THQ's Q3 conference call also addresses casual gaming, third party performance, and more.
THQ recently held a conference call to discuss their third quarter financial results and unsurprisingly, there was some talk about upcoming games for Nintendo platforms. But the conference call also managed to touch on the topics of casual gaming and third party performance on the Nintendo Wii in addition to usual sales and financial statements.
One of the first topics covered regarded THQ's original Nintendo DS title, Drawn to Life. Although CEO Brian Farrell didn't give specific numbers, he claimed that Drawn to Life had sold several hundred thousand units worldwide. As a result, THQ was looking to "extend this brand to the Wii in the future."
Farrell also mentioned THQ's upcoming original title de Blob and how the reception for the Wii exclusive had been very encouraging. The title did not yet have a solid release date, but Farrell described the title as "Nintendo-esque" and planned to launch it in a window away from competitive titles from Nintendo. He said that they were taking the time to polish the title so that they could put out a "very high quality game targeted very much at the casual game consumer."
In fact, he acknowledged a relationship between the emerging casual market and the children's market, where THQ has a strong stable of licensed properties. Farrell expected upcoming announcements about new titles for the Wii and other consoles to prove that they would have a broad base casual games line-up as well as a kids line-up.
Farrell was also questioned on the issue of third party marketshare on the Wii. He was not pleased with their current share on Nintendo platforms. He acknowledged that Nintendo typically has a strong start early in the cycle, but felt that THQ was in a position to significantly boost marketshare on Nintendo platforms and would concentrate on continuing to increase revenue from those systems. Echoing sentiments similar to Nintendo's, Farrell expected third parties to catch up to Nintendo later in the cycle, pointing out that the DS had exhibited this same pattern.
During the full conference call THQ also released information that their WWE Smackdown '08 titles had shipped more than five million units worldwide, and mentioned the upcoming release of their new MX vs. ATV franchise in March for the Wii and in Europe. They also briefly mentioned a new Tak title, now backed by a Nickelodeon cartoon series, and although last year's Ratatouille had not performed to expectations, they were looking forward to the late June launch of WALL-E, based on the next Pixar Animation film.