must be a depressing call.
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THQ Q3 Results: $56M Loss, SR3 = 3.8M, $47.7M Cash Left, [Stock Drops 30%]
- Thread starter Pooya
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must be a depressing call.
Yikes. Last one out turn off the lights.
My heart goes out to any THQ employee listening to this.
What he is politely saying part 1: 'Fuck you U-Draw.'
Does he intend to sell all these new titles via Craigslist?
Steverulez
Member
Its good they don't have any debt but considering they have the ability to use $50m overdraft (thats what it is effectively I think) why not... use it. They sound pretty fucked as it is, at least go out with a bang!
Do they not have a WWE title for March?
uDraw was a success on the Wii, so if anything it indicates the opposite.
Steverulez
Member
THQ searching for a partner for the MMO. Step in EA Partners.
ClosingADoor
Member
Sounds like "please someone buy this from us, because it's probably going to fail"...
ClosingADoor
Member
Huge flop on PS3 and 360. Cost them a couple of hundred million dollar or so last quarter.
Presumably in the same way a crack addict will look for a foster home to 'partner' with her on raising her unwanted baby.
I still can't believe they bet their farm on that. Any idiot could have told them that it would fail miserably.
Steverulez
Member
"That bridge [uDraw] turned out to be a plank we walked off of" haha.
SolidSnakex
Member
They also bet pretty heavily on Homefront. That somehow had a production budget of 35-50m.
WHAT?!
I picked that game up for five quid the other day.
I assumed that THQ gave the sequel to Crytek to develop as a cost cutting measure.
Now I'm not so sure.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Seeing in the state they are, I'll be a miracle if they survive until 2013.
Poor Devil's Third.
Poor Devil's Third.
Steverulez
Member
Also, the guy who asked about the kids games contract raised a decent point about ending the contracts.
Based on 1.5m expected sales of UFC, they are still expecting the cash to reduce to $25m... is it because they're intending to pay their way out of these contracts?
They also suggested the kids games were profitable but profitability was declining? If thats the case, why not keep making them a little longer especially if they are still in contracts.
Seraphis Cain
bad gameplay lol
Since becoming a fan of TBFP, I read all of your posts in...well, YOUR voice. :lol
And damn, THQ...get your shit together. I'm worried about Devil's Third...
Black Lawn Finale
Banned
"Next UFC game after this one."
Jesus, they are trying to pump them out huh.
Jesus, they are trying to pump them out huh.
ClosingADoor
Member
That was about fiscal 2011. I think they aren't expecting that to be profitable for fiscal 2013 (which we'll be entering in a few months).
Auto_aim1
MeisaMcCaffrey
Homefront must have broke even; I think they needed 2 million sales to do that. The funny thing is, bad reviews for that game caused their share prices to go down by 21%. It was $4.5 something.
Steverulez
Member
Ah ok, I'm trying to (supposed to be) revising so popping in and out of the call. Fascinating stuff though...
Dammit. I was hoping I could play it this year.
2 million? Really?
Something is very wrong when 2 million sales are needed to break-even on a project that isn't quadruple-A. It's like they haven't learned a damn thing about sustainable business modeling. Holy shit, THQ..
I feel sorry for those who lose their jobs, but damn if the decision-makers in charge aren't some kind of slow.
Something is very wrong when 2 million sales are needed to break-even on a project that isn't quadruple-A. It's like they haven't learned a damn thing about sustainable business modeling. Holy shit, THQ..
I feel sorry for those who lose their jobs, but damn if the decision-makers in charge aren't some kind of slow.
Well, it was supposed to be an AAA title. It just...wasn't.
It just wasn't a $60 game, all around.
Auto_aim1
MeisaMcCaffrey
Kaos Studios didn't do a good job with that game (they were shutdown by THQ). It didn't look like a big budget title in the first place. But luckily for them, it was marketed heavily, so they ended up selling a decent amount of copies.
ape2man
Member
Mark my words, Metro is gonna sell like shit 0.5m. Darksiders 2.1m
Steverulez
Member
Yeh, I got it for £5 back in August and i've given it a go. Its quite fun but theres absolutely nothing about it that suggests it was supposed to be one of the top game franchises even if the setting is intriguing.
I'm really not surprised. In fact it just showed how desperate THQ were that they had to go for broke (quite literally) and try and get some of that Modern Warfare cash pile for themselves.
And with advertising on top of that the investment in Homefront could easily have been $55-75m.
That is utter, utter insanity.
While that is certainly a major reason for their current situation, how they've managed the licenses they've purchased and the studios they've bought is another significant factor. They've published some great games, but then have managed to take the studios that have made those games and slash their staff or close them through inept management.
And 25 million and no debt by the end of the fiscal year? I'd be interested in seeing how exactly they plan on paying off their long term debt, or for that matter how they plan on being able to finance any higher budget game development. The change between one generation to the next console generation is always much more expensive.
BobJustBob
Member
Eh, the two big complaints about the first game were 1) the shitty Wii resolution compromised the game's visuals, and 2) the Wii remote made the game control like shit. Releasing the sequel on modern consoles was the answer to both of these and was really all they could do if they didn't want to dump the series. I think the real problem with the sequel was the horrid release date. It released the same day as Bulletstorm and Killzone 3.
If that isn't code for 'we are basically open to any cash money offers' I don't know what is.
shrapnelmagnet
Member
I agree. I hope that THQ doesn't go nuts and overspend on what should be a cheap game (Eastern European devs) that will do well as a humble success.
I *really* hope they're talking fiscal, here.
ClosingADoor
Member
De Blob 2 should have been a smaller XBLA/PSN/Steam release. It could have done decent. Or just a Wii title, since it fits that audience better.
Yeah for like $10 you're getting your money's worth. It was a good idea with a sorely lacking execution. And a multi-player that went to waste because of significant technical issues.
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