THQ Continues to Bleed Money

Publisher THQ has announced having lost some 432 million dollars during the last fiscal year, which ended on March 31, and that it is seeing “challenging fiscal 2009” ahead. The company has also reported that total sales went down to 830 million dollars, from a previous value of 1.04 billion dollars. The announcements come just one day after Electronic Arts revealed losses of about 1.08 billion dollars.

The worst piece of news for the publisher is the fact that losses for the previous fiscal year were only 35 million. The widening gap means that it will be hard, if not impossible, to see a return to profit for the company. Chief Executive Officer Brian Farrell has said that the year has been “disappointing.”

In the fourth quarter, sales amounted to 170 million dollars, with the main hits being WWE: Legends of Wrestlemania and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. Another bright spot has been the performance of Saints Row 2, which managed to move around 2.8 million units. One of the key goals of the company, improving critic reaction to its videogames, has been achieved, with what it calls “key original games” staying above 80 on Metacritic.

In order to return to profit, THQ has already taken some tough measures, letting go of about one quarter of the people it employed. Some of the biggest layoffs were announced at studios such as Big Huge Games, the developer of Rise of Nations.

The future of THQ will depend on the reception of videogames like Darksiders and Red Faction: Guerilla, which are based on original intellectual property, and on how gamers will approach fresh titles bearing the UFC and WWE brand. THQ will also publish All Star Cheer Squad 2 and MX vs. ATV, four games aimed at kids, one based on Up, and one titled Marvel Super Hero Squad, online titles Dragonica and Company of Heroes Online.