Nerf (brand)

From NerferWiki

General Information

Nerf is a brand name for a line of toys that are either made of, or launch objects made of, foam. Nerf blasters are the core of the Nerf Internet Community.

The Nerf brand name is currently owned by Hasbro.

History

The Nerf brand originates with the first foam toy product the "Nerf Ball" which was released in 1969 by Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers would release a few more foam related novelty toys in the next 15 years, but their first "weapon" was the the Blast-A-Ball which didn't hit store shelves until 1989. Later that same year Parker Brothers released the Bow 'n' Arrow, the first weapon to shoot Basic Arrows.

Ownership of the Nerf brand changed hands in 1991 and became the property of the Kenner toy company, which at the same time was also having its controlling rights purchased by Hasbro. Kenner dramatically expanded the variety of Nerf weapons and ammunition over the next 9 years to include Missiles, Megas, Micros, and a handful of other less successful types. Classic blasters like the Master Blaster, Ballzooka, ArrowStorm, Crossbow, and many others were introduced.

The Kenner division of Hasbro remained largely independent until 2000 when its separate office was closed and all Nerf product development was relocated to Hasbro Headquarters in Camden, New Jersey.

Similarly Larami Toys was also purchased by and absorbed into Hasbro along with all of their relevant patents around 1996. The SuperMAXX line of blasters that Larami had designed would be rebadged as Nerf brand blasters.