Jeff, advertising on the Rugrats special is certainly affordable. We saw a nice amount of tv advertising last year and the Quest ads weren't nearly as focused on the target market as RR on RR would be. But I'm not sure the N64 game is near enough to advertise and the PSX is getting a bit old. But maybe.
Just for the completists out there, the reports from those who have accounts here and may have posted here already and a few others:
Vic says--
<<In the spirit of continuing the tradition of E3 reports, here goes. This won't be one
of the high caliber that we have seen from recent years but it is one regardless.
THQ's booth was very understated to say the least compared to some of the other
software booths in the hall. Of the top of my head, THQ showed Road Rash, Nuclear
Strike, Rugrats Studio, Rugrats Scavenger, the Motocross game, Felony Pursuit non-
playable, Sinistar Unleashed, Ultimate 8 Ball, Bassmasters and maybe some others I am missing.
Missing were any WWF or WCW titles, Danger Girl and probably others.
Insights:
There currently is no MTV Extreme presence. This is something that THQ will begin with
MTV. That is why LT has no idea what this is. Gysi was very excited about the MTV
relationship.
Gysi didn't think they overpaid for PPL. They are very happy with the work PPL has done and bought them specifically for PSX 2 work. Not to say that that is all they'll do but this was clearly a move to make THQ one of those 5 companies Sony officials said would be able to work on PSX 2 (which was a BS comment BTW).
THQ is not too hot on Dreamcast. They see a crowded marketplace at launch and really want to see solid install base numbers before committing resources to the platform. IMHO, the earliest we'll see WWF on DC will be Christmas 2000 and even that is a big if.
Some other notes:
Farrell said an outside agency advised them on the amount of options they can go for. This is the number the agency the number came back with. Farrell said that in order to compete with the likes of EA etc, these are necessary to attract talent.
ECW will be pawned off in a low-profile deal to another developer/publisher. THQ does in
fact have it and it will be a very good investment for them. THQ did ask Titan if they'll be investing in ECW before taking this action. Whatever info came back to them, they are still
pawning the game off.
Gysi told me that he wants cash around and that is why this was an stock deal with PPL. He said that one million units of N64 carts is a $20 million dollar investment and therefore, cash is necessary.
I personally thought EA is doing a very good job with WCW but that was not the opinion of a management person I spoke with at THQ.
THQ made a great move to bring on Yuke (Touken Retsouden creators) for WWF. This is
clearly what the market wants and I think they will have a better game than EA's WCW. The Asmik guys are another story.
I don't think Sinistar is all that though I was told there is some interest in the title.
Ultimate 8 Ball looks very good. It will compete in a crowded market however.
I think Nuclear Strike looks better than Road Rash.
I think the MTV relationship will be a good one. I think we overpaid for PPL but it was a necessary expense. I think the Yuke WWF will be the best selling wrestling game ever (1.5 - 2.0 million units) which means we won't have to worry about replacing WCW revenues. I think Rugrats will continue to be spectacular. The Ricky Carmichael game was a great pick-up. He is the newest up and comer to Jeremy McGrath. Also, this game will have make some
inroads for us in PC where motocross is pretty big. I think 1999 EPS of 2.50 is in
the bag.
Any other questions? Fire away.>>
[Come on, how about some questions for Vic! He knows his stuff.--Marc]
And Walt--
<<Bottom Line: THQ is in the best shape they have ever been in!
1) Ricky Carmichael MotoCross is a very good game and I had fun playing this 50% completed version. I played a Motocross from EA and I thought THQ was better.
2) Pacific Power and Light acquistion was GREAT NEWS. You need to spend money to make money. ( in this case payment in stock options). Trager is well respected, started EA sports and their Road Rash and Nuclear Stike that they are developing for THQ are getting very good reviews. THQ scooped EA on these guys. EA thought that they could buy Trager whenever they wanted to based on their past relationship. too bad EA and BRAVO for THQ.
THQ did not have a huge booth compared to some of the other players in the business. I have been a part of tradeshows and a bigger booth does not assist in booking larger orders with retailers. Retailers want marketing programs. THQ's booth was placed in front of Playstation and Ninetendo. You could not miss it.
The THQ party was at the Park Place and was larger than ever. There were at least twice as many people as the previous year. Homiev, Radillo, Trippi and myself hung out together.
If you own THQ, I would not worry to much about the day to day up and downs in the stock price. THQ can't control this. In my opinion, they are firing on all cylinders. THQ will continue to appreciate.>>
And Todd's virtual E3 report--
<<Ok, even if I am not at E3, I am still going to do my E3 report.
