News THQ dead - RIP

[JR#8]

Jason Rubin ‏@Jason_Rubin
Not leaving @thq without my personal effects. For the record, still #notembarrased @VolitionInc pic.twitter.com/bYG1XvNl



Had to LOL!

 

[HBK619]

Good interview with Jason Rubin, the man that was at the helm for the last 9 months of THQ's life and attempted to right the sinking ship.

Also reveals that THQ's further assets (Red Faction IP, Vigil hopefully, Darksiders IP as well as some of the older more forgotten THQ owned IP's) are set to be auctioned within the next couple of weeks.

Source: http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...-about-thq-39-s-struggles-and-final-days.aspx

Game Informer: When you joined THQ, the company was in trouble. What did you set out to accomplish?
Rubin: When I joined THQ at the end of May, 2012, the company was finishing a massive downsizing. The company had pared itself down to just the most talented teams and profitable assets after being in a largely unprofitable kids and license business for many years. Additionally, uDraw and the cancelled MMO had created massive losses.

And the teams and project that remained had challenges as well. The teams were incredibly talented, but almost all of them had faced roadblocks that were impacting the quality of the games.

Remembering the way that Sony Computer Entertainment had created a supportive, nurturing relationship with Naughty Dog, and the way that relationship had led (and still leads!) to great titles, I set out to fix the problems I saw.

The good news is that the projects were fixable. Good developers in good environments make good games. I believe that even though only seven months have passed, the decisions I made had a material impact on the quality of the resulting titles.

And for the record, I am only claiming that I cleaned up the process, not responsibility for the design or content. For that, the teams deserve all of the credit.

All of the titles in the portfolio now have the potential to be the great games they should have been. And now that the THQ auction is over, I can also say that the majority of them have found homes and will ultimately reach their intended audience, the core gamer.

Unfortunately, the financial bottom dropped out on THQ before we got to see the fruits of our labor, and I spent the rest of my time at THQ trying to fix non-game issues.

To be clear, I am not claiming that everything I did was successful or that my time at THQ was without failings. I failed to find Vigil a home. Having just finished a product, Vigil was farthest from release of their next game, and we were not able to garner any interest from buyers, despite a herculean effort. Additionally, they were working on a new IP, which meant even more risk for a buyer.

And of course, unfortunately THQ’s non-development personnel are out of work as of the end of this week; this was a casualty of the court’s decision to allow piecemeal sale of assets.

As I type this, I cannot think of anything that I could have done to change the outcome. But I can tell you that I will spend a lot of sleepless nights thinking about what I could have changed. Even if I can’t figure out what I could have changed, I accept those results as failure. I am not dodging that responsibility.

And I would encourage the press, before they judge anybody at THQ, or the process, to reach out to a number of employees and ask them if what I have said above is true. I believe they will corroborate my views.

 

[The Big Sauce]

From what I understand the Saints Row developers (Volition) have been acquired by Koch Media? So it's actually not different people that will develop Saints Row 4. It's pretty obvious that THQ didn't give Volition enough time to develop Saints Row 3 considering how incomplete it was compared to the previous two games. Rockstar are giving their employees 5 years to develop GTA V while Saints Row 3 was only given 3 years of development.

Saints Row 2 was more 'complete' because they pretty much had 5 years to develop it (first 3 years was Saints Row 1, and then another 2 years of development on the same engine and it was released as a sequel). This ownership change could turn out to be a good thing, maybe they'll give their employees more development time this time around. Open world games need need more development time compared to other games.

Let it go dude. Pretty much everyone bar you acknowledges that SR3 was better than SR2

 

[catman 71]

Who will now publish the wrestling games?

2K Sports are now doing the wrestling games.

I own a copy of "Top Spin 4", a Tennis game made by 2K Sports and the graphics and gameplay are awesome.

 

[Kaan]

Let it go dude. Pretty much everyone bar you acknowledges that SR3 was better than SR2

Actually I would say it's around 60/40 in favor of SR2. All you need to do is google 'Saints Row 2 vs Saints Row 3' to see that. The general consensus is that SR3 has the better graphics, engine, mechanics etc while it only has half the content of SR2.

The game wasn't as vast as their previous games which is what we've come to expect from Volition. Just look at what Jason Rubin said when he became the president of THQ:

“I don’t want to linger in the past, but they were not given the appropriate resources. They were not allowed to have a long-term enough approach to making games from a planning and decision-making process standpoint.”

