THQ Expands Casual Push With Elephant, Oberon Deal

Publisher THQ has announced a further push into the casual market with the acquisition of casual and online games publisher Elephant Entertainment, as well as a new retail publishing agreement with Oberon Media (Dream Day Wedding, Cake Mania 2). THQ says it will launch more than 20 new casual and online mutliplatform games in 2008 under the Elephant brand, with company president and COO Wim Stocks -- formerly VP of Atari -- reporting to Doug Clemmer, president of ValuSoft, THQ's casual division. With Oberon, THQ says it will bring its owned and licensed content to "major gaming platforms" including the Dream Day franchise, and Women’s Murder Club: Death in Scarlet based on the works of author James Patterson. Said Clemmer, “The addition of Elephant Entertainment and our exclusive retail publishing deal with Oberon significantly expands the depth and breadth of our casual and online game offering. These deals will allow us to expand our presence in this rapidly growing segment and deliver unique value to our retail partners through Oberon’s turn-key solution to deliver online games.”