- Outset Media
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Outset Media Corporation 
Type Private Founded British Columbia (1996) Founder(s) David Manga Headquarters Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Warehouse in Brampton, Ontario and Buffalo, New YorkArea served Worldwide Key people David Manga (CEO) Products Games, Puzzles Employees ~25 Website outsetmedia.com Outset Media Corporation is a Canadian company which develops and distributes family entertainment products, specializing in board games, party games, card games, and jigsaw puzzles. In addition to developing its own games, Outset Media also distributes games and puzzles in Canada for United States-based companies.
Contents
History
The company was founded in 1996 by 23-year old university student David Manga, originally with the sole purpose of publishing and distributing a single board game called All Canadian Trivia. Development of the product was 16 months. The original edition of All Canadian Trivia was released in May of 1997. While the Original edition went on to become a Canadian bestseller - breaking 100,000 copies sold in Canada, the French edition was a flop and sold less than 3,000 copies.[1]
A limited print-run Millennium Edition of All Canadian Trivia was released in 1999. The game's creator embarked on a two-month guerilla marketing campaign across Canada to promote the game. David Manga was selected as one of a hundred young Canadians to watch in the new millennium by Maclean's magazine.
In 2002, Outset Media nearly closed its doors after its largest customer, Stewart House Publishing, a former gift division of book publisher McClelland & Stewart, ran into financial difficulties and went into bankruptcy. With nearly 50% of its annual revenue in bad debt and unrecoverable, Outset Media was bailed out with angel investments from family members and financing from the Royal Bank of Canada. Later that year, Outset Media added a new division, distributing other companies' games in Canada, when it began to distribute the line of "opoly" games from US-based Late for the Sky.
In 2003, Outset Media made its first appearance on the Profit magazine's annual ranking of Canada's Fastest-Growing Companies. The company would appear on the Profit 100 list for six consecutive years from 2003 to 2008.[2]
Professor Noggin's
Outset Media's most recognized brand is the Professor Noggin's series of educational card games.[3] First published in 2002, the series now includes over 30 different titles, and has garnished 14 international toy awards to date. Over 800,000 copies have been sold worldwide, and the series has been translated into French as "Professeur Caboche".[4]
Supplier of the Year
The Neighbourhood Toy Stores of Canada (NETS), a non-profit association representing independent toy retailers across Canada, has named Outset Media the "Supplier of the Year" five times in the past seven years (2004-2007 and 2011), beating out such companies as Hasbro, Irwin Toy, Lego, Mattel, and Playmobil.
International partnerships
Outset Media has developed distribution partnerships with several European and American game and puzzle companies, including MindWare, Patch Products,[5] Mayfair Games, Green Board Games, Late for the Sky, Cheatwell Games, Monkey Business Sports, Cobble Hill Puzzles, and White Mountain Puzzles.
List of products
Games developed by Outset Media
- All American Trivia
- All Canadian Trivia
- Artifact, The Hunt for Stolen Treasure
- Beam Me Up
- Camper Damper
- Charades In-A-Box
- Chicago Cribbage
- Conjecture
- Canada-Opoly
- Pond Hockey-Opoly
- Professor Noggin's
- Quebec-Opoly
- Rhyme Thyme
- Skullduggery
- Ultimate Baseball Trivia
- Ultimate Hockey Trivia
- What? Games 100 Best Party Game Runner Up
Games licensed by Outset Media
- Car Tag
- Fart
- Humm Bug
- Kids Charades
- Know Your Partner
- MindTrap
- PickTwo
- Saucy Charades
- Telepaths
- Them and Us
- Theories
- Word Thief
Games distributed in Canada by Outset Media
- 5 Second Rule
- Bed Bugs
- BrainBox
- BuzzWord
- CrossCribb
- Don't Make Me Laugh
- Farkle
- Horse-Opoly
- Malarky
- Pillars of the Earth
- Q-Bitz
- Qwirkle
- The Settlers of Catan
- What's Yours Like
- Word Shout
References
- ^ "Member Spotlight", Buy Canadian First, March 2, 2011.
- ^ ProfitGuide. "The Next 100". Profit Magazine, 2003, pp. 94, 96; 2005, p. 96; 2006, p. 106; 2008, p. 52.
- ^ Lee, Jenny. "Game distributor is supplier of the year", The Vancouver Sun, February 23, 2011.
- ^ | Jeux Professeure Caboche Image
- ^ "Outset Media named Canadian Distributor for Patch Products", Gifts and Tableware, January 23, 2008.
External links
Categories:- Companies established in 1996
- Card game publishing companies
- Board game publishing companies
- Game manufacturers
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