THQ Founder Passes Away At 70

John Funk

U.N. Owen Was Him?
Dec 20, 2005
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THQ Founder Passes Away At 70

Gaming veteran Jack Friedman, who founded toy companies like Jakk Pacific and major game publisher THQ, has passed away at 70 years old after being hospitalized for several weeks.

Friedman originally entered the game business when he founded THQ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LJN]. Friedman invested $1 million of his own money in the fledgling publisher to help it get off the ground.

While not as major a player in the scene as Activision or Electronic Arts, THQ is a large publisher in its own right. It's best known for publishing the Saints Row series, Relic-developed RTS titles like Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes, and official games based on the WWE and UFC franchises.

Friedman was also known as a philanthropist, and set up a program called Jakks Care (run through another Friedman-founded company, the toymaker Jakks Pacific [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakks_Pacific]) which has donated over $40 million worth of toys and school supplies to charities like The Special Olympics, Feed the Children, Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

He had retired from his role as chairman and CEO of Jakks Pacific a month ago to spend more time with his family. "Jack was a legendary toymaker and a real titan in our industry," said current Jakks CEO Stephen Berman in a statement. "He dedicated his talents to Jakks Pacific for 15 years, and he will be sorely missed. On behalf of all JAKKS employees, we send our sincere condolences to his wife Karen and his children for their loss."

Even if you had never heard of him before today, a man who made his mark on the gaming industry has left us. And for that - and all of the other good work he did - he shall be missed.

(Via Gamasutra [http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/28372/THQ_Jakks_Founder_Jack_Friedman_Passes_Away_At_70.php])

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WrongSprite

Resident Morrowind Fanboy
Aug 10, 2008
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Ah man, I respect this guy for the amazing games his company has pumped out.
 

dududf

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Aug 31, 2009
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[HEADING=1]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!![/HEADING]

Wait...I hope he wasn't part of the shit that was Supreme Commander 2? Was he? If yes then reduce that NOOOOOOOOO to a "That sucks.".

If not then allow me to continue.
[HEADING=1]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!![/HEADING]
 

Rainboq

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2009
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*bows head in silence*

Rest in peace Mr. Friedman, rest in piece.
 

Diligent

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Dec 20, 2009
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dududf said:
[HEADING=1]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!![/HEADING]

Wait...I hope he wasn't part of the shit that was Supreme Commander 2? Was he? If yes then reduce that NOOOOOOOOO to a "That sucks.".

If not then allow me to continue.
[HEADING=1]NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!![/HEADING]
Supreme Commander 2 was published by Square-enix, so you're safe.

R.I.P sir, you created a company that has a good track record of publishing quality games.
 

Stabby Joe

New member
Jul 30, 2008
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70? That's a massive shame. Condolences to his family and friends.

Good old THQ, backed 40k games that turned out to be good!
 

aegios187

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Jun 17, 2007
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The man behind the company that brought a decent adaptation of 40K into RTS form? 21 gun salute is in order. Dawn of War series brought a lot of fun to me and most other guys I know that played 40K TT.
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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Rest in peace, you did good work in youe time and you certainly will be remembered
 

Booze Zombie

New member
Dec 8, 2007
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Well, he lived a good life (from what I can tell).
"Set up two companies, made awesome games, donated yonks to charity..."

I guess all I can really say is generic R.I.P? Hmm, appears so...
 

UberMore

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Sep 7, 2008
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A damn it!
It's a shame a titan of the industry has fallen so soon...

Well, I guess Warhammer 40K will never get fixed now...

But besides that, it's a damn shame...a damn shame...