282: Toy Story

[Tracey John]

Toy Story

The videogames industry may have had its financial ups and downs over the years, but one thing consistently sells even if the games don't - videogame toys.

Read Full Article

 

[Aptspire]

Those are pretty cool toys, but finding someone who shows you how to DIY on a 1:1 scale is just epic
http://volpinprops.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html

 

[megs1120]

Goodness, I didn't realize that these items actually sell. I can certainly see the appeal of them, however.

I imagine that the impulse that drives people to build model cars, ships and airplanes is the same one behind the purchase of video game toys. I'll never fly a fighter or sail on a battleship, but by building a model, or buying a gun from Gears of War, and holding it in your hands, a person can connect with the substance of the object in a way that video can't provide.

 

[Okysho]

I think action figures is one of the things I love about video gaming culture. Just like movie buffs and Iconic TV show characters, they're things you'd just LOVE to get your hands on and either collect or (in my case, embarrassing, yes but still) play with.

Of course there are some characters that just don't get made into action figures. Usually they're not popular enough or something similar to that.

That being said, does anyone have any custom action figure links?

 

[MasterChief892039]

Whenever I see a videogame toy in stores I pretty much have to buy it, but then I take it home, put it on my desk, and I don't really know what to do with it after that. My boyfriend judges me for wasting my money on children's playthings - some people have irrational buying impulses for shoes or vases, I hoard toys.

 

[gridsleep]

Why would anyone be surprised about this? Two little words: Pokemon, Dragonball.

There are many others to a lesser extent, yes. Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh. I hope no one is going to say "but there's a difference between card games and video games." No, it's only the medium, not the effect. Some video games begat card games. The only sticking point may be when someone considers the cards to be the game, or the collectible. Could be both at times. How about my signed copy of Psychonauts? It's a video game and a collectible. Not a toy, admittedly. We've yearned for Psychonauts toys but have had to be satisfied with our own plastic modelling clay endeavors. Although I do have two Psychonauts yo-yos and a floaty pen (which is half a toy and half a tool, the best of both worlds.)

 

[DaOysterboy]

"Between all the sequels, re-makes and unnecessary 3D, videogames have..." Wait, what?

 

[Timbydude]

I also didn't realize that these things actually sell so well. It's nice to see that there's a market for them; reading this article has kind of made me want a mini-Master Chief of my own.

 

[Valagetti]

It certainly is a good money spinning idea. But this crap taints the gaming culture n' francise etc. Next year the surpreme court will take its axe to the gaming industry. And if this keeps on happening, it won't be taken seriously... we won't be taken seriously! If people keep on buying this molded piece of shit,with a price tag thats big enough to gift wrap the thing. We deserve it, the comsumer. People only make crap that sells. Well just look at COD Black Ops!

 

[aldowyn]

I've always had issues with calling collectibles "toys". They aren't toys, I'm not going to play with them! They're there, partly to look cool, partly to establish that you're a fan of the franchise, and partly because they're just plain valuable.

I don't actually collect videogame toys, but I do collect quite a few things - mostly things that you actually use, like the videogames themselves, books, movies, etc. I just want to be able to look at all of them and say, "Hey, these are MINE. I've worked hard to get all these, and here they are, free for me to enjoy any time I want."

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

Making a "toy" for a game with a more adult rating isn't all that difficult. If you make something more collector oriented like Kubricks or Mighty Muggs you could make a figure for any game.

 

[The Random One]

I usually stay away from video game toys, because I think it's pointless to own an articulate thing if you're not going to actually play with it, and if it's not an articulate thing it's not a toy, it's a decoration, and should be sold as such. I'm okay with decorations. Right now it's limited to a Mario mushroom plushie, but it's all I need.

I can see why a Nico or Roman figure wouldn't sell (it actually calls your phone and asks you to go bowling!) but I collect car miniatures and I'd love to have a miniature of GTAIV's Stallion. It's just such a pretty car.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

*looks at desk*
yes....video game toys sell. I'm proof XD.

 

[vxicepickxv]

I'm not really a fan of stuff like this if it's not practical, or relatively small. The goomba blanket from Desert Bus 4 is kind of special, as practical, even though I plan on hanging it onto a wall, as it's not normally cold enough to use one here.

 

[Tiswas]

Square are taking others game's chars and making them into figures.

Makes sense I suppose due to their own games being shit now. (except DQ9. But I imagine they already capitalized on the slimes/monsters in Japan anyways.)

 

[Vortigar]

Nothing on the huge fighting game figures market?

Maybe because they lift along on the anime/manga figures.


Still waiting for a proper King (King of Fighters, see left) statue.

Anyone seen that last Vanessa? Something with a little style instead of "lookit them mammaries" would be much appreciated.

Otherwise I'd just pick one out of the millions of Mai's out there.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

I wonder how the overall sales of World of Warcraft official figures are?
I love the lore in the books and I have tons of manga figurines displayed through my house, but just 1 WoW character. They are quite lame compared to how awesome they could be. And why only lame ass ones, Blizzard? For example I think the Lich King would've done quite well!

 

[V8 Ninja]

I still have the questions as to why there needs to be news articles about ARTICLES THAT WERE PUT UP ON THE ESCAPIST DAYS AGO.

 

[Kayevcee]

I'm sort of surprised that the article talked about the McFarlane Halo figures so much and didn't mention the much, much more popular Halo toy franchise: Mega Bloks Halo Wars [http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_kk_3?rh=i%3Atoys-and-games%2Ck%3Ahalo+wars+mega+bloks&keywords=halo+wars+mega+bloks&ie=UTF8&qid=1291325547]

I'm really tempted by some of these sets, and only held back by my total lack of space to put any of it. But there ya go.

-Nick

 

[Susan Arendt]

I still have the questions as to why there needs to be news articles about ARTICLES THAT WERE PUT UP ON THE ESCAPIST DAYS AGO.

Because not everyone sees them the day they go up. We got a lot of feedback from people who had no idea that we actually published a weekly magazine because they never go to the front page, instead consuming our content almost entirely from the forums. So we do news posts to let as many folks as possible know that hey, we've got a new issue out and hey, here are the articles that was in it.

You might want to switch to decaf, by the way. You seem awfully wound up.