THQ may have gone through some rough times lately, but it's not out of the fight yet. In fact  THQ president Brian Farrell announced that THQ's DS platformer Drawn to Life will eventually be making its way to the Nintendo Wii. Farrell also commented on other THQ franchises, such as the Stuntman and Juiced series. Read what he had to say after the jump.

When the going gets tough, the tough gets on a canceling frenzy - and it appears that THQ may be in for a rough time this year, as they not only cancelled the PlayStation 3 version of Frontlines: Fuel of War, but a handful of other titles as well. More 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."

 

If you're a hardcore street racing fan and you prefer the chaos over the finesse of the craft, you might want to check out the upcoming release from Juice Games called Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights. It's all the raucous fun of blazing through city asphalt with an insanely deep customization mechanism.

This week we've got six new screens of Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights. Like its predecessor, this game features some pretty solid visuals that highlight the style of your customizable works of automotive art. Everything from the body, the rims, the tires, and right down to the interior is looking realistic and that's what racing fans love to see.

With a variety of drivers and a plethora of vehicles as a starting point, you'll immediately get a feel of how immersive the gameplay will be. There are some 10,000 parts to be juggled around come September 18 when this speedster launches, so make sure you check it out. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights is set for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PSP, PC, and Nintendo DS.

   
 

Buy: [Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PS3)]

Buy: [Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (Xbox 360)]

Buy: [Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (DS)]

Buy: [Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (PSP)]

Drifting has become very important in racing video game titles. There's no denying that players like it very much because of the following: it's fun, it's a skill, and it's for showmanship. The same things were in Juice Games and THQ's minds when they've implemented the trick on Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights.

"We strived to make sure that the player, no matter how skilled they are, came away from the event with a positive experience. Our goal was to make the player 'feel' like they were a great driver, that they'd really enjoyed the game and that they wanted more," wrote one Juice Games developer over at IGN Blogs.

The said developer further explained that players can try five different drift modes in Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights:

• Solo Drift: A target score is set and you are given a set number of laps in which to rack-up the necessary points. If you reach the target before the end of the last lap the event is won.
• Drift King: This time the race is against a group of drivers and the clock. When the countdown reaches zero the driver with the highest score wins!
• Twin Drift: It's a two leg race with each driver taking the lead position. The ultimate winner is the driver with the most points over the two legs. The twist lies with driver who has to follow the leader.
• Drift Endurance: You've got as many laps as you need to get a high score. Simple until you learn that once you begin a drift then you have to sustain it. You'll need to keep your speed up and make sure you chain around all of the corners.
• Drift Obliterator: Races take place over a set number of laps and a target drift score is set for each lap. The rest of the race is simplicity itself, make sure you've reached the target score every time you pass the start line.

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will be available on platforms PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and PlayStation 2. The video clip below further explains the above mentioned drift modes.

See the video clip after the jump!

Here's a new video clip for Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights from Juice Games and THQ featuring the Driver DNA. The good thing about this option is that records a player's driving style and creates a strand of DNA for it. This then can be downloaded by other players from PS3's PlayStation Network and Xbox 360's Xbox Live.

There are different kinds of Driver DNA available in the game such as "Cool", "Wild", "Uncompromising", and "Calculating" among others. Needless to say, each one varies from each other and dictates how a driver handles his vehicle. When playing an online match, you can also examine your opponent's DNA to use it to your advantage.

Aside from the already mentioned versions, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will also be available on platforms Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, PC, and PlayStation 2. It was recently reported that both the PS3 and PSP versions will be delayed.

PS-Gamer reports that PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable owners will have to wait a bit longer until they get their hands on Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (DS, PS3, PSP, Xbox 360).

According to THQ's latest release schedule, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights' release date for the aforementioned platforms has been moved to October. The multiplatform racing game's September release date for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 is apparently still a go, though.

Stuntman: Ignition's PS3 release also seems to be in jeopardy. The game's PS3 version has been left off of the release schedule entirely, with the PS2 and Xbox 360 versions are still slated for an August 31 release. More on this as details surface so keep checking back here for updates.

For those who missed the first couple of articles, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (HIN) is a multi-platform racing game about to set the tracks ablaze. It's modeled after Hot Import Nights, a street auto show that tours the US.

For Hot Import Nights junkies, the event is a mix of models, music, and of course, cars. It has a culture of its own and is the largest lifestyle custom car show in the US. For the game, Juice Games made sure that the event was captured as a whole and translated into an immersive game. Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will feature track and drift/powerslide racing, next gen AI, and more customization than you could possibly ask for. There are 90 digitally scanned cars plus more that 250 aftermarket mods and numerous character features to mix and match.

The featured tracks are not closed to US locations but real-world locations around the globe. It also showcases a feature called "Driver DNA", which records players' driving styles or traits. The player DNA profiles will join the ranks of some celebrity DNA and will be available for download - for online gaming systems. Speaking of which, Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will allow players to customize their own car, handpick a crew and race. For cash or for your car. Yup, gambling is a part of HIN hence the integration in the game. You can do it as a spectator but if you really want to play a risk taker, pink slip (when drivers bet their cars) bets can also be made. You can wager on live races with up to 1000 other players.

There have been no announcements regarding Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights' release. We'll keep you posted, though.  Meanwhile, you can check out these screenshots and a lone high res art screen.

More screenshots after the jump!

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, DS) from THQ is definitely looking to impress, and THQ has released a whole lot of screenshots to show for it.

Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights sure looks a lot like Need for Speed, or perhaps prettier. This new racing title is built around Hot Import Nights (HIN) - an auto show/event. As we check out these screens, we come to think about all the wonderful customization available. And look at the detail of the different environments and cars.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for more info regarding Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights. For the meantime, check out these cool screenshots.

The rest of the screens right after the jump!

Can you smell that? Burnt rubber always gets our adrenaline pumping. (This writer got addicted to Need for Speed Underground and is always glad for new racers.) Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will be zooming to the shelves in September of this year.

Info is always best taken straight from the horse' mouth, and it's a good thing Gamespot was able to score an interview with Richard Badger, project leader at Juice Games. Hot Import Nights is actually an auto show that showcases tuner import cars. The game is basically built around Hot Import Nights (the event), having sections of a city roped off for different events. The interview is smattered with in-game footage featuring some great cars and different locations.

And Badger indicates that there might be some downloadable content in the future as they're still waiting for the manufacturers' blueprints. (Skyline... *glazed eyes*) Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights will be released on PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox360, PC, and DS. Before this writer totally geeks out, we'll leave you to watch the video.