Wikipedia

Parker Brothers

For the American shotgun manufacturer, seeParker Bros.

Parker Brothers(known byParkeroutside of North America) was an American toy and game manufacturer which in 1991 became a brand ofHasbro.More than 1,800 games were published under the Parker Brothers name since 1883.[1]It remained family owned until bought in 1968, and branched intonerftoys and media. Among its products wereMonopoly,Clue(licensed from the British publisher and known asCluedooutside of North America),Sorry!,Risk,Trivial Pursuit,Ouija,Aggravation,Bop It,Scrabble(under a joint partnership withMilton Bradleyin the United States and Canada), andProbe.In the 21st century, the trade name ceased use, with former products being marketed under the "Hasbro Gaming" label, with the logo shown onMonopolygames.

Parker Brothers
FormerlyGeorge S. Parker Company
Company typeDivision
IndustryEntertainment
Founded1883;142 years ago(1883)
FounderGeorge Swinnerton Parker
DefunctDecember 14, 1998;26 years ago(1998-12-14)(company)
FatePurchased by Hasbro in 1991; merged withMilton Bradleyto be reincorporated as "Hasbro Games" in 1998. Remained as a brand until 2009
SuccessorHasbro Games
Headquarters
Salem, Massachusetts
,
US
ProductsBoard games
Electronic games
Brands
ParentHasbro

History

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George Swinnerton Parker, founder

Parker Brothers was founded byGeorge Swinnerton Parker.[2]Parker's philosophy deviated from the prevalent theme of board game design; he believed that games should be played for enjoyment and did not need to emphasize morals and values. He created his first game, calledBanking,in 1883 when he was 16.[3]Bankingis a game in which players borrow money from the bank and try to generate wealth by guessing how well they could do. The game includes 160 cards which foretell their failure or success. The game was so popular among family and friends that his brother, Charles Parker, urged him to publish it. George approached two Boston publishers with the idea, but was unsuccessful. Not discouraged, he spent $40 to publish 500 sets ofBanking.[3]He eventually sold all but twelve copies, making a profit of $100.

Parker founded his game company, initially called the George S. Parker Company, in his hometown ofSalem, Massachusettsin 1883.[4]When George's brother Charles joined the business in 1888, the company's name was changed to its more familiar form. In 1898 a third brother, Edward H. Parker, joined the company. For many years, George designed most of the games himself, and wrote all the rules. Many games were based on important events of the day:Klondikewas based on theKlondike Gold Rush,andWar in Cubawas based on the impendingSpanish–American War.[5]

The game industry was growing, and the company was becoming very profitable. In 1906, Parker Brothers published the gameRookand it became the bestselling game in the country.[5]During theGreat Depression,a time when many companies went out of business, Parker Brothers released a newboard gamecalledMonopoly.Although the company had originally rejected the game in 1934, they decided to publish it the next year.[6]It was a success, and the company had difficulty keeping up with demand. The company continued to grow throughout the next several decades, producing games includingCluedo(released asCluein North America),Risk,andSorry![5]

Parker Brothers marketed its first jigsaw puzzle in 1887. Parker also produced children's puzzles, as well as the Climax, Jig-A-Jig, Jig Wood, and Paramount lines. According toJigsaw Puzzles: An Illustrated History and Price Guide,by Anne D. Williams, Parker Bros. closed the Pastime line in the 1950s and their die-cut puzzles were phased out in the late 1970s.[7]

Even after George Parker's death, the company remained family-owned until 1968 whenGeneral Millspurchased the company.[2]After this, Parker Brothers produced the firstNerfball.[5]In the UK during the 1970s, Parker Brothers sold the rights of some games to the games division ofPalitoy(also a General Mills company),[8]and produced a variety of releases such asEscape from Colditz.[9]In 1977, the company built its headquarters inBeverly, Massachusetts.[10]

In early 1983, Parker Brothers spent US$15 million establishing a book publishing branch;[11]their first titles featured theAmerican Greetingsfranchises,Care BearsandStrawberry Shortcake.[11][12]The branch published twelve titles by February 1984; sales of these books totaled 3.5 million units.[13]Parker Brothers also operated a record label around the same time; one of its releases, based onColeco'sCabbage Patch Kidsand involvingTomandStephen ChapintitledCabbage Patch Dreams,[13]wascertified Goldby theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA) in July 1984.[11]

In 1985, General Mills merged the company with their subsidiaryKenner;this new company, Kenner Parker Toys Inc., was acquired byTonkain 1987.[14]In 1988, Parker Brothers struck a deal with Martindale/Gilden Productions to develop television game shows, such asBoggle.[15]

Tonka, including Parker Brothers, was bought in 1991 for about $516 million byHasbrowhich also owned theMilton Bradley Company.[16]Following the acquisition, Parker Brothers continued to have its corporate offices in Beverly, but production of the games were moved to Milton Bradley's headquarters inEast Longmeadow.[17]In 1998, Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley were consolidated at the new Hasbro Games campus (based in the former address of Parker Brothers' headquarters) to merge together and form Hasbro Games.[18]Milton Bradley and Parker Bros. subsequently turned into two separate brands of Hasbro before being retired in 2009 in favor of the Hasbro brand.

