Game company earnings: Activision is up, THQ down
Santa Claus may not visit all the video game companies this year.
Activision Blizzard, based in Santa Monica, this afternoon posted a doubling of revenue and projected strong holiday sales. But the other big independent publisher in Southern California, THQ, said its fiscal-year 2009 revenue would be 23% lower than it had anticipated. The Calabasas company also announced it would shutter five studios, including two in California, and slash 250 jobs. As we say in this story:
The divergent reports from Southern California’s two largest independent game publishers provide a snapshot of the industry as it attempts to navigate through tempestuous economic waters and into the crucial holiday season, when 40% of its sales typically occur.
"The theme this year is caution," said Arvind Bhatia, senior vice president with Sterne, Agee & Leach, a brokerage firm in Dallas, Tx.
Though the industry is still expected to clock 20% growth in game sales, fortune will be spread unevenly within the sector. With skittish retailers ordering only big titles that are guaranteed to sell, some publishers may find themselves out in the cold this winter. To adjust to the changing dynamics, THQ will be "focusing on fewer, bigger and better," Chief Executive Brian Farrell said.
-- Alex Pham
Photo: A scene in Activision's Web of Spider-Man game. Credit: Activision
