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[obonicus]

A 50% hit rate would be guessing if he was guessing coin flips. These were specific claims about THQ's immediate future made by a guy intimately connected to developers. It's also not a 50% hit rate; he made two correct claims and one incorrect claim, as well as a claim that hasn't been accepted or rejected.

He's got 50% of his predictions correct. That's 50% hit rate. I didn't say he missed half of them. Should I add a 'so far'?

And the coin-flip is exactly my point. If he gets only 2/4 predictions right then he's not much better than a coin-flip. If he gets more... well, it's still not that impressive, considering what the predictions are. I mean, the MMO thing, I think Nirolak has also snarkily made that prediction a few times in THQ threads, and as far as I know he's not a THQ insider, he just has an idea based on their public reports of what THQ's financial situation is like.

My take on the dude is that he was speaking way above his pay-grade. He does have contact with devs in THQ, and probably got wind that the kiddie license games were being cancelled, and possibly rumblings about the MMO (though that one report is almost common sense). At the same time, it's not unusual for people on the operational level to gossip about stuff they don't really know about -- like THQ looking for a buyer, or the 2014 stuff. Unable to separate the wheat from the chaff, he spread all of it in one chunk. So it's not so much that he doesn't have actual sources, but that he doesn't know how to apply filters when reporting on rumors.

 

[Neuromancer]

Which is their only quality franchise...Red Faction shit all over itself and Homefront was shit.

Yeah... Can't disagree with you there.

If THQ can stay solvent long enough hopefully we'll get another good RF some day. Also Homefront 2 from Crytek UK sounds somewhat promising.

 

[Tobor]

SR3 is really overrated around here, but it was a fun game. Hopefully they get to keep making more.

 

[cacildo]

You'd be shocked if they dropped the franchise that is responsible for their severe stock price collapse? Really?

I thought Udraw was a big hit....

 

[JGS]

I thought Udraw was a big hit....

It was for the Wii, it sucked for the other two.

 

[Roland Deschain]

I thought Udraw was a big hit....

It was a bigger than expected hit on the Wii I think. On HD consoles it bombed hard.

 

[Snaku]

Where's WWE All Stars 2, you assclowns?

 

[Neuromancer]

It's also a shame about what the did to MX vs ATV. Alive was terrible. Only 2 free ride tracks, are you kidding me?

 

[daedalius]

I really hope Dark Millenium Online makes it out of this intact.

Would rather have a more ambitious Space Marine 2 myself...

A 40k MMO would never be successful, 40k just isn't mainstream enough.

 

[Concept17]

Congrats to Volition, one of the best devs out there imo. Its kind of a shame they're under THQ. Here's hoping Saint's 4 and whatever else they put out next is equally as awesome.

 

[Hypereides]

Volition should do Red Faction. But this time make it alot more like RF:Guerrilla.

It still boggles my mind why they threw all that away. Multiplayer was sickawesome

 

[Duffyside]

I've always wondered how things like Steam sales are accounted for in these shipped numbers? I assume they wouldn't be counted at all, but it would behoove THQ if they sold 300,000 copies digitally and then said "yeah, make that total number of shipped 3.8 rather than 3.5" for chest-beating purposes.

 

[bigtroyjon]

He's got 50% of his predictions correct. That's 50% hit rate. I didn't say he missed half of them. Should I add a 'so far'?

And the coin-flip is exactly my point. If he gets only 2/4 predictions right then he's not much better than a coin-flip. If he gets more... well, it's still not that impressive, considering what the predictions are. I mean, the MMO thing, I think Nirolak has also snarkily made that prediction a few times in THQ threads, and as far as I know he's not a THQ insider, he just has an idea based on their public reports of what THQ's financial situation is like.

My take on the dude is that he was speaking way above his pay-grade. He does have contact with devs in THQ, and probably got wind that the kiddie license games were being cancelled, and possibly rumblings about the MMO (though that one report is almost common sense). At the same time, it's not unusual for people on the operational level to gossip about stuff they don't really know about -- like THQ looking for a buyer, or the 2014 stuff. Unable to separate the wheat from the chaff, he spread all of it in one chunk. So it's not so much that he doesn't have actual sources, but that he doesn't know how to apply filters when reporting on rumors.

It's only a coinflip if he was asked yes or no questions. You don't have a 50/50 shot of being right if you just guess and make up a rumor.

I've always wondered how things like Steam sales are accounted for in these shipped numbers? I assume they wouldn't be counted at all, but it would behoove THQ if they sold 300,000 copies digitally and then said "yeah, make that total number of shipped 3.8 rather than 3.5" for chest-beating purposes.

Don't think of them as shipped numbers, think of them as sold(either to retail or in Steam's case directly to the consumer). Steam are counted among the 3.8

 

[Neuromancer]

Volition should do Red Faction. But this time make it alot more like RF:Guerrilla.

It still boggles my mind why they threw all that away. Multiplayer was sickawesome

You mean, another Red Faction? Because Volition has always made Red Faction, including the last one (which was bad.)

