THQ Shareholders Apparently Read Metacritic

Homefront was released yesterday and the reviews are in and…apparently it ain’t good. With a 72 currently on Metacritic, THQ is staring at a potential bomb. What was first a little talked about title from a somewhat struggling publisher recently turned into a huge draw for the company when they announced that Homefront was the most pre-ordered game in the history of the company.

Keep in mind this is the company that brought you the Red Faction, MX Vs. ATV, Saints Row, Warhammer 40,000, UFC Undisputed and WWE: Smackdown Vs. Raw.  Sure it might have helped that free Onlive consoles were being shipped to preorderers, but obviously THQ has a lot riding on this game.

This isn’t good news and Wall-Street knows it. THQ’s stock price actually dropped 25% on release day of Homefront, presumably following the tepid reviews. The worse part is that 72 isn’t that bad. Sure its not a triple A title but there have been much worse games sell that sold really well, case and point, Just Dance.

This could be the start of a disturbing trend in the gaming industry and could greatly effect THQ in the long run. Wall Street has always been fickle, but jumping ship before sales numbers are available just seems tacky.