Troubled THQ risks falling off Nasdaq listing

By Tom Phillips Published 31 January, 2012

Publisher warned after continued shares slump.

Embattled publisher THQ has been warned it risks being delisted from the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The threat comes after THQ shares failed to be worth more than a dollar for 30 consecutive days, reports MCV.

THQ has until 23rd July to raise its share price back above the dollar mark.

If THQ succeeds in doing so for more than 10 consecutive business days, the publisher will be saved from falling off the Nasdaq list.

Otherwise, Nasdaq has the power to remove THQ from stock exchange listings, should its share price remain stagnant.

It is the latest blow in what has been a miserable 12 months for the THQ. 2011 saw numerous internal studios shut their doors, its uDraw tablet flop on PS3 and Xbox 360 and its sci-fi action series Red Faction: Armageddon abandoned.

Since December, two separate rounds of staff lay-offs have been confirmed in as many months, while THQ was also forced to deny damaging rumours it had been pressed into cancelling its entire 2014 game line-up.

THQ now has five internal studios "aligned" to the publisher's biggest brands, the publisher reassured last week, amid growing fears for the company's long term health.

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About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (13) Latest comment 4 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MattEdWithCheese #1 4 months ago

    Well they're alienating consumers with terrible games and online passes;
    To Hell with Quality indeed...

  • -cerberus- #2 4 months ago

    @MattEdWithCheese: Thou speaketh the truth.

  • DrStrangelove #3 4 months ago

    I don't think Company of Heroes qualifies as a terrible game... long ago though.
    Edited by DrStrangelove at 31/01/12 @ 14:18

  • Schiraman #4 4 months ago

    It's a shame to see THQ struggling, because they produce some really strong games - the Dawn of War series, Company of Heroes, Saints Row 2 & 3, Darksiders and even the Red Faction series (just about).

    Unfortunately it seems like they've taken the money they've made on those and ploughed it into a failed attempt to cash in on CoD (Homefront) and a pointless gimmicky peripheral (uDraw).

    So maybe it's not such a shame after all. I just hope those great games (and more importantly the studios responsible for them) survive the demise of the publisher itself.

  • FatalHybrid #5 4 months ago

    THQ are responsible for titles over the last 5 years like;

    Metro: 2033
    Warhammer 40k: Space Marine
    UFC Undisputed
    Saints Row
    Company of Heroes
    Homefront
    Red Faction
    Darksiders

    The only reason THQ are in this situation is that they are the only studio that over the last 5-6 years has been making pretty much nothing but new IP's instead of whoring out old ones. Until this generation Metro didn't exist, Saints Row didn't exist, UFC Undisputed didn't exist, Homefront didn't exist, Company of Heroes didn't exist, Darksiders didn't exist..

    I mean you look at publishers like EA and Activision and you can see why they are so safe. Since they rarely create new IP.. EA tried at the start of the generation but then quickly ran away from it when Mirror's Edge bombed and Activision haven't even tried.. THQ are the only developer/publisher taking risks and trying new games and they should be rewarded for it.

    Instead gamers would rather play Call of Duty every year and fund the none creative Activision money machine than buy Darksiders or Metro: 2033, which I may add funds creative freedom and gives studios more of a reason to take risks. If you want to know why gaming right now is so samey and stagnant then above is your reason. Too many people busy playing average franchise games and not enough buying the games that are expanding our industry. We need THQ as no one else is making new IP's anymore except the indie crowd.

  • Darren #6 4 months ago

    I like THQ as a publisher as they release a broad and appealing selection of games. Last year had Warhammer 40K: Space Marine (which has superb support post-release on the PC) and Dawn of War II: Retribution, Darksiders for the PC, Saints Row: The Third and the amazing de Blob 2. The only duffer was the forgettable Red Faction: Armageddon but otherwise they release interesting and enjoyable games IMO. I'm especially looking forward to Darksiders II as well.

  • gribb #7 4 months ago

    And the 'you have to spend money to make money' adage gets disproven again. If THQ had been a bit more prudent with their advertising funding, maybe they wouldn't be in this mess...

  • Quixz #8 4 months ago

    Microsoft..

  • TheGuvernor #9 4 months ago

    I've loved THQ titles, CoH/Metro, & been totally underwhelmed, Homefront/Space Marine.

    Still, I really hope they pull through.

  • 32768Colours #10 4 months ago

    @FatalHybrid

    The only reason THQ have been making so many new IPs is because they've been desperately searching for their own killer franchise to whore out endlessly.

    Be under no illusion that THQ are some bastion of originality. You can guarantee that had Homefront made a significant impact on the mainstream FPS, we'd be bombarded with creatively vacant annual updates.

    Its worrying though, that the only way we're going to get new IP is if a publisher is on the back foot. Worse still, the thing I find most frustrating these days is that the moment a game has any amount of success, we're destined to receive an endless supply of sequels until we're all pig-sick of the damned franchise.

    Hell, even something as weird and interesting as Katamari has been flogged to death. Its very sad.

    So the only way to have a more creative industry would be if sequels didn't sell, as that would send a message to the industry that people want new ideas every time. As it is - like you say - THQ are proof that people would rather have annual updates of trusted franchises rather than anything new, even if that "new" franchise is more or less exactly the same game as the one they're already playing (COD and Homefront are essentially the same thing after all).

  • FatalHybrid #11 4 months ago

    @32768Colours Though THQ have never shown any inclination to annually release things.. The only games they do annual releases for are UFC and WWE which is probably less their doing and more a clause in the contract.

    You look at the other games such as Darksiders and Metro they came out 2-3 years ago and are only now getting sequels. Homefront is getting a sequel but they aren't rushing it out that'll be a 2013 title at the earliest.. Hell even their highest selling game Saints Row doesn't get a game every year as THQ are not like that.

    Maybe that is a fault, maybe they do put too much money and too much time into games, when others just rush games through but THQ have shown time and time again they care a lot about the end product.

  • dutzan #12 4 months ago

    @FatalHybrid "The only reason THQ are in this situation is that they are the only studio that over the last 5-6 years has been making pretty much nothing but new IP's instead of whoring out old ones."

    Actually they've whored out Red Faction to the point they ruined it completely with their latest title. As soon as they had success with guerilla, they pissed on the franchise with armageddon.

  • Kaminari #13 4 months ago

    Oh, Patrice Désilets, where art thou...