Franchises help THQ predict $1bn sales milestone

A confident THQ has raised its annual sales forecast for 2007, expecting to hit US $1 billion (EUR 771 million) net sales for the fiscal year ending in March.

The company also expects fiscal third quarter net sales to reach approximately US $475 million (EUR 366 million), up from the previous guidance of US $425 million (EUR 327 million).

"THQ's platform strategy served us very well this holiday with stronger than expected sales of mass-market franchises WWE Smackdown Vs. RAW 2007, Disney/Pixar's Cars and Avatar: The Last Airbender across current and next-gen hardware systems," commented Brian Farrell, CEO of THQ.

"This performance combined with our successful original property launches exclusively for next-generation systems have positioned THQ to achieve this significant milestone of US $1 billion sales for fiscal 2007," he said

The publisher has also moved the release of an unannounced PlayStation 3 title to the first quarter of 2008.