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UFC pushes THQ to record results

[UPDATE]: Publisher revenues up 77 percent year-over-year thanks to nearly triple-platinum MMA game; Red Faction: Guerrilla hits 1 million, PC release date clarified.

UFC 2009: Undisputed dominated the sales charts in its first month on sale, so it's little surprise the mixed martial arts game lifted THQ to record sales figures for the quarter of its release. The publisher today posted its financial results for the three months ended June 30, headlined by a whopping 77 percent increase in sales over the same stretch the year before.

UFC left THQ's old quarterly record bloody and hurt.

UFC left THQ's old quarterly record bloody and hurt.

THQ revenues jumped from $137.6 million in the first quarter of its fiscal 2009 to $243.5 million in the opening quarter of its fiscal 2010. The surge in sales was primarily attributed to Undisputed for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3--which have collectively shipped 2.9 million copies worldwide--with an additional nod to Red Faction: Guerrilla and the 1 million copies shipped of its console editions. The quarter also saw a turnaround for the publisher, as it posted a net profit of $6.4 million, compared to the net loss of $27.2 million in the prior year's first quarter.

The results were strong enough for THQ to vaguely bump up its expectations for the year on a non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting procedures) basis. Where it previously expected sales for fiscal 2010 to be flat year-over-year, the publisher now expects this year's revenues to exceed last year's. Likewise, THQ strengthened some of the language in its projections, saying it "expects to achieve profitability" for the year, instead of merely "targeting profitability."

While THQ's last quarter set records for the company, it is not as optimistic about the current one. Noting that it has no new titles scheduled for release before the quarter's September 30 end, THQ projected non-GAAP revenues of $85 million to $95 million, down precipitously from the $151.6 million it brought in during the prior-year period. The publisher also expects to lose money for the quarter.

With no new releases planned through September, the publisher has once again delayed the PC version of Red Faction: Guerrilla. Weeks before the game was set to debut alongside its console counterparts, THQ said it needed more time and pushed it back to a generic "summer" release. Today's financial results indicate it won't be out before October. But the game is still included in THQ's current fiscal year calendar, which means a release is planned before April 2010.

[UPDATE 7/29]: THQ contacted GameSpot today to clarify a statement from its financial report.

"Red Faction: Guerrilla for the PC is still on track for worldwide release in September," a representative with the publisher said. "Yesterday’s earnings call was referencing the fact that there will be no new full releases in Q2 FY10."

83 Comments

  • Phaselinear

    Posted Aug 27, 2009 9:54 am GMT

    Time to check the NYSE for my profits!

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Jul 30, 2009 11:01 am GMT

    Well deserved. Makes the sport bigger too.

  • ultralesus

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:40 pm GMT

    Good. UFC was a solid game.

    @ kavadias1981

    ... a lot of otakus to.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 4:19 pm GMT

    Funny, I was reading just the other day how the developers were disappointed with UFC 2009 sales...... Who to believe.....!

  • BrolyLSSJ3

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 4:12 pm GMT

    Hopefully THQ will make an effort to make another good SD vs RAW game now....

  • Melty123

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 2:51 pm GMT

    I played the game demo, and I was shocked the game was really good.

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:58 pm GMT

    @spacer69

    I already tried that argument a few weeks ago but all the UFC fans just bombard you with their anger. And unfortunately, there are a lot of the crazy devils.

  • 8732_YoungJeezy

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:56 pm GMT

    good for thq and the ufc franchise

  • spacer69 posted Jul 29, 2009 12:16 pm GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    spacer69

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:16 pm GMT (hide)

    I didn't buy this game nor watch UFC its too much like cock fighting and not a sport.

  • deadcowboy6

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 11:39 am GMT

    nice to see THQ is having some success

  • CHADbomb

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 10:44 am GMT

    Umaga vs. Gonzaga

  • eriickf

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 10:16 am GMT

    i love ufc!!!
    i cnt wait till im 20 ill be pro!!lmfao
    that game is banqinq...

  • simonsworld

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:13 am GMT

    good job thq, now put all efforts into next smackdown, its 2010 edition it has to be cool, right..? haha

  • bobdimstar

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:10 am GMT

    lets just hope this will mean greater games from good developers i mean its good to hear theyre making a hit but i think its better if they dont just stick to it and work harder to impress us gamers

  • popplayer22 posted Jul 29, 2009 9:07 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    popplayer22

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:07 am GMT (hide)

    Never played a good THQ title, besides a few wrestling games in the mid 90's. Red Faction: Guerilla was subpar, and I don't like UFC so I have no reason to invest in THQ.

