Q3 THQ sales up, WWE ships 5m

For the third quarter of fiscal 2008, THQ reported net sales of $509.6 million, up from $475.7 million for the same period a year ago. The publisher added that the sales spike was driven by strong performance of WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, Cars: Mater-National and MX vs. ATV Untamed.

THQ’s powerhouse franchise WWE has now brought in more than $1 billion in lifetime net sales, while the publisher shipped a whopping five million units of the latest release, WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2008, worldwide.

Another franchise passing the $1 billion lifetime sales mark was THQ’s range of Nickelodeon titles, driven by Avatar, Nicktoons and Spongebob SquarePants titles.

For the nine months ended December 31st 2007, THQ’s international net sales also increased significantly, to 50 per cent of total global net sales from 40 per cent a year ago.

THQ added that for the quarter and nine months ended December 31st 2007, THQ grew its Nintendo DS revenue 94 per cent year on year, aided by the launch of Drawn to Life, a newly established owned franchise created specifically for the Nintendo DS system.