—Why less is more: THQ (NSDQ: THQI) managed to move 2.6 million copies of Saint’s Row 2 by the end of Q4, but Farrell said the profits “went out the back door” because a glut of other titles weren’t selling as well. “We’re making sure that the key releases we do have this year have the quality, timing, marketing buzz and presence at retail for success,” he said. “We’ve done it before, we just need to do it more consistently.”

—Games coming down the pike: For core gamers, there’s the action-shooter Red Faction: Guerrilla, an expansion pack for MMO Warhammer, a WWE spinoff called Legends of Wrestlemania and the mixed martial arts (MMA) title UFC 2009 - Undisputed. Anticipation is high for Undisputed, the first major title to use the UFC license; Farrell said the game got “the most buzz” from retailers at SCEA’s annual Destination Playstation a few days ago.

—The “relative” success of de Blob: THQ had been criticized for not pushing puzzle title de Blob hard enough across the board, but Farrell defended the company’s decision to market the games to families: “I don’t think going after the core gamer would’ve been the right strategy, we tried to capitalize on the social experience,” he said. He added that the 700,000 copies it had sold weren’t disappointing. “We can make money on games like that, because we can also move budget titles like Big Beach Sports that cost less to make and sell 1.3 million copies.”