WWE Publicly responds to THQ's Bankruptcy.

WWE responds to THQ's Bankruptcy:

"Even if the impact of THQ’s bankruptcy were detrimental to WWE, the Company does not believe that the ultimate economic impact for financial statement purposes would materially and adversely affect the results of operations or financial position of WWE in light of the strength of the WWE brand and the historical performance of WWE's video game business. "

In other words, and translation to plain English....

"Honestly, they made some good games for us, but if they die off, who really fucking cares? It's no sweat off our balls, and we're making way more than enough money on our own, that even though we'd be missing out on a chunk from them, our life will go on, because it's not substantial enough for us to care. We don't need no video games, or THQ. Fuck them. Seriously though, last game was ok. Some of our wrestlers played it. Whoop-de-shit. We're awesome."

That actually sounds rather bad. Doesn't sound like WWE is at all interested in going up to bat for THQ regarding a preference for the license.

Even though, if they DO that means they'll have to throw out the entire build and engine they've been tacking onto and perfecting for a decade. That's what i'm most scared of.

No, that's just what you've put into their mouth, to be fair. What they are saying is that, like both DS and I have said, if THQ don't pull through they will contonue with their games. They are reassuing the people buying the games that it isn't the end.

Who's to say another game with another engine won't be as good, if not better? I hope that THQ do make it through some how as its never good for anybody to suffer, as the developers etc will (don't forget this is more than just gamers losing a game, it's peoples lives). But I think to read that into what the WWE is being a touch overly dramatic about what they have said.

Well, the general sentiment they said (without my embellishing) really is:

"It doesn't matter to us. Their closure does not effect our business strategy or financial stability"

I just find that incredibly cold on their part and showing total apathy of any kind for the situation.

Do I think they have a point? Looking at it from their standpoint, yes. If there was never another video game, WWE would keep right on trucking. That's just a fact, that even I have to live with.

Yet, by taking that stance, it's clear to me they couldn't care less about any of this, and it clearly doesn't matter to them nearly as much as it means to fans of the games.

That just kind of ruffles my feathers.

It depends on your reading. The WWE are simply stating about their own part. That if things do go belly up then they will continue. I don't see that as being cold. I actually see it as them responding to people who, like you have yourself, questioned what will happen next.

To be fair too it's not the WWE that have got THQ into this position. Both sides have benefited from the deal. As I say, its always sad when business go under but that is the position the world economy is in.

Each to their own but I do think you're putting a negative spin on what they have said and reading your own feelings towards the WWE into it. But, like I say, everybody is entitled to their own view on it. I just disagree with how you read it and I don't think its as cold as you make out.

As far as the "what's to say another game wouldn't be better?" idea?

A lot of things.

A new company would mean they cannot use the old build that's been refined over a decade.

This also means that there's no possible way that even a fraction of the features, modes, matchtypes or technology that went into these games will have as much development time to be put into a complete reboot.

We'll pretty much get another TNA Impact game. A bare bones effort with only 1 year of development time to be written entirely from scratch. Maybe 5 match types, a very rudimentary reversal system, a bare bones character creator, and whatever minimal story line they have time to code and slap together in 1 year. That's about all a new "clean slate" WWE game would really have time for.

I dread.... absolutely dread, a new series starting from scratch all over again. It'll take another 11 years for it to even be half on the level of what there is now.

By the way, my attitude towards WWE isn't factoring into my feelings at all, honestly.

It's only my fear of a new game series, and a new company having to start all over again. And WWE isn't even going to step up and go to bat for them, or help THQ out after all THQ's done for them.

I'd be angry about that response even if I was loving WWE currently. Because I care about the fate of WWE '14, and that's really where i'm coming from. This is the game I feel I want, and a new game written entirely from scratch will severely depress me.

It's not a vendetta against WWE. I just desperately want THQ (or remnants of THQ's staff) to retain the license, somehow. I will be very sad if that "Predator Engine" goes away. I just think WWE clearly has no interest in helping them out, or sticking up for them.

Again, I disagree. There IS a possible way that it could happen. It depends on the company. EA, for example, have years of experience in making sports sims. Not the same, sure, but they have a wealth of designers. So it IS possible taht they could make a new game that has features which match the old game. They may have different features but, again, that doesn't mean a worse game.

Take Devil May Cry. There was internet outcry when it was rebooted. "Dante doesn't look like Dante" "It's not going to be as good because it's a different company" Well, the proof will be in the pudding when it comes out but, so far, I've seen good things about the new game and its gameplay. So it is possible to create a new game and it be good.

I don't think there is anything to say it will be as bad as you say. It may be but then again games from the same developers have been worse than the last game. So there's nothing to say keeping the same company is always best.

Sorry, again each to their own but to say it will take 11 years just doesn't make sense to me. Sure, if they have somebody who has never made a game before but my guy feeling is that they will find somebody who can give it a good go. So there's no reason for so much fear so early.

The last (and one of only two) wrestling-based game Electronic Arts ever made was "WCW Backstage Assault"





.....................................no thanks.

Mike, about the message before last, I hear what you're saying. I do think you are factoring some of your own feelings in but I may be wrong. Plus I really do get the fear for the game you have - I'm sure I would be worried if the Elder Scrolls was in trouble. But I do think that it's not as gloomy as you think. Sad, yes, but this really may be a cloud that, if not a silver lining, has the possibility of another lining if another company gets it.

