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Danny Bilson (THQ) Ripten Interview.

Saty

Member
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/

MF: I’m 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 don’t have anything to do with each other. Shipping the product doesn’t change anything that we’re doing to deal with NASDAQ.

Darksiders 2 release date:
MF: There’s 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 can’t 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 haven’t announced anything… but the team is working really, really hard. We’re not going to ship it before it’s 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 there’s a tremendous amount of content that was built. At its core, the mechanics are very action based. Nobody has seen this before. We’ve never shown it to anyone. The team is incredibly excited, and this is the truth, about the new direction for the game.

We’re 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 it’s absolutely incredible. You’ve gotta remember there’s 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 you’ll get it completely. It’s really awesome. It’s 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 it’s the business of subscription-based MMOs, and the state of that business right now. That’s 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, “that’s better than anything we’ve ever built.” That’s a quote from a room I was in, and that’s what kept the conversations going. There was a lot of, “how do we make this work economically, because it’s awesome?”

You’ll really like it. If you liked Space Marine, you’re gonna love this thing. It’s 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 that’s spectacular.

More stuff at the link about the South Park game and about the recent layoffs.
 

Nirolak

Mrgrgr
MF: There’s 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 can’t confirm that right now. The team is actually on the road. I can get back to you.

.
.
MF: So there is a chance for a delay?

DB: We haven’t announced anything… but the team is working really, really hard. We’re not going to ship it before it’s done.
How were they intending to market this game again?

They're kind of almost out of both cash and credit, especially by the end of June.
 
MF: There’s 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 can’t confirm that right now. The team is actually on the road. I can get back to you.

:/

When I clicked this thread I definitely wasn't expecting to see hints toward a Darksiders 2 delays.
 
Danny Bilson is actually a pretty cool guy. I met him a few years ago when he first took the reins of THQ. That being said, I don't wish his job on anyone right now.

Oh, and his daughter is totally hot.
 

teraMEL0S

Member
I like some of the upcoming games mentioned in the interview, but where the hell is Devil's Third? We are also never going to get Insane, which is unfortunate because we need more horror games.
 
I like some of the upcoming games mentioned in the interview, but where the hell is Devil's Third? We are also never going to get Insane, which is unfortunate because we need more horror games.

Devil's Third is a 2013 game and inSANE is a 2014 game. THQ has a nasty habit of announcing games way too early.
 

g23

European pre-madonna
I have always liked Danny Bilson, one of the better personalities in the industry. I hope THQ turns their decline around soon.
 

teraMEL0S

Member
Devil's Third is a 2013 game and inSANE is a 2014 game. THQ has a nasty habit of announcing games way too early.

Yeah, you are right in this regard. I do hope Devil's Third makes an E3 appearance, though. inSANE will most likely sit on the backburner until Next Gen, which is appropriate. Hopefully THQ pulls through.
 
Wasn't it a attempt to get more investors and trying to pump up their stock value by announcing a impressive line-up for the future?

That was probably the reason. But they it seems like it would be difficult to pull off when they don't have a history of big sellers and most of the games that they were announcing were still 2-4 years away from release.
 

Mdk7

Member
Nothing about Devil's Third and inSane?
I know they're both pretty much vaporware, but still i wanna believe.
 

Zizbuka

Banned
I'm thinking about picking up a few thousand shares. That interview doesn't inspire confidence. THQ, learn from the big guys; It's OK to bend the truth once in a while.
 
Nothing about Devil's Third and inSane?
I know they're both pretty much vaporware, but still i wanna believe.

InSane was announced before Del Toro even had finished writing the story, so that probably doesn't have much of a future now that it is all hands on Saints 4 at Volition.

But Devils Third is real. We've seen gameplay from that, and that is a thing actively being worked on, so I wouldn't exactly call that vaporware.


But man I hope THQ pulls through this one. Bilson is a guy that really gets the medium, and just wants to let creative people do what they do best, and he really doesn't get enough credit for that.

Sadly it has turned out to be a shit business model.
 
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