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THQ Inc.
Founded 1989 (as Trinity Acquisition Corporation)
Key people Brian J. Farrell (Chairman, CEO, President),
Jack Sorensen (EVP Worldwide Studios),
Ian Curran (SVP Int'l Publishing)
THQ Inc. (Toy Headquarters) (NASDAQ: THQI) is a United States based international developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 as Trinity Acquisition Corporation, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices.
The company maintains a balance of internally created and externally licensed content in its product portfolio. THQ's internally created franchises include Saints Row, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Red Faction, MX vx. ATV, Company of Heroes and others. The company also holds exclusive, long-term licensing agreements with leading sports and entertainment content creators including World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Games Workshop (Warhammer 40,000), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Nickelodeon and Disney-Pixar.
[edit] History
The company began building out its internal product development capabilities in 2001 with the acquisition of Volition, Inc. located in Champaign, IL. Since then, THQ's internal studio system has grown to eleven studios across the globe with distinct capabilities across all viable gaming platforms. Studios such as Relic Entertainment, Paradigm Entertainment, Juice Games, Kaos Studios and Volition, Inc., who are working on games for next generation of consoles as well as PCs.
THQ's global distribution network includes offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific as follows: United States, Canada and Mexico; Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom; Australia, and Korea, Japan. Key THQ Wireless brands include Star Wars, WWE and certain Disney-Pixar properties. THQ Wireless serves content via all major carriers worldwide including Sprint, Motorola, Nokia (N-gage), AT&T, Sony-Ericsson, Orange in Europe and others.
The company has several titles in development for next-generation consoles and personal computers, including Saints Row 2 and Destroy All Humans!. Major franchises include games based on THQ's long standing licensing relationships with WWE, Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon. The company also holds long-term rights to Bratz from MGA Entertainment and Warhammer 40,000 from Games Workshop.
On May 10, 2007, THQ reported its highest annual sales figures and net profits ever for the fiscal year which ended March 31. THQ's revenues reached over $1 billion.
In March 2008, THQ announced they were to develop the world's first ever cheerleading game using the Wii Balance Board.[1]
On November 3, 2008 the company's escalating financial woes [2] caused it to shutter a number of its studios.
[edit] Studios
[edit] Active
Founded in 2000 by four veteran game developers and acquired by THQ in 2008, Big Huge Games is a video game studio focused on cutting-edge technology and aimed at mass-market game development. Big Huge Games founders Brian Reynolds, Jason Coleman, David Inscore and Tim Train continue in the tradition of creating inspired and innovative games for PC and next-generation consoles. Creating games that have received numerous "Game of the Year" awards and accolades, Big Huge Games is headquartered in Timonium, Maryland.
Founded in 1995 and acquired by THQ in 2004, Blue Tongue Entertainment Pty. Ltd. is located in Melbourne, Australia. Blue Tongue has released titles in many genres, from Windows PC simulations to console platforms. Blue Tongue's most recent games include Barnyard for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube, Wii and Windows PC, and Nicktoons Battle for Volcano Island for PlayStation 2 and GameCube. Blue Tongue currently develops original and licensed titles for current and next-generation consoles.
Founded in 2003 and acquired by THQ in 2006, Juice Games released the 1.5 million-unit selling Juiced in June 2005. The game won the best New UK/European Studio award in the 2005 Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Juice Games also develops titles for handheld and mobile gaming devices. Juice Games is located in Warrington, United Kingdom.
Based in Phoenix, Arizona, Rainbow Studios was founded in 1996 and acquired by THQ in 2001. In 2006, Rainbow developed Disney•Pixar's Cars, a racing title based on the film and released on all major gaming platforms. Rainbow also developed the "MX" franchise, including MX Unleashed and MX vs. ATV Unleashed, both of which achieved "Greatest Hits" and "Platinum Hits" status from Sony and Microsoft. During its fifteen-year video game history, Rainbow's racing and technological expertise gained success with titles such as Motocross Madness, Motocross Madness 2 (winner of Best Sports Computer Game of 2000 by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences), Splashdown, ATV Off-Road Fury, ATV Off-Road Fury 2, and Mat Hoffman Pro BMX 2. Rainbow Studios released MX vs. ATV: Untamed in December 2007, and are currently developing Deadly Creatures, an action-adventure game exclusively for Wii.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Relic Entertainment was founded in 1997 and acquired by THQ in 2004. Relic Entertainment develops real-time strategy games, such as Company of Heroes, which is one of the highest rated Windows PC games. Relic's history of critically acclaimed titles began with Homeworld, which received several Game of the Year and Strategy Game of the Year awards from PC Gamer and Computer Gaming World. Since then, Relic has released Homeworld: Cataclysm (co-developed with Barking Dog Studios), Impossible Creatures, Homeworld 2, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War with its expansions Winter Assault, Dark Crusade and Soulstorm, The Outfit, and Company of Heroes with its expansion Opposing Fronts.
Founded in January 2003, THQ Studio Australia most recently shipped Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Burning Earth, on PlayStation 2, Wii, and Xbox 360. Previously, the studio created the Nickelodeon games Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS! and Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies on the Wii, PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Xbox. The studio is currently developing titles on sixth and seventh generation consoles.
Acquired by THQ in 2000 to develop original titles for all major gaming consoles. The company was created when Parallax Software (the developer of the Descent series) was split (the other half was the now-defunct Outrage Entertainment who developed Descent 3 and Alter Echo). Volition, Inc. developed the FreeSpace series of Space combat simulator, and other titles including Red Faction, Red Faction II, Summoner, The Punisher. In August 2006, THQ and Volition released Saints Row, the first next generation open-world title for the Xbox 360. Among other innovative features, Saints Row combines character and vehicle customization with multiplayer gameplay over the Xbox Live network. Saints Row was the number one selling game following its release and received Editor's Choice accolades from IGN.com and GamePro. They have released a follow-up, Saints Row 2, in 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and are now finishing Red Faction: Guerilla. Volition is located in Champaign, Illinois.
[edit] Defunct
Founded in July 2000, Helixe specializes in game development for Nintendo handheld gaming platforms. The studio has produced games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance including top-selling Disney-Pixar's The Incredibles and Cars, as well as games based on the Star Wars and Scooby-Doo franchises and numerous titles based on popular Nickelodeon brands. Helixe is currently focused on licensed games for the Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Helixe is located near Boston, Massachusetts.
Was shut down on November 3, 2008[4]
The External Development Group (XDG) was found originally by Shiraz Akmal on March 14, 2006[5] to streamline THQ's outsourcing initiatives. In 2008, the group, now headed by Kevin Chu, transitioned from traditional business to business outsourcing methods to a more advanced form of distributed development[6]. The group opened a headquarters in Shanghai, China to continue the growth of outsourcing and distributed development as well as further expansion of the group's role in spearheading the development of online and console games[7].
[edit] Additional developers/divisions
[edit] Play THQ
Play THQ
Type Children's division of THQ
Founded 2007
Play THQ is a children's division of THQ, founded in 2007. It's first game was Cars Mater-National. Additional games published include licensed material such as SpongeBob SquarePants featuring Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, WALL-E, Avatar: The Last Airbender - Into the Inferno, and original properties such as Lock's Quest. Play THQ is best known for publishing Disney/Pixar and Nickelodeon games.
[edit] Upcoming games
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Wwe Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 Limted Edition
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
