THQ

Following THQ's announcement last night that it is to close two Australian studios, and a US team in Phoenix with the loss of 200 jobs, Sega Studios Australia director Marcus Fielding said he hoped to be able to help staff at THQ Studio Australia, which like Sega is based in Brisbane, find new employment. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of another great Australian developer, and are sorry to see THQ's studios close their doors after so many years of game development," he told MCV. "We will be speaking to Sega executives to explore our short-term hiring strategy to reflect the sudden influx of talent in Australia. We hope to be able to announce the potential for taking on more staff soon." Sega Studio Australia is currently advertising for an art director and senior engine programmer.

THQ looks set to axe the Red Faction franchise following disappointing commercial performances by the last two entries in the series, 2009’s Guerrilla and this year’s Armageddon. "Given that that title now in two successive versions has [only] found a niche, we do not intend to carry forward with that franchise in any meaningful way," THQ CEO Brian Farrell told investors in a conference call listened in on by Gamasutra. "In today's hit-driven, core gaming business, even highly-polished titles with a reasonable following like Red Faction face a bar that continues to move higher and higher. Moving forward, our core game titles must meet a very high quality standard with strong creative and product differentiation, appeal to a broad audience, and be marketed aggressively." Farrell said THQ is to revise its internal review process in a bid to hit a higher quality bar going forward. Red Faction developer Volition is currently working on Saints Row: The Third and Guillermo del Toro collaboration Insane.

THQ boss Brian Farrell expects the next generation of consoles - if there is one – to be defined by their focus on service provision rather than raw technical power. Speaking at GamesBeat 2011, he told VentureBeat he also thinks Apple and Google are set to muscle in on the action. "We believe Apple is going to be there, Google is going to be there," Farrell said. "Our view is that the next generation of consoles, if there are consoles, are going to be less about technology and more about service orientation of the gamer."

Former Kaos general manager David Votypka has joined rival company Ubisoft, becoming creative director at Ubisoft Red Storm. THQ closed Homefront developer Kaos Studios two weeks ago (along with UK studio Digital Warrington). Red Storm is currently working on Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, scheduled for a March 2012 release.