How Star Wars has lasted the test of time

Unless you’ve been living under a rock since 1977, then chances are you know just how popular the massive movie franchise Star Wars has become. Created by George Lucas originally as a kind of cowboys and Indians style carry on, but in space, no one could have expected the movies to become so big and so ingrained into modern popular culture. What makes Star Wars’ success stand apart from other movies’ success though is the huge amount of time, planning and money that gone into merchandising. Rumour has it that Lucas was happy to wave his director’s fee for a larger cut of the merchandising rights instead, and that paid off in spades, as everything from Star Wars action figures and bed sheets to bicycles and board games have subsequently flooded the market.



These toys and games are just as popular with kids today as they were when they first appeared on toy shop shelves though, over 30 years ago. Though many toy manufacturers would no doubt love to emulate Star Wars’ successful toys sales, the secret to their popularity is really quite simple. The three original films, plus the three subsequent films, all dealt with archetypal characters which were all going through trauma, with the help of their friends and family. This base-level storytelling device meant that they could dress the plot up in as many special effects as they wanted but underneath it all was still a very simple Romeo & Juliet style love story that anyone could relate to.

Like modern soap operas, Star Wars told different tales that all of its watchers could probably relate to, so when it came to producing and marketing toys and games, it was far easier to sell them as the brand already had a very wholesome and ‘safe’ feel to it internationally.



Another reason that Star Wars games and toys have become so popular and so collectible is largely down to the massive number of fans that the movies have generated. Not only can a new Star Wars game come out with the knowledge that it would be received by a large and very much ready-made target audience, but it also has the advantage of virtually free advertising in a sense. Star Wars is so ingrained into popular culture that whenever a new product comes out, the makers know that it will probably sell well as there are so many other Star Wars products and references out there to help it.



Of course, not only does the franchise have a lot of fans, but it also has many serious fans that would go to the ends of the earth to get their hands on the latest Star Wars games or toy. Like Star Trek, the makers of Star Wars know that a proportion of their fan base is made up of people who will be happy to spend a lot of money on relatively obscure pieces of merchandise, meaning that they can then balance this out by releasing mainstream Star Wars-branded High Street favourites too.