In spite of the fact that 2003 was a 'down' year for the American toy market in general, Jakks Pacific continued to expand its line of 'boys' toys' with new licenses and new properties to revitalize mature licenses.

SOTA (State of the Art Toys) is a new company that has snagged some impressive licenses, including Street Fighter and the Chronicles of Riddick .

Microsoft has optioned Klaus Tueber's Settlers of Catan board game, which is published in English by Mayfair Games, for the creation of the Catan Online Game .

Green Ronin Publishing and Human Head Studios have announced a new publishing deal. Starting immediately, Green Ronin will publish all of Human Head Studio's products for the tabletop game market.

Variety is reporting that Miramax is putting the Green Hornet back on the fast track.

Mezco is one of the few toy companies able to produce viable original properties, and it has also acquired some strong licenses.

NECA's 2004 toy line combines resin sculptures with action figures based on cult movies and retro animated properties.

WizKids has announced that beginning with its Mage Knight: Dark Riders release in April, it will begin retiring previous expansions from tournament play.

New York City. The 101st Annual American International Toy Fair opened here on Sunday in the wake of a tough holiday season for the industry.

The Return of the King is poised to vault over the $1 billion mark in worldwide box office earnings, making it the second highest grossing film in world box office history.

According to the Detroit News, Michigan's Attorney General Mike Cox and the state's 83 county prosecutors will not enforce a controversial state statute which makes it a felony for a retailer to allow minors access to material deemed 'harmful to minors,' until a federal judge rules on a challenge to the law brought by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and other free speech organizations.

Toynami has announced action figure releases for Inu Yasha and Chobits .