Rainbow-studios posts

Publisher THQ is bringing another of its previously console-only games to the PC platform. This time its MX vs ATV Reflex, the latest off-road racing game from developer Rainbow Studios. Released for consoles in December 2009, the game is coming to the PC sometime this holiday.

The PC port will be released for the US market via Steam but will ship as a retail version in other parts of the world. According to THQ the PC port will not only contain the original game but also all of the post-release downloadable content that was made available for the console owners of the game. One of the cool features of MX vs ATV Reflex is terrain deformation which lets players actually create ruts and grooves in the ground when they drive their off-road rides on the track.

Game publisher THQ is trying to focus more on downloadable games and today announced that two of its internal development studios, the Phoenix, Arizona-based Rainbow Studios and the UK-based Juiced Games, would now turn into studios that create downloadable game titles. In fact the studios themselves were renamed to THQ Digital Studios Phoenix and THQ Digital Studios Warrington, respectively.

Unfortunately this switch has also come with a price. THQ has also revealed that the two studios will have their work force cut by a total of 60 people. The first downloadable games from these offices will be ready by sometime in THQ's fiscal 2011 year.

In related news, THQ also announced their financial results for their past quarter that ended December 31, 2009. Revenues came in at $356.7 million, just a hair less than the same period a year ago. The company had a net profit of $542,000 for the quarter compared to a loss of $191.8 million for the same period a year ago.

On Monday we heard from Midway on their latest financial numbers. Today it's THQ's turn to the plate as it revealed its latest financial results for both its latest quarter and its full 2008 fiscal year that ended on March 31 For their last quarter the publisher recorded $187 million in revenue, up slightly from $172.1 million for the same period a year ago. However, THQ recorded a loss of $34.5 million for the quarter, which is a much higher loss than the $6.5 million that it got for the same period a year ago. THQ stated that while some games like Frontlines: Fuel of War either met or exceeded their sales expectations, other previously released games did not meet their expectations.

For the full year THQ had revenues of $1.035 billion, up slightly from revenues of $1.026 billion for the fiscal 2007 time frame. THQ had a loss of $35.3 million for the full fiscal year, down from a profit of $68 million for the fiscal 2007 year. THQ has already taken steps to cut costs, shuttering a development studio and canceling games late last year. it is also rumored to have laid off workers at two more internal development studios. THQ's upcoming game line-up for the PC includes the third person shooter Red Faction: Guerrilla this fall and in 2008 the highly anticipated RTS sequel Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II from developer Relic.