Tonka
From Sega Retro
Tonka | ||
---|---|---|
Founded: 1946 | ||
Merged with: Kenner Parker Toys (1987) | ||
Merged into: Hasbro (1991) | ||
Headquarters:
|
Tonka is an American toy company known primarily for its toy trucks and construction vehicles. In 1991 it was purchased by Hasbro, and the brand is still in use today.
Tonka are notable within the Sega community as the United States distribution rights for the Sega Master System was put in Tonka's hands in 1987[2]. This was because at the time, 83% of the North American video games market was held by Nintendo, and Sega were under the impression that Tonka would be able to do a better job at marketing the system in this region. Sega would instead invest in Europe and have a greater level of success.
Tonka mostly failed to make an impact with the console, and the system's popularity continued to decline. Thanks to a policy by Nintendo that was in effect at the time, third-party developers who backed Nintendo's console in North America were not allowed to produce games for other systems. This meant that Activision and Parker Brothers were the only third-party companies to back the Master System, and at the time Parker Brothers was owned by Tonka.
By 1990 the Sega Mega Drive was beginning to pick up steam in North America, and so Sega bought back the Master System rights and produced a redesigned and more cost-effective version of the Master System - the Sega Master System II.
Softography
Master System
- Spy vs Spy (1986)
- Aztec Adventure: The Golden Road to Paradise (1987)
- Alien Syndrome (1987)
- Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord (1987)
- SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative (1987)
- Zaxxon 3D (1987)
- After Burner (1987)
- Zillion II: The Tri Formation (1987)
- Fantasy Zone: The Maze (1987)
- Phantasy Star (1987)
- Parlour Games (1987)
- Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars (1988)
- Blade Eagle (1988)
- Captain Silver (1988)
- Double Dragon (1988)
- Golvellius (1988)
- Kenseiden (1988)
- Lord of the Sword (1988)
- Maze Hunter 3D (1988)
- R-Type (1988)
- Rambo III (1988)
- Rescue Mission (1988)
- Shanghai (1988)
- Shinobi (1988)
- Space Harrier 3D (1988)
- Wonder Boy in Monster Land (1988)
- Thunder Blade (1988)
- Ys: Ancient Ys Vanished Omen (1988)
- Altered Beast (1989)
- American Baseball (1989)
- American Pro Football (1989)
- Cloud Master (1989)
- Poseidon Wars 3D (1989)
- SpellCaster (1989)
- Vigilante (1989)
- Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (1989)
- Rastan (1989)
- ALF (1989)
- California Games (1989)
- Time Soldiers (1989)
- Alex Kidd: High-Tech World (1989)
- Wanted (1989)
- Casino Games (1989)
References
- ↑ https://www.trademarkelite.com/trademark/trademark-detail/73347541/NERF (Wayback Machine: 2023-03-05 04:23)
- ↑ Cash Box, "August 22, 1987" (US; 1987-08-22), page 35