THQ Tests Open Source Waters

[Karloff]

THQ Tests Open Source Waters

[tweet t=https://twitter.com/Jason_Rubin/status/279978480182128640 align=right]

The success of the humble bundle resulted in some interesting feedback for THQ.

Following on a very successful charity bundle [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121082-THQ-Earns-Bundle-For-Charity], THQ president Jason Rubin received an interesting Tweet asking, would THQ consider publishing titles for Linux?

"I know it seems a small market," Tweeted Cheshire Theyain [https://twitter.com/Jason_Rubin/status/279978480182128640], "but look at what Valve is doing." It would seem Rubin has, and he's also been looking at the Humble Bundle results. "Evaluating cost/benefit as we speak," was Rubin's reply.

Rubin went on to Tweet, in response to a second open source question, that THQ is already using Unity, the cross-platform game engine, on one of THQ's current projects. Rubin didn't say which one; it could be any of several. Back when THQ dropped Guillermo del Toro's Insane [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118908-Guillermo-del-Toros-Game-Has-Been-Canceled], THQ also announced that it was starting work on four other projects, none of which were named at the time.

Since then a stock price crash [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120512-THQ-Earnings-Call-Gives-Little-Reason-for-Confidence] made THQ look like a company without much of a future, but the wildly successful bundle has shown that THQ still has some very popular IP. THQ's dalliance with open source - which Rubin himself says is only a cost/benefit study at the moment - might be one of the ways Rubin intends to put the past behind THQ.

Source: PC Gamer [http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/12/16/thq-pondering-linux-development-after-the-success-of-the-thq-humble-bundle/]


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[BrotherRool]

THQ stand to develop a real public following if they can keep this up. If they don't screw it up people might start thinking of them as a beloved publisher

 

[gardian06]

I am pretty sure that the majority of the comments about Linux were more on the games for the Humble Bundle at the time, and not for future projects. depending on the engine that was used (the one using Unity: Just push a different button when making the executable), but if the other games were using like a self built engine then it might be relatively impossible to port (I know that it is possible to port a native C++ title/engine to Linux, but it can in many situations require massive overhauling of the game, and the engine) this is why Unity itself only has a Linux executable creator, but not a Linux version (yet...), so I am hoping that when Rubin says they are doing a cost-benefit that they are talking about the actual porting of the titles, and not just "all titles going forward"

on the Open Source thing: Linux does not mean open source by nature (I have been grilled one to many times by the Linux community at large on this to make that assertion again), so can someone please illuminate on these other "Open Source" comments.

 

[Jamous]

I hope so; I like a lot of the things THQ has done, and certainly a lot of the things they own. Dawn Of War is good stuff, and Saint's Row is a laugh. Looking forward to seeing how everything pans out.

 

[Chairman Miaow]

If they keep going in this direction, they may find out why Valve are so damn successful. I really hope they do, because they have some good devs and some good IPs.

 

[Rainboq]

I really hope this works out for them, THQ has always been part of my gaming library and some of their games have places of honour in my library.

 

[LordMonty]

To be honest I hope they get back on there feet sort themselves out and branch out into things like linex. The better they do the more likely i'll see that the 40k MMO

 

[jollybarracuda]

It would definitely be a welcome sight to see a big-name company go from nearly shutting down to making a decent business by simply listening to feedback, getting on board with the Humble Bundle, etc. If it can bring them back, and show that profit can be made from good PR, one could hope that other companies may follow.

 

[josemlopes]

THQ stand to develop a real public following if they can keep this up. If they don't screw it up people might start thinking of them as a beloved publisher

To be honest the only screw up that they made that affected the perception that I had about them was Homefront, unfortunately they went way over themselfs to make everyone hate them for that game (mostly that awfull marketing)

 

[Marik Bentusi]

Questionable whether it would actually benefit them in the long run and outside of the net core following. Linux and Mac people are generally more generous during Humble Bundles, but there's more Windows users total sooo yeah. Even if they expanded the OS usage and made Linux a bigger thing I doubt it would change a lot.

I'd explain the generosity with Linux users overall being more geeky (= more likely more passionate about games and willing to pay) and primary Mac users being more wealthy. Stereotyping, maybe, but there's apparently something that sets these people apart from the Windows crowd, and on the surface it's just the OS.

 

[uncanny474]

To be honest the only screw up that they made that affected the perception that I had about them was Homefront, unfortunately they went way over themselfs to make everyone hate them for that game (mostly that awfull marketing)

To be fair, though, the PC port of Homefront is so poorly optimized it doesn't run. I turned the thing down to 800x600 resolution, played on a 3-year-old PC with decent graphics cards and a rockin' processor, and it chugged more than a train going up a hill carrying the unshipped copies of the game.

 

[Tanakh]

Damn it! Miss leading title if there ever was one, here I was hoping that they were indeed thinking about open sourcing one of their recent games (like SR3 or Darksiders II) or maybe and old classic (Dawn of War)...

Also, linux and open source are not synonyms, nor one group it's contained in the other either way so, careful with that.

 

[direkiller]

I think THQ motto now is we hit rock bottom and we will try anything to clime our way back up.

and I have to say it seems like a good thing

 

[lancar]

THQ is one of the (VERY!) few publishers I actually give a damn about, so it's good to see that they're not out of the game yet.