THQ BOSS Ian Curran has praised the competitive nature of games retail in the UK – and says there is nothing to fear from GAME taking over rival Gamestation.

Whilst the company’s largest specific growth outside of the US over the past year has come in territories such as Benelux, Nordic and Spain, THQ still expects further advances in the UK on back of a powerful autumn catalogue.

“It’s true that the territories where we have set up direct distribution have provided the greatest growth, but the UK remains a fantastically healthy market,” THQ’s senior vice president of international publishing Curran told MCV.

“We had a tremendous year in the UK last year and there is going to be a lot of competition. But with our line-up and the diversity of retail choice for consumers, we know growth can continue.”

Key titles for THQ in the coming months include Ratatouille, Stuntman Ignition, WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008, Destroy All Humans 3, Bratz The Movie and Juiced 2.

“It’s been a more interesting year than most for the UK retail landscape, given GAME buying Gamestation, and there has even been some big changes in the world of distribution,” added Curran.

“But none of this affects our confidence in the market. Supermarkets and online have made a big contribution. We can direct certain titles to certain consumer types now.

“And it’s a lot healthier out there these days than back when one or two retailers have been overly dominant.”