Red Faction Armageddon downloadable tie-in en route

Transmedia promotion has become a key buzzword at THQ, and the publisher has already detailed ways in which it will apply this strategy to Volition's upcoming Red Faction Armageddon. Namely, THQ said during its E3 2010 webcast that it would air the big-budget SyFy-produced Red Faction telefilm the same week in March 2011 that it launches Armageddon for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Armageddon's promotion won't be limited to expanded media, however. Speaking to CVG, THQ executive vice president of core games Danny Bilson said that the franchise would also benefit from the publisher's strategy to bring "our big brands" to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network.

"There's going to be a Red Faction arcade game that ships about three or four months before Armageddon," Bilson told CVG. "What's interesting is that we will sell it to the fans, it will have content you can download that is TV show-related, it will build up to the new game and also we can use it to drive pre-orders, too; we can give codes and aspects of it, we can give the whole thing away."

Bilson did not divulge specific details about what gamers can expect from the Red Faction extension. However, the executive did say that the publisher is planning "multi-faceted minigames" as revenue generators and marketing tools for other franchises as well, including Saints Row.

"You'll see it on Red Faction, you'll see it on Saints Row and a couple of others," he said. "Not only that, we have a comic book coming on it as well."

THQ had not responded to requests for clarification on the Red Faction arcade game as of press time. For more on Red Faction Armageddon, check out GameSpot's first impressions from this year's E3.