| Mail |

You might also like: WoW Insider, Massively, and more

More Sites You Might Like

Analyst report: THQ franchises in decline

by Alexander Sliwinski on Jan 22nd 2009 2:45PM

According to the analysts at Cowen and Company, several of THQ's key franchises – think WWE, SpongeBob SquarePants and Saints Row – are in a slump. GI.biz details the firm's findings and all signs point to the publisher posting a "substantial" loss this fiscal year.

The firm states that the 22% Q4 year-over-year decline of the WWE franchise, which it calls one of the last "bastions of strength" at the publisher, is of particular concern, while poor little SpongeBob saw a 19% decline over the prior year. Saints Row 2 also isn't doing too hot, with the firm expecting the gangsta-fied sandbox title to move just 900K units over the next year in the US. Though the original Saints Row performed better on a single console, 2006 also had a very different software landscape (read: Grand Theft Auto IV wasn't out yet). Let's see if this holiday season changes THQ's plans to focus on a few "core" titles yearly.

Source

Tags: saints-row-2, spongebob, spongebob-squarepants, thq, wwe

Reader Comments (16)

Seems like shoveling out mediocre kids titles month after month doesn't always result in massive profits. Maybe thq should actually dedicate themselves to making quality titles instead!

Too bad. Saint's Row 2 was great. It deserves better. I enjoyed it more than GTAIV.

I also loved SR2 and found it more fun than GTA IV. Customization was great and the single-player campaign was tops, with my only real complaints being the game stability (this thing crashed quite a bit) and the less-fun-than-the-original multiplayer. It's a shame this game isn't selling and anyone who refuses to give it a chance because it's a "GTA knockoff" are really doing themselves a disservice.

I hope this doesn't affect plans for a third game in the series, since the game's ending teased one.

Yeah - Saint's Row 2 was a way better value this year than GTAIV .. The co-op implementation was really something that other companies should pay attention to -- easy to use, doesn't force you play stuff over in single player that you played in co-op. It is a terrific game.

Wouldn't focusing on core titles like Dawn of War II, Company of Heroes, and Dark Siders essentially render this issue null?

Homeworld 3 please.

seconded... although that's more up to relic than THQ.

Still want to see it though

Yes, that and a non money focused take on Dawn of War 2, only 1 race in the campaign, and only 4 races... ehh.

I just hope they survive long enough to get Red Faction Guerilla out

Saints Row 2 needed to come out before GTA4. Or sometime this year. That holiday window was just a bad time for SR2. Which is particularly awesome, BTW.

I smell another Midway.

Release Dawn of War 2 already!!! Don't forget the 'nids either. BTW, if anyone... I swear to god... if anyone says 'nids are a cheap rip-off of the zerg from SC, I will hunt you down >.

'nids are a cheap rip-off of the zerg from SC

Well I'm not surprized that wwe is on the decline every year they make changes to the game's mechanics that ruin the game.

after the fall of destroy all humans, i lost hope. 1 was good, 2 was great, 3 sucked ass, 4 sucked ass harder. DAH! 2 sucked up so much of my time on ps2 along with battlefront 2. they were just fun to play when friends came over. and now... :(

It's a shame that Saints Row 2 is not getting the sales. It's easily one of the best games I played last year. Hopefully, THQ will still support ti and release the DLC and the sequel.

Breaking News

Analyst report: THQ franchises in decline

Reader Comments (16)

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:07PM doreo said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:12PM KaneRobot said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 4:06PM False said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 4:38PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:14PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:17PM Zarim said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 4:17PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 5:15PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:17PM TheDarkWayne said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:34PM ScottG13 said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:40PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:44PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:59PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 3:50PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 5:59PM Sly C said

Posted: Jan 22nd 2009 8:19PM (Unverified) said

Info

Description

MSRP

Release Date

Genre

Developer

Publisher

Rating

Breaking News

WB conjures up Harry Potter for Kinect this fall

Featured Stories

Weekly Webcomic Wrapup is a stranger in a strange land

Silver Lining: I Am Alive's unfeeling world

Game Of Thrones and the paradoxes of adaptation

Engadget

TUAW

Massively

WoW