Playtoy Industries was a Canada-based toy company created in 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, by Donald Griffin. In 1997, it moved to Concord, Ontario. They were in bankruptcy in 2001.
The company distributed a range of games in Canada for the Sega Genesis. Playtoy both developed its own games, and licenced from other. Most often they licenced from Pressman Toy Corporation. Playtoy Industries would then translate the product into French in order to ship a bilingual product. Playtoy also licenced to Pressman Toy Corporation as in the case of IQ2000.
Games were manufactured both locally at their combined offices/factory and overseas. The most notable exceptions were hoolahoops and some other plastic products which were assembled by ARC Industries (a sheltered workshop for adults with a developmental disability).
They also manufactured games based on game shows from TQS, CBC Television and some other Canadian channels, and were Johnson & Johnson's infant toys distributor in Canada (and responsible for the French translation).
Playtoy's mass manufactured Co-Operative Game line was licensed from Jim Deacove (Family Pastimes), who continued to manufacture the same games in small batches. Thus the same games, with same titles, were sold in two very different forms at the same time.
Red Box Line (value line)
Developed by/for Playtoy
Licenced From Pressman Toy Corporation
Licenced from BroderBund
Co-Operative Games Line
Unknown
Dizzy Dizzy Dinosaur
Distributed on behalf of Johnson and Johnson