Hasbro, based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, is a global leader in the toy and games industry, and perhaps the leader in integrated
toy-based entertainment. The company was founded in 1923 as a textile remnant factory and expanded into toys in the 1940s. It's first big success was Mr. Potato Head, which arrived in 1952. In 1965, Hasbro launched the action figure with
G.I. Joe. In 1982, Hasbro launched the
A Real American Hero sub-franchise, and with it, pioneered a new multimedia strategy as comics and an animated TV series became hugely successful, thanks to the storytelling work of
Marvel Comics and its animation division. Hasbro and Marvel then duplicated their success with
My Little Pony that same year, which was a hit with girls, and in 1984 with
The Transformers, using toys re-purposed from two Japanese toylines.
Jem, Hasbro's 1986 attempt to compete with
Barbie in the doll market, failed, although the cartoon gained a cult following. The
Maxie line and its animated series
Maxies World were only slightly more successful than
Jem. Hasbro's next attempts to create action figure/cartoon franchises,
Inhumanoids and
Visionaries, also got cult followings but weren't as successful as
G.I. Joe or
Transformers.
In 1991, Hasbro purchased Tonka, which gained them not only the truck line, but
Kenner Products (one of their main competitors) and the Parker Brothers board game line, including
Monopoly and
Candy Land, as a complement to Milton Bradley, a 1984 purchase. Tonka, through Kenner, also had the toy rights to
Star Wars, a property which would prove valuable for the company. As part of Hasbro, Kenner would go on to re-ignite the
Transformers brand in 1996 with
Beast Wars. In 1998, Hasbro bought Galoob, maker of
Star Wars Micro Machines, so that they would have exclusive toy rights to the franchise. 1999 saw Hasbro buy
Wizards of the Coast, giving them
Magic: The Gathering and
Dungeons & Dragons.
As a media entity, the company reached its peak in 2007, when the
Michael Bay-directed
Transformers film was released. The success of the film (and its two sequels) enabled Hasbro to increase its mass media exposure, including film versions of
G.I. Joe and
Battleship. In 2010, Hasbro and Discovery Communications would launch
The Hub, whose launch programming included
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, which stumbled upon massive interest from
older men, and
Transformers Prime, a mere success within the core demographic of the franchise.
Franchises created and/or owned by Hasbro note Not including Wizards of the Coast products :
Works that Hasbro has created toys for:
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