It was a good game but it had the potential to be much better with the appropriate backing.

 

[HBK619]

Most of Vigil picked up by Crytek, setting up a new development studio in America. Darksiders yet to be auctioned, could very well go to the new studio.

Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/news/crytek-scoops-up-ex-vigil-staff-for-austin-studio/4533/

The fate of Darksiders remains unclear, but core members of Vigil Games have been picked up by Crysis developer Crytek, and have formed the foundation of a new studio in Austin, Texas.

David Adams was one of the founding members of Vigil Games, and is the CEO of Crytek’s new location in Austin. It’s unclear what project this arm of Crytek might be working on--it’s very early days.

“Great news for Vigil, at least the core team,” said former THQ president Jason Rubin on Twitter. “Thanks to Crytek for saving as much as they could of a fantastic team.”

 

[FGMPR]

Seems like a good way of doing business. Just mop up the staff you want and re-badge the studio instead of needlessly paying off THQ's creditors.

 

[Mighty P]

Actually I would say it's around 60/40 in favor of SR2. All you need to do is google 'Saints Row 2 vs Saints Row 3' to see that. The general consensus is that SR3 has the better graphics, engine, mechanics etc while it only has half the content of SR2.
:

Pretty much everyone I know agrees that SR2 was better than the 3rd, and I agree too. SR2 just pulled me in much, much more than 3, and it had more WTF moments rather than WTF moments for WTF moments' sake.

Otherwise, I am rapt that Sega has picked up those games, also pretty excited to see the other properties getting picked up too. Not sure why Vigil wasn't jumnped on though, I think those guys have some real ability.

 

[HBK619]

The rest of THQ's assets go on sale in April.

Double Fine have stated their interest in buying Stacking and Costume Quest.

Not sure about the other assets for sale, but most relevant licenses are expected to sell.

Source: http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/a-huge-chunk-of-thq-s-remaining-properties-up-for-/1100-4588/

Late yesterday, THQ announced the second wave of property auctions, which will begin on April 1 with opening bids, and conclude on April 15 with all final bids having been placed.
The auctions are broken out into six lots, four of which are franchise specific. The Red Faction, MX vs. ATV, Darksiders, and Homeworld franchises will all be purchasable separately (and include rights to all previous games released in those series), while a potpourri selection of other random games/franchises--including the likes of Destroy All Humans!, de Blob, Titan Quest, Deepak Chopra's Leela, recent Worms games, Costume Quest, and yes, even uDraw--have been cobbled together in the remaining two. It's worth noting that one of those collection auctions only pertains to licenses held by THQ, versus properties fully owned.

Here's a full rundown of the available auction lots, provided this is something you're thinking about spending some money on. Just a warning: There's no sign of Big Mutha Truckers in this auction. So if you're dying to reboot this particular trucking franchise, you'll have to wait until the next THQ property auction.

• Lot 1 - OWNED SOFTWARE
  
• Red Faction
• Red Faction Armageddon
• Red Faction 2
• Red Faction: Guerrilla
  
  Lot 2 - OWNED SOFTWARE
  
• Homeworld
• Homeworld 2
  
  Lot 3 - OWNED SOFTWARE
  
• MX Alive
• MX vs ATV Untamed
• MX Superfly featuring Ricky Carmichael
• MX vs. ATV Alive Tournament
• MX Unleashed
• MX vs. ATV Unleashed
• MX vs ATV Reflex
• MX vs. ATV: On The Edge
  
  Lot 4 - OWNED SOFTWARE
  
• Darksiders
• Darksiders 2
  
  Lot 5 - OWNED SOFTWARE
  
• All Star Cheer Squad
• All Star Cheer Squad 2
• Elements of Destruction
• Fantastic Pets
• All Star Karate
• Frontlines: Fuel of War
• Baja: Edge of Control
• Full Spectrum Warrior
• Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers
• Battle of the Bands
• Beat City
• Juiced
• Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
• Big Beach Sports
• Big Beach Sports 2
• Lock's Quest: Construction Combat
• Big Family Games
• Neighborhood Games
• Crawler
• Pax Imperia
• de Blob
• de Blob 2
• Stuntman: Ignition
• Summoner
• Deadly Creatures
• Summoner 2
• Deep Six
• Terranium
• Destroy All Humans!
• The Outfit
• Destroy All Humans! 2
• Titan Quest
• Destroy All Humans! Big Willy Unleashed
• Titan Quest: Immortal Throne
• Destroy All Humans! Path of the Furon
• uDraw
• Dood's Big Adventure
• World of Zoo
• Drawn to Life
• Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter
  
