THQ and Juice Games Fine Tune Juiced for May 2005 Release

THQ and Juice Games Fine Tune Juiced for May 2005 Release State-of-the-Art Street Racer to Feature New Additions and Upgrades CALABASAS HILLS, Calif., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- THQ Inc. (NASDAQ:THQI) today announced that substantial upgrades to the highly anticipated street racer, Juiced, will be completed for the games' release in May 2005 for the PlayStation(R) 2 computer entertainment system, the Xbox(R) videogame system from Microsoft and PC. Since acquiring the rights to Juiced in late 2004, THQ has worked closely with developer Juice Games to fine-tune game play elements such as handling and sense of speed, while dramatically enhancing the all-around racing experience with the introduction of arcade mode, a fully redesigned game interface and reworked audio. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041118/LATH093LOGO) "We are excited to be entering into a long-term relationship with Juice Games and look forward to providing racing fans with the attention to detail and high performance they deserve," said Peter Dille, Senior Vice President, worldwide marketing, THQ. "Taking the time to revamp Juiced's career mode and add an in-depth arcade mode will help establish the franchise as one of the leading street racers on the market." Juiced will fully immerse players in the lifestyle and culture of the street scene. Drivers will start with the dream of building a crew of 'driving gods' and work towards domination of the established street-racing scene of Angel City. Showing off racing skills in show-off mode will help players gain 'respect' from rival crew chiefs, allowing them to attend other crew's events and eventually bet against them for cash as well as challenge drivers 'for pinks.' As a racer's notoriety grows, new drivers will ask to join the team, opening up never-before-seen 'crew races' where the players ability to manage a crew of drivers is key to beating rival crews. Juiced will feature more than 50 real cars with more than 100 real mods for a total of 7.5 trillion car customization possibilities. The game will also offer a full on-line feature set complete with six player races and world leader boards. In support of the launch of the title, THQ plans to roll out a significant global marketing and PR campaign, which is expected to be augmented by a playable demo on all three platforms, prior to the launch of the game. Even before Juiced's recent upgrades press were excited about the title: "Juiced has just as many options, goodies, and features as the highest-profile driving games do and, in several other ways, out performs them." -- PSM "When you get behind the wheel in Juiced, you get a contest packed with extensive challenge and game-play durability." -- Game Pro "Cram all the game-play elements together and we're looking at a game aiming to be the Grand Turismo of the tuning scene." -- IGN.com About Juice Games Juice Games is a development studio based in Warrington, comprising a talented group of individuals headed up by industry veteran Colin Bell. The Juice team has an unprecedented track record in creating highly entertaining and challenging games, and is renowned within the UK development community. With a history that spans games like TFX, EF2000, eRacer, Total Air War, Typhoon and the critically acclaimed but unreleased Lamborghini, Juice Games has an enviable back catalogue. Utilizing their own leading-edge technology, Juice Games has developed the high profile and well received Juiced street racing simulation over the last 18 months for Xbox(R), PlayStation(R)2 and PC. The company is also enjoying success with a number of titles for ID TV and mobile platforms. Juice Games consists of over 30 development staff with industry experience that rivals the world's most established and successful development studios. About THQ THQ Inc. is a leading, worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for a variety of hardware platforms including PC CD-ROM, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., Nintendo and Microsoft. The THQ web site is located at www.thq.com. THQ and the THQ logo are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc. This press release may contain "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 release and features of Juiced, and are based upon management's 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 economic, competitive and technological factors affecting the operations, markets, products, and pricing of THQ. 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 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 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal period ended March 31, 2004, and particularly the discussion of risk factors that may affect results of operations set forth therein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Rob Cassel THQ/Media Relations 818/871-8514 rcassel@thq.com Julie MacMedan THQ/Investor Relations 818/871-5095 jmacmedan@thq.com Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041118/LATH093LOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: THQ Inc. CONTACT: Media, Rob Cassel, +1-818-871-8514, rcassel@thq.com, or investors, Julie MacMedan, +1-818-871-5095, jmacmedan@thq.com, both of THQ Inc. Web site: http://www.thq.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment