THQ Ships ``MTV Sports: Pure Ride''; Prepare to Grab Some Serious Air With This Highly Anticipated Snowboarding Game.

Business Editors

CALABASAS HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2000

THQ Inc. (Nasdaq:THQI) today announced the release of "MTV Sports(TM): Pure Ride(TM)" for the Sony PlayStation(R) game console.

A true free-ride experience, "MTV Sports: Pure Ride" boasts wide open terrain in locations scattered throughout the world, thousands of trick combinations and a Create-A-Park feature that allows players to actually design their own runs. "MTV Sports: Pure Ride" is now available at major retail outlets nationwide.

Developed by Radical Entertainment, "MTV Sports: Pure Ride" will give gamers the freedom they've been longing for in a snowboarding title, without sacrificing a single thrill. Big air, exciting speed and intense competition all help to make this the snowboarding title PlayStation owners have been waiting for.

"Snowboarding is more than just a winter sport," stated Peter Dille, vice president, marketing, THQ. "It's a lifestyle. From the music to the licensed equipment to the exhilaration of executing any number of incredible tricks, we've captured the very essence of snowboarding with 'MTV Sports: Pure Ride,' and it shows. Initial reaction from the gaming press has been very positive."

"MTV Sports: Pure Ride" sets a new standard for interactive snowboarding experiences by delivering vast open terrain that, for the first time ever in a snowboarding video game, allows players to pick their own lines down the mountain. Players can launch from huge kickers and rails and perform thousands of unique trick combinations in this true free-ride experience.

The Create-A-Park feature gives players the freedom to place rocks, trees, jumps and rails over long open runs on three different mountains. Players will ride boards licensed from MLY, M3, Sims, Salomon and more, through Canada, France, Japan, South America, Sweden and the United States.

All of this is set to the sounds of hot, up-and-coming bands ranging from hardcore to hip-hop. Additionally, the game's professional riders will boast the unique tricks and styling that have made them top competitors in one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.

Snowboarding has quickly become one of the biggest individual sports in the country with more than 100 percent growth in the past three years. In 1999 alone, there were more than 6 million snowboarders nationwide, with roughly 80 percent under the age of 24.

"MTV Sports: Pure Ride" is also scheduled for release on Game Boy Color  in November of this year.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates five cable television programming services -- MTV: Music Television, MTV2: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite and TV Land -- all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. Information about MTV and MTV2: Music Television is available on MTV Online, on America Online (Keyword: MTV) and the World Wide Web (http://mtv.com).

THQ Inc. develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software worldwide for a variety of hardware platforms, including PC CD-ROM, and those manufactured by Sega, Nintendo and Sony. The THQ Web site is located at www.thq.com.