Video games

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Parker Brothers had a reputation for quality family-oriented and licensed games.[19]The company releasedMerlinin 1978, and sold 700,000 units before Christmas and had a sales total of $100 million in 1979.[20]

It began to produce electronic versions of popular Parker Brothers board games in the late 1970s. The company ventured into the toy market with the electronicaction figure,Rom the Spaceknight,in 1979. Although the toy proved a failure, the licensed comic book published byMarvel Comicsran for years after the toy was discontinued.

Parker Brothers spent $50,000 to reverse-engineer Atari's hardware to produce its own cartridges. The company was able to obtain the license for Star Wars games asKenner Productswas also owned by General Mills. Parker Brothers earned $74 million from cartridge sales between June and December 1982.[21]Other Parker Brothers video games included many popular arcade games such asKonami'sFrogger,Nintendo'sPopeye,andGottliebgames such asQ*bertandReactor.

Some games published

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  • Tiddledywinks
  • Authors
  • Billy Bumps
  • Touring
  • Jake Strauss
  • Pictures from the War
  • Napoleon, the Little Corporal
  • Mansion of Happiness
  • Peter Peter
  • Peter Coddles
  • Komical Konversation

References

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  1. ^"Parker Brothers".Facebook.Archivedfrom the original on October 17, 2015.RetrievedJuly 11,2013.
  2. ^abMcCabe, Kathy (December 7, 2003)."For love of the games".The Boston Globe.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2022.RetrievedAugust 20,2020.
  3. ^ab"The History of Toys".Archived fromthe originalon October 12, 2007.
  4. ^90 Years of Fun, 1883-1973: the History of Parker Brothers.1973.
  5. ^abcd"Milestones in life of Parker Brothers Game Company".The Pittsburgh Press. December 6, 1983 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^"Monopoly Board Game – Parker Brothers".Archived fromthe originalon June 15, 2007.
  7. ^"Risk Online Game Reviews".RetrievedApril 25,2016.
  8. ^Wojahn, Ellen (2003).The General Mills/Parker Brothers Merger: Playing by Different Rules.Beard Books. p. 107.ISBN978-1-58798-182-1.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2024.RetrievedAugust 27,2024.
  9. ^Mackenzie, S. P. (2006).The Colditz Myth: British and Commonwealth Prisoners of War in Nazi Germany.Oxford University Press. p. 14.ISBN978-0-19-920307-9.Archivedfrom the original on October 2, 2024.RetrievedAugust 27,2024.
  10. ^Forman, Ethan (March 2, 2011)."Brokers look to reposition former Parker Brothers building".Salem News.Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2023.RetrievedAugust 21,2020.
  11. ^abcWojahn, Ellen (1988)."Fold".Playing by Different Rules.American Management Association (amacom). p.217.ISBN0-8144-5861-0.
  12. ^Dougherty, Philip H. (February 8, 1983)."Parker Bros. adding book publishing line".The Miami News.New York Times News Service.p. 8A.RetrievedAugust 5,2010.[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^abGorov, Linda (February 9, 1984)."Parker Brothers giving (children's) music market a spin".The Boston Globe.The New York Times Company.Archived fromthe originalon April 14, 2013.RetrievedSeptember 21,2010.Parker's move comes on the heels of its 1983 entry into children's books. Its 12 books about Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake sold an unprecedented 3.5 (million units).
  14. ^Adelson, Andrea (September 5, 1987)."Kenner Takes Proposal of $51 a Share by Tonka".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedAugust 20,2020.
  15. ^"Boggle board game set for TV"(PDF).Broadcasting.May 16, 1988.Archived(PDF)from the original on September 27, 2021.RetrievedSeptember 27,2021.
  16. ^Ramirez, Anthony (February 1, 1991)."Tonka Accepts Offer From Hasbro".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on December 25, 2022.RetrievedOctober 14,2016.
  17. ^"New Document".toyhistory.com.Archived fromthe originalon April 3, 2009.RetrievedFebruary 3,2017.
  18. ^"Hasbro: Investor Relations: News Release".corporate-ir.net.RetrievedFebruary 3,2017.
  19. ^Prince, Suzan D. (September 1983)."Faded Glory: The Decline, Fall and Possible Salvation of Home Video".Video Games.Pumpkin Press. pp.18–20, 77.RetrievedFebruary 24,2016.
  20. ^Guynes & Hassler-Forest 2018,pp. 87–88.
  21. ^Guynes & Hassler-Forest 2018,pp. 88–89.

Notes

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  1. ^(withMilton Bradley;United StatesandCanadaonly).

Works cited

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Further reading

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  • Don Kader, "Collecting Black Memorabilia",Collectors' Showcase(September/October 1982), 16.
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