LJN

For the airport, see Brazoria County Airport LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. LJN was founded in 1970 by Jack Friedman (who later founded the toy companies THQ and Jakks Pacific). The name LJN came from the initials of Lewis J. Norman, the reverse of Norman J. Lewis, whose toy company Friedman had been employed by as a sales represent... more

For the airport, see Brazoria County Airport LJN was an American toy company and video game publisher. It created toy lines and video games based on movies, television shows, and celebrities. LJN was founded in 1970 by Jack Friedman (who later founded the toy companies THQ and Jakks Pacific). The name LJN came from the initials of Lewis J. Norman, the reverse of Norman J. Lewis, whose toy company Friedman had been employed by as a sales representative. Lewis initially backed the company financially, but later sold his interest to a Chinese investor. In 1985, MCA, which had been actively acquiring companies in the mid-1980s, acquired LJN for $66 or $67 million in an effort to retain more profits from the merchandising of its film properties. LJN began publishing video games for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1987. This was not MCA's first foray into the video game business, however; it had previously started MCA Video Games, which formed a joint venture with Atari, Inc. to create... less