Events 2012: THQ's collapse

"Who the @!#* is Kevin Dent?" That's how the 2012-encapsulated story of THQ's demise as a publicly traded company began in January. Dent, an industry insider who also chaired the IGDA Mobile SIG, became a bomb-dropping soothsayer of THQ's future. Industry pundits didn't know what to think about him, but as 2012 concludes, it's clear he was the Cassandra of the year.

With the financial and human toll of THQ becoming bleaker as the year pressed on, the company finally admitted in early November it was seeking "strategic alternatives" and its stock plummeted 50 percent. THQ announced in mid-December it had filed for bankruptcy, gone private and even revealed a couple unannounced projects. Some highlighted features from the beginning, middle and end of THQ in 2012:

• The Joystiq Show at DICE with Kevin Dent from early February. We spoke to Dent to get better idea of who he was and why he spoke out.

• Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick says THQ "won't be around in six months" and then apologizes. But, in the end, he was pretty much on the mark.

• Wedbush Securities' Michael Pacter explains THQ bankruptcy on day it occurred.