Sega Plans to Develop Video Games With THQ

Sega Corp. and THQ Inc. agreed to jointly release 16 titles in North America during the next two years for Nintendo Co.’s Game Boy Advance hand-held video game player.

Sega, which in February discontinued its Dreamcast console after losing hundreds of millions of dollars, has been searching for ways to ramp up its titles on other consoles. It already has announced that it will publish its games on Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2, Microsoft Corp.’s upcoming Xbox, as well as six games for Game Boy Advance.

But the Japanese game maker has found itself with little time and a great deal of financial pressure to master several platforms at once. By teaming up with THQ to co-publish and co-develop the games, Sega will be able to tap into THQ’s expertise as the biggest publisher of Game Boy titles outside of Nintendo.

THQ, based in Calabasas, in turn will have access to Sega’s extensive library of well-known franchises, such as Sonic the Hedgehog.

The two companies will share the development, marketing and distribution of the games, and THQ will pay Sega an unspecified royalty. Company officials declined to give financial details of their deal.