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In 1999, the release of "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace" gave toymaker Hasbro a chance to expand their popular line of Star Wars toys with new products based on the film. Like the film, details about the toys were kept under wraps in the months before their release.

Because of high demand for the new toys, Hasbro informed all retailers that Episode I toys had a "street date" of May 3, so no items could be sold or put on shelves before then. For the first time, a number of stores held "midnight openings" during which retailers like Toys R Us and Wal-Mart opened at 12:01 a.m. for kids and collectors eager to get their hands on the toys.

The Episode I line featured a different packaging design from the "Power of the Force" line of Star Wars toys that preceded it. The face of Darth Maul, the film's villain, was featured on every toy package, along with a red and black color scheme. The phrase "Episode I" was also displayed on packages, but the title "The Phantom Menace" was not. Production on the toys and their packaging were well underway before the title was announced, so Hasbro did not use it.

Each figure came with a COMMTECH chip, which was actually a stand the figure could stand on. Using a COMMTECH Reader (sold separately), which looked like one of the communicators used in the movie, the figure would "talk" when the reader was passed over the chip (the voice actually came from the reader). It was the same technology used on several figures in the "Power of the Force" line, issued a few months prior.

Realizing that collectors often bought multiples of the "soldier" types of characters, Hasbro issued the Battle Droid figure with different paint jobs. Collectors bought up the different types in abundance. Figures were released in "waves," with new figures and toys being offered in a new "wave" every few months.

While the toy line was met with much excitement and approval by collectors, Hasbro produced large amounts of the toys, and most are still easily obtainable. This has driven down the value of these items, and many can now be found online and at collectibles shows for far less than their original price. However, some figures that were released near the end of the toy run in 2000 are not as easy to find, and are now worth a bit more. Many stores still had an abundance of product from the initial "wave" of toys released in May of 1999 and did not want to fill their warehouses with some of the later offerings. Among the harder to find figures are Sio

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