THQ's (NASDAQ:THQI) Destroy All Humans! is reveling in the green glow of success. In its last earnings release, the company announced that it had shipped more than a million copies for Sony's (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox. Not content with console conquest, the DNA-stealing aliens of Destroy All Humans! are now out to subjugate your cell phones -- and dispatches from the battlefront indicate all is going well.
According to the press release, THQ subsidiary THQ Wireless and Verizon Wireless -- a joint venture between Verizon (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone -- are having a grand old time selling downloads of the game through Verizon Wireless's Get It Now Service. The release dubs the title a "wildly popular" best-seller (though it doesn't list precise sales figures). At $3.99 for monthly access or $7.49 for unlimited use, it should hopefully translate into some cool revenue for THQ's wireless segment. For the last quarter ended June 30, the wireless platform comprised 6.5% of revenues, twice the year-ago percentage.
Destroy All Humans! is becoming a valuable brand for THQ, which may help the company stand out among peers Activision (NASDAQ:ATVI) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS). THQ is already plotting to extend the brand into possible movie and TV projects. Perhaps someday THQ will become known as the publisher with that crazy alien game, just as Take-Two Interactive (NASDAQ:TTWO) is known as the publisher with that crazy car-stealing game. Either way, building a solid franchise is a great way to power long-term shareholder value. (Just ask Electronic Arts about the Madden series.)
Future plans are all well and good, but how does the stock look right now? As Jeff Hwang pointed out in his recent earnings coverage, THQ isn't exactly a hidden gem at the moment. Investors looking to beam a few THQ shares into their own portfolios would be wise to wait for a pullback. If you can buy at the right price, I think holding THQ far into the future should yield rewarding results.
Foolish Earthlings! Take me to your related Takes:
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At the time of publication, Fool contributor StevenMallas held no financial position in any of the companies mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.
