Jakks Pacific, Inc. is an American company that designs and markets toys and consumer products, with a range of products that feature numerous children's toy licenses. The company is named after its founder, Jack Friedman, who had previously founded LJN and THQ and presided over the company until retiring as CEO and chairman after March 31, 2010, a month before his death on 3 May, 2010. Jakks produces action figures, electronics, dolls, dress-up, role play, Halloween costumes, kids' furniture, vehicles, plush, art activity kits, seasonal products, infant/preschool, construction toys, and pet toys sold under various proprietary brands including Jakks Pacific, Creative Designs International, Road Champions, Funnoodle, Go Fly a Kite, Jakks Pets, EyeClops, Plug It In & Play TV Games, Girl Gourmet, Kids Only!, Tollytots and Disguise. Jakks is a licensee of several hundred trademarks including Disney, Star Wars and Nintendo.
History
Jakks Pacific, Inc. was founded in 1995. Jakks acquired several companies including Remco, 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, Pet Pal Corp. in 2005, Creative Designs International in 2006, and Kids Only Toys, Tollytots, and Disguise in 2008. 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. In 2010, the company formed Pacific Animation Partners LLC, a joint venture between it and Dentsu Entertainment USA, Fremantle and Topps, to launch the Monsuno property in 2012. In 2012, Jakks Pacific announced the successful negotiation of licences for The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, promoting new toy ranges at the New York and other International Toy Fairs. In 2014, the company launched Jakks Meisheng Trading, a joint venture with Meisheng Culture and Creative Corp., to bring its toys to China. In 2016, the two created Studio JP, a joint venture to produce animation.
Products
The company makes a variety of toys including Plug It In and Play TV games, various electronics, and action figures. The company also licenses global brand names for manufactured toys.
Plug It In & Play TV Games
Plug It In & Play TV Games interactive products are a series of plug-n-play game devices produced by Jakks Pacific. When connected to a television set, the user is able to play a pre-defined selection of video games. Some models are collections of ports of games by companies such as Atari and Namco, while others are collections of original games. Some versions facilitate the addition of games, via proprietary GameKeyexpansion cards, and/or include wireless features.
