NECA lied to me.
OK, maybe that’s not quite true. They may have been telling the truth at the time, so far as they knew.
It was on April 20 of this year, when I asked them if they could make Portal 2 toys. Their response: “to date Valve does everything on their own, no outside licensing. We’d love to work on some of their titles, great stuff!”
Well, turns out Valve does do licensing, because NECA’s got it.
NECA Enters into Agreement to Produce Valve Consumer Products Based on Valve’s Game Properties
June 7, 2011 (Hillside, NJ) – The National Entertainment Collectibles Association, Inc. (NECA) announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Valve Corporation to produce consumer products based on all of Valve’s titles. Merchandise will include action figures, toys, board games, accessories, and apparel for all Valve properties. “When Valve approached us to make their content, characters and art come alive in the physical world we were of course excited at the possibilities,” said Joel Weinshanker, President of NECA Games, “We quickly realized that our two companies have a similar view on how to ensure products exceed expectations of devoted fans and are thankful to be working with them”.
About National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA)NECA INC. operates as a media and entertainment company in the US and internationally, with divisions dedicated to Consumer Products, Filmed Entertainment, and Online Retailing / Digital Distribution. The Consumer Products division is a leading manufacturer and distributor of entertainment related products, dominating the specialty market. The Filmed Entertainment division is investing in the production and distribution of content that will benefit from NECA’s unique and proprietary distribution and marketing model. The online division leverages NECA’s properties to provide an immersive, platform-agnostic entertainment experience through subscription and transactional models.
So…Portal 2 and Half-Life 2 action figures, anyone? What’s even better is NECA’s videogame figures typically get tons of articulation, so this we have some great toys to look forward to–never mind a full-size Turret replica, replica Portal Gun…
Evan WW
YES! I would LOVE a figure of the survivors from Left 4 dead 2, especiially Nick. Now it's time for NECA to get Bethesda games so that they can make FALLOUT figures!!!
FakeEyes22
@ Poe:
Gotcha. Not enough of a fan to buy any Playmakers, but I've been curious about how their odd kid-playable look mixes with McFarlane production.
The Walking Dead look like they have TONS of joints that will be useful for making a character either precisely match their original sculpt…or look like a horrible accident victim with twisted limbs.
I don't know whose art the Rick is supposed to match. Seems odd that they went somewhat realistic rather than stylized considering a TV version is probably on the way.
Poe
@ FakeEyes22: I'm more concerned about the fact that Rick doesn't look anything like his comic counterpart.
Also, all that hidden articulation looks similar to McFarlane's "Playmakers" figures, and having bought the Tom Brady figure, I can tell you it's far more limited than you'd think. Really should review that figure.
FakeEyes22
Barbecue17 wrote:
Magnificently appropriate.
@oansun
No apology needed. In fact, for a true gaming experience all figures from the multi-player focused games should include a voicebox that screams "pwned," "teabagged," and random profane rants and insults in the style of a 13 year old kid from another part of the country.
Also, I just mentioned that NECA would bury the McFarlane Walking Dead stuff. I just checked out the recent images of those things, and up close they seem to have a ridiculous amount of extremely well hidden articulation for figures that look like the typical McF statue at first glance. I wonder how that's going to work.
clark
I think I'm most excited about the prospect of Team Fortress figures. However, I really want some well articulated Portal 2 robots.
dayraven
yip, this is all kinds of good news for NECA. very excited to see what kind of product comes our way in the next couple years.
Barbecue17
I'm making a note here:
"Huge Success!"
CompyRex
I would love a Gordon Freeman, Red Sniper, and GLaDOS. Can't wait for these.
oansun
This is some of the best news coming out of video gaming, imho. Potato GLaDOS please.
I'm very excited about this. I'm with FakeEyes22 on this, money owned. If it's video games, is it pwned? Ugh, I just made that joke. I'm so very sorry everyone.
Barbecue17
Definitely excited about this. Left 4 Dead would definitely be a great license for action figures. Gordon Freeman has also in desperate need of an action figure for years, complete with trusty crowbar!
If a GLADOS comes out that sings "Still Alive" I will glady hand NECA my wallet and say: "Please remove however much you see fit."
FakeEyes22
AWESOME!
1) That's was some pretty good intuition asking NECA about this, Poe. Or the pre-cog abilities are kicking in.
2)This is really good news because there is a LOT of cool stuff to work with and Valve has a huge cult following. Team Fortress isn't on everyone's radar, but NECA could get away with doing all of the character classes and repainting them a billion times. Gordon Freeman is a meme legend. I'd definitely get a Glados set. Left 4 Dead would give McFarlane's Walking Dead a run for its money and it's about time we saw some NECA Zombies that reflect the quality they've reached since their Resident Evil stuff.
3) I'm glad I can cancel my plans to make a custom Chell. If they include a wall with a hole in it, I'd probably buy 2 of her to display the full effect.
NECA owns my money now.
OB1
I want a turret if it talks!