Worlds of Wonder - 1987 dated Fully Issued Stock Certificate

Specimen Stock printed by American Bank Note Company. Worlds of Wonder (WoW) was an American toy manufacturer established in 1985 by Don Kingsborough, a former sales president at Atari, and Mark Robert Goldberg, a former Atari employee. The company's inception was driven by a prototype that evolved into its flagship product, Teddy Ruxpin. In 1986, WoW introduced Lazer Tag and subsequently filed for an initial public offering, which Fortune magazine described as "one of the year's most sought after stock sales." WoW formed a partnership with the emerging Nintendo of America, serving as a retail sales distributor, which played a pivotal role in the successful launch and growth of the Nintendo Entertainment System from 1986 to 1987.

In the aftermath of the significant video game crash of 1983, WoW utilized its successful toy lines to pressure the retail sector into purchasing the NES, which in turn enabled Nintendo to revitalize the struggling American video game market. However, Nintendo limited WoW's sales commissions for the NES to $1 million annually per sales representative. By 1987, WoW's fortunes began to decline due to various factors, including a misjudgment regarding the obsolescence of its products within the cyclical nature of the toy industry. In October of that year, Nintendo terminated the partnership and recruited WoW's sales personnel. Ultimately, Worlds of Wonder ceased operations in 1991. Over the years, other companies have introduced significant technological updates to the classic Teddy Ruxpin and Lazer Tag products.