14 DAY TRIAL // Video game publisher THQ has announced worse than expected results for the fiscal quarter that ended on December 31 of last year, showing a loss of no less than 55.9 million dollars (42.5 million Euro), which is quite an increase when compared to the loss posted in the same period of 2010.
The big problem for THQ has been the underperformance of uDraw, the tablet which was supposed to allow the company to reach a whole new set of potential customers.
Paul Pucino, who is the chief financial officer at THQ, stated, “To give context, quarterly earnings would have more than doubled without uDraw.”
Brian Farrell, the chief executive officer at THQ, added that initial predictions for the company were too optimistic, adding “Unfortunately we were wrong. The success of Saints Row and WWE give us confidence in our future.”
Sales for THQ also went down, reaching 305.4 million dollars (231.9 million Euro) and the company says that apart from the uDraw it has also failed to meet expectations when it comes to kids, family-oriented and casual games.
The publisher has also confirmed that the South Park powered video game from Obsidian will be launched during the third quarter of 2012, alongside a new WWE game and Devil’s Third.
There are also two unannounced games that are slated for 2013 launch dates, and before march of 2014 THQ also plans to launch Homefront 2, inSANE, Dark Millenium Online and another four unannounced games, including one created by Turtle Rock.
The launch schedule reflects the focus on core properties that THQ has already announced but the big problem for the company is that it seems to be scaling back the resources that it can allocate to some projects.
Speaking to investors, Brian Farrell said that his company was actively looking for a partner to shoulder some of the costs of Dark MIllenium Online, a highly ambitious MMO which seeks to bring the world of Warhammer 40,000 to the online competitive space.