Nickelodeon-THQ Joint Venture Expected

Cable powerhouse Nickelodeon and Calabasas Hills-based video game publisher THQ are expected to announce today a joint venture to co-develop projects that can be first played on the PC, then broadcast on the TV. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Under the agreement, which executives say is designed to blur the line between games and movies, the two companies will create or obtain original entertainment properties that THQ will develop and publish as games. Nickelodeon will have the option of developing the property into either a television show or a feature film, said Jeff Lapin, vice chairman and chief operating officer of THQ. The deal comes amid recent Hollywood interest in exploring the game industry and bringing games into other mediums. Already this year, three popular video games--”Final Fantasy,” “Tomb Raider” and “Quake”--have been turned into motion pictures and are set to be released in the next few months.