THQ

Background: THQ ("Toy Head-Quarters") was an American developer and publisher founded in 1989 by LJN co-founder Jack Friedman. In 1990, THQ acquired the video game division of Broderbund Software and released its first game, Peter Pan and the Pirates (based on the Fox Kids TV series), in 1991. Also in 1991, THQ was acquired by Trinity Acquisition Corporation. In 1994 THQ stopped making toys to focus on video games. THQ acquired several game developers in the 2000s including Relic Entertainment, Volition and many others. In 2008, THQ's troubles began when they closed five studios, spun off two other studios (Heavy Iron Studios and Incinerator Studios), and sold Big Huge Games to 38 Studios (a company owned by Major League Baseball pitcher Curt Schilling). In 2010, THQ respectively renamed Juice Games and Rainbow Studios to THQ Digital Warrington and THQ Digital Phoenix. In 2011, THQ closed four studios (THQ Studio Australia, Blue Tongue Entertainment, Kaos Studios and THQ Digital Warrington). In 2012, THQ defaulted on a $50 million loan from Wells Fargo. On December 19, 2012, THQ filed for bankruptcy. In January 2013, THQ sold the Homefront franchise to Crytek, Relic Entertainment and the Warhammer 40,000 series to Sega, the WWE series and Evolve (a game from Turtle Rock Studios) to Take-Two Interactive. THQ Montreal and the publishing rights for South Park: The Stick of Truth to Ubisoft, and Volition and the publishing rights the Metro franchise to Koch Media/Deep Silver. In April 2013, THQ's remaining franchises were auctioned off to Nordic Games, while Homeworld was sold to Gearbox Software and Drawn to Life was acquired by 505 Games. Nordic Games later acquired the THQ trademark in 2014, and changed their name to THQ Nordic in 2016 to associate themselves better with the THQ name.

=1st Logo= (1991-1993)

Nickname : "Toy Headquarters"

Logo : On a white background, we see the words "T•HQ Software", with a red dot between "T" and "H". There is a byline below them: "A Division of T•HQ, Inc."

Variants :
 * On Fox's Peter Pan and the Pirates, the logo reads "T•HQ, Inc.", and "Presents..." below.
 * On Wayne's World, the logo reads "T•HQ software", and "PRESENTS" below.
 * On The Ren & Stimpy Show: Veediots!, the logo reads "T•HQ, Inc.", and "TOY HEADQUARTERS" below. Under it, we see Ren and Stimpy doing the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" dance.
 * On The Great Waldo Search, the background is gradient blue.
 * On Road Riot 4WD, the background is red and the copyright info is taken into brackets.
 * The Adventures of Rocky And Bulwinkle And Friends variant is almost the same as Wayne's World variant, but it's 8-bit and presents is located far more below.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : None. On The Adventures of Rocky And Bulwinkle And Friends it's a simple, but memorable fanfare.

Availability : Rare. Besides the titles already mentioned, it can be seen on The Lawnmower Man. It also appears on Game Boy.

=2nd Logo= (1994)

Nicknames: "Animals", "The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp Variant", "THQ Box", "The Nick Splat-THQ Box Combo"

Logo: This logo appears as a transitional. The word "T•HQ" in white font with red dot is seen inside a thick white box. Below "T•HQ" there is a red bar with "INC." on it. The logo is being carried to the screen by Stimpy, along with the Nickelodeon "Splat!" logo, which is carried by Ren and shares the upper part of the screen. When they step on the two gritty kitty litters, they do their "Happy Happy Joy Joy" poses.

FX/SFX: The characters’ actions.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen only on The Ren & Stimpy Show: Time Warp for Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This was used before THQ Software and Malibu Games were folded into Black Pearl Software.

=3rd Logo= (March-August 1997)

Nickname : "Old-Styled Dot"

Logo : We see almost the same logo as the 3rd one, but it turned a bit (a la 20th Century Fox). The letters are 3D and the dot between "T" and "H" is back. Also, the copyright information is shown below the logo.

FX/SFX : None.

Music/Sounds : The game's opening theme.

Availability : Seen on Brunswick World Tournament Champions for SNES. It also appears on The Hunchback of Notre Dame: Topsy Turvy Games and Hercules for Game Boy. It's the last appearance of the famous dot.

=4th Logo= (1997-2000)

Nickname : "THQ Box II"

Logo : A glowing red bar with the lava-like texture appears and zooms out and sticks to the screen. Then the letters appear one by one: "T" zooms from us, then "H" towards us, then "Q" again from us. The light streak make "INC." on the bar, wiping out the lava-type texture. After a second, we see the light splash and two light streaks draw a square outline around the logo.

