THQ's market performance has improved over recent years, with the company becoming one of the major publishing labels for videogames in Europe. Much of this would be due to the publisher's successive string of Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon titles, as well as handful of original Intellectual Properties aimed at family gaming. However, the publisher has also earned themselves a warm spot in many hardcore gamers heart. Seemingly having piped EA to-the-post with the idea of leveraging risky projects aimed at the hardcore market with the revenue made from their licences and Family titles. Games such as The Outfit, Frontlines: Fuels of War and Saints Row may not have ever seen shop shelves had it not been for titles such as Disney/Pixar: Cars or the WWE SmackDown! franchise.
It would be easy to think of Disney/Pixar's Wall*E as another title destined for the bargain bin within six months. It's common knowledge amongst videogame players that film licences generally offer little in the way of innovation, or even rewarding gameplay. However, THQ's performance with these titles over the years has steadily increased our expectations, with 2006's Disney/Pixar: Cars raising the bar, and last year's Disney/Pixar: Ratatouille performing better still...
