Joystiq

Video to board games: WoW Trivial Pursuit, Skylanders Monopoly, more

Jessica Conditt — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST

USAopoly has a lineup of new board games for the American International Toy Fair in New York City on February 10, including the following ones based on video game franchsies: Monopoly: Skylanders, Risk: Mass Effect Galaxy at War Edition, Risk: Plants vs. Zombies, Yahtzee: Pac-Man Collector's Edition, Jenga: Space Invaders Collector's Edition, Trivial Pursuit: World of Warcraft and Clue: Dungeons and Dragons.

Risk: Mass Effect tops the price points at $50, with Trivial Pursuit: WoW and Yahtzee: Pac-Man the cheapest at $25 each. Monopoly: Skylanders, Yahtzee: Pac-Man and Jenga: Space Invaders hit this summer; Trivial Pursuit: WoW, Risk: Plants vs. Zombies and Risk: Mass Effect launch in the fall, and Clue: Dungeons and Dragons comes in the spring.

When you get bored of gaming on a screen, maybe give board gaming a try (it's totally different; we promise).

Continue reading Video to board games: WoW Trivial Pursuit, Skylanders Monopoly, more

Video to board games: WoW Trivial Pursuit, Skylanders Monopoly, more originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 10 Feb 2013 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activision Blizzard sees 'best performance in history' during 2012

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:49:00 EST

Activision Blizzard and its many, many franchises brought in $4.85 billion dollars in net revenue over the course of calendar 2012, with $1.76 billion of that hitting its coffers during the three month period ending on December 31, 2012. Digital sales represented 32 percent of that total annual new revenue, raking in $1.54 billion.

As far as actual profit is concerned, Activision Blizzard reports net post-tax income of $1.14 billion for the year and $354 million for Q4; a 5.8 and 257 percent year-over-year increase, respectively.

"Activision Blizzard delivered the best performance in its history," CEO Bobby Kotick said in the financial statement. "In the short-term, we expect to continue delivering strong profitability, but below our record setting 2012 performance, due to a challenged global economy, the ongoing console transition and a difficult year-over-year comparison because of Blizzard's record-shattering Diablo 3 success in 2012."

In addition to said Diablo 3 success, Activision Blizzard also lists Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Black Ops 2 and Skylanders among the many reasons that it had such a successful year, with Skylanders as a series having crested $1 billion in lifetime sales.

Looking forward, Activision Blizzard anticipates total net revenues for calendar 2013 to ring up at $4.08 billion, with $1.16 billion of that being generated during the year's first quarter.

Activision Blizzard sees 'best performance in history' during 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Skylanders Swap Force assembles this fall, developed by Vicarious Visions

David Hinkle — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:15:00 EST

Skylanders proprietors Toys for Bob will step aside for the latest franchise installment, Skylanders Swap Force. Vicarious Visions is handling development this time, which Activision says will allow Toys for Bob the space and freedom to come up with their next thing.

The main toy gimmick of Skylanders Swap Force is simple: 16 new special figures have inter-connecting torsos and bottom halves. Once you've combined two pieces, you place the resulting amalgam on the portal to realize your creation within the game. I replaced the tentacle-laden bottom half of a squid with the electricity wheel of a robotic Skylander, making my new squid-machine hybrid much more agile. Tentacle feet aren't an ideal form of transportation on land.

Skylanders Swap Force is still early in development, so I wasn't able to see much in the way of gameplay - there was only one small area and a miniboss encounter, and it was a hands-off demo. Vicarious Visions has added jumping, though, one of the most requested features missing from the last two games.

Of course, Skylanders Swap Force is compatible with all the previously released Skylanders figures. Swap Force will also present 32 new core Skylanders figures - 16 are new and the rest are updated versions of older figures. Considering the potential of lost halves, Activision tells me its customer support team will be ready to help replace or otherwise assist with any issues the new figures incur.

The Skylanders Swap Force starter pack will come with a copy of Skylanders Swap Force, the new portal, two Swap characters and one standard Skylander. Old portals from Skylanders and Skylanders Giants will be incompatible with Swap Force.

Skylanders Swap Force will launch on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Wii and 3DS. The Wii version is being developed by Beenox, while the 3DS version is coming from n-Space.

Gallery: Skylanders Swap Force

Skylanders Swap Force assembles this fall, developed by Vicarious Visions originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 02:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Disney reaches into the Toy Box with the new Infinity platform

Mike Schramm — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:15:00 EST

The signs were all there in the rumors leading up to yesterday's big Disney Infinity reveal in Los Angeles. Disney's been working on a new gaming "platform," designed to bring all of its properties together in one IP spanning across multiple consoles and outlets. But the one note we missed was the most important: this game is connected to a series of real toys that interact with Disney's digital worlds, Skylanders-style.

