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Yesterday was a sad day in gaming as it was THQ’s last day. Oh, it was a long time coming, but it still wasn’t something I wanted to see. It was tough to see but not just because they made some great games that I thoroughly enjoyed over the years, but because I met a lot of great people both that work at THQ and because of THQ.

 

THQ wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but they’ve published some great games over the years. The one game that really took a ton of my time away and started it all was WCW vs. nWo World Tour. God, my friend and I would spend hours just in the Battle Royal mode of that game. It was fun, fast, and garnered many laughs and excitement. It was a big hit and the sequels that followed kept adding some great features as well as moving to the WWE (WWF at the time) license.

 

But the biggest thing I will take away from the time THQ was around was the people I met. We had a great working relationship with THQ. They were very kind and generous with myself and the staff here. When THQ was really hitting its stride, we were invited to many of their press events. Now, it’s no secret that big companies provide press events to see their products up close with other gaming websites. We also made it a point that whoever went to these events didn’t review the final product. But, when it came to these get togethers, I was always happy to see the staff at THQ as well as many of my peers who were there as well. 
 

 

I’ve met a ton of great people through THQ from other gaming websites. We gathered to see THQ’s next game, but we also had a ton of fun whether it was before or after the event talking about THQ’s game, other games, and life in general. While you do meet a lot of people at E3, the events like what THQ held provided a calmer and quiet setting to actually get to know some of the folks who are in the same business. We’d go about why we started doing this in the first place, what we were excited to see, how fun or how terrible the certain flavor of the month was. The games that THQ were presenting were our main focus there, but it was great to also interact with others at these events as well.

 

The PR staff at THQ did a great deal to make sure we got what we needed and treated us well. There’s been a lot of wonderful folks that I’ve worked with at THQ both at the press events and at many E3s I’ve attended. A few I worked with moved on to other companies, but we still kept a great working relationship that started at THQ. There’s also a few great people that were there to the end and I have no doubt they’ll bounce back on their feet quickly because they were really good at what they did. 

 

Some of the developers I’ve met through THQ offered up incredible advice and information both game wise and about their profession. Being a developer myself, it was great to hear some of the inner workings on how some of their games were developed on a more technical level. A lot of what I gathered wouldn’t interest the general reader, but I found it fascinating. 
 

 

The last time I saw anyone from THQ in person was at the previous E3. THQ’s setup was in a more intimate setting, with small meetings rooms to showcase their games. It was a big departure from the huge booths I was used to seeing. Even though it was quiet and small, I saw two great games I’m excited about in Company of Heroes 2 and Metro: Last Light. And, it was great to see the PR people we’ve been working with over the years there. But, the low key meeting room and lack of large displays for their games was the sign of things to come. 

 

Now, THQ is no more and it’s really sad to see a company that I had a lot of fun with both professionally and personally meet its demise. A great deal of firsts in my lifetime were experienced at these events and a great deal of wonderful memories were created because of THQ. Many of their IPs live on at other companies now and that’s great to see some great franchises continue on. For THQ, I wish everyone affected by this the best and I hope they land back on their feet quickly. Thank you for many great years of games and service that I will remember for the rest of my life. But most importantly, thank you for many of the great people I’ve met because of you.