THQ Will Profit from UFC 2009: Undisputed

THQ has just launched the first videogames it has created using the UFC license, called Undisputed, and it’s preparing for the release of Red Faction: Guerrilla. These are two of the most important titles the publisher is set to get out this year, so analysts are watching their performance closely and the results are mixed.

UFC 2009: Undisputed came out on May 19 and it's currently well positioned in sales estimates, with both Amazon and GameStop listing the game as being their top seller on the PlayStation 3 and the second best seller on the Xbox 360. Analysts believe that the fighting game is on its way to becoming a solid hit.

Unlike UFC 2009, Red Faction: Guerrilla might face some problems when it comes out in early June. One indicator that is being closely watched, pre-orders, suggests that the game will perform worse than other releases of the period, like inFamous from Sony, Prototype from Activision and Fight Night Round 4 from Electronic Arts. If Guerrilla performs badly, THQ might have another miserable year, as was fiscal 2009, when the company lost 431 million dollars, while sales went down.

Doug Creutz, an analyst of the videogames industry, stated that “While we think the game's ultimate performance will be influenced by critical reviews, we are somewhat concerned by the apparent scarcity of preorders.” At the moment, he believes that the game will only sell about 670,000 units in 2009.

Red Faction: Guerrilla has been touted as a sort of Grand Theft Auto IV (or Saints Row 2, if you will) on Mars. The player takes charge of a fighter who gets drawn into a rebellion against the oppressive forces of Earth. One of the main attractions of the videogame is represented by the destructible environments, which allow the player to destroy a lot of the landscape as he/she sees fit.