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Technology Stocks : THQ,Inc. (THQI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RealMuLan who wrote (3932)	3/12/1998 1:13:00 PM
From: Jim Oravetz	Respond to of 14266

Here is some info from the WSJ site($) from yesterday. Most long term shareholders seem to agree that Farrell has done a great job so far, I also agree. Farrell has said in the past that they are very conservative and not willing to risk alot to gain alot. THQ Shares -2: Co. Probably Wasn't Willing To Pay WCW Dow Jones Newswires THQ's decision to walk away from its license agreement with WCW probably means the company thought the successful franchise was too expensive, people familiar with the company said. "At the end of the day, I've got to believe it came down to money," said Furman Selz's Halpern, who maintained his strong buy rating on the shares. "The risk/reward parameters probably changed." Analysts also said the move illustrates management's confidence in the company's new products. Brian Farrell, president and chief executive of THQ, declined to comment on specific reasons for the company's decision. He conceded that WCW was outperforming in relation to the company's other products, but said there is usually a particular property that, for a short while, makes up a good percentage of the company's revenue. In past years, he said, products tied to the Olympics and the movie "Toy Story" also accounted for a large chunk of sales. "It's the nature of our business," he said. "These licenses come and go, and we have a large portfolio of properties." Farrell said there is nothing to prevent the company from continuing to make video games in the wrestling area, perhaps using another licenser or fictitious characters. Gerard Klauer's McGowan said the company plans to release major new titles in each quarter of 1998, and said current business remains strong. But he cautioned that the video-game industry faces a potential problem in 2000 that it has seen before: maturation of the market for new hardware. McGowan said the installed base of PlayStations and Nintendo-64 hardware in the U.S. more than tripled last year, to more than 15 million in December from less than 5 million units at the end of 1996. By the end of this year, he estimates, there will be nearly 28 million machines, and by 2000, McGowan expects hardware sales to be down sharply. "Software sales follow hardware sales," he said. -Thomas Granahan; 201-938-5172