couple of years, and having some of those classic titles at its disposal will help that arm of Warner Bros. even more, especially with the continued growth of the industry across multiple platforms.