Icons (2022 TV series)/Episode 2 transcript

Prologue
Narrator: "They saw a trend."

Jason Rubin: "There were licensed games being made based on film and television shows."

Narrator: "They seized an opportunity."

Tom Kenny: "Their Nickelodeon licenses proved to be very profitable, not just for Nick, but for THQ as well."

Brian Farrell: "Our licenses from Nick proved to be the biggest goldmine."

Narrator: "And played it safe."

Pete Docter: "The games based on our films were a lot of fun. In fact, at Pixar, we have an arcade with new and classic arcade games, and we briefly display the console games based on our films. And THQ was responsible for making them starting from Monsters, Inc."

Narrator: "They got their licks..."

Tom Kenny: "The courts decided to have them liquidate... They, uh, they killed THQ in 2013."

Narrator: "But kept coming back for more. This is the story about the life, death, and resurrection of THQ."

Part I
Narrator: "It begins in California, At a time when both the toy and video game industries are booming, largely because of licenses from the hottest blockbuster films and televisions shows.

Jason Rubin - President, THQ (2012-2013): "There were licensed games being made based on film and television shows. Whenever the latest blockbuster film came out especially, game studios were looking to adapt them for the latest game consoles, like Jurassic Park and Star Wars. It was an exciting time to get involved in this business."

Narrator: "Toy industry veteran Jack Friedman forms a new company called THQ."

Brian Farrell - CEO, THQ (2009-2013): "The company was actually founded back in 1990."

Jason Rubin: "THQ originally stood for Toy Headquarters. The name reflected the industry the company started in, and Mr. Friedman had founded a company called LJN 20 years earlier, so he had experience in the business."

Narrator: "The Calabasas-based company wastes no time getting into the video game business, and releases Peter Pan & The Pirates: The Revenge of Captain Hook for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1991. Bo Jackson: Two Games in One is released that same year for the Game Boy that same year. And the company makes waves that Christmas with a Multiplatform video game adaptation of the Holiday film Home Alone.

Jason Rubin: "Home Alone was based on the movie with Macaulay Culkin. It was very popular. There are multiple versions of the game and each features a different style of gameplay, but all share the same plot as the original film. THQ was pretty satisfied with how faithful these games were to the film."

Narrator: "THQ's licensed games prove to be massive moneymakers. And they continue this trend in 1993 with games based on well known properties including Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and the Nickelodeon series, Ren & Stimpy."

Part II
Narrator: "By the year 2000, THQ is an established game developer with a slew of hit licensed and original games for home consoles, including games based on shows airing on the kids' cable channel Nickelodeon. But their next licensing deal is with an animation studio making critically-acclaimed animated films with quality on par with their film distribution partners at Disney... Pixar Animation Studios."

Brian Farrell - CEO, THQ (2009-2013): "The company had a tremendous opportunity to do a deal with Pixar to make games based on their films. The studio saw how successful we were with games based on pre-existing movies and TV shows, and especially saw that our licenses from Nick proved to be the biggest goldmine."