THQ cans Frontlines PS3, Juiced and Stuntman franchises
Confirming earlier rumors, THQ has announced that the PlayStation 3 version of dystopian shooter, Frontlines: Fuel of War, has been canceled. And it's not the only game to have its plug unceremoniously pulled. Indeed, THQ's update to its fiscal 2008 outlook brings to mind Joystiq's consistently inept maid who's always yanking all the cables out with her feet while she's dusting the office TV.
In describing the publisher's third fiscal quarter (ended December 31, 2007), the report notes "non-cash charges of approximately $27 million" in relation to the cancellation of not only the PlayStation 3 edition of Frontlines, but the PlayStation 2 version of Destroy All Humans!: Big Willy Unleashed. THQ also notes a decision "not to pursue" its Juiced and Stuntman properties, the latter particularly described as underperforming following its release on Xbox 360 and PS3 last year.
Also appended are two unannounced titles for Xbox 360 and PS3 which "had" been scheduled for release in THQ's fiscal year 2010. One of them was being worked on by THQ's Concrete Games Studio, also the victim of a closure according to the report. Though it would be easier to blame the maid, THQ CEO and president, Brian Farrel, deemed the decouplings necessary to "strengthen [THQ's] pipeline and position [the company] to compete aggressively with compelling, high quality games."
