• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Rumor: THQ Cancels Their 2014 Line-Up & MMO, Looking For Buyers [Up: THQ Responds]

I find it kinda sorta amusing how the narrative this entire generation has been how Japan supposedly fell so far behind yet it's been solely western devs/pubs that have actually fallen under. Obviously their presence at retail in the west has diminished, I'm not denying that, but I just find it amusing since it goes against the narrative we've seen the media push the past few years. Had this been say Konami, we would've heard people arguing that this was the beginning of the end for the country.
 

Frankfurt

Banned
Twitter + JustPushStart said:
A devious twitter user said the following about the rumor:

“YES! Hopefully the rumors are true and THQ is going down! You will be out of job, and we will FINALLY have a good WWE game!"

Cory Ledesma replied:

“Be careful what you ask for…”

http://www.justpushstart.com/2012/01/15/wwe-12-developers-comment-on-thq-folding-rumors/

And a Comunity Manager says he's just signed a new contract and hasn't heard anything:

http://gamingeverything.com/13920/thq-staffer-comments-on-shutdown-rumors/thq_rumor/
 

Ebris

Member
NOOOOOO 40k MMO

Maaaaan, that makes me sad.

I just hope that Dawn of War 3 makes it out alive, at least under a different publisher; that, and maybe a new publisher would have the monies to get the Homeworld IP back. Maybe. Hopefully.

...
 
shit... RIGHT when good non-RTS warhammer 40k games start coming out the publisher goes belly up...

that and the del toro stuff and darksiders IP. hopefully everything THQ has that's worth anything will get scooped up by other pubs instead of fading into oblivion.
 

RaijinFY

Member
I find it kinda sorta amusing how the narrative this entire generation has been how Japan supposedly fell so far behind yet it's been solely western devs/pubs that have actually fallen under. Obviously their presence at retail in the west has diminished, I'm not denying that, but I just find it amusing since it goes against the narrative we've seen the media push the past few years. Had this been say Konami, we would've heard people arguing that this was the beginning of the end for the country.

Quoted for the truth.
 

Scum

Junior Member
This sucks, but I can't say that I'm surprised really. Shame that many might end up out of a job, though. Maybe this will be a stern lesson to those who seem to think they can just piss money away in an attempt to turn everything they do into 'AAA' titles.

Doubt it, though....
 

Rubenov

Member
Just took a look at their stock price... last Friday was their lowest point ever and it seems heading on a linear line to zero (at 66 cents per share :O ). I guess investors already know this.
 
Some decent IPs over at THQ. I hope they find a good home.

Never felt too strongly either way about THQ. They did some good stuff, and some shit stuff. Sad to see them die, but not something that depresses me.
 

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
SAINTS ROW 4, DEVIL'S THIRD?

Guess they have to find NEW PUBLISHERS. duh

I bet Activision is going to buy THQ, stop freaking out people.
 

apana

Member
How convenient, I was just looking to buy a good gaming studio. I hope they don't mind moving their headquarters to my garage.
 

RSLAEV

Member
Along with all health items. Don't know who thought it would be fun cowering to regen health in a sandbox game and having it be the only option.

Especially when the last game let you smoek a fuckin blunt for a negligible health boost. Oh yeah let's take that out I mean who the hell wants to see that.
 

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
I don't think anything would make me "freak out" more than Activision being in charge of Relic.

For you, I hope Activision's Blizzard adopts that studio.

Maybe they are going to sell the company in pieces as well.

Would be smart, more cash.
 

Karish

Member
Hey guys. Take it from me.

THQ will not simply go away. They will either be taken private or they will be swallowed up by a larger company like WBIE.

The last thing that would go is Patrice's game.
 

infill

Neo Member
fucking sad, one of the few who has to balls to to do what the industry doesn't tell them not to do, pretty sad, hope all of them have a good future.
 
Hey guys. Take it from me.

THQ will not simply go away. They will either be taken private or they will be swallowed up by a larger company like WBIE.

The last thing that would go is Patrice's game.

I doubt Patrice will stay with the sinking ship, probably will swallow his pride and go back to Ubisoft or join EA Montreal.

I hope Square gets them, they did pretty good things with eidos.

What exactly did they do with Eidos?
 

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
I hope Square gets them, they did pretty good things with eidos.

It was Eidos Montréal that did pretty good things with the crackpot Square-Enix.

Square forgot how to make good games.
 
I seriously don't get the state of the industry. These guys, and other companies listed on the stock market, post huge losses every year, yet when I look at their games:

+ de Blob 2: flopped, but not big budget
+ Destroy All Humans: flopped
+ Kung Fu Panda 2: dunno, think it was as profitable as these games usually are
+ WH40k Dawn of War II series: critical and commercial success
+ Red Faction Armageddon: massive flop
+ Saints Row 2 and 3: critical and commercial success
+ WWE franchise: mostly commercial success
+ UFC franchise: 1st game big success, 2nd game sold well but didn't perform as well as they wanted
+ Darksiders: critical and commercial success
+ Red Faction Guerrilla: critical and commercial success
+ Metro 2033: critical and commercial success
+ Homefront: critical flop, but commercial success
+ MX vs ATV: dunno. Think it flopped
+ WH40k Space Marine: critical and commercial success, despite not performing as well as they wanted
+ Company of Heroes Online: flopped
+ lots of smaller DS / Wii games, probably some did well, some flopped.

Then I look at their upcoming lineup (from Wikipedia):

2012 / 2013

+ Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III (Windows)
+ UFC Undisputed 3 (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
+ Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online (Windows) <- cancelled
+ Metro: Last Light (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows, Wii U)
+ Darksiders II (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Windows)
+ South Park: The Game (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows)
+ WWE Brawl (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii)
+ Brave: The Game (Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP)
+ inSANE (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Windows)
+ Devil's Third (PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox 360)

There's a few risks in there, but a few proven sellers as well.

IMO the problem isn't the games not selling, they do. It's the stock market and mismanagement.
 
Man, all those likely layoffs are a damn shame. Hope the effected talent find new work and the IPs go where they'll get the due respect. Of course, this being a business, I have a feeling heartbreak and disappointment are afoot.
 
I'm most interested in what is going to happen to Relic and Warhammer franchise with GWS. On one hand a huge amount of the profits that GWS gets these days is from the licensing fees from the games. On the other hand GWS are incredible control freaks when it comes to their IP due to being burnt so hard in the past. So what will they do if Relic is sold or breaks up? Will they allow Relic (or what replaces them) to keep it? Will they just go to a different company? The only one I think they would go to would be Blizzard due to the fact that one of the previous heads now works there and that Warcraft was patterned after Warhammer. Or will they simply take it back and give it to no one? I can't see them doing that simply because of how much they depend on those fees these days. And it couldn't happen at a worst time too due to 6th edition hitting this summer and GWS would have desperately wanted all that advertising for the tabletop which makes up their core to offset that expense.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
GamesIndustry.biz said:
Sources speaking to GamesIndustry.biz have suggested Dark Millennium Online, which was first announced in 2007, is currently being offered for sale to other companies.

At least one THQ project based on a Disney licence to be released in 2014 has been given back to the media firm even though the publisher has paid an advance on the IP, according to Dent.

Industry chatter suggests THQ is looking for a sale. The company has a market cap of just over $45 million - trading in the company was at a new low on Friday of $0.65. CVs for established talent at the company are said to be increasing in the recruitment market.
Source: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-01-15-thq-shelves-all-titles-slated-for-2014-rumour
 
Top Bottom