THQ lowers financial guidance

The delays suffered by the likes of Destroy All Humans 3 and Frontlines: Fuels of War and lower than expected sales of key titles Juiced 2 and Stuntman: Ignition have led US publisher THQ to lower its financial estimates for fiscal year 2008.

The previous prediction of $240 million has now been dropped to $229 million, with expected net sales of $490 million for the quarter ending December 31st.

"We are disappointed that our latest editions of Juiced and Stuntman did not perform to expectations," THQ boss Brian Farrell stated.

"Because of THQ’s commitment to delivering quality products, we have moved the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of Destroy All Humans and the PS3 version of Frontlines into fiscal 2009. We believe the additional time will enable us to create the best products for our customers."

However, analysts remain confident about the publisher’s fortunes going forwards.

Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter stated: Although we consider the lowered guidance painful for investors, we believe that the issues with Stuntman and Juiced are isolated, and are unlikely to recur in the future. Both games received mediocre reviews, and expectations for both games were set at unrealistic levels.”

Lazard Capital’s Colin Sebastian added: THQ’s upcoming product line-up appears to be a significant improvement over this year, including the next Pixar title Wall-E, sequels to the Red Faction and Saints Row franchises, and confirmation of the first title based on the UFC license.”