Analyst unimpressed by Stuntman's start

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Sep 6, 2007 2:31 pm PT

Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian says THQ racer's sales "slow off the blocks"; maintains buy rating.

After posting a less-than-expected second-quarter net loss of $9.3 million last month, THQ reaffirmed its fiscal year 2008 guidance of $1.12 billion to $1.15 billion in net sales. THQ president and CEO Brian J. Farrell told analysts that the forecast hinged largely upon the projected platinum status of five internally developed multiplatform games: Frontlines: Fuel of War, MX vs. ATV Untamed, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights, the latest Destroy All Humans!, and Stuntman: Ignition.

However, selling a million copies for at least one of those games may not be as done of a deal as THQ hoped. In a company note to investors, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian said early sales of Stuntman Ignition were "a little slow off the blocks" and "slower than originally anticipated." Sebastian noted that the over-the-top racer was experiencing a weak sell-through at retail and that restocking orders were "unlikely in the near-future."

Nevertheless, Sebastian remained optimistic on Stuntman's outcome. Provided that THQ invests in a more aggressive marketing campaign that includes "a free movie ticket and cable ads targeting a 'mass market' audience," Sebastian believes Stuntman: Ignition can reach platinum status by March 2008, the end of THQ's 2008 fiscal quarter.

The analyst also maintained THQ's "buy" rating on the strength of Juiced 2's and Ratatouille's upcoming European releases, as well as projected strong holiday sales for THQ's WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2008, Cars, SpongeBob, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and MX vs. ATV games.

60 Comments

  • playstation_wii

    Posted Sep 16, 2007 1:57 pm PT

    I didn't enjoy the game

  • GrimBee

    Posted Sep 9, 2007 7:21 am PT

    Stuntman games have never really captured the name of the game.

    If I were to create a Stuntman game, I first would make it relevant to the title - Stuntman SHOULD be about the stunt-MAN. So I would start out with a create-a-stuntman option. And then you start out in the small time, doing really easy stunts.

    And if you fail certain stunts - fixing injuries that incurred would take it out of your pay. Time in injury would let you miss important stunts on the timetable - so your efforts let you go on different paths - like a proper stuntman.

    If you do a good stunt, you can get the chance to do it again (if you came out alright) but it would put your reputation down at the end because it cost the studio alot of money and time.
    So then instead of having that trial and error - you would have alot of depth to better yourself, and also feel a sense of danger and consequence when choosing what stunts to do and actually performing them.

    However - It is a shame that the series has never captured anything of what it would be like to be a stuntman, it just recreates stunts - over and over. If they renamed the game to STUNTS then it would at least stop being a bit of a let-down.

    I have some friends who are stunt-men, and the game really does not capture much of what it is like to be a stuntman.. I am a big hater of trial and error gameplay.

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Sep 8, 2007 2:11 pm PT

    juiced is amazing

  • Amir_Badshah

    Posted Sep 8, 2007 5:06 am PT

    I completed Ignition in se7en days with 5 stars in all..
    Worth Playing..
    Good game, but Too Short..

  • DiscGuru101

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 10:10 am PT

    The graphics look hot, and the ads have been tempting. -I will be buying Destroy All Humans! 360 for sure though.

  • Chirico_Cuvie

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 9:47 am PT

    Stuntman was a horrible game on PS2, the trial and error gameplay with absolutely no direction was a stupid design. This game fixed most of those problems, but it's still a niche title that is Dragon's Lair in a car.

    I'd rather play Road Avenger for Sega CD.

  • MegaXtreme

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 8:02 am PT

    Believe it or not, _AbBaNdOn, those "kiddy" games you speak of actually do sell well, I mean, how many Spongebob games have really gone Greatest Hit? I know Battle for Bikini Bottom did. And Cars, the movie-based game, is also a Greatest Hit on PS2 and a Platinum Hit on Xbox 360. So these games do sell very well. BTW, WE 2008 will rock.

  • Homerj

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 7:56 am PT

    THQ's offerings for PC have been pretty great in recent times (of course, how can you go wrong when Relic is developing for you?) Its seems that their console offerings are a little juvenile and derivative though.

  • marbles3

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 7:55 am PT

    Isn't the UFC game in development theirs as well? With it's ever rising popularity that should be a big hit.

  • Leick3

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 5:21 am PT

    If i bought a 360, stuntman would be the first game i got

  • skrat_01

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 4:55 am PT

    Bad, bad, bad release date..............

    And bad bad bad advertising (well here in Australia).

    If they planted awesome ads on buses or trams, rather than a single TV Ad I have seen - it would be much more effective.....

  • _AbBaNdOn

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 4:15 am PT

    Stuntman is pretty awesome and destroy all humans is turning into a legendary series... atv/wwe/juiced and frontlines are all crap. Why cant THQ make the kind of wrestler that was on the n64??? The GOOD kind. And are you kidding with spongebob, airbender and cars???? Do you guys work for nintendo or something the average gamer is 28+ years old. Why waste time making bullcrap games for like 2% of the gamer population.

  • WormyTheWorm

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 1:35 am PT

    Thats a shame, stuntman is a really good game that seems to be misunderstood by most people. Its not hard to pass a scene, only if your'e going for a high score will you be retrying the scene again and again.

    Would it be better if you always did the scene perfect on your first attempt and successful every time? i dont think so.

    I will be playing Stuntman for a long time to come.

  • raghraghragh

    Posted Sep 7, 2007 12:28 am PT

    Stuntman on PS2 was pretty good,if they put a demo up on PSN or XBL I'd download it and give it a go.

  • FMX_Gamer

    Posted Sep 6, 2007 11:12 pm PT

    the only good game there is mx vs atv and mabey juiced 2. wth is fuel of war!? and destoy humans was crap and if they make anthor one it will fail.

  • ThaSod

    Posted Sep 6, 2007 9:58 pm PT

    A game where you repeat the same scene over and over again trying for perfection does not appeal to me. In fact, the only game mentioned in this article that I would buy full price was Destroy all Humans!
    Seems like the only way THQ will pull a profit is by tricking people into buying cheaply made liscenced products.

  • Sydwynder

    Posted Sep 6, 2007 9:30 pm PT

    Wow, that has to be one of the most craptacular lists of upcoming games that I've seen in a long while. Yikes!!!!!!!!

    You want to know why there are so many crappy games out there, take a look at this list and it's a prime example of how not to make the game industry stronger.

  • dn3datomiced

    Posted Sep 6, 2007 9:06 pm PT

    You don't have to buy the concessions, Wakko

    It's not like someone's... (looks left, and then down) er, holding a gun to your head...

  • gmrndlze

    Posted Sep 6, 2007 9:01 pm PT

    ha

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