Game Controllerf

0



Sixteen years ago, Brian Farrell jumped from the real estate industry to become chief financial officer of THQ Inc., a video game publisher that had 30 employees, a few games in development and “not a penny of revenue.” This year, THQ hit $1 billion in revenue as one of the leading companies in the $7.5 billion gaming industry. Farrell, for the past 12 years the company’s chief executive, gave the firm’s 2,000 employees two additional days off. But he’s not satisfied. “OK, we hit a billion,” said Farrell. “Two billion looks good.” The former public accountant takes a no-nonsense approach to running a business that makes products titled “Wrath of War,” “Fuel of War,” and “Dawn of War.” And it seems to be working. Since Farrell took the helm, the company has posted revenue growth every year. A self-described “wine geek” who sneaks in an occasional round of golf, Farrell is quick to say that he’s not a gamer, but that he knows a good game when he sees one. We sat down with Farrell at the company’s Agoura Hills headquarters for a conversation about the future of Nintendo’s Wii, the marriage of film and video games and his first Little League championship game.

Question: Since you took over as chief executive in 1995, THQ has consistently posted revenue growth for 12 years. What’s your secret?

Answer: What we believe we brought to the industry is real discipline. Back in 1995, the gaming business was pretty much the Wild West. Our whole philosophy was to bring management discipline into what used to be a relatively unmanaged business.



Q: How has the gaming industry changed over the past 12 years?


A:

We have grown up as an industry. Large companies like THQ now all have professional management teams. We’ve got a creative process for both greenlighting and bringing products to market. But the big thing is the worldwide growth. In 1995, we had almost no sales in Europe. Last year, 40 percent of our $1 billion revenue came from outside the U.S. It’s a global phenomenon. When I first got into the industry, we used to joke that the average gamer was a 16-year-old who couldn’t get a date. Now, you look anywhere, and there are people playing games. Women are playing games. Kids are playing games. People in their 50s like me are playing games.



Q: What is driving the diversification of the industry, in which there are a greater number of older women, for example, playing games than ever before?


A:

We’re making a lot less sophisticated games as an industry, whether it’s for the 42-year-old woman or the 5-year-old kid. It’s the kind of game they can pick up and play and it’s not intimidating. And that’s the key to growth: keeping things mainstream and not just for the hard-core game consumer. The consummate game is the one that’s easy to pick up and play but difficult to master.



Q: We’ve seen Wii stations changing the way games are played. Do you think the innovative controller system is a gimmick or here to stay?


A:

It’s here to stay because it’s fun. I remember in the early ’90s when I got into this business, it was, “Is gaming in general just a gimmick? Is it a fad?” So the answer is if it’s fun it’s here to stay.


Q: You’ve got 11 new games in the pipeline for the Wii in 2008. Will you focus more on Nintendo over Sony or Microsoft in the near future?


A:

Part of what we do here is to figure out where the trends are. Wii is the fastest selling game platform ever and so we better be well represented on it. That’s not to the exclusion of Microsoft and Sony. We review our product line quarterly and adjust our product flow based upon the future market conditions just like any business.


Q: What do you believe is the future of the synergy between film and videogames, where videogames are made alongside films and films are created based on videogames?


A:

Filmmakers are learning that we need time. It takes about two years to make a really strong game. At THQ, we’re only going to make high quality games and we can’t rush something to market. Hollywood seems to be learning that if they work with us and allow us to work alongside them so we can launch a quality game with the movie, then it really works. When a Hollywood studio pitches us a movie they’re going to come out with next summer, we just say no-can-do.


Q: What is the greatest challenge facing the gaming industry today?


A:

It’s a risky business. What we have to do is understand what’s going to be popular not tomorrow but two years from now. Then attract the talent to make a great game experience on the right platform a couple years out. And that takes experience. It takes research. Our management team here the top seven to eight people probably have 100 years of experience in the business and that’s something no amount of money can buy. It’s talent, expertise and a lot of experience.


Q: Were games integral to your childhood?


A:

I’m too old for that. There were a couple of games I still remember Sea Wolf and Tank. I don’t even know if they’re around anymore. Very primitive games, but that’s when I started.


Q: How old were you?


A:

I must have been at least 21. I do still have the original Atari console from 1978. But I’m not a gamer and that’s an important distinction. I’ll still play games with my son. I’m one of those people that enjoy playing games but have other responsibilities and doesn’t spend seven hours a day playing.


