THQ Licenses Unknown Nintendo IP for Wii Game

THQ is developing a Wii title that, in some form, implements at least one Nintendo-owned property, the companies revealed today in an SEC filing. According to the terms of the agreement, THQ has until October 13, 2009 to release the game and must pay for its manufacturing in addition to the royalty fee incurred by using a Nintendo property. All aspects of the title, including packaging and advertising, must first be approved by Nintendo. Other examples of Nintendo handing out its IPs to external developers include Hudson's Mario Party series (Wii, DS, GBA, GCN, N64), Square Enix's Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS), Namco's Star Fox Assault (GCN), and Sega's Sonic & Mario at the Olympic Games (Wii, DS). Sega has also been on a licensing kick lately, lending out beloved franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Afterburner, Crazy Taxi, and Alien Syndrome to BioWare, Planet Moon Studios, Sniper Studios, and Totally Games, respectively. While most of the above games follow in the footsteps of the original series, BioWare's effort, a DS RPG starring the fabled blue speedster, marks a new direction for the IP.