Five 
years ago THQ was one of the videogame industry’s biggest publishers. Today, the company is struggling to stay afloat.
The troubled game maker is facing a possible delisting from the Nasdaq stock exchange, announced the layoff of 240 employees Wednesday and slashed its CEO’s salary in half for the next year as sales have plummeted. Further, last week the company announced plans to abandon the once lucrative children’s licensed games business to focus on titles for a core audience.
It took 
more than 24 hours for the world’s news organizations to learn of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
But a video game saw it coming nine months ago.
Following news of a 
reorganization at THQ, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris discusses what the company should now consider doing to “right the ship,” such as focusing solely on quality core and Facebook titles.
A few years ago, I came up with an analogy that envisioned the video game world as a high school. EA was the jock. Take-Two was the guy in the leather jacket who blatantly smoked at his locker. And THQ was the guy you wanted your sister to date.
These days, though, THQ’s role in that little drama has changed. Lately, the company has more closely resembled the kid whose attention deficit disorder is so paralyzing that he’s forced to enter special ed.
While Nintendo had a lot to brag about in 
March, the overall video game industry wasn’t so fortunate.
Initial sales of the 3DS handheld gaming device beat those of its predecessor, and the powerful Pokemon franchise set new sales records for the company. Despite these achievements, overall retail software sales fell 16 percent last month and revenues on the whole were down 4 percent, according to The NPD Group, which gathers sales data for the industry.
Despite the release of several high profile games, including
a new entry from one of the largest franchises in the industry, video game retail sales for March are expected to tumble once again.
The NPD Group will release March brick and mortar sales figures Thursday after the market closes. Analysts expect software sales to fall between 8 and 10 percent. One of the major factors they’re citing is the shift of this year’s Easter holiday into April.
Sony Online Entertainment and THQ are
both handing out pink slips this week.
SOE was hit hard by a devastating round of downsizing that resulted in one-third of the workforce being laid off and three studios closed. THQ cut more than 30 jobs at two of its studios, but both remain open.
It’s already been a busy year for shooters, but publisher 
THQ thinks they found the formula for first-person success in the upcoming — and somewhat controversial — Homefront.
Due out March 15 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, the game imagines a fallen America in 2027. Players, as you might expect, will join the resistance and fight their way across the country to win back America’s freedom.
Ok, I recognize this is just clever marketing from THQ, meant to 
appeal to my ego. I know they’re using me here to promote “Homefront,” as it nears its March 8 ship date. I even realize other game-focused media sites are likely posting similar clips around the Web.
That said, this is a clever piece of propaganda recreation. And I would like to be the first to apologize for “cruelly attack[ing] the facilities that provide oil for you to stay warm in winter.” I assure you that the Variety propaganda production mentioned in this audio file is of the highest caliber.
The last couple of years have been rough ones 
for Electronic Arts and THQ. Rapid changes in the video game landscape and an unlucky string of underperforming titles has taken its toll on both companies’ stock prices.
This week, though, both companies showed some signs of life as they reported earnings, giving investors hope that the long awaited turnaround for each company might be about to begin.
Chris Morris: Journalist 