Leading third-party game publisher THQ Inc. has announced their plans to release up to 15 GameCube titles across several genres before the end of 2002. This comes on the heels of their previous announcement to release 16 titles in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance. The initial lineup includes original titles, action-sports, kids' games, and exclusive licensed content. THQ also has several other Nintendo GameCube products in development that will be announced in the coming months. The companys initial 2002 GameCube line-up includes: MX 2003 FEATURING RICKY CARMICHAEL, an extreme motocross race experience, scheduled for Spring 2002; WWF WRESTLEMANIA, billed as the definitive wrestling game; JIMMY NEUTRON, BOY GENIUS, based on the star of Nickelodeon's upcoming digitally animated motion picture of the same name, scheduled for Spring 2002; RUGRATS, with all of the Rugrats babies, including Chuckie's new stepsister Kimi, will be coming in fall 2002; SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, based on the popular Nickelodeon TV series, which follows SpongeBob and his friends through the most sea-riffic adventures, coming in fall 2002; ROCKET POWER, also based on a highly ranked Nickelodeon show, scheduled for fall 2002; TETRIS WORLDS, a next generation version of one of the most popular video game franchises of all time, coming in early 2002; and SCOOBY-DOO, a mystery-solving game set for a Fall 2002 release. "THQ is extremely excited about Nintendo GameCube and the impact it will have on the videogame business," said Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ. "As a top third-party supporter of Nintendo's last console system, THQ looks forward to bringing its world class development talent and exclusive franchises to the next generation of Nintendo consoles." According to Peter Main, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for Nintendo of America, "THQ is one of the industry's top publishers. We're delighted to have their high-quality games come to Nintendo GameCube."
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
