THQ 2008 Annual Report Download - page 3

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We shipped a record six million units of WWE® Smack-
Down® vs. Raw® 2008 in the fiscal year, demonstrating
the growing strength of that brand and our expertise in
the genre. With our upcoming launch of games based on
the increasingly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship®
(UFC®) brand, we are without question the leader in the
rapidly growing fighting game category.
In addition to our success in building major media brands
in the interactive space, we have created seven multi-
million unit game sellers based on owned intellectual
properties, and this remains a cornerstone of THQ’s long-
term growth strategy.
In fiscal 2008, we continued to grow sales of our
owned intellectual properties led by our MX vs. ATV™
franchise, which has now shipped more than 6.5 million
units life-to-date.
In the coming fiscal year, we plan to release sequels to
two of our most popular original franchises, Saints Row™
and Red Faction®. We also plan to invest in two to three
new original properties each year in order to establish
and grow a broad portfolio of owned franchises that can
be sequeled and extended over the long-term.
World-Class Studio System
The key ingredient for building both owned and licensed
franchises is our world-class Studio System. We now
have approximately 1,800 developers in our internal
studios located around the world.
During the year, we acquired Big Huge Games, a
leading development studio focused on the role-playing
genre, with a proven track record of creating original
franchises. The acquisition of Big Huge Games under-
scores our strategy of expanding both our internal
development capabilities and our portfolio of
owned-intellectual properties.
Building Franchises
Building Franchises
We are a leader in building licensed brands in the interac-
tive space. We have created the top three videogames
based on animated movies* with Disney•Pixar’s Finding
Nemo, Cars and The Incredibles. In fiscal 2008, we sur-
passed $1 billion in life-to-date shipments of our Nickel-
odeon game franchise, and we are releasing a number
of exciting games in fiscal 2009 through this long-term
partnership. THQ is the #1 videogame company for kids
worldwide. We look forward to building on our success
with our new rights to publish videogames based on
Marvel Entertainment’s Super Hero Squad™ and Dream-
Works Animation SKG’s fall 2010 feature animated film.
Our billion-dollar WWE franchise is growing faster than
the industry. Over the past two years, we have increased
sales of this franchise by more than 70%, driven by
our successful game innovation and global
brand management.
2
CY 05
$135
$166
$232
CY 06 CY 07
72%
Growth
LICENSED FRANCHISES: WWE
WWE Sales Growth (Millions)
Based on retail sell-through data supplied by the NPD Group, UK Chart Track and Gfk.