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[Data West]

From an IP perspective, Saints Row would be the biggest incentive since the series is over 6 million copies.

Outside of that, you're basically buying the staff, which may or may not be an incentive depending on the publisher.

Relic would be a great grab for someone wanting to get into RTS games, but the question is which publisher wants to.

Vigil is an interesting choice for anyone who wants an MMO studio as well.

Volition has a lot of veterancy as well, so from that perspective, they're quite attractive.

I could see Warner picking up a fair share of the company like they did with Midway and were going to with Eidos.

I think with a Saint's Row, you could just pick up Volition and say 'from the makers of Saint's Row'. I don't think you'd lose too much by dropping Johnny Gat. I enjoy the characters and setting in the franchise, but there's nothing that memorable that's intellectual property.

Vigil is also an engine maker, so they're definitely going to get picked up. I think you would pick up a Darksiders IP though. I think it's pretty tied to the gameplay.

 

[Nirolak]

I think with a Saint's Row, you could just pick up Volition and say 'from the makers of Saint's Row'. I don't think you'd lose too much by dropping Johnny Gat. I enjoy the characters and setting in the franchise, but there's nothing that memorable that's intellectual property.

Vigil is also an engine maker, so they're definitely going to get picked up. I think you would pick up a Darksiders IP though. I think it's pretty tied to the gameplay.

Well, generally when you're buying in parts and pieces, everything is incredibly cheap.

I think THQ though might seek to be bought before they actually hit liquidation though if things go south, so what would likely happen is that Warner would buy the whole company and then just close down the parts they didn't want.

Warner shut down Surreal Software after they bought Midway for example.

 

[RobbieNick]

Aww damn! I loved De Blob.

 

[fernoca]

Awww...de Blob.

 

[rObit]

So did Rainbow Studios get shut down then? They were making MX vs. ATV for a long time, then made that first Cars game. I think that's the last I heard from them. I always liked their MX vs. ATV games.

Fake edit - According to Wikipedia they got renamed to THQ Digital Phoenix awhile back and were indeed shut down today. Sad stuff.

 

[SiriusTexra]

Australian producers would rather do casual games or "apps", "market friendly" things for all ages. The Australian games industry is founded by these pyramid scheme people who saw a "trend" in the 90's and wanted in on it, money. They saw games as a kids thing and not an artform and thus missed their chance to establish themselves. Now everything has been done and they have no way to get into the "game". No wonder THQ shut them down. None of their artists are any good and their people are pretty much dispensable.


The biggest thing we had to our names was some Spyro the Dragon ripoff called "Ty the Tiger". The same company is also the one who destroyed the recent Spyro the Dragon as well. Go figure.

That company is gone now, but what was their last goodbye? Their testament to all their years work? A game called "Blade Kitten".

This company was apparently one of our best.

Nuff said. How Blade Kitten made it past idiot#1's notepad and into full production astounds me.


Oh, and Blue Tongue, btw, reused/remade/broke De Blob from a game a bunch of Dutch guys actually made called...De Blob. The idea wasn't even theirs. The aussie guys broke the first one hard, and the second one is just the same but prettier.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

Who does the uDraw stuff for THQ?

 

[sfog]

Blue Tongue noooooo.

de Blob 1 and 2 were great

My thoughts exactly. I've never been a huge fan of THQ in general, but De Blob and its sequel really deserved better. We need more of those kinds of light-hearted Nintendo-esque games that are truly worth playing, as opposed to the whole "AAA cinematic blockbuster model" overflow instead.

 

[Nirolak]

Who does the uDraw stuff for THQ?

A variety of studios: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UDraw#Games

They shut down Phoenix, and Griptonite got bought to make cellphone games, so they only have three of their five partners left.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

My thoughts exactly. I've never been a huge fan of THQ in general, but De Blob and its sequel really deserved better. We need more of those kinds of light-hearted Nintendo-esque games that are truly worth playing, as opposed to the whole "AAA cinematic blockbuster model" overflow instead.

As nice of an idea that is, how many actually bought de Blob 2 when it showed up on any of the system? I bet not many.

 

[Deadbeat]

As nice of an idea that is, how many actually bought de Blob 2 when it showed up on any of the system? I bet not many.

I didnt even know the game came out.

 

[CriterionDog]

I never played much of those games from the companies that were laid off, but dang, 200 people without a job. That is so sad.

 

[Gaspode_T]

I remember how popular Rainbow Studios was with PlayStation 2 fans back in the day so I'm kind of surprised there is not a bigger shock about that team, it seems they drove the ATV series into the ground (kind of same fate that happened to Tony Hawk series I guess). Not many dev studios left in Arizona (Running with Scissors...)

 

[Nesotenso]

I just finished the first Darksiders. Looking forward to the second one. How did the first one do sales wise ?

 

[Barack Lesnar]

Anyone else think Insane is gonna flop too? I don't know, it just has flop written all over it to me with how much it probably costs. If it's for the next-gen systems then that's different but a new IP for PS3 and 360 that late in the gen? Flop..

