WWE
Video Games
Profiles
WWE
Legends of WrestleMania
Smackdown
VS RAW
Press Release
5th
November 2007
WWE®
SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2008 Kicks off Global
Marketing Campaign on WWE ® Monday Night RAW®
Multi-million
Dollar Effort for Pre-eminent Fighting Video Game
Franchise Supports Upcoming Simultaneous Release
on Seven Platforms
AGOURA HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--THQ Inc.
(NASDAQ:THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ:JAKK)
today announced that the WWE® SmackDown®
vs. Raw ® 2008 global marketing campaign,
aimed at highlighting the franchise's debut on
the WiiTM home video game system, the Nintendo
DS™ and the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment
system, will kick off tonight on Monday Night
RAW®. The campaign is a multifaceted, multi-million
dollar global marketing effort to support the
biggest SmackDown vs. Raw launch in the franchise's
nine year history. WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
is scheduled for simultaneous release on the Xbox
360® video game and entertainment system from
Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 system, PlayStation ®2
computer entertainment system, PSP® (PlayStation®Portable)
system, the Wii and Nintendo DS, plus wireless
devices, on November 9, 2007 across Europe, Australia
and New Zealand; and on November 13, 2007 across
North America.
"The
exciting and frenetic atmosphere of Monday Night
RAW provides the perfect stage from which to launch
our WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 global marketing
campaign, " said Bob Aniello, senior vice
president, worldwide marketing, THQ. "This
comprehensive worldwide effort will show fans
how their love of wrestling can find intense new
outlets through this year 's SmackDown vs. Raw
debut on Wii, Nintendo DS and the PLAYSTATION
3 system. Each platform provides unique fighting
experiences that will bring fans closer than ever
to their favorite Superstars. "
"The
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 global marketing campaign
is the most comprehensive effort to date for the
SmackDown vs. Raw franchise," said Nelo Lucich,
vice president of interactive, JAKKS Pacific.
"We are excited by the unique game play delivered
across an impressive seven systems and look forward
to the upcoming launch of this year's game."
The
cross platform marketing strategy for WWE SmackDown
vs. Raw 2008 also includes:
A global
TV campaign in eight different countries, including
advertising, broadcast and event sponsorships
Print advertising in consumer publications and
holiday buyer guides, including a Nintendo-specific
campaign
A comprehensive online campaign including advertising,
a demo campaign via Xbox Live® Marketplace
for the Xbox 360, as well as the annual roster
reveal and daily Superstar profiles campaign on
IGN
A worldwide gaming tournament where top SmackDown
vs. Raw gamers will win the opportunity to compete
at the 6th Annual THQ Superstar Challenge in Orlando,
FL, which kicks off WrestleMania ® 24 weekend
First-ever launch event for the franchise at Toys"R"Us
Times Square, including an appearance and autograph
signing by WWE Superstar Rey Mysterio ®
Retailer-specific promotions including Superstar
appearances, exclusive gift with purchase opportunities,
co-marketing with WWE DVD and more
Wireless promotions through major carriers
More information about WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008
can be found at www.smackdownvsraw.com and www.thq.com
About
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
World
Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an integrated
media and entertainment company headquartered
in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York,
Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Additional information
on the company can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com
Information on television ratings and community
activities can be found at parents.wwe.com
About
THQ Inc.
THQ
Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is a leading worldwide developer
and publisher of interactive entertainment software.
The company develops its products for all popular
game systems, personal computers and wireless
devices. 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 and
their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of THQ Inc.
About
JAKKS Pacific, Inc.
JAKKS
Pacific, Inc. (NASDAQ: JAKK) is a multi-brand
company that designs and markets a broad range
of toys and consumer products. The product categories
include: Action Figures, Art Activity Kits, Stationery,
Writing Instruments, Performance Kites, Water
Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School,
Plush, Construction Toys, Electronics, Dolls,
Dress-Up, Role Play, and Pet Toys and Accessories.
The products are sold under various brand names
including JAKKS Pacific ®, Play Along®,
Flying Colors®, Creative Designs International™,
Road Champs®, Child Guidance ®, Pentech®,
Trendmasters®, Toymax®, Funnoodle®,
Go Fly a Kite® , Color Workshop®, JAKKS
Pets™ and Plug It In & Play TV Games™.
JAKKS and THQ Inc. participate in a joint venture
that has worldwide rights to publish and market
World Wrestling Entertainment video games. For
further information, visit www.jakks.com
Trademarks:
All World Wrestling Entertainment programming,
talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling
moves, and logos are the exclusive property of
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ECW is a trademark
owned by WWE Libraries, Inc. ECW is a trademark
owned by WWE Libraries, Inc. All other trademarks,
logos and copyrights are the property of their
respective owners.
Microsoft,
Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and
the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the
U.S. and/or other countries.
