South Park delayed?

[Gorth]

South Park delayed

 

"THQ said it was delaying the release of "South Park: The Stick of Truth," a game based on the cult favorite cartoon show about the adventures of children in a fictional Colorado town. THQ said the game, originally planned for March 5 next year, would now be released in "early fiscal 2014," sometime after March."

 

"Clearly, THQ faces a number of opportunities and challenges," Brian Farrell, THQ's chief executive, said in a statement. On a conference call, he said that even though the company has successfully cut costs, the delay of games like "South Park" will contribute to THQ's cash crunch.

 

Is now the time to start worrying?

[SinoSamba]

Was about to post it too. Below is their explanation. What I worry about is that THQ is not in very good financial shape so they may end up folding before they release the game.

 

“When I joined THQ the company made a public commitment to quality titles. We always expected that in some cases this would mean that more time would be needed to make sure that every title is of the highest possible quality,” said Jason Rubin, THQ’s President. “Our fourth quarter releases are the first titles that I have had the ability to materially impact, and experience told me that the games needed additional development time to be market-ready.

“I believe South Park’s market opportunity is significant. It is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated titles of calendar 2013. It is also an expansive title, encompassing multiple television seasons’ worth of content. We have been working closely with the co-creators of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, to make sure all of the game’s content performs to the high standards of the TV show, and this takes time. THQ is committed to giving gamers no less than the rich South Park game they have been waiting for and deserve.

[GhostofAnakin]

Other than the obvious Duke Nukem Forever-types, is it common for games to be delayed for an entire year?

[Gorth]

Other than the obvious Duke Nukem Forever-types, is it common for games to be delayed for an entire year?

Where did you see "entire year"?

 

All I saw was "financial year" (which is different from calendar years)

[Kheldar]

http://www.gameinfor...ayed-again.aspx

 

THQ announced South Park: The Stick of Truth has been delayed. The game was originally scheduled for release on March 5, 2013. The game has been pushed to early fiscal 2014. THQ's 2014 fiscal year begins April 2013 and ends March 2014.

 

[Update: THQ said the title has been delayed 2 months]

 

Man, I've been itching to play this.

Edited November 6, 2012 by Kheldar

[WorstUsernameEver]

Kind of getting the feeling that the delays are as much THQ as Matt and Trey being perfectionists and keeping tweaking things till the end, like they do with the cartoon and their other stuff.

[JayDGee]

Kind of getting the feeling that the delays are as much THQ as Matt and Trey being perfectionists and keeping tweaking things till the end, like they do with the cartoon and their other stuff.

The cartoon doesn't get delayed, episode rather famously gets made in a week. This is mostly to stop Trey and Matt obsessing with script changes

If you haven't watch the documentary 6 Days to Air.

 

A musical will take them 7 years though

 

THQ's financial situation is a huge concern, I don't think they will go under any time soon, I also don't see them not releasing a game that is a potential huge earner for them.

Games get delayed a lot. It is just about the most predictable thing in the industry. By the sounds of things it is only a few months of a delay which is fairly standard.

[WorstUsernameEver]

The cartoon doesn't get delayed, episode rather famously gets made in a week. This is mostly to stop Trey and Matt obsessing with script changes

 

 

I didn't say the cartoon gets delayed, I said they keep tweaking stuff until the end.

[JayDGee]

The cartoon doesn't get delayed, episode rather famously gets made in a week. This is mostly to stop Trey and Matt obsessing with script changes

 

 

I didn't say the cartoon gets delayed, I said they keep tweaking stuff until the end.

In which case I agree completely

[redneckdevil]

Im kinda under the impression that they are releasing it at the beginning of the fiscal year because of all the love and excitment the game is making, meaning they mainly delayed it so that this fiscal year of theirs starts off with a bang instead of dividing the profit between 2 fiscal years and making it look better on them and their shareholders.

[C2B]

This could be purely strategical for all we know. There's a lot of big games coming out at that point.

[Labadal]

THQ's stocks fell 40% earlier today. They might not even exist in 6 months. They're having a hard time finding money. So all the talk about more "polish" is rubbish.

[JayDGee]

THQ's stocks fell 40% earlier today. They might not even exist in 6 months. They're having a hard time finding money. So all the talk about more "polish" is rubbish.

 

Ouch, they keep putting their stuff for sale on steam as well. I cant think of any other quick ways to get some money for them. If they do go it will be a shame they have some great IP and I would hate to see EA or Activision take over Saints Row or Metro

[GhostofAnakin]

Where did you see "entire year"?

 

All I saw was "financial year" (which is different from calendar years)

 

I assumed because of your OP post here.

 

South Park delayed

 

"THQ said it was delaying the release of "South Park: The Stick of Truth," a game based on the cult favorite cartoon show about the adventures of children in a fictional Colorado town. THQ said the game, originally planned for March 5 next year, would now be released in "early fiscal 2014," sometime after March."

 

Early fiscal 2014 would be ... the first quarter in 2014 (ie. Jan to Mar), no?

[Tigranes]

The fiscal year is different from the calendar year, and for THQ, it it April-June or thereabouts.

[GhostofAnakin]

Ah, gotcha.

 

In any case, these delays seem a bit worrisome, especially when combined with THQ's own ... difficulties.

[Labadal]

They are delaying projects because they basically have no funds as I understand it. The company is valued at $11 and their debt is said to be $100. The value of the company is lower than what it costs them to develop most of their games.

[Hassat Hunter]

Im kinda under the impression that they are releasing it at the beginning of the fiscal year because of all the love and excitment the game is making, meaning they mainly delayed it so that this fiscal year of theirs starts off with a bang instead of dividing the profit between 2 fiscal years and making it look better on them and their shareholders.

This is basically my assumption too.

Especially seeing it "released early fiscal year" makes it seem highly like a delay for strategical financial reasons, rather than for polish and improvement (though I sure hope they spend that time and nto just put it on ice like happened to AP apparently).

[Labadal]

Stocks tanked another 30% today. Company worth approximately $7.3 million. Things are looking anything but good.

[redneckdevil]

I wondee if that 30% had anything to do with people geting mad at them for delaying the games

[Smozi]

I would imagine it has more to do with THQ owing much more money than they are worth. Seems a little undervalued right now but it's not a good situation. I just hope they last long enough for Obsidian to finish this project.

[Bill Gates' Son]

I would imagine it has more to do with THQ owing much more money than they are worth. Seems a little undervalued right now but it's not a good situation. I just hope they last long enough for Obsidian to finish this project.

 

Last long enough to finish the project? I just hope THQ last, period. THQ has been publishing some of the best and polished games the past few years, and it would suck to see one of the good publishers die out while some of the evil and greedy publishers stay alive (EA).

[Gorth]

If I remember correctly, THQ are not the ones financing the project, they are the distributor (and presumably responsible for marketing, lobbying etc.). Still, it would be nice if for once Obsidian could just release a game without a lot of drama

[alanschu]

I wouldn't be surprised if Matt and Trey are the $$$$$. It sounds like they approached Obsidian, after all. I hope the game is absurdly successful though. I'm really looking forward to it.

 

I'm not too worried about THQ's stock price, or even their financial situation. Worst case, distribution rights get sold off, and someone else takes the low risk plunge to buy it up and basically print money because they game is effectively done.

[anubite]

Yeah. I'm under the impression the game is almost done. People would have to be pretty stupid not to invest in the game at this point, if THQ goes under.

 

That said, I'm not so sure the south park RPG is going to do well. It might make enough to satify some short-term investor, but someone like THQ who wants millions... south park was such a weird IP to go with. It doesn't exactly mesh with the RPG crowd either, the kind of people who are thoroughly sick of South Park, probably.