[ALL] THQ kaput?

[Twigg4075]

http://sticktwiddlers.com/2012/01/15/rumourrang-thq-nearing-the-end-as-they-sell-off-major-assets/

Man I hope not. I love their games, especially Saints Row and Red Faction. What would this mean for the SR3 DLC?

I thought SR3 sold well but apparently not?

 

[FedEx227]

A lot of the reason THQ is in this position is due to bad sales and very bad tactics. Saints Row The Third had the potential to be a large seller, but was squashed into an oversaturated fourth quarter and was outdone by several other games.

This was something I brought up at the time and it really, really pisses me off that game companies do this. Everyone gets a game out in November so they can sell for Christmas which is well and good but when you're up against MAJOR titles, what's the real benefit?

A game like Saints Row: The Third could come out this week and get all the hype and a lot of sales based soley off being one of the only games in town.

Around Christmas? People are going to buy up the major titles and these smaller scale ones (which should also have lower price points) get swallowed up and lost with the idea that Lil Jimmy is going to put it on his Christmas list.

Silly.

 

[Twigg4075]

Didn't the first Saints Row come out in August? It sold like gang busters if I recall.

You would think they would follow their own advice.

 

[Garrett67]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115253-THQ-Denies-Cancelling-2014-Game-Lineup

THQ Denies Cancelling 2014 Game Lineup
Mike Kayatta | 16 January 2012 10:52 am
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After a series of tweets claiming the opposite, THQ has claimed there's nothing getting canned. Except for Warhammer 40k: Dark Millennium Online. Maybe.

Recently, thousands of virtual eyebrows were raised by an "announcement" from veteran industry analyst Kevin Dent, claiming that THQ had "cancelled all of its 2014 [game lineup]" and that the company is "offering itself to Asian firms to increase value." Dent had even mentioned that the publisher had cancelled its upcoming MMO, Warhammer 40k: Dark Millennium Online. THQ has responded to the fervor with an official statement, claiming Dent's suppositions false ... mostly.

"THQ has not cancelled its 2014 line-up, and has not made any decisions regarding the planned MMO," said a THQ PR spokesperson from the company's Australian office.

THQ did announce, however, that it was moving its focus from the "kids' boxed games sector" after poor sales performance by its most recent iteration of the uDraw. "Our slate for calendar 2012 and beyond is focused on high-quality core games and continues to build our digital platform and business," the spokesperson continued. "We are excited for our pipeline of original and high-quality content along with our relationships with some of the best talent in the industry."

To be fair to Dent, he did go on to tweet later that his comments were not official, and that no one should worry until THQ spoke up. And speak up, they did, shelving most people's concerns but one: the cancellation of Warhammer 40k: Dark Millennium Online. Considering the fact that the company's official stance seems to be "undecided," there's clearly some room for doubt that the MMO will ever see release.

Source: Joystiq

 

[A Tasty Burgerr]

Didn't the first Saints Row come out in August? It sold like gang busters if I recall.

You would think they would follow their own advice.

I may be wrong but I think a lot of it's success was from people starving for a next-gen GTA game and Saint's Row doing an adequate job filling that void.

 

[Leftwich]

Yeah Saints Row 1 came out in august and GTA 4 came out in April IIRC of the next year.

 

[SethMode]

I just don't understand why THQ wouldn't just hold off and even release SR3 in December or something, at the least. Look at how dead things have been these last 2 months. Mass Effect 3 is the only big game on the horizon and it isn't until March. This would have been a great time to drop unopposed instead of going up against juggernauts like Skyrim.

 

[Twigg4075]

I just don't understand why THQ wouldn't just hold off and even release SR3 in December or something, at the least. Look at how dead things have been these last 2 months. Mass Effect 3 is the only big game on the horizon and it isn't until March. This would have been a great time to drop unopposed instead of going up against juggernauts like Skyrim.

December is a terrible month to release a game. If It wasn't ready for release in August or September then they should've waited until January or February.

But you are forgetting some big games coming out in February. KoA, Darkness 2 and Twisted Metal.

 

[SethMode]

December is a terrible month to release a game. If It wasn't ready for release in August or September then they should've waited until January or February.

But you are forgetting some big games coming out in February. KoA, Darkness 2 and Twisted Metal.

I would have waited until January, I'm just saying that even waiting until December would have been better than what they did (if they couldn't release in August).

And I don't think any of those games are "big" games. Twisted Metal is the closest to a big game, but none of them are as high profile as ME3. SR3 could have gone up against any of those with the exception of maybe Twisted Metal and been fine, unlike trying to take on Skyrim.

 

[hackett]

Vita in February.... January would have been the ideal time to release Saints Row. With about half the amount of advertisement that MW3 had..... I think SR3 would be selling well right about now.

 

[BrntO4Life]

Amid Growing Concern, THQ Shifts Focus
Publisher to concentrate on core games, as anonymous staffer launches attack on bosses.
by Keza MacDonald

In an announcement issued to investors, publisher THQ said today that it is to exit the licensed kids' games market and focus its efforts on core gaming franchises like UFC, Warhammer and Saint's Row.

President and CEO Brian Farrell cited the success of Saint's Row: The Third as the driving force behind the change, revealing that the adult-themed open-world romp has sold close to 4 million copies.

The announcement comes in the wake of negative speculation concerning the firm's future, a string of loss-making quarters and the release of a furious letter to the media, from a person alleging to be a former staffer. The letter, which contains a high amount of salient details, calls for the resignation of key board members, including Farrell, and blasts the firm for mismanagement of its studios.