  Lot 6 - LICENSED SOFTWARE (buyer to pay any cure costs)
  
• Costume Quest
• Scripps Spelling Bee (Scripps)
• Daniel X (SueJack)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery of Osborne House
• Deepak Chopra's Leela (Curious Holdings)
• Stacking
• Fancy Nancy: Tea Party Time! (Harper Collins)
• Supreme Commander
• Jeopardy
• Supreme Commander Forged Alliance
• Jeopardy 2
• The Biggest Loser
• Journey to the Center of the Earth
• Truth or Lies
• Let's Ride Best of Breed
• Vampire Legends: Power of Three (dtp)
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: Comic Combat
• Wheel of Fortune
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet
• Wheel of Fortune 2
• Marvel Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet 2
• Nancy Drew: The Hidden Staircase
• Worms 2
• Nexuiz
• Worms Battle Islands
• Paws & Claws Marine Rescue
• Worms Open Warfare
• Paws & Claws Pampered Pets Resort 3D
• Worms: A Space Oddity
• PurrPals 2
• Worms: Open Warfare 2 (Team 17)
• Rio
• You Don't Know Jack (Jellyvision)
• Rocket Riot
• Screwjumper (Frozen Codebase)

 

[pantskyle]

What the hell, I'll buy one.

 

[The Big Sauce]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/04/22/gearbox-acquires-homeworld-from-thq.aspx

The first news of the THQ intellectual property auction is trickling in. Gearbox has just announced via its forums that they have acquire the Homeworld series.
The following statement was issued, and should give fans of the franchise hope.

Gearbox Software has prevailed as the highest bidder in the acquisition of the Homeworld franchise from THQ. Brian Martel, Gearbox Software's Chief Creative Officer, has great love and respect for Relic's brilliant, fun and innovative game and personally spearheaded the acquisition.​

Brian intends as first priority to direct Gearbox's interest to preserve and assemble the purest form of the original acclaimed and beloved games, Homeworld and Homeworld 2, with the intent of making them accessible on today's leading digital platforms.​

Please visit the Gearbox Software Forums to share with us and Brian what you think should be done with Homeworld moving forward. And, please try to get our attention if you have capability and interest to join the effort in developing or enabling Homeworld's future.​

The good news is that the first goal seems to be the preservation and reissuing of the original two real-time strategy classics. Gearbox doesn't have experience in the genre though, which is likely why they are putting out the call for interested parties to join the project.
As we reported last week, TeamPixel was forced to abandon plans for a reboot of the series when the studio learned it had not offered the highest bid. Additionally, Stardock CEO Brad Wardell disclosed today via Twitter that his company had been in the running for ownership of the Homeworld franchise.

 

[HBK619]

Darksiders, Red Faction, Destroy All Humans and MX Vs ATV go to Nordic Games (Gothic, Painkiller publisher). Drawn to Life goes to 505 Games.

Source:http://au.ign.com/articles/2013/04/22/darksiders-red-faction-mx-vs-atv-purchased-by-nordic-games

THQ’s remaining assets including Darksiders, Red Faction, MX vs. ATV and more have found new homes. According to THQ, three buyers spent a total of $6.55 million on the company’s remaining assets, subject to court approval.

• Nordic Games purchased the rights to Darksiders, Red Faction and MX vs. ATV, as well as rights to THQ’s other owned software (Destroy All Humans!, Summoner and more) and licensed software (Marvel Super Hero Squad, Supreme Commander and more) for $4.9 million in total.
• As announced earlier today, Borderlands 2 developer Gearbox Software purchased the rights to the Homeworld franchise, and THQ has now disclosed that the purchase price was $1.35 million.
• The rights to Drawn to Life and Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter were purchased by 505 Games for $300,000.

 

[FGMPR]

Pretty tragic news that Gearbox nabbed the Homeworld rights considering Stardock and Paradox came in 2nd and 3rd. Both of those publishers have a rich history with strategy games, unlike Gearbox who have none at all and who's last effort was shameful in almost every aspect.

They seem determined to get both Homeworld games on DD though, so Steam and GOG releases of the series will be good news at least.

 

[The Speaker]

Goodbye Homeworld, nice knowing you.