Oh, THQ. Is there any more embattled video game company that you right now? Its financial woes have led some to believe that the company may not be exist in the near future. But new president Jason Rubin isn’t one of them. The Naughty Dog co-founder gave an interview to Games Industry International that gives a glimpse of what he feels the company should focus on and what THQ will be avoiding in the near future.
The interview reveals that Rubin’s seen most of the major games currently in development for the publisher and how he feels the company’s slate can still do well:
Take a look at [South Park] Stick of Truth. A lot of people are talking about it, excited about it. That’s not a blockbuster. Graphically, it’s not going to compete with Call of Duty, but it’s a really cool game. Metro’s gotten a lot of nominations for Best in Show. Company of Heroes, the sequel to the highest rated RTS of all time. There are good things to do. [Saints Row developer] Volition, has an incredible amount of talent. I think that if they had been fostered in the same way that Naughty Dog was at Sony, given the tools that they needed to succeed, that there would be a much much more successful title there.
Rubin also says that he plans on maximizing those successful THQ franchises, ignoring mobile platforms like iOS and Android for the present and avoiding some of the riskier bets that the company’s made in the past, like the uDraw tablet:
One of the things I plan on doing is making a much more concise portfolio. I will not expand into the money I have because I want to keep this money around for a rainy day. So THQ is going to be a lot more careful with what it does and a little less cavalier. You won’t be seeing another uDraw. We’re not going to be doing side projects in mobile or casual. You’re not going to see that stuff.
THQ’s new bossman also mentions Guillermo Del Toro’s inSane and unannounced titles that are in the pipeline as well, so it seems that it won’t just be sequels coming from the publisher in the near future.
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