Toying with the Force

The mass merchandising of the new "Star Wars" movie, "The Phantom Menace," is now under way. And, if the experts are right, sales are going to be galactic, reports "CBS This Morning" Consumer Correspondent Herb Weisbaum.

Before the year is out, "Star Wars" fans are expected to gobble up more than $1 billion worth of toys, games, and clothing.

It all started on the night of May 2. Fans of the Force started lining up outside toy stores across the country, waiting to get their first crack at all the new "Star Wars" stuff, which went on sale at midnight. At the flagship FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan, hundreds of tourists and locals lined up to go shopping in the middle of the night."

"I have an 8 year old, a 6-year-old nephew, and a 4-year-old daughter and I'm gonna buy it for them, save the receipt, and I think it's exciting," said New Yorker Jeannie Cacciatore.

"I'm a huge 'Star Wars' fan," said Jeremiah Knight, a visitor from Los Angeles. "I can't believe this is happening to us while we're here. This is awesome."

Another Los Angeleno, Phyllis Calzan, had a big meeting scheduled for the following morning, "Ya know what? The meeting is just gonna have to wait," she said. "We're gonna have to sleep through it, because we are excited to be here, and we're gonna be here all night buying toys."

Meagan Papier of Lake Placid, N.Y., was asked if she felt foolish standing outside a toy store at midnight, waiting to buy toys.

"Extremely, extremely foolish," she replied. "But it's better than sitting at a bar."

The doors at FAO Schwarz opened just a few minutes after midnight. The first eager shoppers made their way into the store and headed up the escalator to the Star Wars boutique. Racing around from one display to another, they bought action figures, hand puppets, T-shirts, light sabers, and other collectibles.

John Eyler, the top banana at FAO Schwarz, was all smiles as he watched all the eager shoppers.

"There is my generation who loved it, our kids who grew up with it and now their kids who are gonna be introduced to it," said Eyler. "And when you get a triple generational all focused and loving the same property, it's gonna be an incredible success."

Fans had been waiting for months to get a glimpse of the vast array of goodies tied to the movie, which opens May 19.

But LucasFilm Ltd. had signed strict licensing deals that prevented manufacturers from releasing virtually any information about their products ahead of 12:01 a.m. on May 3.

Even the virtual stores were ready for middle-of-the-night surfers with an itch to buy. Internet merchants Amazon.com and eToys also opened their "Star Wars" stores after midnight.

Among the night's big sellers: The line of 12-inch dolls, which include characters such as villain Darth Maul and space creature Jar Jar Binks.