As long as gamers are willing to buy Street Fighter action figures or pay $250 for a Darksiders collectible resin statue, then the design team at SOTA Toys will continue to develop these tough-guy toys. Guang Yang, CEO and president of the Chatsworth-based toy development company, says creating high-end action figures and collectible toys that cater to die-hard video game fans is easy when you’re an avid gamer yourself. “Most of us are big video game players,” Yang said. “So it’s really about making products for the fans by the fans.” Capitalizing on the industry’s popularity, SOTA has moved on from its early years as a toy developer for the film industry. In the beginning, the company’s headquarters served as a special effects house for horror films and the original staff consisted of prop makers for those films. It was Yang’s idea to expand the company’s video game licenses. When he took over the company in 2005, Yang said his first order of business was to pump up a sector he felt was underdeveloped. “I saw the potential of our video game brands,” he said. “My goal was to make more game-related products.” Today, the company sells mostly to wholesale distributors — 30 in the U.S and about 15 globally. Although the company continues to do some work for film and music properties, its main source of revenue comes from its products for popular games such as Street Fighter and Darksiders. The company declined to disclose sales figures. “Our customers are the people that go to (San Diego for) Comi-Con every year,” Yang said, referring to the annual comic book convention that has developed a cult-like following of thousands of fans. Now Yang’s looking to diversify his product selection, showing consumers a “softer” side of SOTA and the collectible toy industry. The company launched a line of plush toys for the Capcom video game, Okami. The game’s story line centers on white wolves, which gave SOTA the perfect opportunity to create a product that’s consistent with its core category while allowing for a “cute and cuddly” design direction, Yang said. The success of the line is encouraging Yang to take the company further into the plush market, and to take a step back from its “blood and gore” roots. Despite some changes, however, Yang says the company will not lose its focus and roots in collectible toys, an industry he loves partly because it’s run by enthusiasts such as himself.
