| Press Release |
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Mary Nelson Garrett THQ/Investor Relations T: 818/871-5090 |
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Sara Stern Levin Nickelodeon T: 212/846-8670 |
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Asam Ahmad Senior PR Manager, THQ asam@thq.com T: +44 1483 767656 |
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Jimmy Neutron and The Wild Thornberry's Interactive Adventures Scheduled to Release in 2001
Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Rocket Power PC Rights Added to Console Publishing Agreements
CALABASAS HILLS, Calif. - February 8, 2001 - THQ Inc. (NASDAQ NMS: THQI), the #1 kids' videogame publisher and Nickelodeon, the #1 kids' network, today announced a massive expansion to their worldwide publishing partnership. THQ is now the exclusive videogame publisher for Nickelodeon's leading individual kids' television and movie properties targeting the 6-11 age demographic. The expansion includes interactive rights to The Wild Thornberrys and Jimmy Neutron, Nickelodeon's highly anticipated holiday 2001 animated motion picture release; as well as PC rights to Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and Rocket Power.
This expanded relationship stems from the phenomenal success of THQ's Nickelodeon Rugrats releases for PlayStation, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color. THQ's Nickelodeon videogame library boasts sales of more than 4,000,000 units in the U.S. alone, exceeding $125 million since its first release in November 1998. Rugrats is the #1 licensed kids videogame franchise, and a leading videogame franchise overall.
"Nickelodeon has established itself as a true innovator in kids entertainment and we are delighted to be working with them in bringing their hugely popular kids' properties to today's hottest game platforms," stated Jeff Lapin, vice chairman and COO, THQ. "We look forward to working with Nickelodeon more closely in the future and plan to establish the same level of success for these new properties as we created for the Rugrats videogame franchise."
"THQ's proven ability to create exciting, quality games based on fresh kids' programs make them the ideal interactive partner," stated Steve Youngwood, Vice President, Interactive Products and Publishing, Nickelodeon Consumer Products. "We look forward to debuting our hottest properties on PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and other brand new game systems in 2001 and beyond."
Under the new agreement, THQ and Nickelodeon will release interactive adventures and action games based on Jimmy Neutron and The Wild Thornberrys properties through 2004 for console systems manufactured by Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo as well as PC. THQ will also publish PC products for Rugrats, SpongeBob SquarePants and Rocket Power games for the same period. The PC rights for these three properties are in addition to the previously announced console publishing rights.
The Wild Thornberrys ranks among the top 10 kids television properties and stars Eliza Thornberry as she travels the world with her family filming wildlife for her father's nature show. The Wild Thornberrys was created by Klasky Csupo, the creators of the award-winning Rugrats. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius tells the simple story of a 10-year-old boy who, along with his robot dog, Goddard, battles evil, rescues his parents from aliens, saves the Earth and still makes it home in time for supper. As a kid who just happens to be a genius, Jimmy is always creating gadgets to make his life more interesting.
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius marks the first time Nickelodeon has introduced a property via a full-length feature film instead of on its TV network. Jimmy Neutron was introduced on Nickelodeon in January 2001 in a series of one-and two-minute comedic TV shorts that will continue throughout the year. Each of these interstitials will have a corresponding Jimmy Neutron online game that viewers can play at jimmyneutron.com, which is linked to nick.com. jimmyneutron.com will provide a truly interactive experience by providing an "inside look" into Jimmy's world - including a "lab cam" that takes kids into Jimmy's backyard laboratory. A dedicated movie site will launch in July 2001. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius will open in theaters nationwide in December 2001, with a TV series slated to debut Fall 2002.
THQ also acquired certain rights to several Nickelodeon branded console and PC games previously released or currently in development by Mattel. These titles include games based on Nickelodeon's Rugrats, Wild Thornberry's and Jimmy Neutron brands. For more information about THQ and Nickelodeon's 2001 videogame line-up, please visit the THQ website at www.thq.com.
Now in its 22nd year, Nickelodeon has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the U.S. and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, magazines, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 77 million households, and has been the number #1 rated cable network for four consecutive years. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
THQ Inc. develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software worldwide for a variety of hardware platforms including PC CD-ROM, and those manufactured by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. The THQ site is located at www.thq.com.
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This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including those described above and the following: changes in demand for the Company's products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing and difficulties encountered in the integration of acquired businesses. In addition, such statements could be affected by growth rates and market conditions relating to the interactive software industry and general domestic and international economic conditions. Specific information concerning these and other such factors is contained in the Company's most recent report on Form 8-K, filed with the Securities Exchange Commission on November 13, 2000. A copy of this filing may be obtained by contacting the Company or the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release.