  • fenix0003

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 8:37 am GMT

    congrats THQ!

  • xbox4life76

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:39 am GMT

    Good to hear a game developer getting out of the red and making some money, hopefully this will get the ball rolling and show other big developers that quality does make a difference.

  • bebull1

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:21 am GMT

    GET NEW FIGHTERS !!!!!

  • SirSpoon84

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:15 am GMT

    oh good for them

  • alz619

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 6:55 am GMT

    Oh wow this is good. Maybe now, they might make a decent SD Vs Raw game.

  • sun_rider95

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 6:32 am GMT

    they keep pushing the pc edition for red faction....they better make it very good

  • Arrondi

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:48 am GMT

    Alright, since it's such a fantastic game, lets announce UFC 2010! I don't want to buy 2009 this late in the year, but I am interested in the game!

  • swamptick

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:46 am GMT

    They may have sold allot of copies but people are not hanging on to it. I see this game come in my store ALL the time used. People like it for a short time and then sell it off.

  • nappan

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 5:40 am GMT

    I don't care who's making the game, but I will say as someone who doesn't like sports games... this is a GREAT game. Hugely addictive, fun, and deep. The only bummer would be the people who quit on matches, but that isn't a flaw in the game. That said, I don't know if making this into another Madden is a bright idea... I mean, the graphics have plenty of room to improve, and the Creat A Fighter issues people are complaining about wouldn't BE issues if the matchmaking system was robust. Hmmm, you know what, maybe this IS a game that would benefit from being franchised.

  • joynul

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 4:33 am GMT

    Is undispouted really that good? i have to try it

  • lukas1051

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 3:19 am GMT

    It's such a shame THQ still make so many crap movie franchise games.

  • pakhair

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 2:39 am GMT

    It's a great news for THQ, No doubt THQ Games r improving........

  • roryk666

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 2:18 am GMT

    awesome news, id buy this on wii

  • pete_merlin

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 2:18 am GMT

    Game rocks, would rock more if i had the patch, im sick of beating the hell out of the cpu to only have the make me tapout

  • firehawk998

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 1:23 am GMT

    First of Kudos to THQ for making this much earnings in a bad economy I hope they continue to give us games like these. Second of all please release the patch to UFC.

  • Mister__Awesome

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:46 am GMT

    I would like to see the ground game fixed in UFC, seems a bit to, idk, wierd. Overall great game with much improvements in the near future

  • PabloEscobar20

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:58 pm GMT

    Hopefully they make UFC 2010 and improve everything that sucked in the 1st one.

  • coolguy681

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:35 pm GMT

    MMA the fastest growing sport in America.

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:16 pm GMT

    oh yea and about Saints Row 2 speaking of, PATCH FREAKING TROPHIES IN THE DAMN GAME!!!!!! All the freaking patches are are Mirror images of 360 Achievements and if they can't take freaking 1 hour to make a patch for saints row 2 and MAKE it worth while to play(because I like playing for trophies, i guess it's an addiction) because i don't really play games ne more without trophies.. I just HATE when 360 games are out with all the achievements and feel the PS3 is just getting started... I can't wait for the Ultimate Sith Addition for The Force Unleashed also! That was a great suprise

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:04 pm GMT

    (Sorry for how long this is, turned out longer than i thought!) YES! PATCH THE GAME DAMNIT!! RELEASE THE PATCH!!! I would be WELL OVER lvl 50 right now and be WELL OOOOOVER 100 WINS if STUPID countless people won't quit QUITTING and using freaking TURBO CONTROLLERS, but i don't care because i've beat someone with a turbo controller(i guess my technique is unique) but what REALLY bothers me is the other morning I played for about an hour and a half... Okay, well i play and the FIRST 8 games i win and out of the 8 games i won only 2 stayed... That means I PLAYED 6 MATCHES of my life and it WASTE MY DAMN TIME to just sit there and go in RANKED go beat someones ass, and get this, i threw a submission on someone first time i'd EVER landed a sub on someone with no damage so i'da got a great medal but NO!!! you can't even get the frickin GOLD DIGGER trophy(wow i'll never get the platinum) because they made it SO RETARDED to have to get. They need to STOP resetting the medals and make "newer" ones or give "x2/x3/x4/etc" and they NEED to start banning accounts that pull the plug and be monitering it before they release the patch because i get a feeling ALOT of people are pulling their plugs, and i don't get why people want to waste their time like that, then i think well i guess all these quitters think their time is better than all of the ones of us whom don't quit, a t least I FEEL like a MAN when i LOSE because I do not pull the plug aka quit.

