This article needs to be updated.(April 2021) |
Product type | Toy weapons |
---|---|
Owner | Hasbro |
Country | United States |
Introduced | 1969 |
Markets | Worldwide |
Previous owners | |
Tagline |
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Website | shop |
Nerf is a toy brand formed by Parker Brothers and currently owned by Hasbro. Most of the toys are a variety of foam-based weaponry, with other Nerf products including balls for sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. Their best known toys are their dart guns (referred to by Hasbro as "blasters") that shoot ammunition made from "Nerf foam" (partially reticulated polyether type polyurethane foam). [1] Their primary slogan, introduced in the 1990s, is "It's Nerf or Nothin'!". Annual revenues under the Nerf brand are approximately US$400 million. [2]
Parker Brothers originally developed Nerf, beginning with a 4-inch (100 mm) polyurethane foam ball. In 1969, Reyn Guyer, a Minnesota-based games inventor, and Minnesota Vikings kicker Fred Cox came to the company with a football game that was safe for indoor play, and after studying it carefully, Parker Brothers decided to eliminate everything but the foam ball. [3] The inventors' in-house name for the ball was the "falsie-ball," referencing the sculpted padding for bras used to create the appearance of larger breasts. [3] Parker Brothers instead chose the name "Nerf," taken from Nerf bars, the protective tubing used to avoid minor collisions during off-roading. [3]
In 1970, the Nerf ball was introduced as the "world's first official indoor ball." Marketing slogans promised that one can "Throw it indoors; you can't damage lamps or break windows. You can't hurt babies or old people." [4] Some of the first TV commercials for the balls were joint promotions with General Foods' Kool-Aid drink mix, with Micky Dolenz, Davy Jones and Michael Nesmith of the Monkees playing with the balls on a living room soundstage (Kool-Aid sponsored the 1969–70 Saturday morning reruns of the Monkees' 1966–67 TV series). The ball filled a strong consumer need and by the year's end, more than four million Nerf balls had been sold. [5] The 4-inch (100 mm) ball was followed by a large version called the "Super Nerf Ball". Shortly after, in 1972, a basketball game called "Nerfoop" and the Nerf football (developed by longtime NFL kicker Fred Cox [6] [7] ) joined the family, with the latter quickly becoming Nerf's most popular ball. [8]
The company continued to add to the Nerf line until they handed control to Kenner Products, a sister company. In 1987, Kenner was bought by the Tonka Corporation, which itself was purchased by Hasbro in 1991, [9] which then became the owner of Nerf. [10] Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the Nerf brand served under the subsidiaries OddzOn and Larami before Hasbro took full control of the brand. [11]
Nerf released the first foam dart blaster in 1992. Over the years, Nerf has continued to expand the line, adding new looks to existing products, with later lines of Nerf products ranging from sport balls and foam dart blasters to video games and accessories. [12]
In February 2013, Hasbro announced the release of its "Rebelle" line, a sub-line aimed at girls, with its first products released in fall of 2013. [13]
In November 2013, POW! Books published The Ultimate Nerf Blaster Book. Written by Nathaniel Marunas, the book highlights the history of Nerf and provides details on every N-Strike, Dart Tag, and Vortex blaster produced at the time of the book's release. [14] [15]
In 2015, the Rival line of blasters was first released. The first products released were the Rival Apollo XV-700 and the Rival Zeus MXV-1200. These blasters fire a new type of ammunition, known as "High Impact Rounds", which are small foam balls that can reach a higher velocity than foam darts. The Rival line is targeted towards an older audience, with each product listing the age of 14+ on the box.