In his statement, Farrell said, "THQ will be a more streamlined organization focused only on our strongest franchises. The success of Saints Row: The Third is an example of what our revised strategy and focus can achieve. We have now shipped 3.8 million units globally and are currently expecting to ship between five and six million units lifetime on this title."

The announcement comes ahead of the company's Q3 2012 conference call, which takes place next week (February 2nd). Its aim is to ease investor fears that the publisher has plans to cancel or sell off some of its core franchises like Darksiders, InSane and even Company of Heroes.

The decision to exit the kids' games market reflects changing dynamics in the licensing market and the costly failure of uDraw on non-Nintendo consoles.

Meanwhile, various media outlets have picked up on the unverified ex-employee letter which claims that "having [THQ] on your resume is not a point in your favor" and blames the company's troubles on the "mismanaged" strategy of studio acquisitions in the last decade

Actually some really good news on the subject. THQ will stop wasting money on bullshit product and try to improve their key franchises.

It's too bad that Red Faction is no longer a part of that plan.

Also, SR3 sold way better than any of you thought.

 

[IamMedellin]

Actually some really good news on the subject. THQ will stop wasting money on bullshit product and try to improve their key franchises.

Also, SR3 sold way better than any of you thought.

 

[Twigg4075]

Actually some really good news on the subject. THQ will stop wasting money on bullshit product and try to improve their key franchises.

It's too bad that Red Faction is no longer a part of that plan.

Also, SR3 sold way better than any of you thought.

Great.

Boo.

Awesome.

Why abandon RF though? What other franchise will they focus on besides SR? SR and RF were their two big ones. The last RF flopped because it was pretty obvious they were spending many more resources on developing SR3 and not focusing on RF:A. Taking away the open world aspect was a huge mistake.

Volition makes great open world sanboxy games.

 

[BrntO4Life]

Great.

Boo.

Awesome.

Why abandon RF though. What other franchise will they focus on besides SR? SR and RF were their two big ones. The last RF flopped because it was pretty obvious they were spending many more resources on developing SR3 and not focusing on RF:A. Taking away the open world aspect was a huge mistake.

Volition makes great open world sanboxy games.

They announced pretty quickly after RF:A that it would no longer be considered a core game because it wasn't selling as well as they hoped, franchise-wise.

I agree, it's a great franchise. However, I think THQ wants Volition focused on SR now.

 

[Twigg4075]

They announced pretty quickly after RF:A that it would no longer be considered a core game because it wasn't selling as well as they hoped, franchise-wise.

I agree, it's a great franchise. However, I think THQ wants Volition focused on SR now.

While I absolutely love the SR franchise, that is just a shame. While it was far from perfect RF: Guerilla was an awesome game.

 

[IamMedellin]

More Layoffs Hit Troubled THQ

There's been plenty of bad news around video game publisher THQ, and more came today. A tipster contacted IGN to let us know THQ -- the publisher behind the WWE and UFC video games -- laid off 75 employees from the Agoura Hills, Calif. office today.

An official THQ representative confirmed the terminations but refused to comment on the exact number or positions eliminated.

"THQ confirms a reduction in force to the company's administration and publishing organization," a statement to IGN read. "As recently announced, the company is exiting the kids' licensed games category, and is focusing on its core game franchises and developing its digital initiatives. The streamlined organization reflects the company's new strategy. THQ's five internal studios were not affected by this action. The company will provide greater financial detail regarding the costs and organizational benefit on its third quarter 2012 conference call scheduled for Thursday, February 2, 2012."

http://games.ign.com/articles/121/1217328p1.html

 

[BrntO4Life]

I wonder if THQ would be a good company to invest in soon. All of this talk has people freaking out and their shares should be pretty low soon.

I actually think they're behaving intelligently and turtling the business in an effort to re-focus their priorities. It should help them in the long run.

 

[tigstah]

hopefully nothing else like a damn udraw will come from them.

 

[IamMedellin]

THQ receives stock delisting notice

THQ's woes continue as the troubled publisher receives a delisting warning from the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company's stock has been trading below the minimum of $1 for the past 30 days.

The publisher has 180 calendar days (until July 23, 2012) to make its stock regain compliance for 10 consecutive business days. If the company can't comply, well, let's just say these things don't end happy. There are examples of game companies coming back from the brink. Heck, Majesco has done it twice.

THQ is hurting bad, as it works through a realignment and sets off waves of layoffs to stabilize the company. The publisher is expected to explain its current financial issues during an investor call this Thursday, February 2. THQ's stock price is trading at $0.70 as of 8AM ET today.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/31/thq-receives-stock-delisting-notice/

UPDATE

Report: THQ REALLY in Trouble, Sacking 170+ People

Looks like things are going from bad to really bad to awful for publisher THQ, with an industry man reporting - not speculating, but straight-out reporting - that the company is about to sack over 170 employees.

The word comes from independent industry exec Kevin Dent, who took to Twitter to write "This is probably going to break in the morning, I have sat on it for a week or so. The culling at THQ was 170+ souls including [THQ's vice president of technology Mark DeLoura].

If this is indeed the case, it caps off a fairly awful week for the publisher, who has faced rumours of studio closures and been threatened with being booted off the Nasdaq stock exchange.

Kotaku is following up with THQ and will update this story should the company comment.

http://kotaku.com/5881175/report-thq-really-in-trouble-sacking-170-people

 

[Twigg4075]

Man this sucks. They produce great games but suck at marketing. They waste all their money on promoting shit like Homefront.