The company was founded by Jack Friedman, who had previously founded the toy and video game companies LJN and THQ. Friedman presided over the company, until retiring as CEO and chairman after March 31, 2010, a month before his death on May 3, 2010.[1]
History
Jakks Pacific's logo, 1995–2015
Jack Friedman had previously founded THQ (Toy Headquarters), with the business producing both toys and interactive software. In 1994, the business would become solely focused around interactive software, with Friedman feeling discontentment from this.[2] He decided he wanted to go back to toys, so founded Jakks Pacific in January 1995. His first master toy license was a seven-year deal with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) to mainly produce figurines and playsets, similar to how Hasbro grew to success with the G.I. Joe toy line.[3] In July 1998, the seven-year-deal that would have expired in 2002, was extended to December 2009.[4]
In 1997, Jakks Pacific purchased the defunct Remco brand from Azrak-Hamway International (AHI).[5]
Child Guidance, and Road Champions in 1997; Berk and Flying Colors in 1999; Pentech in 2000; Toymax, Go Fly A Kite, and Funnoodle in 2002; Color Workshop and Trendmasters in 2003; Play Along Toys in 2004;[6] Pet Pal Corp. in 2005; Creative Designs International in 2006; and Kids Only Toys, Tollytots, and Disguise in 2008.
In June 1998, Jakks Pacific entered into a joint-license agreement with THQ to release WWF video games, to release their first title in October 1999.[7] Under the deal, publishing would be handled by THQ, and with most of the development being handled by Yuke's.[8] In October 2004, it emerged that the (since renamed) WWE had filed a lawsuit against Jakks Pacific, alleging that both parties had given bribes to the WWF executive Jim Bell and agent Stanley Shenker to hide 'superior' pitches from other publishers, such as Activision.[9] The federal suit was dismissed in December 2007, the state court litigation was dismissed in August 2008 and an appeal was dismissed by the court of appeals in May 2009.[10][11][12] In December 2009, WWE announced settlement of the litigation, without any party admitting any wrongdoing. By this point, the WWF's Bell and Shenker had both plead guilty to fraud involving illegitimate kick-back schemes.[13] The end of 2009 saw the end of the joint-license agreement, THQ signed a new eight-year video game license with WWE, without Jakks Pacific.[14]
In early 2002, Jakks began working on their own interactive software with creating their own handheld TV games called Plug It in & Play TV Games, where the user plugs the device straight into the television.[15]As of 2002[update], the original TV Games device from Jakks Pacific sold over 350,000 units.[16] By 2004, the TV Games series had sold 1 million units.[17]As of 2007[update], Pac-Man TV Games sold over 15 million units.[18]
In February 2005, Jakks Pacific was instructed to restate the financial statements for fiscal year 2003 to account for the acquisition of Toymax, Trendmasters, and P&M Products.[20]
In February 2006, Jakks Pacific announced it had signed a partnership with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to make toys and playsets based on the Rocky franchise.[22]
In June 2006, Jakks and Pokémon signed a master toy licensing deal.[23]
In February 2008, it was announced that Jakks Pacific would sign a five-year deal with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), to commence in 2010. The existing WWE deal would expire in December 2009.[24]
In March 2008, the company announced it had signed a deal with Taylor Swift and the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) to produce a licensed series of dolls.[25]
In June 2008, Jakks Pacific announced it had signed a four-year deal with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to produce action figures and licensed toys.[26]
In 2014, the company launched Jakks Meisheng Trading, a joint venture with Meisheng Culture and Creative Corp., to bring its toys to China.[29] In 2016, the two created Studio JP, a joint venture to produce animation.[30]
In September 2015, it was announced that Jakks Pacific had signed a new licensing deal with WWE, but this time with Jakks making role-play sets and action figures, but only for Asian-Pacific region.[31] Jakks would also work alongside Vivid Imaginations and Headstart Toys to make Oooshies, collectible rubber penciltips.
In May 2024, it was announced that Jakks Pacific and its costume division Disguise entered into a partnership with Dav Pilkey to make merchandise based on the Dog Mancomic book series and film.[36]
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures.
Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally founded by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki from a storefront in Oyster Bay in 1987, the company built a global development team through a series of acquisitions during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following disappointing financial results in their 2003 fiscal year, Acclaim filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in September 2004. The properties owned by Acclaim were subsequently auctioned off to various parties.
LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a majority of its employees were fired as the company was shifted towards video game publishing. It was closed in 1994, but its label was used once more in 2000.
THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initially working in the toy business, it expanded into the video game business through several acquisitions before shifting its focus away from toys entirely. THQ continued its trend of acquiring companies throughout the 2000s.
A handheld TV game or plug and play game is an integrated home video game console and game controller, usually battery powered, which connects directly to a television. The game software is built directly into the unit, which is typically designed to look like a toy or classic game console controller with the addition of a composite video cable to connect the unit. These systems usually contain either a collection of classic games or original games based on licensed properties. Because the game software is integrated into the game unit and almost never designed to be changed by the user, these game systems are typically marketed as electronic toys or collectibles rather than game consoles.
4Kids Entertainment, Inc. was an American licensing company. The company was previously also a film and television production company that produced English-dubbed Japanese anime through its subsidiary 4Kids Productions between 1992 and 2012; it specialized in the acquisition, production and licensing of children's entertainment around the United States. The first anime that 4Kids Productions dubbed was the first eight seasons of Pokémon that originally began airing in first run syndication, and then it later moved to exclusively air on Kids' WB! in the United States. The company is most well-known for its range of television licenses, which has included the multibillion-dollar Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! Japanese anime franchises. They also ran two program blocks: Toonzai on The CW, and 4Kids TV on Fox, both aimed at children. The 4KidsTV block ended on December 27, 2008, while its Toonzai block ended on August 18, 2012, which was replaced by Saban's Vortexx, which in itself was succeeded by the One Magnificent Morning block by Litton Entertainment in 2014.
Polly Pocket is a toy line of dolls and accessories first founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and licensed by Bluebird Toys from 1989 until both entities/properties were acquired by Mattel in 1998.
WWF Raw is a professional wrestling video game released on the Xbox and Microsoft Windows by THQ in 2002. It is based on the television series of the same name. It was the first WWF game released on the Xbox and also the last WWF game released on PC until the release of WWE 2K15 12 years later in 2014. It is also the last game released under the WWF name as the World Wrestling Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in May of that year.
Play Along Toys was a Florida-based toy company, and a wholly owned division of Jakks Pacific.
Yuke's Co. Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer based in Osaka. It was established on 26 February 1993 by Yukinori Taniguchi. The company is best known for developing the WWE video game series, based on the professional wrestling promotion of the same name, until 2018.
Trendmasters was an American toy company based in St. Louis, Missouri, notable for its figures based on the Godzilla series, including the 1998 film of the same name.Trendmasters closed in 2002, and its intellectual property assets were acquired by Jakks Pacific.
Remco Industries Inc. was an American toy company. Founded in 1949, it is known for toys integrating technology and innovation from their inception.
Plug-&-Play TV Games is a series of plug-n-play game devices produced by Jakks Pacific.
WWE action figures are toys based on performers and personalities of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). They are currently manufactured by Mattel, and have formerly been manufactured by LJN, Jakks Pacific and Hasbro.
Jack Friedman was an American entrepreneur, businessman, veteran of the toy and video game industries, and a philanthropist. Regarded as an influential member in the toy and video game industries, Friedman founded the three toy companies LJN, THQ, and Jakks Pacific; LJN and THQ later switched focus to video games.
GameKeys are expansion modules made by Jakks Pacific for the purpose of adding games to GameKey-ready entries in their Plug It In & Play TV Games product line.
Monsuno, released as Jūsen Battle Monsuno in Japan, is an animated series that premiered in the United States on February 23, 2012 on Nickelodeon's sister channel, Nicktoons and began airing on TV Tokyo in Japan in October 2012, with global launches staggered by country sometime between mid-2012 and early 2013 through Nickelodeon. The series was directed by Yoshiaki Okumura. It is distributed by FremantleMedia and is produced by Dentsu Entertainment USA, Jakks Pacific, and The Topps Company. Japanese animation studio Larx Entertainment animated the series.
The Summit Media Group Inc. was an American New York City based subsidiary of 4Kids Entertainment, and formerly of Leisure Concepts. This subsidiary served print and broadcast media–planning and buying services for clients in the children's toy and game business. Summit was also a television syndication company which distributed a number of children's TV shows for syndication.
Jeremy Padawer is an American businessman, founder, animated television producer, and broadly recognized toy industry executive and entrepreneur. Padawer serves as Chief Brand Officer of Jazwares, a Berkshire Hathaway company. Prior to selling to Berkshire Hathaway (2022), Padawer's toy company Wicked Cool Toys was acquired by Jazwares and parent company Alleghany Corporation in 2019.
↑ Contributor, GamesIndustry biz (September 1, 2009). "JAKKS Pacific TV Games". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved July 26, 2024.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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