THQ Reports Disappointing First Quarter, Blames Red Faction

Video game publisher THQ has announced worse than expected financial results for the first fiscal quarter of this year, which ended on June 30, saying that it has seen a loss of 38.45 million dollars, which is an increase of more than 28 percent over the loss seen in the same period of 2010.

THQ has also reported that revenue increased during the first fiscal quarter to 195.2 million dollars, which is 31% more than the 149.4 million that was reported during 2010.

The big problem for THQ was that Red Faction: Armageddon, which was launched during this period, performed worse than the company expected.

The publisher has said that it will terminate the franchise for the coming years and will re-orient its resources towards new intellectual property.

The biggest problem with Armageddon was that the company ditched the open world and scenery destruction elements that made Guerrilla such a success and delivered an underground corridor first-person shooter instead.

Brian Farrell, who is the president and the chief executive officer of THQ, has issued a statement that says, “We are disappointed in our first quarter financial performance. 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.”

He added, “Despite a light first half, we are looking forward to a strong and profitable second half, including what we expect to be the biggest third quarter, both in revenue and earnings per share, in our company's history, with proven franchises Saints Row, WWE and the uDraw GameTablet, all launching in November.”

THQ has been able to score big hits over the years, but it has failed to maintain quality in its most important series and has often seen players abandon them.

In the coming months, the company is set to launch the Space Marine third-person shooter and Saints Row 3, which have been heavily marketed and promoted.