There is no rest for the wicked, and so here we are once more with another QuickPeek for all your QJ news and updates wrapped up tight and pretty in Issue #63. More exciting gaming news are here, and more statements - both controversial and reassuring alike - have we heard from the who's who. We also delved into our own little Who's Who in Homebrew for our QJ QuickGuide, as well as some What's What in the legal territory that's ever-broaching on homebrew.

Steve Jobs once said that the iPod Touch is the best portable device for playing games on. Now, we may actually have a point of reference to see if he's right, if this analyst proves to be correct. According to Mike Hickey, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars for the DS will most likely be ported to the iPhone. More predictions in the full article.

In a previous report, we released information that Electronic Arts' made a hardware sales projection for the year 2008. As a reponse to what the company did, Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey posted his own projections regarding this matter.

He said that EA's numbers were a bit conservative and that the PS3 will have a strong performance this year. Details of his analysis in the full article.

Even though Electronic Arts has released information that they will be releasing Spore sometime this year, around March to April, analyst Mike Hickey believes otherwise. He believes that the company will be delaying the launch of the game to the second half of 2008. Details in the full article.

Analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan, popular for making infamous (and oft accurate, like the PS3 price cut) predictions, may be making another one by predicting that game developer studio THQ will have a significantly lower performance than was first predicted.

THQ, who owns Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander and the upcoming games Saints Row 2 (PS3, 360) and MX vs. ATV Unleashed (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS), was once given a forecast of US$ 244 million for this quarter and US$ 1.15 billion for the fiscal year. Pachter lowered these estimates to US$ 225 million for the quarter and US$ 1.09 for the year.

The lowered estimates are due to the underperformance of THQ's games Stuntman: Ignition (PS2, PS3, 360) and Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PS3, PS2, PSP, Xbox 360, PC, DS), and also their video game adaptation for Pixar's Ratatouille. Their earlier Pixar video game Cars performed very well in the market but Ratatouille failed to to live up to the success.

THQ once claimed that fees for making video games of owned intellectual properties (like Ratatouille) would be compensated with sales of the game. However, Mike Hickey of Janco has questioned this claim. He believes their line-up is overshadowed by the success of more popular games like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 and Bioshock.

Furthermore, Hickey believes that THQ's casual games market will also be overshadowed by other more popular releases. He backs this up by saying that no THQ titles show up in the 50 top selling Wii games in Amazon. He concludes by saying it'll take "several more years of next-gen (that is, PS3 and Xbox 360 games) installed base maturity" before the line-up of casual games can get "meaningful traction."

 

Things are looking brighter for Take-Two Interactive, as more analysts put trust in the company and believe investors could have their money well placed if they take part in the success Bioshock, Manhunt 2, and Grand Theft Auto IV promise. The first game mentioned already saw its release, but Janco Partners analyst Mike Hickey foresees more for the title.

According to the latest research note by Hickey, Take-Two's "management turnaround plan" should boost share value, and upcoming Manhunt 2 will contribute a lot in bringing the dough. For Bioshock, well, he thinks the publishers can take the surprise hit to the PS3, PS2, Wii, and handhelds as the company reaches its 2009 fiscal year.

As for Mafia 2, the next big thing from Take-Two on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC which Hickey expects to experience platinum sales, the analyst suggested, "Additional capital could be used to insure liquidity for working capital needs, fuel potential studio acquisitions, and fund future development projects."

All signs lead to more investors and greenbacks for Take-Two, but our eyes are on Bioshock. Not only is it a Microsoft exclusive, but also a graphical marvel made possible by 360's power. Looks like time will tell how it'll fare on other platforms, or if we're talking spin-offs here.

Buy: [Bioshock (Games for Windows)]
Buy: [Bioshock (Xbox 360)]