[UPDATE 11/23/2010: THQ Inc. has this morning released a press
release stating that uDraw is, "Already among the top-selling Wii
titles at online retailer Amazon.com." This may suggest that
what this article confirms - that the title is not a top-selling
title at other retailers.]
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) has risen
over 20% on what appears to be
excitement over their new game offering, uDraw for the Wii,
which rose to Amazon's top 10 as the #2 title on the Wii
since its November 16 release. Over the years, investors have
increasingly relied on Amazon.com charts to provide them with an
idea of how new video games are performing. THQ admitted
during their last conference call that their third quarter relied
heavily on uDraw's performance calling it one of two "key titles"
for the holiday (the other being WWE titles). However,
hitting the top 10 in Amazon's chart might be a breakthrough.
Or it might not.
In an
article to TheStreet.com about the game’s Amazon sales
performance, video game analyst Michael
Pachter stated:
"The only thing that will hold uDraw back is supply, as the
company said it intends to make only 1 million or so this fiscal
year. If it's sold out, I'm sure they will find a way to increase
manufacturing capacity."
Perhaps he shouldn’t be so sure.
At their recent quarterly conference call, THQ stated that they
had already increased guidance for uDraw from 1 million to 1.25 to
1.3 million for their fiscal year ending in March, 2011.
THQ’s Chief Financial Officer, Paul Pucino, stated just last
week before uDraw’s launch at a
Wells Fargo…