THQ Expands Casual Game Portfolio with Elephant Entertainment™ Purchase and Exclusive Retail Publishing Agreement with Oberon Media

AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced the acquisition of the Elephant Entertainment™ casual and online games business. In conjunction with this acquisition, THQ also announced an exclusive, worldwide retail publishing agreement with Oberon Media, the world’s leading cross-platform casual games company.

THQ plans to launch more than 20 new casual and online games on multiple platforms in 2008 under the Elephant Entertainment brand name. Elephant Entertainment President and COO Wim Stocks, an 18-year veteran of the interactive entertainment business, will continue to lead Elephant Entertainment and will report to Doug Clemmer, president of THQ’s ValuSoft casual games division.

Through the agreement with Oberon Media, THQ plans to bring Oberon’s owned and licensed content, including the successful Dream Day online franchise, to major gaming platforms. In addition, Oberon is scheduled to release best selling author James Patterson’s Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet online this May, which Elephant plans to distribute at retail this fall. THQ and Elephant Entertainment will also provide retail support for the custom online casual game communities and download platforms created by Oberon Media for select retailers.

“The addition of Elephant Entertainment and our exclusive retail publishing deal with Oberon significantly expands the depth and breadth of our casual and online game offering,” said Doug Clemmer, president of ValuSoft, THQ’s casual games division. “These deals will allow us to expand our presence in this rapidly growing segment and deliver unique value to our retail partners through Oberon’s turn-key solution to deliver online games.”

“We are extremely excited to become a part of THQ,” said Wim Stocks, president and COO, Elephant Entertainment. “THQ is a leader in family and casual interactive entertainment and we are excited to help further grow THQ’s portfolio and pipeline in the casual and online game market.”

“The casual games segment is booming and this deal with THQ will allow us to strengthen our industry positioning and bring more games to market,” said Don Ryan, senior vice president of publishing, Oberon Media. “Both Elephant and THQ are led by very talented teams and I look forward to working more closely with them as we move forward together.”

In 2007, the worldwide casual game market totaled $2.25 billion and is expected to grow 20% year-over-year in established markets (source: Pearl Research, Screen Digest CGA.)

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Oberon Media

Oberon Media, the world’s leading multi-platform casual-games company, is the first company to deliver global, integrated casual-games solutions across online, mobile and interactive TV platforms, following its recent acquisitions of I-play and PixelPlay, respective leaders in the mobile games and iTV casual games markets.

The Oberon Game Center platform is the industry standard and has been adopted by some of the world's largest corporations including Microsoft, Comcast, Verizon, Electronic Arts, MySpace, France Telecom and NHN. The platform combines casual-game content, merchandizing and features to fulfill each partner's specific needs. Oberon Media's publishing arm works with the industry's best, award-winning game developers to produce the top-selling casual games, which can be played in more than a dozen languages across online, mobile, console and iTV platforms.

Founded in 2003, Oberon Media is headquartered in New York with offices across North America, Europe and Asia, and is backed by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Oak Investment Partners and Lehman Brothers. For more information visit: http://www.oberon-media.com

About THQ

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ sells product through its global network of offices located throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. More information about THQ and its products may be found at www.thq.com and www.thqwireless.com. THQ, THQ Wireless, ValuSoft, Elephant Entertainment and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.

All other trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts may be “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the business of THQ Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively referred to as “THQ”), including, but not limited to, expectations and projections related to the integration of acquired assets of Elephant Entertainment and future plans for THQ’s casual game releases via Elephant Entertainment and its exclusive agreement with Oberon Media, and are based upon management’s current beliefs and certain assumptions made by management. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, business, competitive, economic, legal, political and technological factors affecting our industry, operations, markets, products or pricing. Readers should carefully review the risk factors and the information that could materially affect THQ’s financial results, described in other documents that THQ files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2007, and particularly the discussion of risk factors set forth therein. Unless otherwise required by law, THQ disclaims any obligation to update its view on any such risks or uncertainties or to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.