 

[fernoca]

They shut down Phoenix, and Griptonite got bought to make cellphone games, so they only have three of their five partners left.

Isn't Griptonite working on Shinobi for the 3DS; or is that another Griptonite?

 

[Takao]

A variety of studios: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UDraw#Games

They shut down Phoenix, and Griptonite got bought to make cellphone games, so they only have three of their five partners left.

I'm guessing uDraw is like Move where the hardware sells well for what it is but the software does insanely poor?

Isn't Griptonite working on Shinobi for the 3DS; or is that another Griptonite?

Same one. Obviously they'll finish off their current projects before Glu Mobile has them making Transformers phone games forever.

 

[Kifimbo]

Isn't Griptonite working on Shinobi for the 3DS; or is that another Griptonite?

Same. They'll probably finish their current contracts before moving on.

 

[fernoca]

Aww, that sucks. :/

 

[AlphaDragoon]

I did QA testing a while back (for one of the MX vs. ATV games) and met the folks at THQ Phoenix (when it was Rainbow Studios) working on it. Sucks to hear they're out of a job.

 

[EatChildren]

Terrible news. de Blob and de Blob 2 were wonderful games. The atmosphere at Blue Tongue when developing the latter seemed very positive. I distinctly remember someone there telling me that de Blob's success and quality made the studio feel that it was the first time they started developing true, high quality games and stopped developing shovelware.

THQ fucked up. I hope the staff of Blue Tongue can find success elsewhere.

 

[Vilam]

The only THQ game i own is Darksiders and the only game i'm interested in on that list is Darksiders 2.

Well THQ certainly can't account for people's poor taste. They don't have megablockbuster franchises, but there's plenty of quality gaming coming from them these days.

 

[Neuromancer]

I liked De Blob 2 in theory, played the first few levels, but the time limits really turned me off.

MX vs ATV Alive was a terrible concept (probably dreamed up by the suits at THQ.) Make half a game, sell it for $40, and fill it out with DLC. Free ride was the best part of those games and Alive came out with only 2 maps on disc, and none for DLC. A failed and unnecessary experiment.

All the same, best of luck to those guys and girls. Hope they find work soon because they certainly are talented.

 

[jgkspsx]

de Blob? Was the studio really that big a money loser? I guess de Blob 2 did bomb pretty hard, despite going multi-console.

It's a shame. I felt that THQ tried to do good this generation in some part, and all of their bets lost.

It's hard to avoid the feeling that console gaming has reached the point where tiny downloadable games can make money, and some AAA multimillion dollar titles can make shitloads of money, and everything else dies in the marketplace. Dark times ahead, folks.

 

[Concept17]

As long as they don't touch Relic & Volition.

I don't think they would. Even if sales were down, both studios would likely just move on to new IPs. Volition is easily one of my favorite devs this gen. Awesome studio.

 

[Infernal Monkey]

http://bluetongue.com/

='(

 

[SolidSnakex]

MX vs ATV Alive was a terrible concept (probably dreamed up by the suits at THQ.) Make half a game, sell it for $40, and fill it out with DLC. Free ride was the best part of those games and Alive came out with only 2 maps on disc, and none for DLC. A failed and unnecessary experiment.

It was an odd take on the free to play concept. MX vs. ATV seemed to come with less content than you'd get in a free to play game, but you had to pay $40 for the game and then you had to pay for DLC on top of that.

 

[JaxJag]

I think THQ has put out a lot of quality games over the past few years.

Sad to see none of them ever seem to catch on.

 

[Neuromancer]

http://bluetongue.com/

='(

=(

 

[Takao]

http://bluetongue.com/

='(

Wow, that's depressing.

 

[matmanx1]

Good grief, it's a blood bath at THQ today. Best of luck to everyone that lost work.

 

[Admiral Bone to Pick]

I thought the UFC games were really successful, but I guess it wasn't enough.

They'd be cheap to buy, but they wouldn't have much to offer. I could see EA buying them to gain the fighting game market (as well as the Saints Row IP to compete with Take 2). Otherwise, nothing.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I thought the UFC games were really successful, but I guess it wasn't enough.

They'd be cheap to buy, but they wouldn't have much to offer. I could see EA buying them to gain the fighting markets (as well as the Saints Row IP to compete with Take 2). Otherwise, nothing.

The first UFC was really successful, but the second game didn't do very well. They tried to put it on a yearly sports cycle and it backfired. That's why there's nearly a two year gap between the next game and the last one.

 

[fernoca]

 

[MrGame&Watch]

Fuck I know someone who left Kaos Studios to go work at THQ Brisbane. Shit luck

 

[Totobeni]

At this point I guess THQ need to sell some IPs like deBlob and Red Faction,Descent ,Summoner and Splashdown,I think many publishers will like to have them.

Well THQ certainly can't account for people's poor taste. They don't have megablockbuster franchises, but there's plenty of quality gaming coming from them these days.

