THQ disappointed in Red Faction performance, thinks fiscal Q3 could be its best ever

Despite the fact that net sales were up year-over-year in THQ's fiscal Q1 (which ended June 30), from $149.4 million to $195.2 million, CEO Brian Farrell still wasn't satisfied. "We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance," he said in the earnings release. "Sales of Red Faction: Armageddon and our licensed kids titles were below our expectations, and the late release of UFC Personal Trainer also adversely impacted the quarter." Of course, that disappointment is probably due to the fact that even with increased net sales, the company came out negative, with a net loss of $38.4 million. Most of the "losses" are from "deferred revenue" -- revenue that the company isn't counting now, because it'll go toward ongoing online services for its games.

However, Farrell is looking forward to a profitable Q3 (October through December) -- so profitable, in fact, that he said THQ expects it to be "the biggest third quarter, both in revenue and earnings per share, in our company's history," thanks to Saints Row: The Third, WWE 12, and the PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the uDraw tablet, all scheduled for November releases.