There are a few important differences, but the similarities between Activision's enormously popular toys-into-games platform and Disney's new Infinity initiative are quite striking. Both are inspired by smaller developers with big ideas: Toys for Bob on the Activision side, and Avalanche Software on Disney's, which developed the "Toy Box" idea in a much smaller form as part of the Toy Story 3 game. Both are big, expandable product lines with lots of options for console (and eventually mobile) titles, and both take retail-friendly physical toys and tie them directly into engagement-friendly video game experiences.

Oh, and both franchises are probably going to make their owners lots and lots of money.

Gallery: Disney Infinity

Continue reading Disney reaches into the Toy Box with the new Infinity platform

Disney reaches into the Toy Box with the new Infinity platform originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

PSA: Skylanders Lost Islands takes to the skies on iOS

Mike Suszek — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 10:30:00 EST

Skylanders: Lost Islands, a free-to-play resource management game from Activision's mobile division, is out now for iOS devices on the App Store. As the latest in the Skylanders series, Lost Islands has players building their own villages in the land of Mabu while constrained to the standard limitations of similar free-to-play games.

Reduced amounts of resources and energy will encourage players to delve into the game's in-app purchases that will speed up their town's progress. As expected, Skylanders characters are unlockable in the game when using the codes associated with real-life figurines. Skylanders: Battlegrounds is expected to land on iOS in the coming weeks as well, that game being described as a "console-like action RPG."

PSA: Skylanders Lost Islands takes to the skies on iOS originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 10 Nov 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: 'Skylanders Battlegrounds' somehow fits Giants on iOS

Jessica Conditt — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:30:00 EST

An image of the Skylanders Battlegrounds mobile starter pack points to the Skylanders series - as we know it, with a portal - coming to iOS devices. The pack includes three Skylanders characters and a treasure chest, along with a connection portal. It's not clear whether the portal uses Bluetooth, which is built-in use across Apple's iOS lineup. Battlegrounds works on iPod, iPhone and iPad, according to the image.

With an iOS-connected portal it would be fitting for Battlegrounds to work with all current and coming Skylanders figurines. Giants toys are backward-compatible, after all.

Battlegrounds appears to be entirely separate from the Skylanders Cloud Patrol tie-in arcade shooter that launched on iOS in April. Joystiq has contacted Activision for more information regarding the image.

Report: 'Skylanders Battlegrounds' somehow fits Giants on iOS originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kindle Fire's Skylanders Cloud Patrol lets you buy toys in-game

JC Fletcher — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EST

The new Kindle Fire (and Kindle Fire HD) version of Skylanders Cloud Patrol has one feature that the iOS version can't match, thanks to the Kindle's inherent Amazon-ness: it can sell you Skylanders toys from within the app.

The Kindle Fire version of the shooting game uses the tablet's persistent Amazon login to allow you to buy physical Skylanders toys through 1-Click Purchasing while you're playing the game. The digital version of the character is unlocked immediately, providing both instant and delayed gratification of your desire to possess all Skylanders.

Now we see why Amazon priced the Fire line so cheaply - the tablet is simply a convenient distribution method for more toys.

Continue reading Kindle Fire's Skylanders Cloud Patrol lets you buy toys in-game

Kindle Fire's Skylanders Cloud Patrol lets you buy toys in-game originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activision talks Skylanders Giants and the future of the franchise

Mike Schramm — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:30:00 EST

We had a quick chat with Mike Graham, a design producer at Activision, about Toys for Bob's extremely popular Skylanders franchise, and the second release in the series, Skylanders Giants. Graham kindly let us in on the reasoning behind the new game and bigger toys, and what other possibilities might be in store for Skylanders.

We also hear a little bit about where Spyro now fits in the Skylanders universe (That purple dragon that the whole series is based on? Remember him?) Turns out he's still in there, even if his name has been taken off the title for now.

Activision talks Skylanders Giants and the future of the franchise originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Skylanders Cloud Patrol takes flight on iDevices today

David Hinkle — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST

Activision's kid friendly cash cow has arrived on the App Store. Skylanders Cloud Patrol is a new title in the explosively popular Skylanders franchise optimized for Apple's iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch, featuring over 30 different Skylanders to unlock in "arcade shooting gallery-style gameplay." By putting in the code that comes with their skylanders figure, players can unlock them in Cloud Patrol -- just like in Skylanders proper.

We've got a pair of galleries below you can check out, one for the iPad and the other for iPhone and iPod Touch users. Skylanders Cloud Patrol is currently available for download in the Apple App store for $.99.

Gallery: Skylanders Cloud Patrol (iPhone/iPod Touch)

Gallery: Skylanders Cloud Patrol (iPad)

Skylanders Cloud Patrol takes flight on iDevices today originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activision announces Skylanders Giants, featuring giant Skylanders [update: Trailer, screens and figures]

Richard Mitchell — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:25:00 EST

Last month, domains for "Skylanders Giants" appeared, followed by a lot of cryptic teases from a "SkylandersGiant" Twitter account. Today, Activision and developer Toys for Bob have revealed that Skylanders: Giants is actually a full sequel to the game released last year. Alongside the new game come brand new figures to collect and, as the name implies, they are much larger than the toys released so far.

