| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | NASDAQ: THQI |
| Industry | Video game industry Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1989 (as Trinity Acquisition Corporation)[1] |
| Headquarters | Agoura Hills, California, USA |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | Brian J. Farrell (Chairman, CEO, President) Ian Curran (SVP Int'l Publishing) |
| Products | Red Faction series Tak series Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War WWE series Saints Row series Destroy All Humans! series Summoner UFC series uDraw GameTablet Homefront Darksiders |
| Revenue | US$665 million (2011)[2] |
| Net income | US$136 million (2011)[3] |
| Website | www.THQ.com |
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices. THQ has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
The company publishes 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 vs. 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. It has announced net sales of $830.0 million in 2008, down from $1,030.5 million in the year previous. Net losses were $431 million for the 12 months ending March 2009, down from $35.3 million in the year previous.
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Trinity Acquisition Corporation was founded in 1989. In 1991, it merged with Toy Head-Quarters, a toy manufacturer founded in 1990 by Jack Friedman. Once consolidated, the company branched out to the video game industry and adopted the name T*HQ, inspired by the first letters of Toy Head-Quarters even though Trinity Acquisition was the surviving entity. T*HQ was eventually renamed to THQ in 1994 and left the toy business to concentrate solely on video games.
The company began building out its internal product development capabilities in September 2000 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, Vigil Games, Blue Tongue Entertainment, Juice Games, Kaos Studios and Volition, Inc., who work on games for next-generation 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, Japan, and South Korea. Key THQ Wireless brands include Star Wars, WWE and certain Disney-Pixar properties. THQ Wireless serves content via many major carriers worldwide including Sprint, Motorola, Nokia (N-gage), AT&T, Sony-Ericsson, Orange in Europe and others.
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.
In 2006, THQ acquired Vigil Games.[4]
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.[5]
On November 3, 2008, the company closed five of its internal studios.[6]
In March 2009, THQ spun off Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios as independent companies, and announced it was looking to sell Big Huge Games.
In May 2009, THQ agreed to sell Big Huge Games to 38 Studios.
In August 2009, THQ acquired Midway Studios San Diego for $200,000. The sale of the studio includes all assets, except for the TNA iMPACT! video game.[7]
In February 2010, they announced that Juice Games and Rainbow Studios would be part of a reshuffle, and would now bear the title THQ Digital Warrington and THQ Digital Phoenix respectively. It is said 60 members of staff face redundancies between THQ's US Rainbow studio and the UK Juice Game's studio.[8]
In August 2010, THQ unveiled the uDraw GameTablet, a $70 accessory for Nintendo's Wii console that lets gamers draw and play on their television screens. The white, 9-by-7-inch peripheral houses a Wii Remote on the left, with a doodle pad and tethered stylus on the right.
THQ says more software for the uDraw will launch every couple of months.http://www.worldofudraw.com/#/home.[9]
On December 31, 2010, THQ closed their Korean office and canceled the development project of WWE Smackdown vs. Raw Online.[10]
On January 2011, THQ sold off their Wireless division to a Swedish mobile company called 24MAS.
On January 12, 2011, THQ unveiled their new logo.[11]
In March 2011, THQ, after their game Homefront was released, suffered a 26% stock drop. The large drop was speculated to be a result of Homefront's poor reception.[12]
On June 13, 2011, THQ announced the closure of Kaos Studios (the developer of Homefront)[13] and THQ Digital Warrington (formerly Juice Games).[14]
On June 27, 2011, THQ announced they are dropping the long running Red Faction franchise. This was believed to be due to the poor reception over the latest game in the franchise, Red Faction Armageddon.[15]
On August 9, 2011, THQ has announced that their development focus will move away from licensed kids and movie-based titles by closing down THQ Studio Australia and Blue Tongue in order to focus on "high-quality owned IP." The company has also closed down THQ Digital Phoenix (formerly Rainbow Studios), thus dropping the MX vs. ATV franchise.[16][17][18]
| Type | Children's division of THQ |
|---|---|
| Industry | Children's entertainment |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Cars Mater-National Nicktoons: Globs of Doom All Star Cheer Squad WALL-E Naked Brothers Band Drawn to Life: SpongeBob SquarePants Edition |
| Parent | THQ Inc. |
| Website | www.PlayTHQ.com |
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