Forever marked by the “Deep Sound” associated with it, THX has a new owner, as a major presence in PC and console gaming takes hold.
You’ve heard the sound before movies, and you might hear it soon before video games, as the formerly Lucasfilm-owned sound company THX has a new owner: Razer.
The company behind some of the most popular gaming accessories, not to mention some solid gaming laptops and a partnership with Lenovo for bigger computers is now the proud owner of THX, grabbing the majority of assets and yet keeping the company independent.
“Razer has a vision for innovation at every level of entertainment, a vision which THX has championed since its inception more than 30 years ago,” said Min-Liang Tan, Razer Co-Founder and CEO.
“This acquisition will allow us to reinforce Razer’s leadership in gaming and extend the brand into broader areas of entertainment, while at the same time empowering THX to develop into a global powerhouse, independently.”
With THX owned by Razer, you might be wondering whether that means THX will be locked down for use by the computing company. Well, right now the answer appears to be no, as THX’s licensing and ceritification to other companies — such as to Logitech’s speakers, projectors from Epson, and products from major audio names like JBL, KEF, and Onkyo — looks good at the moment.
A spokesperson for Razer even told Pickr that “branding for THX will not change and the customer products THX is involved with will not be affected”, and this appears to sit in line with something THX’s current CEO indicated at the announcement this week.
“Our focus has always been on ensuring that anyone can experience high quality entertainment, regardless of their medium of choice. With Razer, we can now continue to strengthen our core lines of business while delivering excellence for our customers’ ever-changing needs,” said Ty Ahmad-Taylor, CEO of THX.
“As a standalone company, THX will work with Razer but will primarily continue to service our partners in the industry in order to deliver great products to consumers.”
As for when you can expect to see Razer tapping THX for its own uses, we can only imagine it’ll be a matter of time, and with the Razer website counting down to an announcement for something new this week, you have to wonder whether THX will be involved.
