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THQ to open new Montreal studio

by David Hinkle { Dec 3rd 2009 at 9:15PM }

The city of Montreal can add another gaming studio to its ranks, as THQ has announced plans for its biggest studio yet: THQ Montreal. The new development house will focus on "creating core games for THQ" and assisting with titles developed by the company's other studios worldwide. THQ Montreal is expected to create some 400 new jobs in the Quebec province, with THQ's Paradigm Entertainment head, Dave Gatchel, overseeing operations when the studio opens in mid-2010.

THQ VP Steve DeCosta says it's not just the tax breaks that make Montreal such an appealing place to set up shop, but also the talent pool in the region -- sentiments shared by neighboring Ontario minister Sandra Pupatello.

THQ gains exclusive rights to Dreamworks game tie-ins

by David Hinkle { Dec 2nd 2009 at 10:00PM }

THQ is no stranger to producing accessible, fun-for-the-whole-family entertainment and has just inked a deal to acquire exclusive rights to Dreamworks game tie-ins worldwide. This agreement will see THQ produce three titles initially: Kung-Fu Panda 2: The Kaboom of Doom; a game based on upcoming Shrek spin-off, Puss in Boots; and a title based on the animated TV series, The Penguins of Madagascar. That last one sounds a lot more interesting than a game based on Morgan Freeman's penguins, though we must admit, a game based on the French version of that would be fantastique.

But, we digress. THQ also gains rights for "Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wii Virtual Console" -- we guess THQ has never heard of WiiWare? The first title to release as a part of this deal, The Penguins of Madagascar, will grace store shelves starting next year, while the other games will release alongside their theatrical counterparts in 2011.

Steam's Black Friday deals will probably put it out of business

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 26th 2009 at 9:05AM }

After reviewing Steam's Black Friday offerings, we can't help but find the post-Thanksgiving sales offered by other retailers kind of adorable. Aww, you're knocking $10 off the price of Red Faction: Guerrilla? That's cute. Steam is selling that game, and almost every other game by THQ in an enormous, $49.99 bundle. You've got a buy-one-get-one-free deal on LucasArts adventure games? How quaint. Steam is selling like, every LucasArts PC game ever in yet another $49.99 bundle.

On top of those two preposterous offers, Steam will be slashing prices on a handful of games every day for the next five days. Today's sales include Batman: Arkham Asylum for $24.99, Far Cry 2 Fortune's Edition for $9.99 and Dragon Age: Origins for $37.49. In short, you should spend as much time downloading things from Steam as you possibly can this weekend -- with prices like these, we're guessing they'll be filing for bankruptcy some time before Christmas.

Saints Row 2, LEGO Indy hit Games on Demand

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 24th 2009 at 1:30PM }

As promised, both Saints Row 2 and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures are now available on Xbox Live Games on Demand. The games are available in almost all regions, though Saints Row 2 is not available in Japan, while LEGO Indy skips both Japan and Mexico. Saints Row 2 is $29.99 in the US and Lego Indy is $19.99. Prices vary by region though, so check before you plunk down those MS Points.

Add Saints Row 2 to your 360 download queue
Add LEGO Indiana Jones to your 360 download queue

Star Wars: Trench Run targets iPhone today

by JC Fletcher { Nov 19th 2009 at 10:45AM }

THQ has launched (roughly) the millionth game to simulate the iconic attack on the Death Star from Star Wars -- but on iPhone this time! In Star Wars: Trench Run, available today for $4.99, you use tilt controls to steer your X-Wing ship, and touch controls to take down the TIE Fighters that attempt to impede your path to the Death Star's thermal exhaust port.

The game features both arcade and story modes, multiple camera angles, leaderboards, and, of course, special Force powers including the ability to slow down time. It's just not a Star Wars flying game without a scratchy Obi-Wan voice sample telling you to use the Force.