In 2021, the Hyper line of blasters was announced. [16] Initial products included the Hyper Rush-40, Hyper Siege-50, and Hyper Mach-100. Hyper rounds are similar in design to Rival rounds, but are smaller and made of a thermoplastic elastomer material that is more rubber-like than the foam used in Rival rounds. [17]
Nerf's most popular product type are Nerf blasters, [18] which are toy plastic guns that shoot foam darts. These darts have different-style tips, including Velcro-tipped in order to stick to Nerf vests (typically shipped with Dart Tag blasters), suction cup darts designed to stick to smooth surfaces, streamlined darts to fit into magazines (referred to as clips by Nerf), and darts able to whistle in flight. Darts may also have different colors, such as colors that reflect certain sub-lines, camouflage, and glow in the dark. Most Nerf blasters also have rails, known as tactical rails, which can accommodate different attachments, as well as special adapters such as barrel and stock adapters. The "N-strike" sub-line was launched in 2004, and is styled more like a real weapon than previous Nerf products. [18] It was updated in 2012 as N-Strike Elite. [19]
Released in 2013, the Rebelle line was a series of blasters predominantly aimed at the female demographic, with similar internal mechanics to the Nerf N-Strike elite line, sporting pink, purple and teal colors. [20]
The Zombie Strike line was launched in 2013, and is geared for fans of Humans vs. Zombies games. [21] All blasters have a distinct zombie apocalypse theme, with newer blasters featuring a DIY aesthetic.[ citation needed ]
Nerf Rival blasters (branded as RIVAL) fire small foam balls referred to by Nerf as "High Impact Rounds", but usually referred to as “Rival Balls” or "Rival Rounds" by the Nerf community.[ citation needed ] Nerf Rival blasters are targeted towards an older target market than Nerf's better-known dart blasters. [22]
In 2017, Hasbro released the Nerf Nitro line, which consists of blasters that fire foam cars into obstacles and stunt ramps. [23]
Released in September 2019, Nerf Ultra (branded as ULTRA) blasters fire a new, proprietary dart design that is marketed as "THE FARTHEST FLYING DART EVER. Darts can travel up to 120 feet." [24] The new Ultra darts are constructed from a lightweight foam that is notably different from traditional darts in that they are made with closed-cell, rather than open-cell foam. This construction allows for fins to be molded into the rear of the darts. Size-wise, Ultra darts are between N-Strike Elite darts and Mega darts in diameter, but shorter than both in length. They cannot be fired from any previous Nerf line or off-brand compatible blasters, nor can any other lines' darts be fired from Ultra blasters. This design was created in response to the growing number of third-party darts, including exact knockoffs from China, available for N-Strike Elite blasters at a much lower cost than Nerf-brand darts. [25]
In 2024, Nerf Released the Nerf N-Series, which featured a new N-1 dart, similar to the Nerf Ultra darts. These new blasters were only compatible to said dart. [26] Hasbro plans to phase out the Elite dart with the N-1. [27]
Originally owned and marketed by Larami, Super Soaker is a popular line of water guns. Recently, Hasbro has released a line of Nerf-branded Super Soaker blasters. [28]
Lazer Tag, a popular laser tag toy line from the mid-1980s, is also currently part of the Nerf banner. The current generation of Lazer Tag blasters attach to iPhones or iPod Touch units for enhanced playability. [29]
In June 2013, Hasbro and Grammercy Products unveiled Nerf Dog, a line of Nerf-inspired canine retrieving toys made of rubber, nylon, and plastic. Nerf Dog was launched at Walmart stores, and debuted at pet specialty stores in Fall 2013. [30] [31]
Based in Secaucus, N.J., Gramercy Products, Inc. is the manufacturer of Nerf Dog products. [32]
The Nerf Dog Tennis Ball Blaster mimics traditional Nerf blaster designs and shoots a ball up to 50 feet in the air. The toy uses special softer balls to reduce the risk of injury. [33]
