Halo is a trilogy of video games for Microsoft's Xbox 360 created by Bungie Studios and has quickly become one of the fastest selling games ever. The original Halo game was launched on November 15, 2001.
The Halo Action Figures have been available since the release of Halo 2 was released in 2004 but it is only since March, 2008 that they really took off and fans have been clamouring out for them ever since.
Many retailers have reported phenomenal sales. Wal-Mart, Toys 'R' Us, KB Toys and GameStop all report that the figures are disappearing off the shelves almost as soon as they reach the stores in scenes reminiscent of the 70's and Star Wars, and they're demanding more, More, MORE!
So why are they so popular?
There are two major factors that have come into play recently that have influenced the market and thus the demand for these figures
First, on September 25th 2007 Halo 3, the third and last installment of the game was officially released and within the first 24 HOURS it had grossed an estimated $170 million in sales in the US alone, making it the biggest ever entertainment event in history, surpassing such events as the release of the new Harry Potter book and the release of the Spiderman 3 movie.
The second factor, and probably more important, was that Microsoft awarded McFarlane Toys the license to produce the Halo 3 Action Figures.
McFarlane are one of the biggest and most respected of all the action figure manufacturers and as well as being well established they are also well respected by fans and collectors alike.
McFarlane Toys hav a very well established collector's base and reputation within collectors market giving them the double whammy of being able to market the Halo Action figures to the mass market and collectors market.
McFarlane also has well established relationships with the likes of Toys-R-Us, Wal-Mart, Gamestop, EB enabling them to get the "toys" into the hands of the fans across the nation and internationally. This also meant that many fans, gamers and collectors, despite the fact that the game and figures had been out for some time, were able to get their hands on the Halo action figures for the first time.
McFarlane's experience, understanding and knowledge of the collectors market has also given them a huge advantage over other companies and has allowed them to create a hunger and need for these figures by limiting their production, keeping a constant supply of new figures available and ensuring there are exclusive, variant, and chase figures available to cater to the collectors market.
There have been three "main" series of Halo Action Figures released, each with a base set of approx six figures. These "base" sets are the figures that are mass produced and readily available through mass retailers such as Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, EB, Gamestop etc.
But each series has also has a number of exclusive and variant figures available, e.g. in series 2 there are as many as 18 (Yes, EIGHTEEN) different variant and exclusive Spartan figures available! These chase or variant action figures are very limited in numbers and are either exclusive to certain shops or retailers or special event figures.
As a result many of the series 1 Halo Figures Action Figures are already becoming particularly sought after and rare, especially the grunts which are already selling for up to double their original price on the secondary market
And there's more to come...
In 2009 McFarlane Toys will be releasing a number of new Halo 3 products including a range of 12-inch Halo Action Figures, statues, interchangeable armor and helmets, 3 inch tradable figures and a range of Halo Wars figures based on the highly anticipated new Halo strategy game.
Article written by Colin Dorman, who has been a trader and collector of action figures and movie related memorabilia for more than 15 years. P.S.
If you're a Halo Fan, collector or player you can download a free PDF Checklist of all the Halo Action Figures or checkout the release schedule for all upcoming Halo 3 products and watch video reviews on the latest figures.
Don't wait for it, McFarlanes Xpress It!
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