THQ Files for Bankruptcy

[buzz_n64]

THQ Files for Bankruptcy
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/12/19/thq-files-for-bankruptcy

"Update: THQ president Jason Rubin released the following statement on THQ's official site:

"Today THQ announced that it has secured an investor, a private equity firm named Clearlake Capital Group, who is interested in purchasing most of what you think makes up THQ: the teams that make the games (Relic, THQ Montreal, Vigil and Volition), THQ’s Intellectual Property (titles, source code, etc.), THQ’s contracts (like the ones with Crytek, South Park Digital Studios, 4A games, Obsidian, and Turtle Rock) and the support staff that are required to help the teams succeed.

In fact, Clearlake is even providing the company the money it needs to keep working on the products as the process plays itself out. And importantly, when the purchase is complete, Clearlake has committed to invest additional ample capital to let us finish the games we are making and continue making games going forward.

In short, they are investing in a new start for our company.

The sale needs to be completed through a Chapter 11 proceeding of the Bankruptcy code, which we filed today. Given the intense speculation that we have experienced in recent weeks and months, this news probably isn’t that surprising.

But what does “Chapter 11” mean? What will happen to the games you are expecting? The series you love? And what about the people and teams that make them?

The most important thing to understand is that Chapter 11 does not mean the end of the THQ story or the end of the titles you love. Quite the opposite is true, actually.

Chapter 11 is a safety net for U.S. companies. American Airlines is currently in Chapter 11 restructuring, yet I flew back and forth on that airline when I visited Volition two weeks ago. Donald Trump and his companies have been in Chapter 11 four times. You can add to that list household names such as Macy’s, Eddie Bauer, the Chicago Cubs, Chrysler, Delta Airlines, General Motors, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marvel Studios, and MGM, among many others.

MGM filed Chapter 11 two years ago, and this year it released “Skyfall” and “The Hobbit,” two of the biggest titles of the year. That’s what I mean when I say new start!

Our Chapter 11 process allows for other bidders to make competing offers for THQ. So while we are extremely excited about the Clearlake opportunity, we won’t be able to say that the deal is done for a month or so.

Rest assured that the goal throughout the sale process has been to preserve our teams and our products. So no matter what the outcome in 30 days, as long as we have accomplished this goal, I will be satisfied.

Whatever happens, the teams and products look likely to end up together and in good hands. That means you can still pre-order Metro: Last Light, Company of Heroes 2, and South Park: The Stick of Truth. Our teams are still working on those titles as you read this, and all other rumored titles, like the fourth Saints Row, the Homefront sequel, and a lot more are also still in the works.

Finally, you might be asking, why would THQ file for Chapter 11 right before the holiday season? Admittedly, the timing is unfortunate. But as we announced a few weeks ago, we have a January 15 deadline approaching for our bank funding. So if you work backwards to allow the necessary time to complete a sale, you end up at this week. Since all of THQ’s worldwide employees are off for a week and a half of paid vacation starting Friday for the holidays and will return to work on January 2nd, it hardly matters anyway.

So THQ made headlines today – and I am sure there will be tons of click-grabbing headlines over the next month or so. But what matters to us is not what is happening to THQ right now, but what the company and its teams will make of ourselves after we complete the sale.

In short, the teams will be unburdened by the past and able to focus on what they should be focusing on -- Making great games.

I’m excited about the future and hope to have more to report soon.""



They made good games in the 90's. They suck now, but it's sad to see them go.

[Kitsune Sniper]

They made good games in the 90's. They suck now, but it's sad to see them go.

You seem to be confusing them with another company.

They don't suck now, they just need someone at the head of the company that isn't a fucking idiot. The Udraw was the final nail in the coffin.

[Rob2600]

They made good games in the 90's.

Pit-Fighter
Home Alone
Where's Waldo?
Ren and Stimpy
Wayne's World
Rocky and Bullwinkle

Classics!

[Graham Mitchell]

Pit-Fighter
Home Alone
Where's Waldo?
Ren and Stimpy
Wayne's World
Rocky and Bullwinkle

Classics!

Exactly. It's pretty amazing that a game publisher founded on terrible licensed blecch is one of the only publishers from the NES era that's still around. I mean, shit, trade west had some very successful home and arcade titles, and they're long gone.

Even more amazing is that thq actually publishes some quality stuff now. I'd be sad to see them go.

[Tanooki]

It's good to see the trash finally taken out. It's not good people will lose their jobs whether they working for that company deserved it or not.

They've made bad decisions and stupid moves for years and kept going thanks to a bit of luck and a few solid licenses over time. Homefront wrecked them recently. I have no love for this company, and the rest past this point is a copy and paste of a post on another site since I don't want to retype it.