Nerf has also produced video game accessories for the PlayStation 2, Nintendo DSi, DS Lite, 3DS and the Wii. [34] Visionary Media, Inc. released the first-person shooter Nerf Arena Blast (or NAB, sometimes Arena Blast) in 1999. EA Games, in association with Hasbro, released the 2008 video game Nerf N-Strike [35] and its 2009 sequel Nerf N-Strike Elite . Both games feature the Switch Shot EX-3, which doubles as a functional dart blaster and a Wii Remote accessory. [36] In June 2019, Raw Thrills released the Nerf Arcade game. [37] GameMill Entertainment published Nerf Legends , a first-person shooter game released on 19 November 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. [38] In 2021, an online multiplayer first-person shooter titled Nerf Strike was developed by The Gang Stockholm and released by Metaverse Team under license from Hasbro on the online platform Roblox . [39] In August 2022, developers Secret Location under licence from Hasbro [40] released the Virtual reality game multiplayer shooter titled NERF Ultimate Championships for the Meta Quest 2 platform. [41] In February 2023 Secret Location announced on a now deleted developer update on the Meta Horizon Store listing that the studio was shutting down, meaning that support for NERF Ultimate Championships will soon end it will be delisted off the Meta Horizon Store.The game was shut down and subsequently delisted on August 31st 2023. [42] April 2023, they collaborated with the game Stumble Guys to add a Nerf-themed mini game to their game. [43]
In 2011, the Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS was awarded "Boy Toy of the Year" and the Nerf Super Soaker Shot Blast won "Outdoor Toy of the Year" at the 11th Annual Toy of the Year Awards, which is held at the American International Toy Fair in New York City. [44]
In 2014, the Nerf Zombie Strike Crossfire Bow won the award for "Best Action Toy" at the 2014 U.K. Toy Fair. [45]
In June 2010, Hasbro sued Buzz Bee Toys and Lanard Toys for patent violation of its Nerf and Super Soaker brands. The lawsuit stated that Buzz Bee and Lanard infringed two U.S. patents for the Nerf N-Strike Disc Shot blaster, while Buzz Bee infringed on a Super Soaker patent. [46] In November of that year, Hasbro won its patent case against Buzz Bee with the latter banned from producing certain water guns. [47]
In April 2012, Hasbro contacted the Australia-based fan blog "Urban Taggers" for leaking information on unreleased Nerf products found on the Chinese marketplace website Taobao. [48] Hasbro allegedly tricked one of the bloggers into disclosing his home address for their lawyers to mail him a cease and desist letter. The incident resulted in fans setting up a campaign on Facebook boycotting Hasbro. [49]
Hasbro, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herman Hassenfeld and is incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of Kenner, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, and Wizards of the Coast, among others. As of August 2020, over 81.5% of its shares were held by large financial institutions.
Toy guns are toys which imitate real guns, but are designed for recreational sport or casual play by children. From hand-carved wooden replicas to factory-produced pop guns and cap guns, toy guns come in all sizes, prices and materials such as wood, metal, plastic or any combination thereof. Many newer toy guns are brightly colored and oddly shaped to prevent them from being mistaken for real firearms.
Wham-O Inc. is an American toy company based in Carson, California, United States. It is known for creating and marketing many popular toys for nearly 70 years, including the Hula hoop, Frisbee, Slip 'N Slide, Super Ball, Trac-Ball, Silly String, Hacky sack, Wham-O Bird Ornithopter and Boogie Board, many of which have become genericized trademarks.
Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Johnson. The prototype combined PVC pipe, acrylic glass, and an empty plastic soda bottle.
The Koosh ball is a toy ball made of rubber filaments (strands) radiating from a steel-bound core, patented in 1987 by Scott H. Stillinger. The company later expanded their product line to include 50 other Koosh-related products, including keyrings, baseball sets, and yo-yos.
Nerf Arena Blast is a first-person shooter developed by Visionary Media, Inc. and published by Hasbro Interactive, released under their Atari Interactive label. The game, based on Nerf, was touted as a "family-friendly version of multiplayer combat games like Quake III: Arena and Unreal Tournament", and was supported by Hasbro Interactive until that company gave its rights and properties over to Infogrames. The cutscenes were animated by Mondo Media alongside them doing the in-game art.
