THQ Reports Financials, Cancels Titles And Closes Studio
See Full ImageYesterday, THQ revealed updated guidance for its fiscal third quarter that ended December 31, 2007, and its fiscal fourth quarter and year that ends on March 31, 2008.
Now, there are some significant bits of news involved beyond the statistical stuff, but let's get the financial highlights out of the way first- for the third quarter, THQ reported increased revenue guidance to about $509 million, which is up a bit from $490 million. The company cites better-than-expected sales of certain software, like MX vs. ATV Untamed and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, so that's good news. On the downside, games like Stuntman: Ignition, Conan and Ratatouille haven't done so well, and THQ expects to record "non-cash charges" of about $27 million. This is related to the following list, which includes some bad news for PlayStation owners:
- THQ has canceled the PS3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War and the PS2 version of Destroy All Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed; both of which were rumored to happen in the past week.
- There are added costs associated with two "unannounced titles" for the PS3 and Xbox 360; they've been scheduled for release during the fiscal 2010 year.
- The company has decided "not to pursue its Juiced and Stuntman intellectual properties." THQ has also closed down its Concrete Games studio.
So it's certainly not all roses, here. It's too bad PS3 owners won't be getting Frontlines, but it's not the end of the world. Hopefully, THQ will pull things together in 2008 and deliver some high-quality titles to PlayStation platforms.
1/23/2008 Ben Dutka
