damn! if the latest news are any indication, THQ is in pretty bad shape. DO NOT leavme without a Company of Heroes 2!
THQ vice president resigns
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
SEC filing reveals publisher's VP, corporate controller, and chief accounting officer Teri Manby stepping down on July 6; seven-year company vet Rose Cunningham promoted.
The corporate shuffling at beleaguered publisher THQ is continuing. In a Securities and Exchange Commission document made public this week, THQ announced that company vice president, corporate controller, and chief accounting officer Teri Manby has resigned from the company. She officially left her post on June 14 but will remain with THQ until July 6 to transition her duties to new leadership.
Senior director of financial reporting Rose Cunningham, a seven-year THQ veteran, has been promoted to the role of vice president, corporate controller of the company. Elsewhere in the filing, it was revealed that THQ chief financial officer Paul Pucino will take on Manby's chief accounting officer position.
This news follows an announcement from the end of May, when Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin was named president of THQ. As part of this announcement, it was revealed that company vice president of core games Danny Bilson had left the publisher to "pursue other interests."
Yesterday, THQ announced that it had canceled the stand-alone Saints Row: The Third expansion Enter the Dominatrix and would instead fold this content into the next installment in the series, slated to arrive in 2013. THQ estimates this will mean taking a $20 million hit in net sales for the current financial year.
THQ has had a difficult run of late, as the publisher is looking to divest itself of Tomonobu Itagaki's Devil's Third project citing profitability concerns. Earlier this year, the publisher laid off hundreds as part of a restructuring to exit the children's licensed game market, and then changed its long-awaited massively multiplayer online role-playing game Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online to a standard RPG in light of "changing market dynamics and the additional investment required to complete the game as an MMO." That change led to 118 more layoffs.
By
Eddie Makuch, News Editor
Eddie Makuch (Mack-ooh) is a News Editor at GameSpot. He works out of the company's Boston office in Somerville, Mass., and loves extra chunky peanut butter.
50 comments
As long as they finish publishing Darksiders 2 and Metro: Last Light, they can go under after that if they want. 2 of my most anticipated games over the next 8 months and I'm comfident their sequels would get picked up later, by hopefully a much more stable publisher.
2 Like FUUUuu...
I'm pumped for darksiders 2 and I've loved SR since it's firt incarnation. Haven't got into Metro yet but when I feel like getting into another FPS I will. And then there's Warhammer 40K. A great world that NEEDS to have video games.
1 Like I just finished WarHammer Space Marine last night. It made me really want to play a Warhammer RTS game.
@inaka_rob Do it! The first Dawn of War is amazing, and you can get the complete edition for $15 on Amazon (it's the UK version, but who cares at that price?) I haven't played Dawn of War II, but its supposed to be pretty fun, but with less emphasis on large scale and base building.
sux. THQ is probably my favorite gaming company. They don't necessarily make my favorite games, but they are my favorite company in terms of attitude and risks they take with their games. I mean EA does make many of my favorite games of ALL time, but I efffing hate that company.
@inaka_rob This. I wouldn't say THQ is necessarily my favourite company - their shareholder structure means that they are prone to doing some pretty stupid stuff in the vein of EA and Activision - but when it comes to comparing the majors, THQ is certainly one of the best and is less risk-averse than the others when it comes to new franchises and new ideas.
I just find it a shame that their willingness to take risks is being punished by a braindead audience and a shareholder collective less interested in furthering art and only interested in their bank balance.
I miss them more seriously at the time of their releases of games now for misuse of money and bad investment did not know stay in the market,
People are jumping to the usual conclusions. Without a reason given for the resignation (for all we know she left to pursue a career in commercial fishing) this article is just an uninteresting piece on who is moving to what positions in THQ, much like people move around in other businesses all the time. Don't get me wrong though. I'm waiting with baited breath to find out whether there will also be a shuffle in the THQ janitorial positions! :P
you guys at THQ: you know what guys... you guys made extremely amazingly incrediblely great games and i always will help you guys if you ever need any help... i always will support you and always, ALWAYS will keep my promises that i made to you guys about helping you...
THQ is such a great developer, it's sad to see this happening. They've made some fantastic, underrated games. I hope they pull through in the end.
1 Like They're always in the red at THQ. It's no wonder they play musical chairs at the executive table.
A shake-up at the top could be a good thing for the company. I do like a number of THQ's franchises, so I don't want to see them fail. Hopefully they can turn things around with some different people at the helm.
I'm also glad they changed the Warhammer RPG from being an MMO - that market is becoming saturated as it is - and I'm more likely to try it now.
6 Like Would THQ just get on with it, close the doors, and sell itself (and more importantly its IP's) to Sony or Microsoft?
@PixelAddict they didn't lose the contract to EA. THQ sold it to them after UFC failed to break even.
@vicsrealms I doubt Red Dead Redemption is going to be on the PC anytime soon. Unfortunately, Portal 3 will come out before Half Life 2: Episode 3 will. Not that I have anything against the Portal games. I just want more Half-Life games.
@bogorad Rockstar is owned by Take Two Interactive. Valve acquired Turtle Rock Studios, which made Left 4 dead and Left 4 dead 2.
@PixelAddict Sony or Microsoft would be terrible, as there would proabably be no more PC games from them, and Dawn of War would NOT work on a console.
@vicsrealms Considering Bethesda is one of the most overrated, lazy developers there is, no thanks. *prepares flame shield against Skyrim junkies*
I know that Rockstar is owned by Take-Two same with 2K, i was just lazy to write the rest :P
@vicsrealms Sadly, I highly doubt RDR will come to PC.. man I'll be great though, modding the hell outta it..
@Ladiesman17 You can't see it from where you're at, but I'm nodding.
Except... I think it's not a question of IF, but WHEN the company goes down. Movie game tie-ins were a huge part of THQ's business, and they lost them all. Then they lost the UFC contract to EA. It's just a matter of time now.
1 Like
Rockstar is not owned by 2K,
Both 2K and Rockstar owned by Take Two.
same goes with Bethesda, Id Software, and Arkane Studio those three owned by Zenimax.
so if THQ going down, they will sell their IPs to Zenimax or Take Two.
=)
@96augment Rockstar makes great GTA games, and RDR still needs to hit the PC. Valve needs to stop everything and finish Half Life 2: Episode 3 before they do anything else.
5 Like @PixelAddict Bethesda, 2K or maybe the eidos branch of square enix would be good. sony, microsoft would turn them platform exclusive, EA or activision will turn them into poor quality cash cows before dropping them. THQ doesn't exactly feel worthy of them but better it live than most of the alternatives.
4 Like @wezkilla Well, apparently those franchises are too good for THQ, too, so something has to be done.
7 Like @wezkilla I wonder what Bethesda or 2K would do with the series? As currently, those are the only two companies that I'm still actually happy with. Hey, Borderlands 40K: Dark Millennium. ~grin~ With co-op!
9 Like @PixelAddict Sony and Microsoft are not worthy of the Dawn of War series aswell as Company of Heroes
1 Like Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online will move to a standard RPG? Cool! Although I think that exploring that universe with friends would be loads of fun. Pretty much all of the MMO's that have come out over the last few years have been something of a mess. So, much so that I'm not even interested in Guild Wars 2 (not that I really enjoyed the first one). Wouldn't mind a co-op game option as well, Borderlands is pushing over 200 hours because of that little option.
8 Like Rather than promoting someone from within it may have been a good idea to look for someone from outside the company to bring frsh ideas to THQs table.
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Saints Row: The Third
- Publisher(s): THQ
- Developer(s): Volition Inc.
- Genre: Action
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