Midway has inked a deal with the Cartoon Network to publish five games based on shows that run during its Adult Swim evening showcase. The agreement paves the way for games based on cult hits like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, The Brak Show, Sealab 2021, and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law for consoles, handhelds, and PCs. The first game in the lineup will ship in late 2006, Midway said today. No specific consoles were mentioned.

　　"The Cartoon Network is known for creating programming that is cutting-edge in its presentation and content, and thus perfectly suited for video games," David Zucker, Midway's president and CEO, said in a statement.

　　One of the biggest draws on late-night television, Adult Swim offers a block of cartoons with a decidedly grown-up bent. In Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, a failed superhero tries to make it as a lawyer. Already the subject of a mobile game from Macrospace, Aqua Teen Hunger Force follows the mystery-solving antics of three walking, talking fast-food products. Another superhero takes a second career as a grumpy talk-show host in Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Sealab 2021 is based on the 1970s undersea cartoon Sealab 2020, remixed and overdubbed--with some humor the original writers probably never intended. The Brak Show blends outer-space surrealism and 1960s sitcom suburbia (and features Space Ghost's enemy, Zorak).

　　Creating animation and cartoon-based games is a long-standing tradition for game publishers. Activision owns the licenses to Marvel Comics like Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Fantastic Four, and Iron Man. Activision also has a suite of games based on PDI/DreamWorks' movies such as Shrek, Shark Tale, and the forthcoming Madagascar. THQ publishes games based on Pixar films such as The Incredibles and holds the license to Nickelodeon cartoons like SpongeBob SquarePants. Take-Two Interactive recently bought the rights to create a game based on the cult Fox hit Family Guy, and VU Games is still making money off The Simpsons: Hit & Run, which remains in the UK top 10 over a year after its 2003 release. Japanese publisher Bandai creates a number of games based on popular anime series such as Cowboy Bebop, which was also featured on Adult Swim.