- Note: This is an article about the Worlds of Wonder toy company. For information on the Worlds of Wonder role-playing game, see Worlds of Wonder.
Worlds of Wonder or WoW was a 1980s American toy company, founded by former Atari employees, including Don Kingsborough.
Their successful products included:
- Teddy Ruxpin, a story reading bear, in 1985
- Lazer Tag, an early version of Laser Tag in 1986.
- Action Max, a VCR and light gun game in 1987
- Julie, an interactive talking doll in 1987
- The Talking Mickey Mouse, an animated version of the iconic mouse, in 1986
- The Talking Mother Goose, an animated animal version of the famed storyteller, who tells fairy tales instead of rhymes, in 1986.
- The Locker Answering Machine, a sound (high-pitch whistle) activated tape recorder that could be mounted on the inside of your locker.
- GT Super Screamers, a slotless race car game using fly by wire technology, created in 1990. Note: For those who still own them, if the rechargeable batteries no longer work, a 9-volt can be rigged to the leads and the cars will run normally.
- Pamela, an interactive talking doll that was sold along with add-on program cartridges and activity books.
They also distributed the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States during its first few years. Worlds Of Wonder filed for bankruptcy protection and was liquidated in 1988[1], after the stock market crash on Black Monday (1987). The creditors continued to operate the company in receivership until finally closing its doors in late 1990. This period of operation only involved selling off existing inventory and no new toys were developed or manufactured. Later versions of "Teddy Ruxpin" were brought out by Playskool and Yes! Entertainment (Yes! was also formed by Don Kingsborough). The "Lazer Tag" brand name was continued by Shoot The Moon Products, a toy invention company formed by two other Worlds Of Wonder founders[2] and new Lazer Tag equipment has been produced under license by Tiger Electronics and Hasbro. The new Lazer Tag toys are not compatible with the original Worlds Of Wonder Lazer tag gear except via a hidden interface in some of the Hasbro gear[3].
