deviantART hosts Darksiders art contest

deviantART today is running Darksiders: These Are Your Last Days Contest, which revolves around the upcoming action-adventure game from THQ, Darksiders. The contest will challenge deviantART’s online community of millions to create artwork depicting an apocalypse of their own design. The winners will be personally selected by Joe Madureira, comic book artist and Creative Director at Vigil Games, the development studio behind the game. Darksiders is scheduled to be available January 5, 2010 for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Artists interested in this contest can submit their entries online to win a number of prizes, including an Xbox 360 or a PS3, American Express gift cards up to $1000, copies of the Darksiders video game, as well as other Darksiders and deviantART merchandise and memorabilia.

For rules, and more information about the Darksiders: These Are Your Last Days Contest, check out www.deviantart.com/darksiders.

THQ reveals E3 2009 line-up

THQ revealed its E3 line-up today on this first day of the annual trade show dedicated to all things video games. The company will showcasing a number of original titles, licensed properties and products based on TV and film franchises. Games on display this week Relic’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, Kaos Studios’ Homefront and Rainbow Studios ’ MX vs. ATV Reflex. THQ will also be offering extended hands-on time with Vigil Games’ post-apocalyptic action-adventure title Darksiders and Red Faction: Guerrilla , which was released today.

THQ’s kids and family portfolio will be highlighted by first looks at Marvel Super Hero Squad, Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter and World of Zoo.

THQ will also be presenting WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, the recently released UFC 2009 Undisputed, Cars Race-O-Rama, Dragonica Online, All Star Cheer Squad 2, SpongeBob’s Truth or Square and James Patterson: Women’s Murder Club Games of Passion.

All of these games will be on display in booth #5300, in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center June 2-4.

Vigil, Volition keeping busy

According to GameSpot story, a slide seen in an THQ investors’ presentation from February (click the screenshot to the left to check it out) offers a sneak peek at its release schedule for the next few fiscal quarters.

THQ’s in-house studios Vigil, Volition and Relic are hard at work on several games:

Vigil

Volition

Relic:

Also in the presentation, THQ promised a continued emphasis on its popular wrestling and fighting franchises, as well as more games from developers Kaos Studios (Frontlines), Juice Games (Juiced) and Blue Tongue (de Blob and the upcoming Marvel Super Hero Squad).

Conspicuously absent from the presentation was Big Huge Games, which is working on an as yet unnamed RPG headed up by Ken Rolston of Oblivion and Morrowind fame. BHG was recently hit with numerous layoffs and THQ has said it is looking for a buyer for the studio.

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