THQ going down the pan

[Thrik]

Looks like things are going pretty terribly over there.

THQ to announce 170 layoffs today

[-HP-]

I remember like 2 years ago, everyone was raving how well THQ was doing, opening a studio with 400 people and whatnot... this is sad news for our industry.

[Vilham]

I don't think they will go under. This restructuring will just make them competitive again, drop all the shit games that make no money and focus on some core franchises that work and have 1 or 2 new IPs every few years.

[Thrik]

Yeah I think they'll survive, but it's probably a stark wake-up call for them after probably getting a bit complacent about their success. As HP says though, it's really startling to see stuff like this.

[FrieChamp]

I don't think they will go under. This restructuring will just make them competitive again, drop all the shit games that make no money and focus on some core franchises that work and have 1 or 2 new IPs every few years.

Many cancelled titles, several promising upcoming titles that are still far away though. Let's hope they don't shrink themselves into non-existence. Interesting read: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... ing?page=1

[Izuno]

Yep, got my eyes on this closely. THQ is a survivor so we'll see how many lives it has left. Axing the kids stuff was long overdue. Still, the best path to survival is [shocking]make better games that people want to buy![/shocking]

Think of Homefront. Metacritic is not the end-all-be-all but imagine that game if the consensus of was 85% instead of 70%. Realistically, more of us probably would have liked it. (OMG really?) While I had serious issues with the game, it grew on me, making me wish they had done a better job but more importantly, it made me want a better sequel. Maybe non-American's couldn't care less about the setting, but the US is still a big games market to sell into and UK gamers tend not to mind as much about US centric games as compared to other places. A Homefront 2 release that fixes the issues and is, well, better overall, would get me to buy it day 1. Can THQ deliver on that and WWE, UFC, Saints Row, new IP etc.? Lot's of challenges ahead for them to survive.

[arhurt]

So sad, but hopefully they can find room to survive.

They have done an absolutely great job with the 40K franchise. I'm not sure how much they have to pay back to Games Workshop, but I hope I don't see their 40K line-up change. The 40K MMO though, as much as I would love to play, has to disappear in flames.

[Mazy]

Completely axing the Red Faction franchise was a really poor move in my opinion. Or rather, taking it in the direction they did with Armageddon, then having it sell poorly and not going back to the open world style of Guerilla was a major mistake. That franchise could be so amazing if they just improved on the open world aspects of it and made the destruction even better. Oh well.

Anyway, it's hardly a surprise considering how tough the market is at the moment. When it's pretty much only the top 10 AAA games of the year that make money, and the rest lose mad cash or break even if they're lucky, then it's bound to hit the publishers that aren't in the top of the food chain. I guess the Wii's declining sales has also had an impact on THQ, since they made a lot of their money from kids games.

Hope they pull through, I want my Company of Heroes 2 dammit!~

[RedYager]

Good god metro last light is now set for 2013. THIS IS TERRIBLE.