It seems that many people including me are happy with the way the stock price reacted to today's multiple press releases. Personally, I did not think today's run up would continue so strong throughout the day…it seems like we stalled at 100k shares at 9:30 Central time and ERTS and AKLM's early positive advancements began to retreat into negative territory. I do believe that the high volume indicates more than just an "E3 effect". Yes, some shorts
may have covered, and new people may have dipped into the well to buy a few shares, but the way some shares were being purchased around 12:30-1:00 Central, it just looked like some big guys accumulating (although, they could have been covering their big shorts).
But, lets face it, we are at $27 9/16. The last time we saw this price (on the stocks way UP), it was November '98 (6 months of DEAD money). How many new games do we know about now that we didn't know about then, and how many unknowns have been answered positively between then and now….the market is definitely inefficient and sometimes (most of the time in THQ's case) irrational.
Now for the games and questions:
International Rally Championship was announced at last years E3 for Playstation and PC for a Fall '98 release. The PSX version was scrapped some time last winter, and now all of a sudden, the PC as well. What happened?
Felony Pursuit is not IRC in disguise, the premise is totally different.
Dead Unity, although we knew this was dead, on both PC and PSX, wouldn't you think THQ could contact EB to take it off their webpage?
Brunswick First Strike Bowling (PC). This GameFx version that was mentioned in a press release earlier this year in conjunction with Intel and is still on the THQ webpage for launch Spring/Summer '99 is not being shown at E3. If there is any truth to a strategic partnership conference call, my bet it is this in regards to this game and Intel. I'd bet that this game, is an OEM ONLY game (why it is not shown), and will be released on all PC's (maybe
through Dell or Gateway) with the new Pentium III chip for a limited time. I'd bet THQ nets $500k for this endeavor. Either Intel of a graphic board company.
Speaking of GameFx, didn't or doesn't Brian always say that they will make no acquisition that will not turn a profit with 12 to 18 months? The GameFx deal was completed on May 1 last year for $7.2 million and has generated ZERO in 12 months. How will Sinistar achieve this? Oh, maybe because they wrote everything off, and any revenues generated by Sinistar will be considered profit!!!
Shao Lin - great to hear this one is being shown. Again!!! Maybe if Jeff, David and I were there, we could play it against Walt again and see if the results were any different this year from last. I hope the wait is worth its weight in gold.
Toy Story 2 GBC - I spoke with Deb Lake about this one about a month ago. She had explained that the timing of press releases were not always in THQ's control when Disney or other big names were involved. Are they telling me that Disney approved this last night? I think could have been something THQ could have released on our decent to 16 3/8. I'm still pissed about that.
Championship Motocross featuring Ricky Carmichael - I wonder how much this one cost us and when this agreement was signed. These motorcross games must do well for several companies to have them and for AKLM to resign their "celebrity".
Brunswick Bowling N64 - Again, I understand the wanting of THQ to have surprises at E3, but come on, this could have been announced months ago. Hell the game is probably done already!
Nomenquest????
I still maintain that we will hear ECW news from THQ in the near future and an updated web page is in the works.
More games will be announced by 3Q earnings. Including some that I posted on my rumored list a few days ago.
With all that said, and water under the bridge, again it is clear in my eyes that THQ furnishes the BEST lineup for the backhalf of 1999 and beyond.
Realize too that these are only the games being released in the US. THQ's presence in Europe will be more substantial than it was last year.
GO THQI!!!>>
An earlier post from Rick:
<<
Well, I was at E3 for maybe an hour today. just long enough to get a quick look at Sinistar, talk to Fred Gysi for a few minutes and have lunch with HomeIVRPh. (Sbarro's pizza)
Graphics and particularly the movement on Sinistar are amazing. When you launch a missile, the smoke trail is very cool. Impacts of missiles and phasers look very "realistic." (like I've ever seen a real space battle)
Fred appears very happy with THQ's prospects for the next year and said there are still some announcements to be made in the near future. He is stunned by the success of Rugrats and is already upset by analysts asking how they're going to replace those revenues. Says the re-release of Rugrats Gameboy on the color system is just so much gravy.
One thing that surprised me is that he said at least one ANALyst was stoked about us getting that Motocross guy. Maybe they think it'll be as big as Jeremy McGrath. Who knows? I'm treating it as just another Penny Racers or Broken Sword. But it could be a happy surprise.
I did mention to him that the colorful gentleman at last year's annual meeting was right after all about us doing $2 in earnings in '98. He said nobody was more surprised by that than THQ's management because their projections did not have those kinds of numbers. Heehee, they should hire Fender or Chris and maybe their projections will make more sense.
I won't actually do a whole lot until Saturday, I still have to work most of the day during the week. Maybe one of the other guys will post more tonight or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow because last I heard we were going to dinner together tonight.>>
Wow, they did a great job. Did Trippi file a final report? I'm not sure if he has yet. Anyway, we're lucky to have guys like this involved with THQ.
Marc |
