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

To: Richard G. Woodland who wrote (7605)	8/20/1998 9:57:00 AM
From: AreWeThereYet	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14266

Richard, I am not surprised to see Quest 64 fell out top 10 in July. As I mentioned previously, the feedback of the Quest64 and Granstream Saga is only so so. In addition, the PSX price drop really give PSX titles a boost (check my previous post). In comparison, AKLM's ASB was in top 5 in June but it sold less than Quest64 in July. If you like to hear some bearish argument, here are some "mho" - The convertible note issue is confusing to some investors. - Quest64 is not a mega-hit as some investors hoping for. - WCW is losing some strength to WWF. And for a few members here - Todd is not here for awhile but is that a change in THQ fundamental!? >> September will be nil. << This doesn't sound very sincere at all. And don't forget 23(+or-2) out of 31 titles to be release in H2 of 1998. Bass Master and Brunswick will release in this quarter along with the re-release of WCW World Tour. The best has yet to come! aC

To: Richard G. Woodland who wrote (7605)	8/20/1998 10:50:00 AM
From: Harry	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14266

I would like to hear a sincere bearish argument against THQ... So for the record, I'm long THQ, but I thought I'd try to come up with a decent bear case. Before I start, though, I'd like to first respond to Richard's bear case: 1) Most games, even blockbuster hits, see a drop-off in sales as time goes on. Your point that Quest64's sales have declined is fairly meaningless. The only way that would matter is if you were claiming that Quest 64 is THQ's only source of revenue -- which isn't the case. 2) The entertainment software industry is quite seasonal. Even if Q3 isn't that strong, I would hope that most investors are at least looking long term enough to consider the X-mas season in Q4. Anyway, that said, here are the best bear arguments I can come up with. Feel free to punch holes (or support) these, but keep in mind that I'm long, so someone who's actually bearish on THQ can probably come up with better arguments. 1) THQ produces so-so games in general. They do not produce many huge hits, and gamers do not generally give THQ much respect. As the number of titles on the market (in particular, the Playstation market) grows ever faster, gamers will pay more attention to games released by the more highly respected publishers. THQ may get squeezed on reputation. 2) THQ does not have very good in-house game development talent. They are reliant on being able to pick up good games to publish. Unfortunately, with the trend sited in point 1, 3rd party development studios will prefer to sign with more highly-regarded publishers. This will make it harder for THQ to get the hit games. Vicious cycle. 3) THQ as a stock seems to suffer from a good amount of manipulation. As this reputation has grown, we run the risk of attracting more manipulators. Anyway, that's my take on the bear case (off the top of my head). I can personally find bull arguments that offset these, but I guess that's why I'm long. :-) Harry