WizKids

Infobox Company
company_name = WizKids Inc.
company_
vector_
company_type = Private
genre =
foundation = July 2000
founder = Jordan Weisman
location_city = Seattle, Washington
location_country = U.S.
location =
origins =
key_people = Lax Chandra (President)
Joe Hauck (EVP)
area_served = Worldwide
industry = Collectible miniatures games developer and publisher
products = Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, Pirates Constructible Strategy Game, Halo ActionClix
services =
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent = Topps
divisions =
subsid =
owner =
company_slogan =
homepage = [http://www.wizkidsgames.com/ www.wizkidsgames.com]
dissolved =
footnotes =

WizKids, Inc. is an American Seattle-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a veteran of the game company FASA. [citeweb | title=Company Information | publisher=WizKids Inc | url=http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=36689&frame=company | accessdate=2007-06-26] It was purchased by sports-card manufacturer Topps, Inc. in 2003. [citeweb | title=The Topps Company, Inc. Completes Acquisition of Wizkids, LLC | publisher=Topps | url=http://www.irconnect.com/topp/pages/news_releases.html?d=42432 | date=2003-07-09 | accessdate=2007-06-26] (Topps was, in turn, acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners in 2007.)

History

WizKids is best known for its collectible miniatures games (or CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorClix, all of which make use of the company's patent pending "Clix" system, in which the changing combat statistics and abilities of each figure are indicated by a turnable dial inside the base underneath the figure. Their latest CMG is Halo ActionClix (based on the console game "Halo"), released in August 2007.

Though they proved less successful, WizKids also produced the short-lived CMGs Crimson Skies, Shadowrun Duels, and Creepy Freaks, as well as a baseball-themed CMG called MLB SportsClix. A CMG called ToonClix was announced in March 2006, but cancelled before it was released.

game.

In 2005, WizKids released their first collectible card game, High Stakes Drifter. This game has since been discontinued. In May 2006, they released their second Collectable Card Game(CCG), a licensed "Battlestar Galactica" game based on the reimagined TV series.

WizKids has entered the board game market with a board game called Tsuro in 2005, followed in 2006 by Oshi and "", a board game based on the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game.

The company also owns the rights to the role-playing games Shadowrun and Classic Battletech, which they license to FanPro in 2001. Later in 2007, the franchise was licensed to InMediaRes, the games' publisher. [citeweb | title=FanPro FAQ | publisher=FanPro | url=http://www.fanprogames.com/?page_id=52 | date=2006-12-01 | accessdate=2007-06-26] . A game created by the company called Zypods (with a physical structure similar to Matryoshka dolls) had a limited release, but was never distributed nationwide.

Games and products

"Product lines marked with a star (*) are no longer actively supported or expanded by WizKids."

Board Games

* Oshi
* Tsuro
*

Collectable Card Games

* Battlestar Galactica*
* High Stakes Drifter*

Collectable Miniatures Games

* MageKnight*
* HeroClix
** Marvel HeroClix
** Indy HeroClix
** DC HeroClix
* HorrorClix
*
* Halo ActionClix
* Creepy Freaks*
* Crimson Skies*
* Shadowrun Duels*
* MLB SportsClix*
* ToonClix (Unreleased)

Constructible Strategy Games

* Pirates Constructible Strategy Game
* Rocketman*
* NASCAR Race Day
* Lord of the Rings CSG [ [http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=39137&frame=Ourgames WizKids Games ] ] (Unreleased)

Pocketmodel Games

* Star Wars PocketModel Trading Card Game
* Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels

Other Games

* Zypods*

References

External links

* [http://www.wizkidsgames.com/ WizKids web site]