Horrible company that just needs to die. From their days shoveling some of the absolute worst shit ever published for a Nintendo system, to this generation and their insane spending sprees of stupidity into Homefront which in turn hurt a lot of people they need to just go away. Homefront bombed and when it did, they refused to blame the right people or accept responsibility. Instead the fired mid-level employees who did or did not even have a stake in the games production, still paid the clowns who worked on it at higher levels(and retained their employement) including the big payout to the hollywood clown that wrote the script and design up for it. My brother was at Volition(THQ owned) at the time and he got canned because they wanted to write off the Homefront losses without punishing those involved. Before he was let go they kept firing people and dumping the work of others on existing staff leaving people with 2-3 peoples work in the same amount of hours and this was symptomatic company and owned divisions wide. THQ let bankruptcy consume you like Midway and many others and just go away.

[retroman]

Pit-Fighter
Home Alone
Where's Waldo?
Ren and Stimpy
Wayne's World
Rocky and Bullwinkle

Classics!

Pit Fighter was Tengen on the Genesis, not sure about SNES

[Graham Mitchell]

Pit Fighter was Tengen on the Genesis, not sure about SNES

The Snes and game boy versions were published by thq. the snes version is widely known to be one of the worst games on the console.

[Greg2600]

THQ were a small step above Acclaim/LJN.

[buzz_n64]

I liked their wrestling games like WCW/NWO Revenge and WWF No Mercy. Their Sonic GBA games were not so bad either.

[macdude22]

I can't even buy a bottle of vodka to drown my sorrows with what my stock is worth now....

But I don't care, I just want saints 4 and the stick of truth to see the light of day.

[The 1 2 P]

I wonder how long before Clearlake starts selling off all of THQ's assets.

[BlastProcessing402]

The most important thing to understand is that Chapter 11 does not mean the end of the THQ story or the end of the titles you love. Quite the opposite is true, actually.

How many people actually read that bit?

[G-Boobie]

They made good games in the 90's. They suck now, but it's sad to see them go.

You're Goddamn crazy: they have some remarkable games these days, and they're not going anywhere just yet.

If you haven't played Saints Row 4, you should: it's Video Games the Video Game. Company of Heroes is a better RTS than Starcraft, and weird stuff like S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and Metro 2033 is an interesting window into the more accessible Eastern European development scene.

[Ryudo]

THQ were a small step above Acclaim/LJN.

You have not played de blob,Darksiders Series,Saints Row? Fantastic series. Miles above Acclaim and Galaxies above LJN

[Daria]

How many people actually read that bit?

Yeah it seems like no one that's commented in this thread actually read the article. :P

[Ryudo]

Yeah it seems like no one that's commented in this thread actually read the article. :P

Read all the details days ago

[The 1 2 P]

Yeah it seems like no one that's commented in this thread actually read the article. :P

I actually did read that part but it doesn't change what people have known for the past year or so. THQ as a company will cease to exist before the next gen is in it's second or third year. And it's worthwhile properties will all be acquired by other companies in some kind of estate sale/auction. Ubisoft is already waiting for a few THQ items to enter the auction block (http://blogs.bettor.com/Ubisoft-interested-in-acquiring-specific-THQ-studios-and-franchises-a211345) and they of course are not the only ones. But the fact that none of the larger companies decided to purchase THQ outright leads me to my original train of thought: the company(atleast in name) is on borrowed time and will soon go the way of Acclaim and Midway.

[Flashback2012]

You have not played de blob,Darksiders Series,Saints Row? Fantastic series. Miles above Acclaim and Galaxies above LJN

Greg2600 was referring to their earliest days when their "premier" titles were the Home Alone games and Pit Fighter on the SNES. For the early part of the decade their titles were not considered very high in quality and they didn't really start to get their act together until the late 90's/early 2000's. Just about everything you listed was published within the last 5-6 years.

[StealthLurker]

It's good to see the trash finally taken out. It's not good people will lose their jobs whether they working for that company deserved it or not.

They've made bad decisions and stupid moves for years and kept going thanks to a bit of luck and a few solid licenses over time. Homefront wrecked them recently. I have no love for this company, and the rest past this point is a copy and paste of a post on another site since I don't want to retype it.

Horrible company that just needs to die. From their days shoveling some of the absolute worst shit ever published for a Nintendo system, to this generation and their insane spending sprees of stupidity into Homefront which in turn hurt a lot of people they need to just go away. Homefront bombed and when it did, they refused to blame the right people or accept responsibility. Instead the fired mid-level employees who did or did not even have a stake in the games production, still paid the clowns who worked on it at higher levels(and retained their employement) including the big payout to the hollywood clown that wrote the script and design up for it. My brother was at Volition(THQ owned) at the time and he got canned because they wanted to write off the Homefront losses without punishing those involved. Before he was let go they kept firing people and dumping the work of others on existing staff leaving people with 2-3 peoples work in the same amount of hours and this was symptomatic company and owned divisions wide. THQ let bankruptcy consume you like Midway and many others and just go away.

On a tangent...

Hey Tanooki, did you work for Midway in the 90s? I let my buddy John Ubalde hold 2 of my japanese arcade cabs in the testers room over there for a while. I believe it was a mid generation NeoGeo Candy and a SEGA Astro City with SF Alpha 2. Oh yeah and he put my Shinobi arcade cab in there for a while.

