THQ's Brian Farrell isn't shy to point out that Saints Row is one of their new, blossoming franchises, and they promised to give such videogame titles the attention they deserve from the self-proclaimed "creative hub" of the industry. Saints Row 2 is confirmed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after being an Xbox 360 exclusive with the first game, but it would appear the sequel isn't planned for consoles only. As it turns out, Saints Row 2 for the PC exists as well. The specifics follow at the full story.

Earlier this year, Marvel parted ways with Electronic Arts regarding the Marvel fighting game franchise. Today, the comic company has just struck a deal with THQ to bring video games based on Marvel's Super Hero Squad. Read more on this in the full article.

What do you when you've gone through some tough times? Simple: you pick yourself up, dust yourself off and move on. That seems to be what THQ is doing, following what it has described as "a very tough year." Thing is, the adjustments appear to involve job cuts as well as new plans. More adjustments occur in the full article after the jump.

A lot of talk has been going around regarding the currently pending Activision-Vivendi deal and EA's US$ 2 billion offer for Take-Two Interactive. While it may seem that mergers and acquisitions are the current trend, THQ's Chief Executive Brian Farrell feels that it isn't a necessity for company growth. To find out more, head on over to the full article.

THQ just released details regarding its profits for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008.

Aside from money matters, however, the company's CEO also hinted at when they'll be releasing the next installments of their Saints Row and Red Faction franchises. Details await in the full article.

THQ may have gone through some rough times lately, but it's not out of the fight yet. In fact  THQ president Brian Farrell announced that THQ's DS platformer Drawn to Life will eventually be making its way to the Nintendo Wii. Farrell also commented on other THQ franchises, such as the Stuntman and Juiced series. Read what he had to say after the jump.

THQ's financial status has been on a roller coaster ride. Prior to its recent quarterly report, the publisher and developer of video games said that things are looking good for the company.

However, the last report indicated that the predictions were rather premature as THQ suffered losses the past few months. Now THQ is announcing that its Executive VP and Chief Financial Officer Edward Zinser has stepped down from his position. The full details after the jump!

Reacting to the company's revenue forecasts being lowered for the fiscal year, THQ CEO Brian Farrell has announced that the studio will be taking steps to address the situation. THQ's estimates for their fiscal year was recently lowered due to the lack of performance of their games.

Farrell explains that the company will be taking steps to ensure that the under-performance of Stuntman: Ignition (PS2, PS3, 360) and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, PC, DS) won't be repeated, saying that the incident is "not acceptable."

Farrell also goes on to explain the status of some of their games. The Xbox 360 and PC versions of Frontlines: Fuel of War are expected to ship on time, but the PlayStation 3 version will be delayed due to problems with the Unreal Engine. As for their game de Blob, Farrell explains that the delay was to give the game the "final level of polish" to make it "look more like a Nintendo-level Wii product."

Farrell also commented on the status of Saints Row 2 (PS3, Xbox 360), explaining that the departure of some of their lead design members (who formed the Blazing Lizard studio) will not affect the game. He states that "we haven't lost any key development talent. We have a tremendous studio there with a lot of talent."

Before the fiscal year 2006 wrapped up, analysts had already predicted that game publisher THQ would experience dramatic growth in fiscal 2007 with a strong crop of upcoming video games for all major gaming platforms. Don't look now, however, because the analysis on THQ's future may have been a wee bit premature.

Figures from the latest THQ press release entailing details of its Q2 2007 performance ending September 30, 2007 reveal that THQ has performed significantly below expectations. Pointed out as reasons were release delays and lukewarm consumer response to the games which made the launch cut.

THQ pointed at Stuntman Ignition (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Sony PS2) and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PC, Sony PS3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PSP, Nintendo DS) as the titles that did not do as well in the market as the company would have wanted to. Also pointed at is the delay of games Destroy All Humans! and Frontlines (Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PS3) to fiscal 2009.

"We are disappointed that our latest editions of Juiced and Stuntman did not perform to expectations," said Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ. He stated further:

Because of THQ's commitment to delivering quality products, we have moved the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Destroy All Humans!, and the PS3 version of Frontlines into fiscal 2009. We believe the additional time will enable us to create the best products for our customers.

"We are looking forward to this holiday season, with our proven line up, led by WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 on six platforms," adds Farrell. "Importantly, we expect fiscal 2009 to be a very strong year, as we benefit from a solid product slate, including Disney/Pixar's Wall-E, Red Faction 3, Saints Row 2 and our first games based on the UFC."

THQ raked in an estimated US$ 229 million during Q2 2007, which resulted in a US$ 0.11 loss per share. The holidays, however, are expected to breathe in more monetary life as some US$ 490 million are expected by THQ to flow in.

Back in the industry news, "creative hub" publisher THQ announced a first quarter sales dip of approximately US$ 34 million, while reporting a significantly lowered quarter net loss of US$ 9.3 million. Despite the drop from US$ 138.8 million to US$ 104.5 million in sales of Ratatouille, Cars, and WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2007, the publisher is confident about its US$ 240 million sales target for Q2 2007.

 

Achievements for the company during Q1 included a penetration of the online market in China, after THQ signed an agreement with Shanda, a local game operations firm, to deliver the long-standing PC game Company of Heroes to the blossoming PC market in the region. While details were scarce, it was hinted that the title would definitely cater to the online segment.

Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ, assured attendees at the recently concluded press conference that the current quarter performance appears to be as they expected. He remained confident that their lineup of family-friendly and casual games for the Nintendo Wii and DS will keep the company "well positioned" for the remainder of the fiscal year.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts, de Blob, Stuntman: Ignition, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, on the other hand, have been selected as for Game Critics' Best of E3 2007 Awards, while a whispered sequel for Red Faction back in February was confirmed at the conference call. Details on the sequel have not been revealed as of press time.

Future prospects of the company appear to be cautiously optimistic, after Farrell noted a faster pace of PlayStation 3 hardware sales that seem to outweigh the platform's software sales. The company also plans to dive into in-game advertising more so this 2008, claiming to be in talks with Nickelodeon and Pixar to discuss in-game ad revenue shares.