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:04 pm GMT

    People should feel so lame as to think their stupid CAF rating cheat will stay, everytiem i put CAF on there's always a 119 rating caf trying to fight me but they will usually try picking a caf with 70 rating then when i pick a CAF they quickly select their 119 rating guy without ne one noticing but i DID notice and i'm NOBODYS idiot. People are ruining this game and IF THQ doesn't get this patch out PRONTO being they seem tolike to RUN their mouth about it being a patch, where is it?

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:03 pm GMT

    Doesn't take long to make, and i HOPE they don't have 1 person patching it... I just think people especially people like me are going to quit this game and go to another game and not look back even if the patch comes out. because if THQ wants to abandon it's fans in TIMES OF NEED, well maybe us fans should do the same until a developer comes around that KNOWS HOW to release games balanced "already" without needing patch prior to it's personal beta tests and debugging don't need superior enhancement that involves drastic change to the game and how peoples game plan are and how it will have to annoyingly change(except the loser quitters).

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:01 pm GMT

    Anyways all i'm saying all in all is get the patch out NOW, atleast get it out before Batman(for christ sake) and address all these problems before "we" fans leave ur fanbase THQ. I like you as a company, don't make me do it :/ ya just don't know how retarted it is to have to play matches over and over for nothing when you're playing ranked to begin with. You'd THINK they'd already have the patch out as soon as they mentioned it, but thats been what? over almost a month and a half ago? It is annoying how these games are released and these obscene trophies/achievements that u have to get are SO hard to get online... Seems to me with all the quitters anyone with a platinum in this game could possibly be the biggest cheater unless they just played the game a ton or are incredibly good.

  • issizots

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 11:00 pm GMT

    Just take Fight Night Round 4 for example, the only 3 trophies keeping me from getting Platinum Trophy are Winning the "online" title belts for "EACH" weight class. So how hard does that seem? VERYYYYYYYYYY FRICKING HARD YO. ESP(and i don't know how they benefit from them)modded turbo controllers could possibly do damage for the game when they allow face buttons for punching instead of the solo purposed "new punch stick" or w/e it's called. Anyways i think we're all fed up with cheaters and two faced developers who make allt his money because of US but yet can't keep my personal trust because If it takes them another month to release this patch i'm going to be WORRIED for THQ's quality sake...

  • The_Turakamu

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 10:47 pm GMT

    Good to see they can do something right, have you seen their WCW games?

  • DEATH775

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 10:44 pm GMT

    Yes I own both games, both of them is awesome

  • SkidRow18

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 10:21 pm GMT

    there is no doubt that MMA is getting much popular this days

  • Allbritt0n

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 9:18 pm GMT

    Patch NOW!!!!! Does it really take that long to patch games......other than that good job THQ and make another saints row soon since u didnt spent much time on the second one.

  • lowerclassbrat7

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 8:45 pm GMT

    Now if only they can patch in a disconnect penalty. I won't play online until I can get a fair shake online.

  • ropumar

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 8:32 pm GMT

    I remember users here talking last year that THQ was doomed, while I was saying that with UFC, red faction and Dawn of war2 THQ would be very healthy.
    Last year people took pleasure on bad mouthing THQ saying they were crappy and so on, just so this year they buy their games and don't even realize.

  • Morris_The_Grey

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 7:26 pm GMT

    See THQ. There's money in non-casual games.

  • ryan69969

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 7:23 pm GMT

    Great...now all we need is the promised PATCH

  • NooDLES-666

    Posted Jul 28, 2009 7:20 pm GMT

    bboysleepy, Kimbo will get his a$s kicked, maybe not on the show, but against the heavyweights in the UFC he will. He stands 0 chance against Lesnar, Mir, Nog, Couture, etc etc. But I am glad to see THQ gettin some good cash flow, UFC and Red Faction are both fun games with good quality.

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    • Publisher(s): THQ
    • Developer(s): Yuke's
    • Genre: Action
    • Release: May 19, 2009 (US)
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