Star Wars: Trench Run ($4.99):

Gallery: Star Wars: Trench Run (iPhone)

Impressions: Metro 2033

by Randy Nelson { Nov 16th 2009 at 4:00PM }

click to enlarge

It's a strange yet true fact that portions of Moscow's underground Metro transit system were built to withstand a nuclear strike and serve as massive fallout bunkers in the event the Cold War ever got incredibly hot. In Metro 2033, based on the novel of the same name by Russian author Dmitry Glukhovsky, it did. What's left of Moscow's populace has been living in the Metro system for more than two decades, stations have become their own city-states and only the brave (or suicidal) venture to the surface.

We recently got to take a guided tour of THQ and 4A Games' adventure FPS based on the novel and came away with a new appreciation for sunlight, fresh air and the ability for plot-driven, scripted first person games a la Half-Life to still surprise us. We'll recount what we saw after the break.

Gallery: Metro 2033

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Darksiders dev diary contains your daily recommended dose of epicness

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 14th 2009 at 5:00PM }

There's a lot to absorb in the latest developer diary for THQ's celestial adventure title, Darksiders: Angels fighting demons, demons fighting horsemen of the apocalypse, horsemen fighting angels, giant worm monsters, the Apocalypse and, best of all, a horse that nearly killed Joystiq's own Kevin Kelly. Basically, we're saying that it's going to be tough to top the video you see above at any point today, as we doubt another video will force one of us to flash back to a moment in our lives where we experienced pure mortal terror.

XBLM Deal of the Week: Saints Row 2 DLC

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 9th 2009 at 3:15PM }

Though that other open-world crime drama just got a huge booster shot in the form of the release of Ballad of Gay Tony, Volition's Saints Row 2 is getting a helping hand from its ol' pal Microsoft. Major Nelson recently announced that the game's DLC pack, "Ultor Exposed," is the Xbox Live Marketplace Deal of the Week. The pack, which offers three new missions, a new co-op mode and a playable character modeled after real-life porn star Tera Patrick, has had its price cut to 560

($7). That's a 30 percent discount from the add-on's usual 800

($10) price point.

With that, we'd like to welcome the naughty folks who ended up here after searching Google for "porn star Tera Patrick." Welcome! Sorry, there's no images of your erotic quarry to be found here, but take a look around, anyways! You might just like what you see.

Impressions: Darksiders takes a stab at Portal, Panzer Dragoon

by Randy Nelson { Nov 6th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Former X-Men, Battle Chasers and Ultimates artist Joe Madueira and his team at Vigil Games are drawing closer to realizing the celebrated illustrator's dream of making his own video game, Darksiders. We've seen the apocalyptic action-adventure a few times in the past, and its similarities to games such as the 3D Zeldas, God of War and, in some ways, Devil May Cry are still obvious in the latest build.

There were some new elements for publisher THQ to show off, though, like War's range of attacks. For instance, the Apocalypse Horseman can throw his cross blade into a source of time-slowing magic energy and have it return, momentarily giving him an advantage over a group of scurrying spider enemies.

Undoubtedly, the most interesting new tidbits we saw were obvious tributes to two of gaming's most hallowed franchises: Portal and Panzer Dragoon.

Gallery: Darksiders (11-06-09)

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2009 THQ year-to-date sales up 22 percent over 2008

by Richard Mitchell { Nov 4th 2009 at 7:01PM }

THQ has released its financial results for the second quarter of its fiscal 2010, which ended September 30, 2009, and things are mostly looking up. The company lost money this quarter compared to the same period last year, posting non-GAAP net sales of $100.38 million, down from $151.62 million during Q2 of its fiscal 2009. However sales are up for the entire year, with THQ posting net sales of $334.28 million for its fiscal 2010 thus far, up from $272.69 million last year, a 22 percent increase.

THQ blamed the second quarter dip on a lack of new titles, though it hopes to have a good holiday season thanks to a "strong mass-market line-up" including WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2010 and MX vs ATV Reflex. The company was also sure to mention its triumph in the JAKKS Pacific lawsuit, which resulted in a much lower payment to the longtime WWE series developer (though the scuffle is still haunting the publisher).

