uDraw animating Down Under on Feb 24

During the height of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band craze, THQ raised eyebrows when it announced that it was also entering into the peripheral domain. After working on the project in secret for an unspecified amount of time, THQ last year unveiled the uDraw GameTablet and released it in North America just in time for the 2010 Christmas holidays. After enjoying successful sales in the US, THQ Australia has announced plans to bring the uDraw peripheral and accompanying software to Australia.

With its release set for February 24, the uDraw GameTablet will set gamers back A$119.95 ($118.38) and comes with a copy of uDraw Studio. Two other uDraw games--Pictionary and Dood's Big Adventure--are also planned for release on the 24th.

uDraw's heritage actually starts in Australia, with the concept for the gaming touchpad originating out of THQ's Australian office. From there it was sent to the software giant's research and development team, where it was further developed. Late last year THQ's executive vice president and CFO Paul Pucino hinted that if uDraw proved to be successful, the company would look at licensing out the ability to make games for the hardware. That would mean that non-THQ games for the peripheral could be released.