THQ turns away from cross platform titles

THQ boss Brian Farrell has told GamesIndustry.biz that the publisher will no longer be pursuing a strategy of releasing most of its titles on all platforms as the market evolves.

Speaking in an interview published today Farrell said, "The way we're looking at the market over the next five years is that it's going to be more segmented.

"In the past a lot of publishers - including us - would say, 'Okay, let's make a game and get it across every system.' That's not our strategy going forward; there are going to be different gamers for the different systems. So our strategy is different types of content, segmented on who the users of the systems are."

According to Farrell, Xbox 360 and PS3 "very powerful machines" which are "more targeted at the core gamer", while the Wii offers unique opportunities to exploit the licences THQ has picked up from Pixar, Nickelodeon and WWE.

"When you look at the core gamer properties, these are the big bets - the high cost, very targeted games," he said, citing examples such as Saints Row and the forthcoming Frontlines: Fuel of War. "You've got to compete at the highest level of quality. There are fewer of those bets, but they'll probably be very large in terms of sales numbers."

Farrell said THQ is probably "slightly more aggressive on Wii" compared to the other platforms when it comes to the number of SKUs published, but added that revenue dollars are "pretty evenly split".

THQ is also forecasting an even split for market share amongst the platform holders, with Farrell observing, "It's clear that you've got three well capitalised competitors who are not going to go quietly into the night, which for a games publisher is nirvana.

"Microsoft has the early lead with the core gamer; Sony's ramping up quickly, particularly in Europe, where trying to erode Sony's market leadership is going to be very difficult," he continued.

"As we look out and reforecast, it looks like a three-way split... Something could change tomorrow, but it's going to be a really interesting race. I can't remember when three platforms co-existed like this."

To read the full interview, click here.