THQ Q2: Space Marine sells 1.2M units on all formats
THQ has released its Q2 report for fiscal 2012 ending September 30, and it finds the firm reporting net sales of $146 million, compared with $77.1 million in the prior-year period. Net losses hit $92.4 million compared with a net loss of $47 million year-over-year.
Financials for Q2 FY 2012
Accounting for the digital revenue accrued from online games, THQ's net loss was $46.6 million compared to a loss of $40.6 million, yoy. Keeping digital in mind, sales were up 70% to $119.6 million.
"We are encouraged that our second quarter performance exceeded our expectations, particularly in a quarter with a light release schedule," said Brian Farrell, THQ president and CFO.
"Our two biggest quarters of the year remain ahead of us, and we are focused on execution. In Q3 we are planning for the largest quarter in our history, in terms of sales and earnings, driven by Saints Row: The Third, the uDraw GameTablet, and WWE '12.
"With UFC Undisputed 3 launching in the fourth quarter, we are well-positioned to deliver a strong second half of fiscal 2012."
THQ's digital revenues for the six months ending September 30 were 68% higher than the same period one year ago. The company expects strong growth in digital revenues year-over-year for the remainder of fiscal 2012.
Space Marine goes big for the quarter
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine moved 1.2 million units across all formats for the quarter.
According to Farrell, Warhammer titles tend to sell better in Europe, and since it is mainly a PC series, it tends to sell better through digital distribution. Space Marine posted positive physical sales as well, but the firm would not break down console versus PC sales when asked on a call to investors following the release of its financial report.
While Farrell refused to discuss much pertaining to the firm's upcoming MMO, Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium Online, he did say that monetization mechanisms will be set in-game, but the core title is to be sub-based at this point.
"What we've done is make the business model within Dark Millennium Online flexible so we can use different business models in different territories and exploit the game on a worldwide basis," he said. "We will have not just one business model, like subscriptions. There will be other monetization mechanisms in the game. The team is being very thoughtful about how we maximise monetization in this game."
Farrell would not comment any further on the matter or the game itself.
Saints Row and its release on Origin
The budget for Saints Row's advertising is twice that of Homefront's, and Farrell announced that the game was given a 9.5 from Xbox Magazine.
"We look at Origin as another digital outlet. Wherever our consumer is, we want to get to them."
Farrell also revealed that over 3/4 of a million characters have been created for Saints Row: The Third since its creation service, Initiation Station, went live yesterday.
The firm is also pleased with being able to offer the title on EA's Origin service.
"We look at Origin as another digital outlet," said Farrell. "We like competition and we like that they may have different audiences.
"We have no digital distribution platform plans for ourselves, and when differentiating between the various outlets, well, our point of view is wherever our consumer is, we want to get to them."
Plans for Q3 and FY 2013
THQ expects net sales for Q3 to be the "highest ever in the company's history", due to WWE 12 and Saints Row 3. The firm's line-up is leaning towards PS3 and Xbox 360 titles, which is where most of the firm's revenue stems.
The firm plans to ship a little less than double what UDraw tablets shipped this time last year, which was around the 1.3 million mark. The device is to release for PS3 and Xbox 360 in time for the holidays.
Metro Last Light, Devil's Third, Darksiders 2, and the WWE franchise will be the firm's focus next year, and it has decided to delay Disney Animator into FY13. UFC Undisputed 3 has also been delayed from its initial January 2012 release, and will now hit stores on February 14 instead.
A game announcement for one of the firm's franchises is expected next month.