Last year, and for the last few years, I had been warning people to stay away from THQ Inc (NASDAQ:THQI).  I have also been shorting THQI on and off for the last few years, enjoying those trades.

First, when the current generation began, I warned that THQ was a "shovel-ware" game maker that would get destroyed by Nintendo's rise in the kids' game market.  In 2008, THQI lost 80% of its value as a result.

Then, in 2009 I warned that UFC could not become a consistent annual franchise.  I missed the rise in the stock price from UFC but THQ subsequently underperformed the market in both 2009 and 2010 as UFC's sequel failed to deliver.

In 2010 I warned that Homefront would not save THQ and Udraw would not sell during the non-holiday months.  Right again!  THQ hit a new low this year and bounced back only slightly, still at a price lower than at any other year this decade.

So I've been very critical of this company and this management.  I think maybe they ought to be thrown out, frankly.  But now I have gone long the company's stock.  Why?

Rockstar and Take Two (NASDAQ:TTWO) get an 'epic fail' grade for not bringing out a sequel to mega-hit Grand Theft Auto this year.  In fact, GTA is starting to become irrelevant in people's minds with such a long delay between titles.  Saints Row 2 was released only 6 months after GTA4 smashed records in 2008.  This time around, there is now direct competition in the genre for THQ's internal studio, Volition.