Barely a fortnight into his new role as THQ President, Jason Rubin is already showing how he intends to progress with the company’s new direction. In a recent interview with Joystiq, he managed to allay fears within the various studios owned by THQ of further job cuts.
“We have the appropriate number of teams and the appropriate number of people working on products, and we’re not going to be continuing to cut teams. But as far as product goes, I think we’ll have to find out exactly where that’s going,” Rubin said.
However, he does recognise that changes will have to be made, and several of THQ’s titles are on the chopping block as the company seeks to streamline their business. This process actually began last month when the company announced plans to sell off the publishing rights to Tomonobu Itagaki’s Devil’s Third.
While he comments that Insane, a planned trilogy of games from award winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro is “still in the slate,” other games such as a new FPS from Turtle Bay, a wholly new IP at THQ Montreal, and ex-Assassin’s Creed developer Patrice Desilets’ new project, rumoured to be called 1666, will have to wait for an official verdict from Rubin.
“I have to go around and look at everything over the next few weeks, next month, and I have to then decide which of the titles are the titles we’re gonna focus on based on what I believe our future should be.”
It is nice to hear Rubin talk so confidently, and will no doubt put THQ in a better position in the months and years to come.
The Kirby Anniversary Collection, known as Kirby’s Dream Collection in North America, will be released in Japan next month. Six classic Kirby games (the first six games in the series, actually) will be included in the package along with a soundtrack CD and a special anniversary booklet. It’s likely that the American lineup will remain the same, but as always, these things are subject to change.
My apologies for disappearing for the last few weeks, everyone. My dear friend Bailey Adams passed away suddenly, and life has been very sad and strange. I was on vacation for a week and a half shortly after that, and now I’m getting back into my daily routine. So, without further ado, welcome back to the Daily Scoop.
