Joystiq

Nordic Games involved with THQ since January, is talking sequels

Jessica Conditt — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST

Nordic Games picked up most of the IPs in THQ's back catalog auction, dishing out $4.9 million for Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs ATV, Titan Quest and a slew of unannounced games from THQ's long list of for-sale properties. Nordic was a surprise to some, especially next to Gearbox, which picked up the Homeworld franchise, and 505 Games, which snagged Drawn to Life and its sequel. But Nordic isn't new.

"We've been in conversation with THQ since January," Nordic CEO Lars Wingefors told Game Informer. "We signed all the NDAs in January."

Wingefors has been in the gaming industry for 20 years, he said, and has handled "a lot" of THQ products during that time. In November 2011, Nordic acquired publisher JoWood, in charge of Painkiller and Torchlight, and also ended up with Canadian publisher Dreamcatcher, spawning Nordic's publishing focus.

Nordic took part in the first THQ auction as well, which sold off properties such as Saints Row and some development studios for upwards of $20 million. That sale was too rich for Wingefors: "Saints Row went for $22 million and Koch bought that development studio with that burn rate on a daily basis. Even though I do have financial resources, I don't have those kind of resources."

Wingefors didn't want a studio. Nordic is a "middle man" looking for the right team to make some new sequels; there's already been plenty of interest in Darksiders, he said.

"We have to be very honest," Wingefors said. "I am a business man within the games industry. We are not the creative, talented developer that brings out new versions in house. I understand the potential of the IPs. I respect the original creators and the creative people who are able to create sequels. In the past 24 hours, we have been contacted and there have been a few discussions (but I can't confirm names)."

Nordic took home more than 50 former THQ games, but has yet to release the full list.

"As we still have some open points with regards to a couple of titles we will not publish a comprehensive list at this stage," a Nordic Games representative told Joystiq yesterday. "However, once everything is fixed and the ink is dry - around mid-May - we will go out with a comprehensive list of titles which we have acquired in the process."

Nordic will hold talks this summer with different developers, during E3 especially. Don't expect any sequels too soon, though.

"You won't see a new Darksiders this year," Wingefors said. "I don't believe in bringing out a shitty sequel."

Nordic Games involved with THQ since January, is talking sequels originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Diablo's Descendants

Rowan Kaiser — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:12:00 EST

Filed under: Features, PC, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Retro, Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, RPGs

This is a weekly column focusing on "Western" role-playing games: their stories, their histories, their mechanics, their insanity, and their inanity.

With Diablo 3's release date set, I decided to take a look back as the series' legacy --and play some of the better Western-style action/role-playing games around. Last week I talked about how Fallout, not Diablo, became the model for a generation of blockbuster role-playing games.

But Diablo did wield some influence. The first initial wave of clones didn't make much of a splash, but around the time Diablo II came out in 2000, the action/RPG style began to grab more attention. In 2002, Dungeon Siege and Divine Divinity were both released to some acclaim, but they never really fit the model of a Diablo clone. Dungeon Siege was as much Ultima VII and Baldur's Gate as it was Diablo, while Divine Divinity merged many concepts from Fallout and similar games with a real-time core. Missing from both? The constant clicking that, to me, defined Diablo.

Continue reading Diablo's Descendants

Diablo's Descendants originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ puts PC games on sale, including Metro 2033, Darksiders, more

Mike Schramm — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:00:00 EST

The official THQ online store (which has the new logo that's look like it's asking, "THQ?") is sporting some spiffy sales this weekend, offering some pretty great games for just a few bucks. The highlight of the sale is probably Metro 2033, which for the PC is only $10. But you can also find Company of Heroes: Gold Edition for only $7.50, the underrated (I said it) Darksiders for $10, and Red Faction: Guerilla and Titan Quest: Gold Edition for only $5 a piece.

They're not all winners (hey there, World of Zoo), but if you need to catch up on some PC titles, THQ (?) has you covered.

THQ puts PC games on sale, including Metro 2033, Darksiders, more originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Former Titan Quest devs announce Grim Dawn

Mike Schramm — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 EST

Crate Entertainment is a company made up of the old Iron Lore team that worked on Titan Quest, arguably the most popular of the Diablo clones to come out in the past few years. Crate has finally announced its latest project, and it's Grim Dawn, another action RPG (it even namedrops Diablo in the description) set in the world of Cairn, where two forces have "decimated human civiliation" and are "warping the very fabric of reality." Sounds appropriately epic, though as long as there's plenty of loot, we're not too bothered.

Five classes? Check. Skill trees? Check. A crafting system and co-op multiplayer? Check and check. Considering that even the same Titan Quest engine and toolset are being used, Grim Dawn doesn't sound too far off the hack-and-slash loot-hunting reservation. But that's not a bad thing -- we'll have to see if it plans to mix up the tried-and-true formula as it moves toward a planned digital release in 2011.

Former Titan Quest devs announce Grim Dawn originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steam slashing prices on select THQ titles all week

David Hinkle — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST

Valve's Steam service is having a weeklong sale on all things THQ, allowing those of you with the gift of thrift to bulk up your collection of PC games on the cheap -- well, on the cheaper, anyway. Kicking off the sale today is Titan Quest and expansion Titan Quest - Immortal Throne, both of which are currently available for 50% off.

Each day, a new THQ title will be discounted, while all week long you'll be able to acquire the massive THQ Collector Pack (a bundle of 13 different titles) for $90 -- 10% off its usual price. It's not a bad deal, though we must admit we have seen better.

Steam slashing prices on select THQ titles all week originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Defunct Titan Quest dev lives on as Crate Entertainment

Jason Dobson — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:55:00 EST

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360, Action, RPGs, Business

Like a phoenix, a new studio has clawed its way out from beneath the corpse of Iron Lore. The dev behind Titan Quest and Warhammer 40K Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm folded last February, citing funding as the chief reason for the company's demise. Now, however, former Iron Lore designer Arthur Bruno and art director Eric Campanella are picking up the pieces, quietly founding a new company called Crate Entertainment and purchasing the rights to Iron Lore's unfinished games.

Among those titles scooped up by the duo is Black Legion, an action RPG for the Xbox 360 that Bruno hopes will repackage Titan Quest's gameplay to "make it sort of grittier and more appealing to the mainstream audience." The Journal of New England Technology reports that the studio is currently shopping a demo for Black Legion to unspecified publishers, though we hope whoever bites won't simply shake their finger at stupid people if things don't work out exactly as planned.

[Via Shacknews]

Defunct Titan Quest dev lives on as Crate Entertainment originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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THQ's Fitch plays the Iron Lore blame game

Justin McElroy — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Business

The death of Iron Lore studios (the devs of Titan Quest and Warhammer 40K Dawn of War expansion Soulstorm) was, officially, the result of "several unrelated events." But THQ creative director Michael Fitch was able to narrow it down a little bit in a forum post he made soon after the announcement. Public enemy number one? Unsurprisingly, it's piracy, which he said affected not only game sales, but the game's perception by a public that's playing a buggy, unfinished version.

Fitch also puts the blame on hardware vendors more concerned with bottom line than creating a quality product, and we're 100 percent with him. But he loses us a little when he starts blaming "stupid people" who aren't savvy enough to make their PC gaming-ready. We see his point, but it seems to indicate more of a problem with PC gaming as a whole than the people who pay $50 for a non-returnable product and expect it to work.

THQ's Fitch plays the Iron Lore blame game originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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