At a recent "analyst day" put on to cover its past and future business plans, publisher THQ outlined many key details regarding its plans for the coming year. In particular, THQ confirmed its support for Nintendo's upcoming DS handheld, while laying out a clearer picture of its plans for next-generation development for both handhelds and game console.

As first discussed in its January conference call reviewing the third quarter, THQ is refocusing its software development effort on its wholly owned development subsidiaries, while planning to rely less on third-party developers in the future. The company's key developers, and their areas of future effort, break down like so:

Volition, Inc. (The Punisher, unannounced titles) Rainbow Studios (MX Unleashed, unannounced titles) Heavy Iron Studios (Pixar- and Nickelodeon-licensed titles) Cranky Pants Games (Past work includes Summoner and Red Faction ports) Pacific Coast Power & Light (Upcoming PSP titles) Helixe (Upcoming Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance titles)

A significant portion of THQ's internal development effort is moving towards next-generation handhelds, both Sony's PSP and the Nintendo DS. In addition, Volition and Rainbow are looking ahead to development for the next generation of game consoles.

At the same time, vice president Jack Sorensen reiterated that THQ is still interested in working with "great independent developers around the globe" -- projects like Full Spectrum Warrior, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and the upcoming adaptation of the Polar Express film are coming from third-party developers in North America, Europe, and east Asia.

Another upcoming third-party-developed project may be a sequel to Tak and the Power of Juju. A review of THQ's plans for the lucrative Nickelodeon license -- which also include another Spongebob Squarepants game for all three consoles this October -- notes that "the successful Tak launch in 2003 sets the stage for Tak 2."

Regarding its lucrative World Wrestling Entertainment license, THQ confirmed that it will continue to produce unique WWE titles for each platform. In the coming year, we can expect specific WWE games for PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, although details on those titles -- and particularly the developers behind them -- have yet to be revealed.

The masochistic, or perhaps just the detail-oriented, can check out a webcast of the event and presentation rundowns at the THQ site. In the meantime, we'll look forward to more news on THQ's upcoming titles going into E3.

Copyright © 2004 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in 1UP.