Variants : There are several variants of this logo:
 * On cartridge-based consoles, the logo is still.
 * On Sinistar, the animation is different. We see the metallic background and the black rectangle zooming in. Then the letters of "THQ" fly from various angles and place themselves upon the rectangle, which turns a bit from its rotated position. Then the background clears to black and the word "PRESENTS" fade in below.
 * On X: Beyond the Frontier, the logo is made up from the polygons, not the rendered videostream. It appears by zooming in from beyond.
 * On Timon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games, the box is omitted.
 * On the SNES and Genesis versions of Madden NFL '98 and NBA Live '98 as well as some EA Sports and Disney titles for Game Boy, there is no box, but the copyright information is also shown below.
 * On Penny Racers, the background is white and we see the copyright information from Nintendo and Takara.
 * On Destruction Derby for Nintendo 64, the red bar is empty. This is also seen on the Game Boy Color version.

FX/SFX : Depends on the variant.

Music/Sounds: A couple of whooshing and zapping sounds.
 * On X, there is a fanfare ending with a single hit.
 * On Sinistar, there is a mysterious windchime pass.
 * The still variant is silent.

Availability : Common in older games, preferably the still version (especially in the early years). The animated version can be seen on games for PC and Playstation such as Rugrats: The Search for Reptar and WCW/NWO Thunder. The animated version is also seen on some Game Boy Color games as well including Disney/Pixar's A Bug's Life and FIFA 2000. The last game with this logo was Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue.

=5th Logo= (2000-2011)

Nicknames : "T-H-Q!", "The Parallelogram"

Logo : On a black background, a steel parallelogram is formed with parts of it being sliced off, and it flashes. A larger outline of the parallelogram appears outside it, and 3 silver letters ("T" and "Q" from right, "H" from left) slide onto the parallelogram. A red bar appears from left and bumps into the shield, making it sway and completing the logo. The company website address fades in below, and the shield border shines.

FX/SFX : The whole animation.

Variants :
 * A still print version exists on Nintendo 64 games and other platforms.
 * A shield-less version was seen on Rugrats in Paris for N64 and PS--probably the first appearance of this logo. The same version, only smaller, was used on Championship Motocross for PS.
 * On the GBA version of The Incredibles, the logo animates on a white background.
 * On Rugrats: Royal Ransom, SpongeBob SquarePants: Employee of the Month and Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights, the website address is eliminated.

Music/Sounds: Synthesized whooshes, followed by a male announcer saying "T-H-Q!" where the correct letters appear. An electronic buzzing sound is heard as the shield shines.

Availability : Common on games from the time. This can be still seen on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games. The first games to use this were SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Krabby Patty and Rugrats: Older and Bolder. It also appears on Rugrats Go Wild.

=6th Logo= (2003-2011)

Nicknames : "The Light-Striking Parallelogram", "The Parallelogram II"

Logo : We see a vivid blue background, full of lines and light effects. The THQ logo zooms in, along with the letter "H", while the "T" flies from left (with the red bar), and "Q" from the right. Electric charges streak inside the logo. Finally, the letters zoom out and quit one-by-one, followed by the parallelogram.

FX/SFX : Only the fading.

Music/Sounds : Many whooshes and some electric sounds.

Availability : Common, used occasionally alongside the other "shield" logos; it is known to appear on Juiced and many PSP releases. It can be seen on the PC games of Bratz 4 Real, Bratz: Rock Angelz and Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.

=7th Logo= (2003-11)

Nicknames : "The Comet", "The Parallelogram III"

Logo : We see the THQ logo rotating in the dark, with two light comets, red and white, moving around it. Suddenly the white comet blasts into the "T" and light it up, then returns and blasts "H", and finally "Q". Then the red comet creates the red bar.

Variants : Go to the page.

FX/SFX : Only the fading.

Music/Sounds : The comet whooshing and blasts.

Availability : Common in every game up to 2011, like Warhammer 40000: Dawn of War. The last game to use this logo is De Blob 2 (February 2011), which uses this logo in-game but the next logo on its box art.

=8th Logo= (2011-2012)

Logo : A gray line slides from the right of the screen and a thick red line emerges from it, drawing a stylized red "Q". From the bottom of the "Q", a gray line slides to the left and grows into a square that splits into a "T" and an incomplete "H".

FX/SFX : The animation.

Variants : The internal studios have their subnames in gray under the main logo.

Music/Sounds : A deep whoosh sound similar to wind blowing, ending with two silent bumps.

Availability : Appeared on all THQ games from February 2011 to their final games in late 2012; Homefront and WWE All Stars were among the first ones. Technically, this logo made its first retail appearance on the box art of De Blob 2, despite the previous logo being used in-game.

Editor's Note : None.