.

[kupomogli]

Ubisoft is already waiting for a few THQ items to enter the auction block (http://blogs.bettor.com/Ubisoft-interested-in-acquiring-specific-THQ-studios-and-franchises-a211345) and they of course are not the only ones.

I really hope Ubisoft doesn't get any of the better developers. If there was any developer I'd rather have Volition and Vigil games, it'd be EA. It's another EA defense rant, but they get so much wrongful hate.

It's true that some developers bought by EA are no longer with us. Some. Most companies they've purchased still develop games and most that were shut down went on for over a decade before they were shut down. The ones that shut down were older PC developers. How many of these same PC development companies are still in operation? Just about every company I remember from back then is gone. EA kept these studios open longer than they probably would have been otherwise. Example. Ultima from Origin Systems and Wizardry from Sir-Tech were some of the earliest PC games. Checking out Wikipedia, Sir-Tech closed in 2003, one year before Origin Systems was shut down.

Publishers close down studios. EA can't continue to pay people who's studio is sitting in the red year after year as the very few studios they shut down started to do with how bad the sales became. Vivendi/Activision closed down Sierra, Sony closed down Psygnosis, Capcom closed down Clover.

If you look at EA now over EA back then, they've changed a lot since then. If you read interviews, most developers that sign contracts for them as the publisher or their own developers commonly reference that EA gives them more than enough funding to develop titles. Their Need for Speed series which has been going down hill they placed a second team on it so it now has a two year development cycle. Criterion one year, Black Box the next, now we're back with Criterion again.

I think there are other developers far more qualified to hate on than EA.

[Ryudo]

EA and Activision just dissolve developers and run them into the ground.

Ubi is putting out pure quality. So has THQ. Be a great joint venture.

[kupomogli]

Like most people, the reason for all the EA hate never affected me. I hate on EA and Activision because that's what the cool kids do.

Fixed that for you.

Also. Ubisoft and quality? Do you use Crystal Meth?

[megasdkirby]

Seriously, who cares?

Hate a company? Good for you. You hate someone that doesn't even know, or care, that you exist. While I enjoy the games said company makes.

Enjoy the games, people.

[kedawa]

No reason why you can't do both.

[Graham Mitchell]

Fixed that for you.

Also. Ubisoft and quality? Do you use Crystal Meth?

Generally I dislike ubisofts games. Their big franchises like splinter cell and assassins creed are more movies than games, IMO. They kind of play themselves.

However, in the last month or so I bought 2 ubisoft games that are changing my opinion about them. Specifically zombie u (which, while aesthetically generic, is actually a legit survival horror game with some brutally hard gameplay; not nearly as bad as people say) and farcry 3, which is a remarkably fantastic game.

So, they may do right by some if those thq properties if they pick them up and leave the developers alone. I think they're improving, myself.

[The 1 2 P]

I really hope Ubisoft doesn't get any of the better developers. If there was any developer I'd rather have Volition and Vigil games, it'd be EA.

I think that Ubisoft and EA are the front runners for most of THQ's assets, specifically the WWE license for EA and Saint's Row for Ubisoft, although there will probably be a bidding war for that franchise. I think Darksiders, Homefront and any of their other ip's/licenses will go for very little, probably only garnering interest from one or two companies at most. Square Enix, Bethesda and Epic may also show interest in THQ's assets but I don't see Activision caring at all. It's not really their strategy to buy franchises like that these days. It would be ironic if Rockstar/Take-Two bought the Saint's Row series but I see them having just as little interest in THQ's assets as Activision. So atleast EA will have two of THQ's licenses(they already bought the UFC license from them earlier this year and I can't see anyone else wanting the WWE license to continue annualizing it other than EA). The real question will be who pays the most to get Saint's Row.

[kupomogli]

EA already tried for two GTA clones, The Godfather series and The Saboteur, so I'd think they'd be interested in acquiring a Saints Row.

I don't know how long it's going to be until anyone gets anything from THQ though, as Clearlake Capital Group has already purchased THQ and all of its assets for $60 million. THQ may remain independent of any other major publishers and just work for this company instead of being sold off piece by piece.

[Ryudo]

Fixed that for you.

Also. Ubisoft and quality? Do you use Crystal Meth?

You're truly an idiot. Yes Rayman Origins is Fantastic so is the AC series and Farcry 3. Rayman Legends looks amazing and loved the demo.

[kupomogli]

THQ's Clearlake Capital deal fell through because of investors and now they're auctioning off titles one by one. I don't think that they can auction off WWE since it's really not their property, but whether they can or can't, I hope EA gets WWE and Saints Row. Don't care about the other THQ titles.

[hbkprm]

bandai/namco should get the stick of truth
saints row should go to sega
darksiders to either bedestha or konami
capcom or valve should get the next drawn to life
devils third should go to either sega or take two