I dunno about that...

Homefront= not good
Red Faction: Armageddon = shit
Metro 2032 ( not sure if it count since it's not from THQ internal studios) = generic shooter
uDraw = lol
WWE11/UFC= rehashes


Only good thing were deBlob, Saint's Row1/2, Darksiders ( tho I think it's not really a high quality title) and RF:G before they destroy it.

 

[Fantastical]

Fuck! I feel really bad for not buying de Blob 2 now. de Blob was amazing.

Blue Tongue

 

[Erekiddo]

I bought deBlob and deBlob 2.

This disappoints me.

 

[Neuromancer]

At this point I guess THQ need to sell some IPs like deBlob and Red Faction,Descent ,Summoner and Splashdown,I think many publishers will like to have them.





I dunno about that...

Homefront= not good
Red Faction: Armageddon = shit
Metro 2032 ( not sure if it count since it's not from THQ internal studios) = generic shooter
uDraw = lol
WWE11/UFC= rehashes


Only good thing were deBlob, Saint's Row1/2, Darksiders ( tho I think it's not really a high quality title) and RF:G before they destroy it.

Whoa whoa whoa. Metro 2033 was not a generic shooter. It had more atmosphere than 5 other FPS's put together. Plus some pretty interesting game mechanics (bullets for currency) even though that didnt work out so hot.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Metro 2032 ( not sure if it count since it's not from THQ internal studios) = generic shooter

I don't think i've ever seen someone describe Metro as being a generic shooter.

 

[Dead Man]

Blue Tongue noooooo.

de Blob 1 and 2 were great

It seems like these studios are being punished for the failure of THQs attempted blockbusters. Somehow I doubt a game like de Blob 2 was a bigger financial failure than the latest Red Faction monstrosity.

But it just seems like THQ are doubling down on the blockbuster strategy. I really doubt it's going to end well for them.

Yep. Makes me a bit angry and a lot sad.

 

[fernoca]

Yeah, Metro was quite amazing. The uDraw may not be for everyone but it was quite nice too; nothing "lol worthy" about it.

NoA should go buy Blue Tongue, de Blob from THQ; and have them make de Blob for the WiiU and 3DS.

 

[Mario]

The biggest thing we had to our names was some Spyro the Dragon ripoff called "Ty the Tiger".

Krome took a big chance backing themselves with Ty when the safer option would have been to double down on licensed work. While you might not rate the Ty franchise, it rated solidly for a kids game, was successful enough to sell millions of units, and gave them something strong in their portfolio to be able to attract more substantial projects.

Oh, and Blue Tongue, btw, reused/remade/broke De Blob from a game a bunch of Dutch guys actually made called...De Blob. The idea wasn't even theirs. The aussie guys broke the first one hard, and the second one is just the same but prettier.

Execution matters as much as the idea. Given the good ratings that de Blob got, I'd hardly call it broken either.

 

[Fantastical]

NoA should go buy Blue Tongue, de Blob from THQ; and have them make de Blob for the WiiU and 3DS.

I so wish this would happen, but we both no it never would. de Blob must live on! Blue Tongue seemed so ambitious, and so genuinely excited about the products they were making. It brings a tear to my eye.

 

[Deadbeat]

Metro 2032 ( not sure if it count since it's not from THQ internal studios) = generic shooter

did you even play the game?

 

[powersurge]

I wonder if this will effect Homeworld development. It seems like they bough it and are sitting on it for now. I also hope they keep pumping out great Warhammer titles (Space Marine CE preordered!) and maybe get around to making Company of Heroes 2.

 

[Neuromancer]

Yeah, Metro was quite amazing. The uDraw may not be for everyone but it was quite nice too; nothing "lol worthy" about it.

NoA should go buy Blue Tongue, de Blob from THQ; and have them make de Blob for the WiiU and 3DS.

Dude yes. I would buy the hell out of a De Blob 3DS game (without a time limit.)

 

[ClivePwned]

so what was happening to the game THQ Brisbane was working on (it was apparently based on The Avengers movie coming out next year)?

Anyone know what else has THQ Brisbane shipped since they came to be apart from a Jimmy Neutron game?

 

[Nirolak]

I wonder if this will effect Homeworld development. It seems like they bough it and are sitting on it for now. I also hope they keep pumping out great Warhammer titles (Space Marine CE preordered!) and maybe get around to making Company of Heroes 2.

They're currently making Dawn of War 3, so I think that Homeworld is essentially dead.

Company of Heroes also didn't sell that great, so that's probably dead as well.

 

[AlphaTwo00]

uDraw = lol

IIRC, uDraw was a huge hit for them on the Wii, they were practically sold out during the holidays.

One thing that most people confuse is the difference between what they like and what makes money, I worry that THQ seems to be getting into the same mindset. Sure, move away from the kids market, but that just puts you closer to the mass market that won't budge away from CoD anyways. Not sure if that's the brightest idea.