Parker Brothers

Founded: 1883

Defunct: 1998

T-series code: T-89

Merged with: Kenner Parker Toys (1985), Milton Bradley (1998)

Merged into: General Mills (1968), Tonka (1987), Hasbro (1991)

Headquarters:

50 Dunham Rd., Beverly, Massachusetts, 01915, United States^[1]^[2]

Parker Brothers are a game and toy manufacturer founded in 1883 by George S. Parker.

Though they are mostly known for board games and toys, Parker Brothers did spend a few years developing and publishing video games. They originally entered the market in 1982 but pulled out thanks to the North American video game crash.

In 1985, General Mills merged the company with Kenner to become Kenner Parker Toys. KPT was later bought by Tonka in 1987, the same year Sega gave Tonka the rights to distribute the Sega Master System in North America. Tonka, in an attempt to sell the console, got Parker Brothers to re-enter the market and produce video games for the system. 1989 saw Sega take back rights for the Master System, but Parker Brothers continued publishing games for Sega systems until the mid 1990s, when they left the video game business again. Some games, such as the Master System release of Montezuma's Revenge were developed by Parker Brothers the first time they were active in the industry.

Since 1991, Parker Brothers have been a division of Hasbro after the company purchased Tonka that year, and now focus solely on board games. In 1998, the company merged with fellow Hasbro subsidiary Milton Bradley to become Hasbro Games.