Ben-DutkaTHQ is struggling a bit right now, so new president Jason Rubin has his work cut out for him.
Part of that work involves answering tough questions, such as those that involve film director Guillermo del Toro's planned inSane trilogy and other projects that are, as Rubin puts it, in a "nebulous state" at this point in time.
During an E3 interview with Joystiq , Rubin said he'd be going around and checking out the titles in the hopper. As for inSane , that's "still in the slate," even though he admits THQ will be a "different company" within the next couple of years. Said Rubin:
"I'm taking every project as clay, a clay statue that's been built. It's not nearly been completed. It can be augmented, it can be shrunk, it can be changed. Everything is up for change to make the best possible product that could be."
It's clear that some projects will continue forward, while others probably won't. Rubin has to decide which of the projects are promising enough to pursue, and that includes Turtle Rock's unannounced FPS and THQ Montreal's new IP. For now, the 1,750 THQ employees are safe, as Rubin finished by saying they won't continue to cut teams. However, the caveat is-
"But as far as product goes, I think we'll have to find out exactly where that's going."
Could be a tough road. But good luck, at any rate.
"Best Possible Product"
how about you start with making Red Faction back in to FPS! make a new story that doesnt suck and bring back the Geo Mod that we were promised back in 2001.
..that would do for starters!
Agreed
Darksiders is essentially the only game I follow that is published by THQ. Devil's Third may have been another… I wonder what Itagaki is doing right now…
Fun fact:Jason Rubin is one of the original founders of Naughty Dog.
Fun fact #2: Yes, Xbox 360 ads do play at playstation exclusive websites! Just look at the banner above. "Action starts at $19.99"
@Temjin
That's the way google ads work. They combine the user's search history with the content of the site it's on and the most common sites people who visit this site visit.
As a result, the most common ads here are video game related, whether it's Playstation, Xbox, PC, Wii, or even browser gaming.
It also shouldn't be a surprise that with all the guys here that watch pRon and play games there are so many "date a geek" ads too….
lol
Tem please change your picture…it's quite disturbing.
crap, underdog, so that means my cover is blown? I'm an xbox fan boy at heart! my traffic history and ads have exposed me =O
LV, what are you trying to say about my beautiful mug? =p
THe real me actually has volume to my hair and eyes that don't pop out like that.. plus, I don't usually hold that expresson unless I'm staring at UE4 graphics. haha i love how creepy it is =)
Give Temjin's avatar a van that says "Free Candy" on the side and he's pedo bear approved.
I just got an ad for "virgin"! What does that say about ME?!?!?!!? 😮
You like pay as you go phones, what else could that mean?
=p
Fun fact:Jason Rubin is one of the original founders of Naughty Dog.
I don't envy his position. He has some tough choices to make. Try and do what everyone else is doing and get some games out there, making THQ just another run of the mill game company? Or Risk puttin out some new IP's that are different and hope they catch on enough to turn a profit.
I would like to say that he should avoid the rinse, lather, repeat cycle that most fps's games have fallen prey too, but the reality is that those game do sell, so how do you break into that market, without being just another game?
I wish you luck THQ, it would be a shame to see another long standing staple of the gaming community disappear….
Last edited by CH1N00K on 6/11/2012 12:32:03 PM
If they want to survive to release new and innovative stuff they may have to bite the bullet and churn out some crapola.
Stop trying to be so damn innovative with their approach and just stick with what worked in the early 00s.
Personally, I don't think that would be the right approach. If a company sticks with the way they used to make games, then every game that comes out feels like it's already been done and has a dated feel to it.
In a gaming market that is beginning to feel a bit stagnant, a little innovation couldn't hurt. I guess if they wanted to turn a quick buck, they could re-release some of their games from their glory days in order to put cash in their pockets to pursue other avenues.
But the key to any company that is trying to re-invent itself is to find something that makes you stand above the crowd. In order to do that, they need to be innovative and wow the world.
It's a big risk, because the problem with innovation is that it could fail a lot easier then it could succeed. It will all come down to who's running things and how good they are at their job.
Square Enix
enough said
Hmm, good point to a certain extent, although I think Square Enix has made a few flaws. Their first major one, obviously, is ignoring the fans…but their next issue is that they didn't really try anything innovative, they just tried to westernize their games in order to fit in with everyone else in order to sell games and make a quick buck.
That's what's killing them. They used to be a company known for taking a few risks and coming out with innovative new and addictive products. Now they trying t keep it simple and not taking the risks, and following the herd…And the fans know it.
Last edited by CH1N00K on 6/11/2012 2:44:50 PM
Considering I'm only lightly interested in Darksiders II and nothing else on their slate except for maybe inSANE, depending on what further information we get, I can't say that I care too much about THQ at this juncture. Sure, they've got good games out there, but nothing that really interests me. And another new FPS? What, the failure of Homefront didn't register?
Homefront actually sold okay for a new IP at over 2 million but the dev did die anyway.
I feel bad for them, they try hard to compete but they need to stop making bad decisions. Want a solid base? Create a solid RPG. Or buy the Amalur license and fix that.
As much as I like me a good RPG…they seem to be a hard sell this generation. For every one RPG that does well, there seem to be 10 that don't…or there are 10 fps's that do better.
I have 2 theories on this. One is that the old fans of RPG's are now older, with families and such, so who has time to commit to an 80+ hour storyline. 2nd: The motto for Generation Xers, was we want it all and want it now…they've passed that on to their kids, who passed it on, etc…and now you have a current generation of kids that have the attention span of a goldfish, who want quick fast, shiny games that don't require them to have to dedicate anything to it, because something else is coming out soon to replace it anyways…I would say more, but my twitter, and facebook are beeping I don't have time to focus and I need to go do something else…lol
They would have to play it safe, but something akin to a low budget Mass Effect would probably sell if released at the right time. Or an open world fantasy, Elder Scrolls games take forever to come out and RPG fans really aren't that picky as long as it's engrossing.
I actually think they would do better setting themselves up as the lower budget alternative that is more fun. Saint's Row is a great deal more fun (that is to say more zany and less serious) than GTA and it's doing quite well.
me no like the sound of this!
i can just see him doing a crapcom and turning everything into what HE thinks will sell!
which likely will be the complete opposite to what fans want.
THQ has released some of this generations best games!
there in financial trouble because there irreplaceable with their money!
they develop new IPs and expect them to sell millions!
never going to happen!
than they spend a arm and a leg on games no one wants like the WWE sh*t they have been spewing out every year!
i really cant understand why THQ keeps doing that!
they keep the really expensive to make low selling games, and ditch the cheaper or similar cost games but much lower sales!
no wonder their almost bankrupt!