An article in the Sunday New York Times business section looked at the adult market for action figures and reported numbers from NPD that the total action figure and accessories market is $1.2 billion, with around 20% of that market made up of buyers 18 and up.  The article correctly marks the beginning of the made-for-collectors market as McFarlane Toys' first Spawn toys, and follows through to the current production of companies like Critterbox, which makes very limited numbers of figures that sell for $50 to collectors.

As one explanation for the trend, the article notes another NPD survey result -- that 40% of families with videogames in their homes reported that boys were playing with action figures less than they did a year ago.