4-page interview. I suggest to read it in full: http://www.ripten.com/2012/04/10/th...iders-ii-and-south-park-until-theyre-perfect/
Darksiders 2 release date:
Dark Millennium:
More stuff at the link about the South Park game and about the recent layoffs.
MF: Im sure. My first question is, at the end of January, THQ received a delisting notice from NASDAQ. You have until July 23 to bring the company back into compliance (10 consecutive days trading above $.99). Since the announcement about the Warhammer MMO [Dark Millennium] shifting, stocks are down as of right now about $.13, which amounts to 20%. They are trading right now at $.50. How are you guys going to pull out of this decline?
DB: With our portfolio that we have been working really hard on that rolls out some, what I think, are some great games over the next three years. Absolutely. I think that there is no concern around here about delisting. There are a lot of ways to avoid that, but the best way is to ship great games and to sell them well.
MF: Between now and the July 23 deadline, what is scheduled to release? I know that Darksiders II is currently scheduled for June 26. Is that going to make the June 26 ship date?
THQ PR REP: The two things dont have anything to do with each other. Shipping the product doesnt change anything that were doing to deal with NASDAQ.
Darksiders 2 release date:
MF: Theres a reaction from the investing community about a critically acclaimed game, though. So, the question is, will Darksiders II still ship on June 26?
THQ PR REP: Honestly, I cant confirm that right now. The team is actually on the road. I can get back to you.
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MF: So there is a chance for a delay?
DB: We havent announced anything but the team is working really, really hard. Were not going to ship it before its done.
Dark Millennium:
MF: You know that an MMO is a very different experience than a single-player/multiplayer game with community features. Is there really anything usable from the MMO that is going to be included in this new title?
DB: Yes, and the reason is that there was a lot of innovation in that game. In particular, the shooting mechanics are real-time, not turn based. The content is absolutely incredible, and any time anyone ever had any doubts about it, all I had to do was bring them into the room and show them progress on the game. So theres a tremendous amount of content that was built. At its core, the mechanics are very action based. Nobody has seen this before. Weve never shown it to anyone. The team is incredibly excited, and this is the truth, about the new direction for the game.
Were not going to be talking about that game for a while. I know lots about it, and I could talk about it, and I think its absolutely incredible. Youve gotta remember theres five years of development and careful thinking and testing and prototyping and then building involved there. If you saw it, you would easily understand the vision for the future of the game, and when you see it, I think youll get it completely. Its really awesome. Its always been one of my favorite games in the portfolio and it still is.
MF: ..... what was the disconnect between finding a business partner who could get equally excited about where the MMO was going?
DB: Well, I would argue that its the business of subscription-based MMOs, and the state of that business right now. Thats what we were building: a big, ideally subscription-based, MMO. I can tell you that, unequivocally, certain people who have shipped MMOs, who saw this a quote was, thats better than anything weve ever built. Thats a quote from a room I was in, and thats what kept the conversations going. There was a lot of, how do we make this work economically, because its awesome?
Youll really like it. If you liked Space Marine, youre gonna love this thing. Its much deeper. Space Marine was designed as a console experience. This one has tremendous multiplayer gameplay, and there is a lot going on in this game thats spectacular.
More stuff at the link about the South Park game and about the recent layoffs.