Oh and the reason I bring up "11 years" is because that's how long it took for this yearly series to become that strong. With any company a complete wrestling game is a slow burn over several years.

It was added to bit by bit, and on a yearly schedule, there's just no other way to build a game like this. It's not happened, yet. Day of Reconking was closest, but even it wasn't fleshed out until the sequel. And even then, it still had the old AKI engine to build off of, and was still a short, somewhat limited game.

I absolutely 100% can guarantee that a new game wiped from a clean slate won't even begin to compare to WWE '13 in it's freshman year. Not unless they spend at least 6 years developing to acquire the time, budget, planning, or resources of a polished, complete title.

I also trust EA about as far as I could spit on them.

I'd rather have Ubisoft developing it, and that's saying something. At least, I don't think they ever had a go with wrestling before. I have no idea if they can pull it off or not. Better hope for them, than I trust EA after the debacle of their wisdom in having a broken WCW combat game without a ring in it.

Just because they have done one bad game doesn't mean they will do another. Plus it might not be EA. It might be one of a number.

I don't think you can gurantee that, I really don't. Games that should be great have flopped, others have come from nowhere.

But I don't think either of us is going to change the others mind!

I feel incredibly confident in saying, from a historical gaming standpoint, there's never been one wrestling game that has reached it's full potential on it's first installment.

Never.

Not one.

Then this might be the first! You might be right, but I'm going to wait and see. And even if it does take a few years if (and don't forget they haven't actually gone yet!) then, hey, its only a game!!!

Might be just a game, but it's my favorite game series bar none, of which I've devoted at least a decade to, and actually became quite a large part of my life.

Over ten years of witnessing Smackdown and Smackdown 2: Just Bring It, evolve from the PS1, to the PS2, into Smackdown vs Raw, and up to WWE '13. For me it's been a decade-long investment, that I am just gutted to see possibly end up this way.

I mean, the most important section of my massive game collection, is devoted to my Wrestling Game collection. While I have all my other games only categorized by system and alphabetical order, I've taken all my Wrestling Games of all systems I own separate, which occupy a shelf of their own.

It might be extremly dorky, quite nerdy as well, and more than a little sad that something like this is so important to me, but in all honesty, it kind of is.

It's like if a Nintendo Die-Hard Fan, suddenly found out that Mario is being legally retired forever and will never appear, again.

It's not exactly a perfect compassion to this case especially, but it is how disheartened I do feel about it. THQ's Wrestling Games have been one of the more consistent regular events as I've grown up. Even during the times I was less interested in WWE, I always bought and supported the games.

It just hits me pretty hard, is all.

It's not sad that its important. Everybody has something that is important to that that might not seem that important to anybody else. But it's not like Mario being retired. It like Mario being moved to a different maker. People will complain. Will nash their teeth. But the world will move on.

The next game might be great. It might be bad. But there will always be a Mario game, whether the same people like it, and my guess would be there will be WWE games. But, as I say, the world will move on.

It just goes to what I was saying, that I think the fact that it means so much to you (and, as I say, nothing at all wrong with that) that means you read the WWE statement the way you do. I just don't think there is much to be gained from worrying about too much. There's not much we can unless people are going to start giving money to THQ. So it's best to wait and see what happens.

Yeah. Sorry if I came off almost nearing the edge of being a bit short tempered in self-defense, in some of those posts.

It's really just that I'm worried for the future of a WWE '14, as well as a '15, 16 and so on. And I feel losing that would feel like losing a major part of my life.

Like, I know the connection between my WWEGames example and my Mario example aren't particularly the same kind of issue, but I just meant that I feel the same type of strong about it as a Nintendo fan would, there.


As an aside, it was just revealed that a WWE '14 is in "production" now. According to a court filing. It might be cancelled before then, but as of now, there's hope that at least some work on it, still exists.

Firstly on WWE's attitude in the statement. This is not a WWE public statement on their relationship with THQ or on it being a shame that the company is dead. This is simply a financial based statement in relation to WWE's 4th quarter stock performance. Its the sort of bald and purely factual statement that you'd expect a public-limited company to issue in order to reassure investors about its financial position and stock value in the face of a partner organisation's collapse. Its just making sure that people realise that although they had a business relationship, they are not wedded to each other.

Its not a "fuck you" to THQ or the fans, and attempting to spin it as such can only come from a position of petulance, quite frankly.

As for the future of the franchise, its true that THQ invested many years developing the games and it would be a shame if that work was lost. However, its also the case that that long-term development has meant that some elements of the games are stuck in a time-period way behind current developments. The bones of the engine date from something 2 generations ago, and TBH, graphically the games are behind where the current crop of new games are. I;m not necessarily knocking WWE13 or THQ for that, and I love the games, but I'm not sure that being able to start from a blank sheet of paper will be all bad.

Plus, lets be realistic, it won't be a blank sheet of paper. Any developer is going to look at what has been done before and crib ideas from it.

As for EA, as Myron says, they do understand sports titles and simulations, and they do understand the need to get details right. Look at the attention to detail in the Madden and FIFA series. It might well take a couple of generations to get a game really worth the time, but the end result might be worth it.

Casting EA's likelihood of making a good game against something which came out near 15 years ago is a bit pointless. its a different universe these days.

I just think its a bit draft to instantly assume everything will suck.

*daft, not draft!