 

[Hypereides]

You mean, another Red Faction? Because Volition has always made Red Faction, including the last one (which was bad.)

Im well aware about RF:A which was nothing compared to RF:G. Im saying they should give it another shot, and this time do it right.

 

[Neuromancer]

Im well aware about RF:A which was nothing compared to RF:G. Im saying they should give it another shot, and this time do it right.

OK. It was just a little confusing the way you put it.

 

[obonicus]

It's only a coinflip if he was asked yes or no questions. You don't have a 50/50 shot of being right if you just guess and make up a rumor.

Except it's not like he said something completely crazy or unexpected. Throughout a year of dismal THQ threads most of what he's said has been brought up on this forum. I mean, yeah, it wasn't yes/no questions, but the things he brought up are common "THQ's in trouble" talking points. Hell, if I were to make someone take a THQ prediction quiz, I'd use three of those items as questions, at least.

 

[JWong]

Dang, should be much higher than that. Should be higher than Skyrim.

 

[fernoca]

Think that the title of the thread should be fixed, since what they're abandoning is the licensed kids market (like Spongebob?), not their own properties or creations (like uDraw or deBlob..though deBlob is technically dead anyway :/).

 

[Barberetti]

Glad to hear that SR3 did so well. Played it coop with a friend on new years eve and had a fantastic time. Congrats Volition!

 

[ctrayne]

Praise da lord @ OP.

 

[John Harker]

de Blob 1 was such a surprise hit and uDraw was a massive seller... it's amazing how they managed to screw up both franchises so quickly. imagine how well positioned they would have been for the Wii U tablet if they had nurtured the software side of uDraw instead of expanding to Xbox/PS3 with more expensive plastic?

uDraw 1 for Wii was one of their biggest sellers and their best new IP in years. And now that entire division is closed down, in little over a year. Ughhhh.

Plus they had that big deal with SyFy for original content promoting both de Blob and Red Faction... and now those deals fell through, killing their marketing extensions, both brands, and damaging their reputation with TV and production companies.

And I like THQ, too.

 

[bubnbob]

If they're dying, at least they're dying after giving me Darksiders 2.

 

[Eppy Thatcher]

Keep feeding me 40k goodness and i don't give a shit what they do. But that 40kMMO and a proper sequel to Space Marine with a mofockin online co-op story elements NEEDS to happen .... The chunk of the last level where you fight across the bridge with Astartes landing on all sides and just FUCKING UP every peice of xenos filth on that stretch of hell was too awesome to not make happen again. Only bigger. And louder. And with a buddy.

 

[MYeager]

The conference call should be interesting. Even by cutting their losses in the kids game market their stock is in the gutter and they already have a fairly high debt to equity ratio. Where are they going to get the kind of money they'll need to fund future 'high quality core' games?

I wonder if they're just trying to streamline everything to make the company look better to potential buyers.

That would be sad. As much as I don't like some of the business decisions made of some of their more recent games, I'm a fan of a bunch of their titles that may have never been released otherwise, and I'd hate to see another publisher go down or be foled into EA/Acti. We're getting to the point where it's either mega publishers or indie developers, and that kind of sucks.

 

[IdreamofHIME]

Where's WWE All Stars 2, you assclowns?

Instead of a sequel to probably the best received WWE game in a long time, they're releasing WWE Brawl for this year. Basically a Powerstone type brawler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tXrSuG_dME

No wonder they're in trouble

 

[Kusagari]

Instead of a sequel to probably the best received WWE game in a long time, they're releasing WWE Brawl for this year. Basically a Powerstone type brawler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tXrSuG_dME

No wonder they're in trouble

I thought All Stars did better than they expected? Where's the sequel!

 

[TheChewyWaffles]

So chances are that they actually did give their license back as accused?

Edit:

Stealth Company of Heroes announcement?

It will be an FPS.

 

[Hari Seldon]

CoH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I can get an XCOM game and a CoH game in one year that would be glorious!

 

[SpacePirate Ridley]

Saints Row The Third is amazing. My favourite game of the year 2011
Congrats Volition!

 

[Retro_]

Oh cool Devil's Third is ok

I'm glad

 

[Oni Link 666]

End of an era.

 

[Mooreberg]

Hopefully the development teams remain intact if it comes to selling to a larger publisher. I'm not really sure they have enough in addition to Saints Row to pull through.

 

[JJConrad]

IGDA guy's post:
- THQ is abandoning kid's market. CHECK
- The MMO is either cancelled or being sold Partially confirmed: They are "evaluating their options"
- The company is looking for buyers. Neither confirmed nor denied
- The entire 2014 slate has been put on ice. Apparently not true.

Seems to me like he was more right than wrong.

