The integration of toys and action figures is nothing new to the video game industry. But in this generation of games, the toy/action figure market has exploded. Studios such as Todd McFarlane’s have been making figures for Halo and Guitar Hero. Toymaker Kotobukiya will make figures that will come with collector’s editions of games such as Batman: Arkham City. The Gears of War 3 Epic Edition featured a statue of the protagonist from TriForce, who will also be making the Max Payne 3 statue that will stand firmly on my shelf in May.
Minecraft, the PC game that exploded in popularity from Swedish developer Mojang, has been going strong with 4 million units sold. With anything popular there is bound to be a toy that capitalizes on its popularity. On Jan. 24, Joystiq reported that a Minecraft LEGO set passed review and will become an official product. Now the irony, to anyone who has played Minecraft, is that the game’s function is to build anything your imagination sketches and you can do it with unlimited blocks. So the only difference between Minecraft and the Minecraft LEGO set is that the latter serves as a choking hazard for young children.
Gears of War 3, rated M for Mature for: Blood, Gore and Strong Language, is also getting its set of figures. The difference between this and the TriForce figure from above is that these figures are aimed at children ages 8 and up. Joystiq stated “the toys are still being approved by Epic Games (the developer for the Gears of War franchise), with plans to hit stores in August.” Here is my only complaint, and I think you’ll agree: isn’t it a little irresponsible of the toy manufacturer and Epic Games to target young children with a game franchise in which you beat another player to death with his own arm in versus multiplayer? The article does state that it’s only the vehicles in the game that are getting their own toys for now, but that will establish an interest if the child is infatuated with the product.
On very rare occasions, publishers and developers will incorporate downloadable content with statues. Such is the case with the Mass Effect 3 figures that will have, as gamesradar reports, “codes to unlock bonus content for the multiplayer modes,” and “Bioware says the content will come slightly randomized during registration, meaning you can all buy the same toys and still come out with different multiplayer perks.” I can’t help myself in thinking that this is just a shameless marketing ploy to sell more action figures. It is a nice bonus for anyone who was already dead-set on purchasing the figures, but for those who are only interested in the bonuses, might I suggest throwing your money into the nearest river?
Send me your comments of game action figures at shfwacet@asu.edu.
