>>10125249Breaking Bad is a little late for that trend isn't it? Not that the trend entirely went away, Neca, Mezco, and McFarlane were the last ones standing by the late 2000's, but the big hey-day was probably 1998-2003 when all these companies were popping up, and properties were getting figures before they were proven successes.
As for why? Well these were basically meant for adding some flair to someone's media collection or entertainment room, not really meant to be played with. why bother adding joints when the whole novelty is just having a toy of the character? Most of these probably stayed in package as the market wasn't just the toy collector market, but fans of those shows. Economic downturns in the 2000's made it harder to sell these, and Funko pops have basically replaced them as novelties.