Lonnie George Johnson is an American inventor, aerospace engineer, and entrepreneur, best known for inventing the bestselling Super Soaker water gun in 1989. He was formerly employed at the U.S. Air Force and NASA, where he worked at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Wii Zapper is a gun shell peripheral for the Wii Remote. The name is a reference to and successor of the NES Zapper light gun for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is mainly used to enhance controls for shooter games, including light gun shooters, first-person shooters, and third-person shooters.
A dart gun is an air rifle that fires a dart containing a sedative, vaccine, or antibiotic.
Lazer Tag is a brand name for the pursuit game using infrared toy guns, generically known as "laser tag". It was developed by Worlds of Wonder and launched in 1986. As one of America's top hit toys of 1986-1987, Lazer Tag was aggressively leveraged by Worlds of Wonder's retail sales network in an ultimatum to force the Nintendo Entertainment System into retail stores, allowing its smash hit nationwide launch, which prompted Nintendo of America to lead the nation's recovery from the 1983 video game crash and dominate the industry. The Lazer Tag brand is currently a subsidiary of Hasbro's Nerf toy line.
The Larami Corporation was a toy company established by David W. Ring in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1959. It produced licensed toys based on movies and television shows. Often low-quality, these were manufactured in Hong Kong and Japan for sale on grocery store toy aisle racks for under a dollar.
Nerf N-Strike is a video game developed by EA Salt Lake and published by Electronic Arts for the Wii. The game is a rail shooter and focuses on the Nerf line of toy dart blasters. It has an optional unique blaster for gameplay called the Nerf Switch Shot EX-3, that can either be used as a real Nerf blaster, or to play the video game. The game uses various blasters created in real life by Nerf.
A Nerf Blaster is a toy gun made by Hasbro that fires foam darts, arrows, discs, or foam balls. “Nerf blaster” or more commonly “Nerf gun” are often used to describe the toy. Nerf blasters are manufactured in multiple forms; the first Nerf blasters emerged in the late 1980s with the release of the Nerf Blast-a-Ball (1989) and the Sharpshooter (1992). Today, Hasbro has produced over twenty unique lines of Nerf-brand blasters, with each line centered on a particular theme or type of ammunition. Hasbro has also produced Nerf blasters based on specific franchises, including Marvel Comics, Star Wars, G.I. Joe, Fortnite, Transformers, Overwatch, Halo Infinite, Roblox and Minecraft. Nerf blasters are available in several international marketplaces, although some blasters have their names changed or are not sold in certain countries due to laws surrounding toy safety franchises.
Water Warriors is a water gun brand owned by Buzz Bee Toys that was created by the company in 2003. The toy line comprises a large variety of pressurized water guns, as well as smaller water guns for younger children.
The Constant Pressure System, or CPS, is a powerful design used for certain water guns. CPS water guns are powered by a rubber bladder inflated with water. It was patented by Bruce M. D'Andrade as "bladder water gun".
Buzz Bee Toys is an American/Hong Kong toy company created in 2002. They are an industry leader in the dart blaster and water blaster toy categories around the globe. They currently produce under several private label brands such as Adventure Force for Walmart and their own brands of Air Warriors and Water Warriors.
A gel ball blaster, also known as a water gel blaster, orbeez gun, gel gun, gel shooter, gel marker, hydro gel blaster, water bead blaster or gelsoft gun, is a toy gun similar in design to airsoft guns, but the projectiles they shoot are 7–8mm superabsorbent polymer water beads, which are often sold commercially as moisture retainers for gardening and pot/vase floriculture.
Nerf Legends is a first-person shooter video game developed by Fun Labs and published by GameMill Entertainment. It was released on 19 November 2021 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
A foam dart blaster, or simply blaster, is a toy gun that shoots foam darts. The term is often treated synonymously with Nerf Blaster, as Nerf was the first brand to start producing blasters, and has since remained the most notable producer of them. Other notable brands include Zuru's X-Shot and Prime Time Toys' Dart Zone. More competitive blaster enthusiasts sometimes choose to opt for building or 3D printing their own blaster instead for improved performance, and modding is popular within the community as well.
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