Rumor: THQ Closing Studios?

Kotaku reports THQ may be in the process of shutting down four or five of its development studios, saying Paradigm Entertainment and Juice Games are two of the potential victims of these cuts, referring to their sources for this rumor as simply "sources." The veracity of this report is bolstered by the THQ Studio System Webpage, which now lists 11 studios, while THQ's Wikipedia entry lists 16 studios. The missing entries are Helixe, Locomotive, Mass Media, Paradigm, and Sandblast Games. And although Juice Games is mentioned in the rumor, but is still listed on the THQ website, the Juice Games Wikipedia entry says: "Juice Games is currently based in one office in Warrington, UK, and employs over 40 staff. Over 30 staff were laid off as part of THQ's reorganisational operations on the 3rd November 2008." Edge Online has a story about Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's new guidance for Activision and THQ, citing "poor execution for the last 18 months" as a reason for slashing expectations for THQ in addition to "recent market contraction."