Dungeons & Dragons Codexery

Wizards of the Coast

American game publisher of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.

The company was founded by Peter Adkison in 1990 and is headquartered in Renton, Washington.[1][2]

Quick Facts

Founded
1990
Former name
Wizards of the Coast, Inc. (1990–2009)
Founder
Peter Adkison
Headquarters
Renton, Washington
Industry
Entertainment
Products
  • Collectible card games
  • role-playing games
  • video games
  • magazines
Parent
Hasbro (1999–present)
Subsidiaries
See, Studios

Facts from the source article.

Key facts and history

Peter Adkison established Wizards of the Coast in 1990 near Seattle, Washington, and the business's name came from a group of wizards in a D&D campaign he was playing.[1] Richard Garfield brought a board game concept to WotC in 1991, but Adkison turned it down because production costs would be too high, and instead challenged Garfield to create a game that was portable and could be played quickly.[3] Magic: The Gathering was first shown by WotC at the Origins Game Fair in Dallas in July 1993, and the next month at Gen Con the entire print run of 2.5 million cards was sold out.[4] The financial success from Magic: The Gathering allowed the company to expand from a handful of people working in Adkison's basement to a workforce of 250 in its own facilities within a two-year period.[4]

On April 10, 1997, Wizards of the Coast made public its acquisition of TSR, the company that published Dungeons & Dragons.[5] WotC started releasing the Pokémon Trading Card Game in January 1999, and within less than six weeks close to 400,000 copies had been sold.[6][7] In 2000, WotC put out the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, which used the d20 System and was made available under the Open Game License.[8]

What the cited sources add

The ComicBook.com article also stated the new "Wizards and Digital" division would join consumer products and entertainment divisions.[9] A 2012 Renton Reporter article noted that Greg Leeds became president of Wizards of the Coast in 2008 after working for Hasbro for six years.[7] The same article stated that Wizards' most successful games appeal to dedicated gamers, which makes attracting new users a challenge.[7] A 2021 ComicBook.com article reported that under Hasbro's reorganization, Wizards would become one of three divisions responsible for growing existing games and managing digital licensing for the entire Hasbro company.[9]

The Renton Reporter article mentioned that Wizards produced the Pokémon trading card game until 2003, when Nintendo took over production.[7]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Appelcline, "Designers & Dragons", Mongoose Publishing, 2011, p. 276–277, 294; Stiles, "After $45M sale, Wizards of the Coast has a new landlord in Renton", www.bizjournals.com, November 30, 2015; Kaalaas, "The Story Behind the Wizards of the Coast Logo & Name", YouTube, August 29, 2019; Appelcline, "Designers & Dragons", Mongoose Publishing, 2011, p. 276–277, 294; Fannon, "The Fantasy Roleplaying Gamer's Bible", Obsidian Studios, 1999, p. 151, 154; Tynes, "Death to the Minotaur: Part 1", Salon, March 23, 2001; Appelcline, "Wizards en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Company", Wizards of the Coast; McFadden, "Wizards of the Coast brings a bit of Magic to Renton", Renton Reporter, 2012-06-27 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tinsman, "The Game Inventor's Guidebook", Krause Publications, 2003, p. 11–12, 18, 63, 76; Tinsman, "The Game Inventor's Guidebook", Krause Publications, 2003, p. 11–12, 18, 63, 76; Miller, "Scrye Collectible Card Game Checklist & Price Guide", 2001, p. 520 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Tynes, "Death to the Minotaur: Part 1", Salon, March 23, 2001; Tinsman, "The Game Inventor's Guidebook", Krause Publications, 2003, p. 11–12, 18, 63, 76; Appelcline, "Wizards of the Coast: 1990 – present", A Brief History of Game, August 3, 2006; "American Mensa mind games past winners", Mind Games; "Origins Award Winners (1993)", Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Appelcline, "Wizards of the Coast: 1990 – present", A Brief History of Game, August 3, 2006; Brown, "Disaffected Fans Cheer D&D Buyout", April 10, 1997; "The Story of D&D Part Two: How Wizards of the Coast Saved Dungeons & Dragons", Nerdist, 2017-12-27; Varney, "The Year in Gaming", The Austin Chronicle, May 3, 2006; "Dungeons & Dragons: A Journey of Imaginations", At The Lake Magazine, 2014-11-25; "The Story of D&D Part Two: How Wizards of the Coast Saved Dungeons & Dragons", Nerdist, 2017-12-27; "1980s space opera RPG Star Fronti en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Appelcline, "Wizards of the Coast: 1990 – present", A Brief History of Game, August 3, 2006; "Wizards Of The Coast Catches Pokémon Trading Card Game Rights!", wizards.com, August 27, 1998; Tynes, "Death to the Minotaur: Part 2", Salon, March 23, 2001; "Pokemon Trading Card Game a Monster Success; Stores Selling Out of Product within Hours of Restocking on Shelves", Business Services Industry, February 3, 1999; Tinsman, "The Game Inventor's Guidebook", Krause Publications, 2003, p. 11–12, 18, 63, 76; "Awards", Wizards of the Coast ( en.wikipedia.org
  7. McFadden, "Wizards of the Coast brings a bit of Magic to Renton", Renton Reporter, 2012-06-27. facts only, no text reused. rentonreporter.com
  8. Wikipedia, "Wizards of the Coast" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Johnson, "30 Years of Adventure: A Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons", Wizards of the Coast, 2004; Witwer, "Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 287–324; Witwer, "Dungeons and Dragons Art and Arcana: A Visual History", Ten Speed Press, 2018, p. 287–324; "Will Dungeons & Dragons Get A 6th Edition?", Screen Rant, 2020-09-15; Appelcline, "Wizards of the Coast: 1990 – present", A Brief History of Game, August 3, 2006 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Hoffer, "Wizards of the Coast Gets a Big Promotion at Hasbro", ComicBook.com, February 25, 2021. facts only, no text reused. comicbook.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Wizards of the Coast (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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