THQ Opening Video Game Testing Lab in Texas

THQ Inc. has chosen Southern Methodist University for the location of a video game lab to test how easy its games are to play. With gaming standards rising and evolving, Agoura Hills-based THQ looks to keep the basic needs of gamers at the fore-front with user-friendly titles, company executives said. “We are confident that our investment to expand THQ’s usability resources with the new will allow us to augment our track record of consistently delivering highly-rated titles with tried-and-tested playability,” said Danny Bilson, Executive Vice President, THQ Core Games. The lab is expected to be fully open by the summer. The company chose Southern Methodist for the school’s renowned graduate program in video game development and design. With the lab on campus students will meet with THQ executives for insight into the gaming industry. “In return, THQ will be able to tap into 120 of the most serious, experienced gamers in the U.S. for testing, consultation and research,” Peter Raad, executive director of The Guildhall, the university’s graduate video game program. Mark R. Madler