Homefront sells 375,000 on day one
UPDATE: Game still on track to sell 2m in first year, says analyst
THQ has announced that sales of new first-person shooter Homefront were approximately 375,000 on day one in North America.
The move is no doubt aimed to stem the concerns of investors, who yesterday managed to wipe almost 26 per cent off THQ stock after mediocre reviews for the heavily promoted game.
"Due to the strong and growing demand for Homefront's multiplayer, we continue to add dedicated server capacity," said Danny Bilson, head of THQ's core business, of the uptake of online play.
"We are confident that the large-scale multiplayer maps featuring 32 players, vehicles, infantry and drones, will continue to be a major draw for the huge audience of FPS gamers looking for a new experience over the coming months."
UPDATE: Analyst Doug Cowen said that he still expects Homefront to sell 2 million units worldwide, and the investor reaction to reviews was a knee-jerk based on opinion, not facts
"We continue to believe that the more than 20 per cent decline in shares since reviews for Homefront were released on Tuesday is significantly overdone. The company shed nearly $90MM in market cap based on reviews not sales, but reviews of a game that we expect to generate roughly $100MM in revenue," he wrote.
"While the mixed reviews do indicate a disappointing misstep in execution, we do not believe the likely performance of the game represents a risk to our earnings estimates or the company's ability to successfully execute its turnaround plan."
The game is due for release in the UK and Europe this Friday.