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

To: Marc Newman who wrote (9287)	1/11/1999 11:27:00 PM
From: Jeff Bond	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14266

To what extent do you think that sales for Play Station games will increase based on new demand from Mac customers, via the recent emulation mode released? What is the quality and processing power of the Mac emulation vs. true Play Station console? Can a Mac play a game faster than the console, or does the emulation cause delay? Is a PS game a better quality game than a native Mac game, are Mac specific games richer, or are they the same? Based on Apple's numbers, how many Mac customers might take advantage of this? If for a reasonable price you can get a Mac program to play PS games, and it cost less than a console, then it's Mac tonight ... :o) Anyways, that does not matter that much, since we are assured of one very nice quarter no matter what. Regards, JB

To: Marc Newman who wrote (9287)	1/12/1999 2:03:00 AM
From: Kory	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14266

Kind of OT - in defense of accountants. Thanks for the article Marc - you're right, the story keeps getting bigger and bigger. Unfortunately, I think it has went from being constructive to deconstructive. I don't have a big problem with what Microsoft was alleged to have done, i.e. smoothing profits. Personally, I think there is a big difference between 1) reserving some of your profits under the flag of conservatism (ala Microsoft and THQ), versus 2)taking a huge restructuring charge and later reversing back into profits some of the write-downs. The difference IMO: The first, although it could be considered manipulative, is simply shifting profits from quarter to quarter, but all the profits are earned. The second, is to take losses in one quarter so you can report gains in another. If you net these restructuring charges with profits, many times the company has not made any money for the several year period. However, I do think the simple "smoothing of profits" raises a significant point. THQ, and other game and media companies, often are justifiably given lower PE's due to the inconsistency of profits due to the individual "hit" nature of their products. While there is obvious truth to this, many so-called "stable" companies have fairly erratic profits as well. Looking forward to seeing what THQ does this quarter with the reserve for returns and accommodations. Hopefully the current environment does not force THQ into changing its conservative ways. Kory