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 andreleased its first game Peter Pan and the Pirates (based on the Fox Kids TV series of the same name) 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 closed five studios, spun off two 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 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 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: FX/SFX: None.
 * 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.

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 in 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: FX/SFX: Depends on the variant.
 * 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.

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, Rugrats: Totally Angelica 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: 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.
 * 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 Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, Ratatouille and Tak 2: The Staff of Dreams, the logo animates on a white background.
 * The logo is still seen on the Game Boy Advance games, including Rugrats Go Wild, SpongeBob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, SpongeBob Squarepants: Lights, Camera, Pants!, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis, Barnyard, Unfabulous, The Fairly OddParents: Clash into the Anti-World, and The Fairly OddParents: Clash Into the Anti-World.
 * On SpongeBob Squarepants: SuperSponge, Rocket Power: Team Rocket Rescue, SpongeBob Squarepants: Operation Krabby Patty, Rocket Power: Extreme Arcade Games, Rugrats: All Growed-Up, Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Fashionable Adventure, Bob the Builder: Bob Builds a Park, Monsters, Inc.: Scream Arena, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, SpongeBob Squarepants: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, Rugrats Go Wild, Nicktoons Basketball, Finding Nemo, Rugrats: Go Wild, The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules, Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies, The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown, Nicktoons Unite!, the website address fades in below.
 * On Rugrats: Royal Ransom, Rocket Power: Beach Bandits, Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge, Rugrats: Munchinland, SpongeBob SquarePants: Employee of the Month, The Incredibles, and Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights, the website address is eliminated.

Availability: Common on games from the time. This can be still seen on Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS games, including The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Nicktoons Freeze Frame Frenzy, Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge, Tak: The Great Juju Challenge, Nicktoons Unite!, Lizzie McGuire: On the Go!, Lizzie McGuire 2: Lizzie Diaries, Lizzie McGuire 3: Homecoming Havoc, The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown, Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies, Scooby-Doo: Unmasked and SpongeBob's Truth or Square. The first games to use this were SpongeBob SquarePants: Operation Krabby Patty and Rugrats: Older and Bolder. It can be seen in Monsters, Inc.: Scream Arena, Nicktoons Basketball, Finding Nemo, Rugrats Go Wild, Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge, The Incredibles, Nicktoons Unite, Jimmy Neutron: Attack of the Twonkies, Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Fashionable Adventure, The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules, The Fairly OddParents: Shadow Showdown, Bob the Builder: Bob Builds a Park, and many more.

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, the Tak and the Power of Juju trilogy and many PSP releases. It can be seen in The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer, Cars, SpongeBob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab, The Lizzie McGuire Movie Activity Center, Cars: Mater-National Championship, SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis, World of Zoo, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Nicktoons Movin' and many more.

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. It can be seen in Barnyard, Ratatouille, Hot Wheels: Track Attack (which uses the 6th logo instead), Megamind: Mega Team Unite, and many more.

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.

Scare Factor: None, this is a boring logo, especially when compared to the earlier ones.

The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius: Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron (2002): The logo is on a space background and Jimmy flies in his rocket. The announcer for the logo is still heard.

Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie's Misadventures in HillRidge (2002): The logo is on a space background and Lizzie and Timmy flies in their jetpacks with Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup. The announcer for the logo is still heard.

'''Lizzie McGuire: On the Go! (2003):''' The logo is seen on a black background and Lizzie McGuire, Miranda, Gordo, Timmy Turner, Blossom, Bubbles, Buttercup, Professor Utonium and Zim walks in, then Timmy poofs the website address with his magic wand. Seen on the GBA.

SpongeBob licenses (2003-2011): We start on the bottom and rise up where glowing blue meduses float. The logo is formed from glowing bubbles.

The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules (2003): The logo is seen on a white background and Cosmo and Wanda flies in and blasts Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda using their magic wands. Seen on GBA.

Alter Echo (2003): The logo appears on a complicated red background and "echoes" of itself.

Tak and the Power of Juju (2003): The logo is made of field flowers. Seen only on GBA.

Saints Row (2006): The logo appears with lush effects, the letters smash into shield. Then an ornament appears around it and two cars pop up above.

Ratatouille (2007): The logo appears in the sequence of boards falling to the restaurant floor. Each board contains the logo and Remy runs to escape them. Seen on the PS3 and Xbox 360.

WALL-E (2008): The logo is made of glowing lines. Seen on PS2, PS3, XBOX 360, Wii and PC versions.

SpongeBob's Truth or Square (2009): The logo appears inside the bubble. Seen on the Wii and Xbox 360 versions.

UP (2009): The logo appears superimposed in the water near the house. Seen on PS2, PSP and PC versions. On the PS3, Wii and XBOX 360, it is superimposed on the balloons.

Metro 2033 (2010): The logo is a metal plate (with two stars on red circles attached) put on a dirty metal background. A nuclear flare turns it into black dust, which get blown away.

You Don't Know Jack (2011): There are interns speaking over the logo. It's diferent whenever you turn the game on.

Saints Row: The Third (2011): The logo appears on a car bumper.

Red Faction: Armageddon (2011): The "Q" is blue instead of red. The logo moves to the screen from the left and then the power ray destroys it. Also seen on the trailer.

De Blob 2 (2011): The background is white noise. Only on the trailer.

Darksiders II (2012): The logo with a purple Q slowly dissolves in from the left and becomes grungy.