Ummm... definitely more wrong than right... so far. Even by your standards, it was only correct 1.5 out of 4. And the original claim was that they returned the Disney license without a refund... not that they were abandoning the kid's market. So the original claim is still not confirmed. But more importantly, the severity of the rumors is weighted against it. The first two would just be part of a company restructuring... which we all knew was needed and coming. Canning their entire 2014 line-up is basically setting a deadline for the company's demise. That's a big difference.

I thought Udraw was a big hit....

I'd be very shocked if UDraw is completely scrapped. The Wii U seems tailor-made for the brand. They'll share a similar name and without needing to provide their own hardware THQ's costs drop dramatically.

 

[TheNatural]

No kids market, does that mean no WWE games?

 

[Marleyman]

Im well aware about RF:A which was nothing compared to RF:G. Im saying they should give it another shot, and this time do it right.

Why did you say "Volition should do Red Faction"?

 

[Marleyman]

Sarcasm? Because those are quality...

No sarcasm.

 

[Takao]

I see uDraw as a brand sticking around. They already have a name in the tablet gaming space, why waste that when Nintendo's going to be burdening the costs with Wii U? Then again, without their kid properties, the uDraw software lineup is basically nothing.

Plus they had that big deal with SyFy for original content promoting both de Blob and Red Faction... and now those deals fell through, killing their marketing extensions, both brands, and damaging their reputation with TV and production companies.

Red Faction had a SyFy TV movie. However SyFy Kids (where deBlob's show was to air) as a TV block seems dead before birth.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

Do you guys think Insane is one of the 4 THQs Wii U games? Would be a unique grab for nintendo if they could grab "next gen" exclusivity.

 

[Fine Ham Abounds]

They already misinterpreted what made SR2 great (hint: it wasn't a game that focused entirely on being "wacky"). Really hope they bring back the substance, like a long, memorable story, good characters that don't get killed off a few missions in, and all the little things they took out.

Well I certainly can't argue with you because SR3 was my first SR. I love it for what it is, but the general consensus for what it is to folks who have been fans for years has certainly seemed negative.

This kind of puts me in the odd position of being like the people I chide for entering Final Fantasy with part 7 and loving it while I consider it horrible and the beginning of the end for the series.

 

[El'Kharn]

So, with the MMO on the rocks, what are the chances of them changing their minds and making a Space Marine sequel?

Its a good thing about the MMO, they'd only fuck it up. as for a sequel...well i'd rather someone else did that.

 

[carbonbased]

this seems like the right move. thq has an extremely solid stable of core franchises and del toro's insane title should be neat if just for the presentation alone. meanwhile their casual shovelware stuff is consistently among the worst garbage on store shelves.

can't comment on the quality of sr3 as it will take a price drop for my co-op buddies to commit, but i am glad to see it succeed nonetheless. it has good word of mouth around here and co-op games of that scale are still uncommon, unfortunately.

Do you guys think Insane is one of the 4 THQs Wii U games? Would be a unique grab for nintendo if they could grab "next gen" exclusivity.

good god i hope not

 

[SapientWolf]

SR3 is really overrated around here, but it was a fun game. Hopefully they get to keep making more.

I think it's more fun than GTAIV, so it has that going for it.

 

[GamerSoul]

Go 3rd Street! Go 3rd Street!! Go!!

 

[18-Volt]

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) announced its updated business strategy as the company exits traditional kids’ licensed video games and focuses on its core video game franchises and digital initiatives for the future

Awesome! Now it's Ubisoft's, Disney's, Activision's turn. Seriously, nobody cares crap like Spongebob, Shrek or Nicktoons games, not even five year olds. My nephews and nieces all prefer stuff like Sonic, Kirby and Spyro and they don't even touch when I buy them Dreamworks film game. That shit needs to stop.

 

[Takao]

Awesome! Now it's Ubisoft's, Disney's, Activision's turn. Seriously, nobody cares crap like Spongebob, Shrek or Nicktoons games, not even five year olds. My nephews and nieces all prefer stuff like Sonic, Kirby and Spyro and they don't even touch when I buy them Dreamworks film game. That shit needs to stop.

Spongebob and Nicktoons titles used to sell really well. I guess key word is "used to". Nickelodeon has lost ground in recent history.

 

[RSLAEV]

Personally I hope Volition buries Red Faction and focuses entirely on making a finished, polished SR4.

 

[Neuromancer]

Personally I hope Volition buries Red Faction and focuses entirely on making a finished, polished SR4.

Geez no need to twist the knife. =(

THQ has already said RF is basically dead.

“We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance,” THQ's Brian Farrell admitted in fiscal results released to investors this week. The company posted a loss of $US38.4M, with Farrell laying much of the blame for the poor result on high-profile disappointment Red Faction: Armageddon. ...The title turns out to be almost certainly the last in the series, with Farrell announcing that the company has no plans “to continue with that franchise in any meaningful way.”

 

[Anticitizen One]

THQ should reboot Red Faction, create a new killer IP, and of course expand the Saints Row franchise. Thats what I would do

 

[Mindlog]

Saint's Row on Mars traveling between Earth and Mars is Freespace 3.