If you believe Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, THQ will be out of business in six months. While speaking at the MIT Business in Gaming Conference on April 5, Zelnick said THQ’s reliance on licensed properties was its undoing.
“THQ’s strategy was licensed properties, first and foremost. License stuff from other people, whether it’s UFC or WWE or a motion picture property, and make a game around that,” Zelnick said. “And our approach, since we took over the company, is 100 percent owned intellectual property.”
“[THQ’s] strategy didn’t work and the execution was bad,” he added. “To put it another way: the food was no good and the portions were small. THQ won’t be around in six months.”
Zelnick believes the main difference between THQ and Take-Two is quality.
“Take-Two has the highest quality ratings among third-party publishers, according to Metacritic and most people in the industry. Quality really, really, really matters. THQ has had some good game[s], but their quality levels aren’t even remotely…the quality hasn’t measured up.”
A representative from THQ stated, “Obviously, Mr. Zelnick’s perception of THQ is outdated and inaccurate. His comments are irresponsible and false. Perhaps he would be better off commenting on his own business.
THQ noted last year that they were moving away from children’s games and movie tie-ins, a move that cost the company numerous jobs.
THQ seems to have done just that with a number of original intellectual properties, including: Darksiders, de Blob, Juiced, Homefront, Destroy All Humans, Red Faction, and Saints Row.
[Via Game spot]