Target just announced that their new preorder program will give you GiftCards upon claiming your reserved games, giving you a little bit of honey for your money. It's like getting a mini-refund or a rebate as a reward for your reservation. Details after the link.

It's no secret that publisher THQ is having some financial troubles, especially with the US$ 192 million loss that they reported last month. It looks like things haven't really picked up yet, too, and now the company is planning to close down one of its studios and turning another two into independent studios.

A rumor spread a few days ago that THQ finally folded after months of struggling to keep above water. The rumor was wrong, but from the looks of it, it probably won't be long before it becomes true. Their latest financial numbers show a US$ 192 million loss, and the Saints Row publisher is now planning to reduce their headcount by 600.

Earlier today, a source close to THQ confirmed to N-Europe that the game studio is actually shutting down. Apparently, the staff has already been informed just today of THQ's "imminent closure."

*Update* THQ says the cake is a lie and they're still alive.

RAWR. The analysts in Cowen and Company are projecting that THQ may have a hard time breaking even this year. And why is that? It looks like some of THQ's franchises, namely WWE, Saints Row, and even Spongebob are heading down for Bikini Bottom. That's quite a blow, considering that their franchises have been released across the current gen platforms and handhelds!

THQ's Deadly Creatures has been given a new release date after it was booted out of its planned December release.

Big WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS) news. A little over a month after we posted an article about THQ's plan to release a patch that'll give your custom superstars an attribute boost, it's now ready and up and running. The plan  was to release the patch before the end of January, so yes, they managed to meet that target on time. More in the full article.

New DLC now available for Smackdown vs. Raw 2009  (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS) on Xbox Live. As if over 60 characters on your roster isn't enough, you're gonna get three more, plus an alternate attire for one of them. Find out what's in store in the full article.

Bad news from THQ. Their action thriller game Deadly Creatures for the Wii has been kicked off of its December release window. Santa Claus accidentally swatted the Tarantula with a newspaper and it'll take some time to recover.

The game will now be released on February.

Love to create superstars but hate the pathetic 30 overall rating? This'll fix your troubles. Instead of having to play Career Mode over and over for attribute points, THQ is planning a patch for WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009 (Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Wii, DS) that'll solve all your attribute woes.