Wizards of the Coast | |
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Wizards of the Coast Logo | |
Outline | |
Name | Wizards of the Coast |
Type(s) | Subsidiary of Hasbro |
Foundation | 1990 |
Industry | Collectible card game, RPG & other assorted media. |
Key People | Peter Adkison: Founder, ex-Chairman and ex-CEO |
Products | Fighting Fantasy related: d20 System |
Homepage | Wizards of the Coast |
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Wizards of the Coast (often referred to as "WotC" or simply "Wizards") is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes.
Description[]
Originally a basement-run role-playing game publisher, they popularized the collectible card game genre with Magic: The Gathering in the mid-1990s, which was published some six months after BattleCards was released but was considerably more popular. Wizards experienced tremendous success with the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Today they publish board games, collectible card games and role-playing games. Currently they are a subsidiary of Hasbro. Their links to Fighting Fantasy are only in that they developed the D20 System which is used on licence by Myriador for the conversion of selected Fighting Fantasy gamebooks.
History[]
Wizards of the Coast was founded by Peter Adkison in 1990 just outside Seattle, Washington, and their headquarters is still in nearby Renton. Originally the company only published role-playing games such as the third edition of Talislanta and their own The Primal Order. The release of The Primal Order brought legal trouble with Palladium Books suing for references to their game and system. The suit was settled in 1993 by Wizards paying an undisclosed sum to Palladium and agreeing not to mention their products again. However, it made its indelible mark when at Gen Con in August 1993, the company debuted Richard Garfield's Collectible card game Magic: The Gathering under the shell company Garfield Games to shelter it from the legal battle with Palladium. The success of Magic generated revenue that carried the company out of the original basement headquarters and into its own offices.
- For more information, see the Wizards of the Coast article on Wikipedia.
Links with Fighting Fantasy[]
- D20 System Conversions - These were produced by Myriador, converting a number of Fighting Fantasy titles into a D20 System compatible format. The D20 System had been developed by Wizards of the Coast in 2000 a year after they had been acquired by Hasbro.
External Links[]
- Wizards of the Coast article on Wikipedia
References[]