THQ closes: Publishing power shifts, for better or for worse

A Nail in the Coffin: Contrary to many and their feelings,  the death of THQ isn't a good thing.

         After some serious ups and downs over the last few years, THQ has finally called it. Being unable to maintain it's stock, and having defaulted on their Wells Fargo loan (in addition to their quarter-billion in long-term liabilities) they've been selling off their assets. Having filed a Chapter 11 in mid December, many of our beloved titles are getting tossed around, which can easily spell the end of many products, or a 'revision' of production on said IP's that end up delaying their releases (Company of Heroes 2 and Metro Last light have already been pushed back to March of this year, when they were to be released in 2012, originally).

         To be fair, many people were against THQ for a long time. With a company as infamous as EA with its acquisitions and publishing methods, it is easy to suddenly shout with joy that one of the largest behemoths has fallen. However, the truth is, that while it would seem this had an effect on stifling creativity and openness of the gaming platform itself, what it really means is that, a wide range of products that promoted staples of non-casual gaming are poised to suddenly disappear. 

        What's about to happen to titles such as Red Faction or Destroy All Humans!? What is the future of titles such as Saints Row, Darksiders, or Warhammer 40k as a franchise? While some studios and their associated IP's were pickedup at auction, yesterday, it remains to be seen what happens to some of the more illustrious studios, such as Vigil games, who are as of this writing, still under the Chapter 11, pending sale (hopefully not lost to the annals of time). And, while Relic Entertainment was sold, it ended up in the hands of SEGA, whom, this past summer had to close its Oceanic & European operations due to economic issues. That's not exactly inspiring – neither is the fact that SEGA's days as a dominating presence in video games as a whole, is largely past them after the failure of their last two consoles, the Dreamcast and the Saturn.

         While they're still well in the black, do they have the range and support to make Relics product(s) penetrate as well as previously done under THQ? To those who may think otherwise, the short answer is yes – remember, they own Creative Assembly, the company behind the Total War series, and have recently announced picking up rights to develop Warhammer games. So, this may be a solid placing for Relic Entertainment if it all pans out.

         Other holdings, such as Volition (Metro & Saints Row franchises) go to Koch Media (who in case you're wondering, are the guys who own Dead Island rights, and Deep Silver, a publishing company), Crytek picks up the Homefront IP, and Take 2 snags Turtle Rock Studios, “evolve.” Unfortunately, non of this particularly helps employees of THQ, who, having weathered the storm of falling in the red, so-to-speak, with THQ, have lost there jobs (which searches all across social networking, has many listed as out of work, now). In fact, the letter from the CEO can be found at Kotaku, which you can read, Here.

         Overall, the shifting of power has moved around, yet it likely opens up a new door for advancements in the Indie sector, and changes in creative pursuits. The problem, is that it likely will increase the foothold casual markets have, while the chance for work, will likely be an even tougher market in the wake of this change.