Specifically, eight new characters will be released, all of them "more than twice the size" of normal Skylanders both out of the box and inside the game world itself. New figures will also feature integrated lights that illuminate when a character is placed on or near the Portal of Power. Finally, Skylanders Giants will be compatible with previous Skylanders figures and, what's more, figures will retain all the stats earned in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure.

Skylanders Giants will officially debut at the American International Toy Fair later this month. Presumably, we'll have more details, including a price ~~and release date~~, by then. A Skylanders event is about to take place in New York, we should have more details and media shortly.

Update: We've added a new trailer and galleries of screenshots and the new figures. Also, according to the trailer, Skylanders Giants is coming this fall.

Gallery: Skylanders: Giants

Gallery: Skylanders: Giants (Toys)

Continue reading Activision announces Skylanders Giants, featuring giant Skylanders [update: Trailer, screens and figures]

Activision announces Skylanders Giants, featuring giant Skylanders [update: Trailer, screens and figures] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Go buy more Skylanders toys now

JC Fletcher — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:00:00 EST

New Skylanders toys are available at retail today, which roughly translates to new DLC for the video game. The "Empire of Ice" Adventure Pack includes a new ice-themed area, along with a new Water-element toy (and character), Slam Bam.

Additionally, new standalone figures are available of the undead dragon Cynder, who has a "difficult past," and Double Trouble, an inept wizard. What's that? You want to know more about Cynder? According to Activision, "Cynder is a dragon of the undead element. Dark powers flow through her due to her difficult past, but she's trying to make amends with the other Skylanders."

Gallery: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Cynder, Double Trouble, and Slam Bam)

Gallery: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure (Toys: Cynder, Double Troubl, and Slam Bam)

Continue reading Go buy more Skylanders toys now

Go buy more Skylanders toys now originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activision sends cease-and-desist to Skylanders hacker

Mike Schramm — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:30:00 EST

The very first time we saw Activision's Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure figures at a pre-E3 event earlier this year, it seemed only a matter of time before some enterprising enthusiast cracked open both the toy figures and the "portal" base unit, and figured out how they wirelessly connected. Sure enough, a tinkerer named Brandon Wilson recently did just that, and posted his results on his personal website. In return, he got an official cease-and-desist letter from Activision a few days later, telling him to take the findings down immediately.

Wilson wrote a response to point out that most of Activision's accusations against him are inaccurate: He was not intending to share his findings with others (only saved them in a .zip file for his own personal use), and has no intention to circumvent the game at all, either by using the Skylanders hardware with an iOS device (since the technology is based on RFID), or by "tricking" the portal into thinking he owns a Skylanders figure when he doesn't.

Despite all of that, however, Wilson has agreed to follow the cease-and-desist order. It seems a shame -- some of the most fun hacks have come out of toys both old and new, and if Wilson wants to dissect toys he's purchased for his own enjoyment, that seems reasonable. We've contacted Activision to try and get an official position; it's likely we haven't heard the last of this just yet.

Activision sends cease-and-desist to Skylanders hacker originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 30 Dec 2011 00:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kotick: SWTOR better for Lucas than EA, Skylanders could sell out

Christopher Grant — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST

Next month, Electronic Arts will release its second title this year meant to undermine the hearty foundations of cross-industry rival Activision. Last month Battlefield 3 went "above and beyond the call" - though notably didn't go above and beyond Modern Warfare 3's sales numbers or Xbox Live rankings - and next comes The Old Republic, which hopes to provide lapsing World of Warcraft subscribers with a Star Wars-flavored MMO-ternative.

"Lucas is going to be the principal beneficiary of the success of Star Wars," Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said at the Reuters Media Summit, referring to EA publishing partner (and more importantly Star Wars license owner!) LucasArts. "We've been in business with Lucas for a long time and the economics will always accrue to the benefit of Lucas, so I don't really understand how the economics work for Electronic Arts."

Earlier this year, EA said half a million subscribers would be all it needed to make the immense investment in The Old Republic a profitable one. With more than 1.1 million players abandoning Azeroth between March and November of this year, EA won't have a hard time hitting that minimum, but longevity is the true sign of a successful MMO and something that WoW has in spades.

While analysts and investors worry about Activision's lack of diversity in its portfolio, Kotick points out that Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure has outperformed expectations and the game's superpowered figurines run the risk of selling out. "(Skylanders) are in high demand," Kotick said. "Retailers across the board are concerned that they will be out of inventory well before Christmas." But can't Santa just make more?

[Image credit: Flickr user yum9me]

Kotick: SWTOR better for Lucas than EA, Skylanders could sell out originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments