 Smaller "Microman" figures would not only cost less to produce during the energy crisis of the 1970s, the line's smaller scale would also take up less physical space in a household and thus be more attractive to space conscious consumers in the Japanese market.In Japan, the "Microman" figures themselves were marketed as actually being cyborg entities that hailed from a fictional planet known as "Micro Earth" and disguised themselves as action figures while on Earth.In 1976, Mego licensed several "Microman" toys from Takara and marketed the toyline in North America and other countries as "Micronauts".