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.
Dance games are quickly becoming the best titles 
of the Kinect crop, but Dance Paradise seems to forget that a lot of the players might have two left feet. It’s a fun game that gets a lot right, but many of the dance moves are complicated and confusing, especially for newcomers. The tutorial sets up the initial premise of the game, but doesn’t help you learn any of the advanced moves. If you’ve got rhythm, though, this might be a good game for you. It comes with a variety of game play modes and local multiplayer lets you play with a friend in the same room. (Multiplayer matches through Xbox Live are not supported.) The visuals, meanwhile, are good and the song collection is robust, ranging from Lady Gaga and Rihanna to Gloria Gaynor and Kool & the Gang. Onlookers will appreciate the music videos that play in the background, but players probably will be too focused on their next dance move to pay much attention.
The mid-1990s was a golden era for video games, 
giving birth to classics like Tomb Raider, Pokemon and Half-Life. But as developers began to steer titles in a more serious direction, there was one game that not only embraced its irreverent roots; it flaunted them proudly.
You Don’t Know Jack was a refreshing slap in the face to boring trivia games — and overly solemn games, in general. Now, after an 8-year hiatus, it’s back this week on just about every major game platform.
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.
It’s not uncommon to hear consumers grumble 
that the price of video games is too high, but that’s not something you expect to hear from the CEO of a game publishing company.
THQ’s Brian Farrell, however, is taking a stance that runs counter to some of his peers, with plans to launch the next installment of one of the company’s oldest franchises at just 2/3 of the going price for new software.
[Gamasutra’s Editor-at-Large Chris Morris 
spoke to THQ CEO Brian Farrell as the company ramps up its digital distribution business while experimenting with lower price-points for boxed product.]
THQ and the broader video game industry have a lot in common. Both have struggled financially in the past couple of years. Both are seeing their role in the greater entertainment landscape change. And both are seeing the evolution of financial models that have served them well for years.
Leading the charge for those changes at THQ is CEO Brian Farrell. He’s in the unenviable position of leading a company that’s in the midst of what he calls a “turnaround year” – with significant growth not expected to resume until 2012. To get the company to that point, though, he’s throwing out a lot of the industry’s standard practices and he’s raising a few eyebrows in the process.
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris 
looks at how initial releases in game franchises are extending across film, books, action figures and beyond, talking to THQ’s Danny Bilson about the just-announcedHomefront prequel novel and why the “fiercely competitive” market demands that extra transmedia step.]
The video game industry, if you haven’t noticed, isn’t just about games any more.
Sure they’re important, but for many publishers, they’re the hub of a broader entertainment property.
Add THQ to the publishers 
expanding their operations into Canada. The company behind WWE games and last year’s “Avatar” has announced plans to open a development studio in Montreal – and has grabbed one of the country’s top developers in the process.
Patrice Désilets, formerly creative director on the “Assassin’s Creed” franchise at Ubisosft, will join the company next summer. (He’s currently riding out a non-compete from Ubisoft.)
Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog
While some videogame publishers are shying 
away from licensing deals, THQ is stepping up. The company has signed a multiyear deal with DreamWorks Animation to make games based on upcoming films.
The first title, based upon the upcoming “Megamind,” is due this November.
Chris Morris: Journalist 