Darksiders to be THQ’s Whipping Boy in Q3

Each year many worthy games go unappreciated by the sweaty masses. That’s just a reality of the games industry. What must really sting the publishers and developers though is when they invest significant resources into a game that garners respectable scores and it still fails to meet projections. It would seem that Darksiders is vying for the award as the next Psychonauts, and is also poised to be THQ’s whipping boy as we approach fiscal year-end.

Reporting for Industry Gamers, James Brightman explores this very issue. In Brightman’s piece he consults analyst Todd Greenwald about THQ’s upcoming Q3 earnings report, who said that Darksiders “didn’t perform up to THQ’s expectations, likely selling less than 1 million units despite heavy marketing dollars [and] 2-3 years of development costs.” Though they also go on to discuss that MX vs. ATV Reflex and other Wii titles are also contributing to the poor fiscal performance for the publisher, it’s interesting that Darksiders is the title that is highlighted for the fail label.

There is irony in the fact that a dog of a game like MX vs. ATV Reflex or some Wii shovelware, and a credible Zelda-inspired action game are all mentioned in the same breath. Unfortunately this feels like yet another nail in the coffin for creative new IPs. Recently EA has been burned by underperforming new IPs like Mirror’s Edge, Brutal Legend, and their numerous Wii failures. Pandemic Studios shut operations just before Christmas 2009 and right after the release of The Saboteur, also an underappreciated original IP.

If you’re the kind of person who is cynical, and we all know the name of this site, then you can look forward to Guitar Hero 8, Call Of Duty 7 Space Warfare, and Rock Band-High School Musical coming to a games retailer near you soon.