What time does it start?

• Bids are due 9am January 22nd
• Auction will be held 3pm on January 22nd
• Sale Hearing January 23rd at 9am
• The auction will allow for bidders to bid on only certain assets (titles, studios, etc) in the auction

Will Ryan or any of the other bombcrew actually go attend the auction?

Will anyone be liveblogging it?

I pray that neither Activision nor EA gets Saints Row.

Is this where it's being held? I bid $20!

The process is basically this: They start with all interested parties entering an initial bid for THQ's properties. If these add up to more than Clearlake's $60 million offer, then the auction proceeds. This, in all likelihood, will occur. If those bids don't exceed Clearlake's offer, then Clearlake gets all of THQ's properties. Auction starts at 3pm EST.

@Hailinel said:

I pray that neither Activision nor EA gets Saints Row.

You mean you don't want to pay micro-transactions for virtual dildos? Get with the times, man.

I pray that neither Activision nor EA gets Saints Row.

@Stimpack said:

@Hailinel said:

I pray that neither Activision nor EA gets Saints Row.

You mean you don't want to pay micro-transactions for virtual dildos? Get with the times, man.

EA should have to submit their bids in BioWare points.

I'd love to see WB get saint's row. It's the kind of thing that could really help them out in the long run.

But money talks.

publishing rights for metro aren't on the table since 4A owns the IP, correct?

@RenegadeDoppelganger: Hahaha. EA can always sweeten the pot with some Terminus DLC armor!

@Animasta: I believe that is correct.

It's closed to the public and I don't think it's the type of thing they'd let the press into either. The news will be everywhere shortly though.. and then we can all lament the death of Saints Row.

I almost hope whoever buys it doesn't take Volition with the licence, then those guys can just make a new series that's basically the same thing with a different name.

@Mesoian: Plus you know, the possibility of beating down scorpion with a giant dildo.

Even though I loved SR3 I only care what will happen to Relic and Vigil Games. Relic(and prob 40k license) will be picked up by EA. Vigil/Darksiders - Warner... we'll see.

@Kidavenger said:

What time does it start?

Will Ryan or any of the other bombcrew actually go attend the auction?

Will anyone be liveblogging it?

They were never going to go to this aution even if it was not a closed one. They were talking about going to the public one where they liquidate all the office equipment and promotional crap.

3pm PST.

Although it could be delayed as south park studios and THQ fight over eligibility for publishing rights.

Also - no guarantee any or all details will be made public - depends on the buyers agreeing to announce acquisitions themselves for even bid publicly.

Could also all go to a consortium bidder - Clearlake or someone else - who then sells it off in bits and using current projects for operating expenses.

Please God, don't let EA get its destructive claws on my beloved Relic.

Lots of pessimism about saints row in this thread. It could go remarkably well too, can't it?

@jjm494: What? Relic would make a great studio. They can work on Mass Effect 4 while Bioware works on Command and Conquer Generals 2, you know it make pure EA sense.

I've got $2.50 and some lint and a jolly rancher. Think I can buy Saints Row?

Lots of pessimism about saints row in this thread. It could go remarkably well too, can't it?

Saints Row is coming to EA. They don't have an open world game that fills that gap. I'd be surprised if it didn't come to EA.

@Akyho: *sigh*. Thanks, I'm going to go have a three drink lunch now to try and forget about that possible outcome.

Just don't let EA buy anything and I'll be fine.

We won't know anything concrete until they formally announce the results tomorrow. There might be some leaks after 3pm EST auction though.

I hope to god Warner Bros gets it. Considering the most plausible options, WB sounds like the best bet.

EA or Activison getting it would probably be a bad, bad thing.

In a perfect scenario, Saints Row goes to Square-Enix and they do a crossover between SR, Sleeping Dogs and Just Cause.

@ajamafalous said:

@Lyisa said:

Lots of pessimism about saints row in this thread. It could go remarkably well too, can't it?

In what situation could it go 'remarkably well,' exactly?

Well, that one gets made is enough of a godsend given that THQ has been exploding for a good year now.

Nobody is talking about Microsoft making a play here and I really think they need to; Microsoft's first party support is incredibly weak going into next gen, picking up Vigil Games and Volition Incorporated would really change that, having whatever THQ Montreal is working on as a nextbox exclusive would be huge for them.

@Kidavenger said:

Nobody is talking about Microsoft making a play here and I really think they need to; Microsoft's first party support is incredibly weak going into next gen, picking up Vigil Games and Volition Incorporated would really change that, having whatever THQ Montreal is working on as a nextbox exclusive would be huge for them.

Great point. I don't know that any established property would really be worth their time, but certainly the THQ Montreal game would be worth grabbing for the franchising possibility. Sony seems to have enough first party studios on the go (and also the recent closure of others) probably means they aren't looking to do sudden expansion

@WinterSnowblind said:

It's closed to the public and I don't think it's the type of thing they'd let the press into either. The news will be everywhere shortly though.. and then we can all lament the death of Saints Row.

Not necessarily. People still aren't 100% certain where all the midway properties are. People only find out when the new owner announces releases. Nobody knew that MS owned Hydro Thunder until they announced the remake

@MildMolasses said:

@WinterSnowblind said:

It's closed to the public and I don't think it's the type of thing they'd let the press into either. The news will be everywhere shortly though.. and then we can all lament the death of Saints Row.

Not necessarily. People still aren't 100% certain where all the midway properties are. People only find out when the new owner announces releases. Nobody knew that MS owned Hydro Thunder until they announced the remake

We'll probably never find where dead IPs end up, but all of the active projects/studios will probably be found out as soon as the people working on them find out which would be almost immediately.