Q: Where did you grow up?


A:

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley and had very much the All-American childhood. I was in Little League, played football, played basketball. I was very fortunate that my parents afforded me a great education. I’ve been a very lucky individual my whole life.


Q: Your favorite memory growing up?


A:

I still remember pitching in a championship Little League game in Tarzana, which was the highlight of my childhood. We ended up losing the game 3-0 but I remember we played a great game and I pitched a great game. One of those life lessons you learn at 12 years old. You go out, you give your all and maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t, but you just keep going.


Q: Do you play games with your children? What are their favorites?


A:

I have two daughters and a son, and my son’s more into games. He tends to like sports games like “Madden Football” and he loves the “Halo” series from Microsoft.


Q: Do you play with him?


A:

Yeah I’ll play the football games game with him. I’m not as good at Halo because I don’t invest the time. He kills me. It used to be the other way around.


Q: What is your favorite game?


A:

Just like my three children, I love them all.


Q: What do you do with your free time?


A:

I try to spend time with my family. It’s important that family comes first. I do sneak in the occasional round of golf, but a lot of it is family time. Outside of work and family, I’m a bit of a wine geek. I have a pretty extensive wine cellar. It’s a good hobby on a rainy day to read up and figure out what’s good. And the golf handicap has been coming down over the years. Those are the two passions.



Q: What are your favorites in your wine collection?


A:

It’s a very small producer in Burgundy. His name is Henri Jayer. He just passed away but it’s almost an ethereal experience. I have just a couple of bottles.


Q: How did you decide to get into the gaming industry?


A:

Getting into games was almost an accident. When I came out of business school, I went into the public accounting profession then went on to a real estate company that owned hotels. I was looking to make a change out of the real estate business and this company was looking for a chief financial officer. It really had very little to do with wanting to get involved with gaming.


Q: That must have been a gamble back then. Real estate was a much safer market than the gaming industry in 1991.


A:

It looked like a growth industry. I wanted to get into an industry where I could get in and make a difference in a growth company in a growth industry. That was my goal and it was the right choice. I consider myself a very fortune person, as I said before.


Q: In 1991, how big was this company?


A:

It was a startup. It had not a penny of revenue yet. There were some products in development and they were about to go public. It was a bit of a gamble.


Q: Did the company see revenue for a couple years after that?


A:

It was a bit of a round trip. The revenue grew the first couple years then fell off rapidly the next couple of years. And frankly that’s what gave me the opportunity to take over as CEO in 1995.


Q: What’s one of the biggest challenges when you’ve got the biggest chair?


A:

It’s really making sure you’ve got the right people at the right places. You can’t do everything as a CEO so you’d better make sure you have great people in the company overall. For example, I make almost none of the creative decisions here. I know a good product when I see it. But a part of my job is to let the game people make great games.


Q: What’s the best part of being at the helm?


A:

It’s a challenge but it’s nice making that final decision on a tough call. It’s good to listen to people recommending a decision, but at the end of the day, I like making the call. I like being able to live and die with the decisions.


Q: What was the toughest stretch of your career?


A:

The toughest stretch for us was in 1997. We lost a very big license World Championship Wrestling to Electronic Arts. It was a big part of our revenues. So it was a big setback. But it’s like the Little League game we lost. So what do you do? You turn around and keep going. We picked up another license, World Wrestling Entertainment, and it turned out to be a blessing at the end of the day. But for that stretch of four to five months, it was tough.


Q: What kind of legacy do you want to leave for THQ?


A:

I want to make sure that THQ always embodies a culture we’ve tried to define, which is that we can do a great business but conduct ourselves as ladies and gentlemen that partners want to do business with, whether it’s licensors, retailers or developers. And I think if we leave that legacy long after I am gone at THQ, the rest of it will come. We’ll make great games and the company will be very successful.


Q: What kind of legacy do you want to leave as a person?


A:

I want people to say, “Brian Farrell, he was a good guy.”



Brian Farrell


Title:

Chief Executive


Company:

THQ Inc.


Born:

1954, Santa Monica


Education:

B.A., Stanford University; M.B.A., UCLA


Career Turning Point:

Leaving public accounting and going into business


Most Influential Person:

His father, who showed him that you could do well in business by being ethical and hard-working


Personal:

Lives in Thousand Oaks with his wife of 20 years and three children


Hobbies:

Golf and wine

No posts to display