"PlayStation",
"PS" Family logo and "PSP"
are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc. Memory Stick Duo™ may be required (sold
separately).
Wii
and Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo.
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 marketing campaign
for WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, 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.
This
press release may contain forward–looking
statements (within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that
are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about JAKKS Pacific's business based
partly on assumptions made by its 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 statements
due to numerous factors, including, but not limited
to, those described above, changes in demand for
JAKKS' products, product mix, the timing of customer
orders and deliveries, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, and difficulties with integrating
acquired businesses. The forward-looking statements
contained herein speak only as of the date on
which they are made, and JAKKS undertakes no obligation
to update any of them to reflect events or circumstances
after the date of this release.
Contacts
THQ/Media
Relations
Jaime Jensen, 818-871-5111
or
THQ/Investor Relations
Julie MacMedan, 818-871-5125
or
JAKKS Pacific/Media Relations
Genna Rosenberg, 310-455-6235
gennar@jakks.net
or
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Kevin Hennessy, 203-352-8657
kevin.hennessy@wwecorp.com
Press
Release
6th
May 2004
World
Wrestling Entertainment Videogame Line-up Set
to Enter the Ring
CALABASAS
HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 6, 2004--THQ
Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) and JAKKS Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK)
today announced their fiscal 2005 World Wrestling
Entertainment® (NYSE:WWE) licensed videogame
line-up. In addition to the previously announced
WWE(TM) Day of Reckoning(TM), which is scheduled
for release for the Nintendo® GameCube(TM)
in Fall 2004, THQ plans to release WWE(TM) licensed
videogames for the PlayStation® 2 computer
entertainment system, Xbox(TM) video game system
from Microsoft and Nintendo®'s Game Boy®
Advance.
WWE(TM)
SmackDown!(TM) Vs. Raw(TM) -- Scheduled for release
exclusively on PlayStation 2 for holiday 2004
-- Two of the biggest brands in Sports Entertainment
will face-off this holiday season. Developed by
Yukes, WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw takes the top-selling,
critically acclaimed SmackDown! franchise to the
next level with added features and improved graphics.
WWE(TM)
WrestleMania® 21 -- Scheduled for release
exclusively on Xbox in early 2005 -- WWE WrestleMania
21 will adopt a new developer, Studio Gigante.
Using the power of the Xbox, the game will feature
stunning visuals with several new game modes.
WWE WrestleMania 21 is set to launch with the
biggest WWE event of the year, WrestleMania.
WWE(TM)
Survivor Series(TM) -- Scheduled for release exclusively
on Game Boy Advance for holiday 2004 -- Marking
the return of WWE licensed videogames to Nintendo's
handheld system, WWE Survivor Series will feature
a variety of match types with top WWE Superstars
About
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
World
Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE:WWE) is an
integrated media and entertainment company headquartered
in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York,
Los Angeles, Toronto and London. Additional information
on the company can be found at wwe.com
and corporate.wwe.com.
Information on television ratings and community
activities can be found at parents.wwe.com.
The names of all WWE programming, talent, images,
likenesses and logos are the exclusive property
of WWE.
About
JAKKS Pacific
JAKKS
Pacific, Inc. (Nasdaq:JAKK) is a multi-brand company
that designs and markets a broad range of toys
and leisure products. The product categories include:
Action Figures, Arts & Crafts Activity Kits,
Stationery, Writing Instruments, Performance Kites,
Water Toys, Sports Activity Toys, Vehicles, Infant/Pre-School,
Plush and Dolls. The products are sold under various
brand names including Flying Colors®, Road
Champs®, Remco®, Child Guidance®,
Pentech®, Trendmasters®, Toymax®,
Funnoodle®, Go Fly a Kite(TM) and JPI Color
Workshop(TM). The Company also participates in
a joint venture with THQ Inc. that has exclusive
worldwide rights to publish and market World Wrestling
Entertainment video games. For further information,
visit www.jakkspacific.com.
About
THQ
THQ
Inc. is a leading, worldwide developer and publisher
of interactive entertainment software for a variety
of hardware platforms including those manufactured
by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Nintendo
and Microsoft as well as PC CD-ROM and wireless
devices. The THQ web site is located at www.thq.com.
THQ is a registered trademark of THQ Inc.
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 THQ's business based, in part,
on assumptions made by its management. These statements
are not guarantees of THQ's future performance
or the performance of WWE video games, 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,
but not limited to, those described above and
the following: changes in demand for THQ's products,
including WWE video games, 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 THQ's March 31, 2003
Form 10-KT filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. A copy of this filing may be obtained
by contacting THQ or the SEC. The forward-looking
statements contained herein speak only as of the
date on which they are made, and THQ does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this release.
Websites
THQ
WWE
Profiles
Smackdown
VS Raw
WWE
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