@Kidavenger: I guess I'm just secretly hoping that someone picks up Bo Jackson Hit & Run and we get a surprise Summer of Arcade announcement

Squenix getting Saints Row is the best case scenario for me. Imagine SR4 with Sleeping Dogs technology.

@Akyho said:

@jjm494: What? Relic would make a great studio. They can work on Mass Effect 4 while Bioware works on Command and Conquer Generals 2, you know it make pure EA sense.

NOOOOOOOOOOO

If Relic stop making 40K games I give up on video games forever.

@Stimpack said:

Is this where it's being held? I bid $20!

Going once.....

SOLD!

Ok. You now own all of THQ.

@ajamafalous said:

@Lyisa said:

Lots of pessimism about saints row in this thread. It could go remarkably well too, can't it?

In what situation could it go 'remarkably well,' exactly?

Well, that one gets made is enough of a godsend given that THQ has been exploding for a good year now.

@TheSouthernDandy: Especially since Relic has apparently been working on Dawn of War 3. I need to know what baddassery Gabriel Angelos will unleash as the chapter master of the Blood Ravens.

That and I want to be able to hold onto some sliver of hope, no matter how small, that there will be a space marine 2.

Ubisoft picking up Volition wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

Raiden in Unreal Championship 2 was good, now we need Raiden in Saint's Row. Make it happen, WB.

I know the WWE license is not as cut and dried as selling it at auction, but whatever eventually happens with it, I hope it stays far away from EA.

Zenimax get's Saints Row. Turns it into WRPG while also turning it into a buggy mess.

If we can be honest for a bit here:

If EA is coming to this auction at all, they're going to walk away with something. I believe they are probably in the best position financially to throw as much cash as is needed to secure any IP they may want and I imagine they will probably want Saints Row first and foremost. It's certainly the most well-known, most popular IP on offer from THQ currently. Whether they take Volition with it is another matter.

Relic, who knows? Whoever get's them will likely also get the 40k IP. I wouldn't be at all surprised if EA also tried to pick them up seeing as they already are licensed to make Warhammer Fantasy games so maybe it makes sense to them to be the sole publisher for that stuff. Either them or WB since WB has sort of made a name for themselves being one of the only developers making quality Licensed games.

DS seems like a good fit for Square. We'll see if they win any bids though.

I am legitimately scared for both Volition and Relic right now. If EA or Activision buy them, then all my favourite THQ franchises will be ruined. Now you'll say "Don't be so pessimistic" but all you have to do is look at what has happened to every developer  or franchise that was good after EA bought them. They ruined Battlefield and filled it with stupid paid garbage, they ruined everything related to Maxis (Have you seen the SIms lately? The first 2 Sims were amazing. I'm kinda worried about the new SIm City.), they are killing all the good will people had with Bioware, they killed Burnout and made Criterion make a bunch of kinda middling Need for Speed games. And that is just recent things I've thought of. I'm sure there is a ton more than that. And don't even get me started on Activision.

I wouldn't put it past EA to neuter the living hell out of Saints Row if they bought that franchise. Same with Company of Heroes (though I am not too worried since CoH2 is almost done already). 
 
Here's hoping Warner Bros. buys Saints Row and Relic. They've shown that they can support legitimately good games (Like MK9).

I bid 50 dollars for the rights to The Outfit. I actually think I'd win that auction.

@Scooper said:

@Stimpack said:

Is this where it's being held? I bid $20!

Going once.....

SOLD!

Ok. You now own all of THQ.

Looks like I have some re-branding to do!

@TheSouthernDandy: Don't forget Cyrus, He's pretty badass in his own right.

In regards to the THQ auction as a whole:

EA actually hasn't been doing to good lately. Between the Old Republic not living up to expectations and Warfighter bombing, I don't think EA has the war chest everyone believes they do. Not to mention that their stock price is half of what it used to be a couple of years ago. I don't think they have capital to throw around liberally if bidding gets extremely competitive.

Sadly, I think Saints Row is going to go to Activision. They currently don't have an open world game in their line up now that the Prototype series has been put to bed and I imagine they would see the potential for the Saints Row franchise to be annualized. I'd much rather see the franchise and Volition go to Bethesda or Warner Bros. I hope I'm wrong in this case.

Relic would probably find a good home with Sega of all companies. Sega has been smart with their support of the Total War series and its developer. They've also recently acquired the right to make Warhammer Fantasy strategy games, so I don't think it would be a stretch for them to get the 40k license if they had Relic. Sadly they don't have the capital for such an acquisition. Maybe Microsoft might be interested in them knowing their past history of releasing real time strategy games? As I said earlier, god I hope EA doesn't get a hold of this company.

Vigil would find a good home at Square Enix or Warner Brothers. With Square probably not having the capital needed, I could see Warner Brothers picking them up.

Man, it would be great if GB had the resources to do more news coverage. How great would it be to have someone liveblogging from the auction?

@Kerned said:

Man, it would be great if GB had the resources to do more news coverage. How great would it be to have someone liveblogging from the auction?

private auction

@Animasta said:

@Kerned said:

Man, it would be great if GB had the resources to do more news coverage. How great would it be to have someone liveblogging from the auction?

private auction

There, I fixed it for me. :) It'd just be nice to see more news coverage on the site.

Shame we can't pool our money together, buy Saints Row, and give the rights to Vinny.

Unless... anybody here own a major company in the industry?

@jjm494 said:

Please God, don't let EA get its destructive claws on my beloved Relic.

i'm most worried about Relic too, Volition is one thing, but Relic being slowly but surely killed by big business publishers would break my heart