Analyst: THQ has internal problems

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jun 3rd 2008 at 9:55PM }

Janco Partners' analyst Mike Hickey, after gazing deep into his crystal ball, reports many bad things in THQ's present and future. The biggest issue, Hickey believes, is the publisher's reliance on the recently delayed Saints Row 2. He surmises there is general internal conflict at the publisher, between corporate trying to salvage the company's finances, and developers trying to deliver a quality product. Hickey states THQ's guidance for this fiscal year is too aggressive and dependent on what THQ is calling "proven franchises," but he believes these titles are at risk due to delays, low demand and major marketplace competition.

Hickey spends some time comparing Saints Row to Activision's True Crime. He says that Activision once called True Crime a franchise (before it killed it) the same way THQ is touting Saints Row, but he believes a "franchise" has a "predictable level of consumer demand," which Saints Row just doesn't have. However, he believes it'll be THQ's best-performing owned IP this year. Hickey tells investors to just look back at THQs owned IPs for the last couple years and make their own conclusions about how things are going to go down this fiscal year.

Tags: finance, fiscal, forecast, guidance, outlook, saints-row-2, thq, volition

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sora267 @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:00PM

Isn't THQ the company that publishes all those crap Nickelodeon-cartoon based shovel ware games? If so, this is pretty unsurprising.

Vegnagun bwf @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:08PM

I should get a job as an analyst.

gamerprophet @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:23PM

Is this guy on crack, to say Saints Row (anything) will out preform Path of the Furon is just plain stupid.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 3rd 2008 10:50PM

Well let's see... between both versions of Destroy All Humans on PS2, they sold a little over a million. That's the original and the sequel which was more heavily advertised but did much worse. Saints Row, as one version, sold 1.77 million copies.

In other words... you're an idiot.

gamerprophet @ Jun 4th 2008 12:50AM

Saint's Row is shit, Path of the Furon is a far better game.

Sir Fidlious Wong (Justin T. McElroy Memorial Burn of the Day Award) @ Jun 4th 2008 11:24AM

What is the far better game (despite having not played it) is irrelevant to what is the bigger selling game. Saints Row is an expected performer. Path of Furon, based on the franchises past, not so much. Destroy All Humans has become THQ's own special Crash Bandicoot. A series they can crank out under budget and pull profit.

Besides, Saints Row is a very highly rated game, the sequel looks better, and the original effectively fixed GTA. It's not "shit."