MX vs. ATV Alive experiment unsuccessful - THQ

In May, THQ tried something new with the latest installment in the MX vs. ATV franchise, MX vs. ATV Alive. The publisher launched the game on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 with a budget $40 price tag and a plan to make the title profitable with a year's worth of post-release downloadable content.

In a post-earnings conference call today, THQ CEO Brian Farrell told investors the experiment was a noble one but, ultimately, not a fruitful one. Farrell noted that the price point of the game did accelerate sales but not sufficiently enough to increase the user base to an acceptable level.

"The key learning is that it was not a successful experiment," Farrell said, adding, "Our takeaway there is it's not a great model in the console market because with the high fixed cost of goods in the current console model, you can't get the price low enough to drive that installed base out there to drive the DLC."

For more on MX vs. ATV Alive, check out GameSpot's review.