Activision still believes in toys-to-life, Skylanders the 11th most successful game franchise of all time
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 2 Comments
There’s been some talk as of late about the decline of the toys-to-life business. For the most part, amiibo is still doing quite well, and LEGO Dimensions entered the scene last year. But Disney Interactive recently closed entirely – marking the end of Disney Infinity – and Skylanders hasn’t been performing quite as well as it used to.
Despite this, Activision still appears to be very much on board with toys-to-life. The company announced Skylanders Imaginators today, reaffirming its commitment to the market.
Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg also told TIME that the publisher believes in the potential of toys-to-life. In his remarks, he mentioned that “Skylanders is now the 11th most successful game franchise of all time after just five years.”
When asked about the situation of Disney and concerns about the toys-to-life category, Hirshberg said:
I certainly can’t comment on Disney’s business, so that’s a good question to ask them, and they’ve obviously got good reasons for making the decision they did. What I will say is, we’ve said publicly that some of our more recent games haven’t met our expectations, and yet we’re still here making games, so we obviously still believe in the potential. We created the category, and Skylanders is now the 11th most successful game franchise of all time after just five years.
More: Activision, Eric Hirshberg, interview, sales, Skylanders, top, Toys for Bob, Vicarious Visions
Skylanders and Autism Speaks partner for Autism Awareness Month
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 10 Comments
Activision is using its Skylanders franchise to support the millions of families affected by autism. Through one-of-a-kind toys, Skylanders and Autism Speaks are teaming up to raise awareness for an important cause during April’s Autism Awareness Month.
These toys are blue and white to reflect Autism Speaks’ official colors. The “Power Blue” Skylanders SuperChargers feature Splat and Trigger Happy, along with their SuperCharged vehicles Splatter Splasher and Gold Rusher. The full set appears in-game as their special colors. The toys are actually on store shelves in the United States and Europe now, with Canada to follow on April 1.
Activision is also extending its plans to promote Autism Awareness Month through the following activities:
– Launching employee education and employee-donation matching programs
– In recognition of World Autism Awareness Day, employees will have the opportunity to participate in the Autism Speaks Walk on April 2 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena
– Making donations to non-profits that are making a difference in the autism community
Source: Activision PR
Skylanders SuperChargers launch trailer
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Activision has now released Skylanders SuperChargers, and its launch trailer is now available. View it below.
Skylanders SuperChargers online race footage
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Another Skylanders SuperChargers video has appeared on YouTube showing online racing gameplay. We have it below.
Skylanders SuperChargers first level gameplay
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Another video has come in showing Skylanders SuperChargers on Wii U. Get a look at the game’s first level below.
Skylanders SuperChargers intro
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Thanks to Nintendo World Report, we now have the full intro for Skylanders SuperChargers on Wii U. Take a look at the video below.
Skylanders SuperChargers footage
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo World Report has posted a few minutes of footage from Skylanders SuperChargers. Check out the video below.
Vicarious Visions considered Princess Peach, Kirby, Star Fox for Skylanders SuperChargers
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 8 Comments
Donkey Kong and Bowser are both included in Skylanders SuperChargers. But interestingly enough, a few other Nintendo characters were considered for the game.
One idea developer Vicarious Visions had was to make a Warrior Princess Peach with a sword. However, Nintendo didn’t approve the idea because that would have been out of character, and all Super Mario Bros. hero characters were off limits.
Kirby was also considered to be a potential character in Skylanders SuperChargers. He would have been able to suck up enemies and bounce around the screen. Since Kirby is partially owned by HAL Laboratory, he couldn’t be licensed out to Activision.
Star Fox was yet another Nintendo character that Vicarious Visions thought about including. He didn’t make it in, however – perhaps so that the Big N could keep the focus on its own title, Star Fox Zero.
Skylanders SuperChargers and its Skylanders SuperChargers Racing equivalent for 3DS and Wii will release on September 20. You’ll find development details about Bowser and Donkey Kong in the game below.
Skylanders SuperChargers dev on the Nintendo collaboration and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii, Wii U | 4 Comments
During Gamescom this week, NintendOn spoke with Vicarious Visions co-founder Guha Bala. There was plenty of talk about the Nintendo collaboration in Skylanders SuperChargers, as well as a few other topics such as the decision to continue using a portal rather than the GamePad’s NFC functionality.
As always, you can find a few excerpts from the interview below. The full discussion is located here.
Skylanders SuperChargers – Racing Mode gameplay
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
GameSpot has posted a few videos showing Skylanders SuperChargers’ newly unveiled Racing Mode. Watch them below.
