Parker Brothers

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.

Parker Brothers was 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, and now focus solely on board games.