THQ plans next-generation projects
Relic's already working on something for next-gen consoles and PC, with Volition and Rainbow Studios to follow. Plus, more WWE games and handheld titles.
THQ has announced financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31st 2004, and while GamesIndustry.biz digests the corporate ramifications we've been busy scouring the subsequent investor conference call webcast for notes on upcoming games. Which is a bit like fishing for diamonds in a vat of tar, but hey.
According to president Brian Farrell and CFO Ed Zinser, THQ plans to continue exploiting movie and TV licenses, which contribute rather a lot to the publisher's bottom line, and is hoping to consolidate its position as leader of the American handheld market by supporting Sony PSP and Nintendo DS as previously stated. Still no word on when or how many games, but 'enough' and 'soon after launch' seem like safe bets.
On the subject of the bigger boxes, THQ is obviously also planning support for next-generation consoles, and has recently purchased dev studio Relic Entertainment already working on next-gen console and PC projects even as it polishes off its Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War RTS title. Internal studios Volition and Rainbow Studios will also be put to work on new titles for forthcoming consoles, although obviously the publisher isn't talking about any of those yet (or you'd be reading this in the first paragraph and not the third).
Farrell and Zinser indicated that WWE will remain a key franchise for the publisher over the next fiscal year (ending March 31st 2005), with WWE Day of Reckoning (Cube) due out in the summer, the obligatory late autumn PS2 SmackDown! title well on the way, and an as-yet unnamed Xbox exclusive WWE title due from Studio Gigante in early 2005. (Update: Since we posted this item, THQ has officially unveiled its 2005 WWE line-up, details of which can be found here.)
Earlier this week, THQ announced its line-up for next week's E3 trade show, which also included some new titles - most notably a Nicktoons PS2/EyeToy game, and Pandemic Studios' "Destroy All Humans!", in which the player controls an alien intent on conquering the planet by flying a UFO around landing occasionally to terrorise humans on the ground. Presumably by forcing us to listen to long-winded financial conference calls in order to hear about new games.