Finally, THQ promised to prevail in its march to profitability by the end of fiscal 2010. Though the company expects its Q3 2010 to be 5-10 percent lower than the same period last year, it predicts Q4 sales will exceed those of last year. A reasonable hope, given that all of THQ's major releases drop in its fiscal Q4, including Darksiders, Metro 2033 and the Dawn of War 2 expansion, Chaos Rising.

New Darksiders trailer unleashes Mayhem, sore throats

by Griffin McElroy { Nov 4th 2009 at 11:15AM }

You might become entranced by the grandiose visuals featured in the latest trailer for Darksiders, which we've posted above -- however, don't let your sense of sight get you too distracted from the video's sounds. It might be too soon to say, but it looks like Darksiders could be the most gravelly-voiced video game in the history of the industry. Seriously, even the woman briefly featured in the above trailer makes Solid Snake sound like Dakota Fanning.

Check out the trailer, but keep in mind that it comes to us from the mysterious land of Europe, explaining the release date of "08/01/2010" which appears at the end of the video. See, they do dates backwards in that continent. Just like they do democracy.

THQ stock loses 12 percent after WWE extension

by Justin McElroy { Nov 3rd 2009 at 6:00PM }

It seems investors are unhappy that one of THQ's most important relationships continues to be in flux. After the news that the company was extending its renewal notice with the WWE on October 28, its stock has lost 12 percent of its value, according to GameIndustry.biz. When compared to its worth on September 23, the company is down 26 percent.

THQ's convoluted relationship with JAKKS Pacific and the WWE is fully explained here, but it suffices to say that things are pretty messy right now, and it seems the stockholders are getting impatient for tidiness.

THQ announces extension of WWE renewal notice; Pachter explains

by Alexander Sliwinski { Oct 28th 2009 at 11:30AM }

THQ announced today that World Wrestling Entertainment has extended a deadline that allows the publisher to renew its licensing contract. The extension lasts until December 21, 2009 -- the original deadline was November 1. If signed, the agreement would be good through December 31, 2014.

THQ is cool with the WWE, but it's not very chummy with JAKKS Pacific, its longtime partner in the WWE licensing venture. The wounds also run deep between JAKKS and the WWE. When asked for comment on the license renewal and further details regarding the three-way deal, a THQ representative told Joystiq that the publisher plans to renew its contract with the WWE, and then added, "Beyond that, I cannot comment."

The business, politics and legal issues are certainly complicated. We spoke with Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter who laid out multiple scenarios, but in the end he believes the most likely outcome is that the joint venture between THQ and JAKKS will be terminated. If JAKKS enforces its (believed to be one-year) non-compete clause, then no WWE games can be produced. Neither side would benefit from that, however.

Pachter suggests that the WWE's renewal deadline was extended to give THQ and JAKKS time to settle their issues. What it sounds like to us: THQ and WWE want to move forward as a couple, and the previous arrangement, featuring JAKKS as the third wheel, has worn out its welcome. Check out Pachter's complete analysis after the break.

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Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl at $5 on Steam until Monday

by Xav de Matos { Oct 27th 2009 at 11:00PM }

The highly under-appreciated shooter S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl is on sale for the low price of $5 on Valve's Steam platform until Monday. Developed by Ukrainian-based GSC Game World, the 2007 shooter takes place in an alternate reality where a second nuclear disaster takes place in at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.

Normally priced at $19.99, Shadow of Chernobyl is a steal at $5; however, as solid as the FPS is, it also includes numerous video game storyline cliches like an amnesiac protagonist and flesh-hunting mutants. Where are all the games with flesh-hunting amnesiac mutants, right?

[Thanks, Dave]

THQ forcing Star Wars: Trench Run onto iPhone

by David Hinkle { Oct 23rd 2009 at 3:00AM }

Because blowing up the Death Star never gets old, THQ is recreating the climactic space battle from the conclusion of the first Star Wars film in an all-new game for the iPhone. Star Wars: Trench Run will appear in the App store soon, IGN reports, and will feature a tilt-based control scheme. There's no word on a price yet, but given the platform, we're willing to bet even the scruffiest Nerf herder will be able to afford it.

Jedi mind click your mouse past the break for a trailer.

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