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[Nirolak]

If nothing else, Activision is amazing at making money.

The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders franchise has sold through more than 250 million action figures since pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011 with the debut of Skylanders® Spyro's Adventure.

Source: http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=916220

That's the kind of attention to detail that has kept Skylanders at the top of the toys-to-life market of video games: The genre has racked up more than $4 billion in sales of games and figures since the debut of Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, and the Skylanders series is responsible for over $3 billion of that. Even in the face of competition from Disney Infinity, amiibo and new entrants to the market this year, Skylanders continues to sell. That's without any ties to established brands or properties other than its own back catalog — no Star Wars, no Avengers, no Simpsons, no Lord of the Rings.

Source: http://www.polygon.com/2015/6/3/871...rgers-release-date-vehicles-vicarious-visions

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

What crazy stuff and they have yet to release Crash Bandicoot ones

 

[Busaiku]

Amiibo is a drop in the bucket compared to this.

 

[gatisimo]

I absolutely love the series and have collected way too many of these figures. My kids aren't as excited to play with the new guys as I am.

 

[Skux]

That is nuts. Move over Amiibo and Pokemon.

 

[ConceptX]

That is nuts. Move over Amiibo and Pokemon.

This is pocket change in comparison to Pokémon.

Activision know how to print cash though, they really do.

I can't see Amiibo doing anywhere near as much over lifetime without changes, due to to how it's being handled compared to Skylanders/Infinity, though it'll be a money printer nonetheless.

 

[brightsons]

Damn!!! How is Disney Infinity doing?

 

[Shuggananas]

Amiibo is a drop in the bucket compared to this.

Amiibos started when ? December ? Not even counting the shortage of amiibos too.

 

[Busaiku]

That is nuts. Move over Amiibo and Pokemon.

Uhh, Pokemon was $2 billion last year alone, 1/2 of the entire genre's (Toys to Life) gross since its debut.

 

[Ridley327]

Amiibos started when ? December ? Not even counting the shortage of amiibos too.

Amiibos are always going to be a smaller player because they're exclusive to one ecosystem. Every other TTL game has multiple userbases to draw from.

 

[Zaventem]

Amiibos started when ? December ? Not even counting the shortage of amiibos too.

Yeah those planned shortages.

 

[Amneisac]

Amiibo is a drop in the bucket compared to this.

That's because the toys actually add to the gameplay experience. People buy Skylanders because they want to play as the characters, they buy Amiibos because they're pretty on the shelf.

If Nintendo would make something like Skylanders for Amiibos, where you could play an ARPG-lite in Nintendo-themed worlds with mix-and-match Nintendo characters, I would start buying the shit out of Amiibos.

 

[ArtHands]

Probably the best franchise transformation/revival (Spyro) in this industry.

 

[The Artisan]

so, spyro ain't ever coming back to playstation.

=(

 

[nubbe]

Nintendo need to make a F2P Amiibo InfintyLanders game or something to drive sales harder

 

[RGamer2009]

All I want to know is when Spyro will jump off this train and be in his own franchise again. Skylanders can stand on its own now, and doesn't need him anymore.

He was used purely for marketing purposes and was in the title of the first game. Past that he has been nothing more than a side note, and I feel he as a character deserves far more than that.

Do it Activision! Set Spyro Free!!

 

[True Fire]

I can't see Amiibo doing anywhere near as much over lifetime without changes, due to to how it's being handled compared to Skylanders/Infinity, though it'll be a money printer nonetheless.

Amiibo will have longevity. Skylanders won't survive the decade. Teenagers in 2025 will be saying "remember Angry Birds and Skylanders LOL? I'm such a 10s kid!"

I commend Activision for keeping it contained to one game a year though. It must be tempting to reopen their Guitar Hero playbook.

 

[4Tran]

That's great for Reiche and Ford! The Skylanders games don't appeal to me, but the idea of taking a couple of familiar concepts and combining them in a novel way to achieve great financial success is fantastic. About the only thing wrong with the picture is that Activision will keep them working on Skylanders games as long as they're popular when I'm sure they've got ideas for all sorts of different projects.

Amiibo will have longevity. Skylanders won't survive the decade. Teenagers in 2025 will be saying "remember Angry Birds and Skylanders LOL? I'm such a 10s kid!"

I commend Activision for keeping it contained to one game a year though. It must be tempting to reopen their Guitar Hero playbook.

Amiibo and Skylanders are superficially similar, but they're really completely different animals. Amiibo is strictly a collecter's item for Nintendo fans which is why their sales volume is going to be relatively modest. On the other hand, Skylanders is a children's toy, both as standalone dolls, and as video game content. Toys have inherent appeal beyond their narrow fandoms, so they have much more sales potentials.

Sure this won't last forever, but that's the way that toy lines generally work. It's not even a bad outcome as it'll allow Toys for Bob to move onto different ideas.

 

[spookyfish]

This is pocket change in comparison to Pokémon.

Activision know how to print cash though, they really do.

I can't see Amiibo doing anywhere near as much over lifetime without changes, due to to how it's being handled compared to Skylanders/Infinity, though it'll be a money printer nonetheless.

Nintendo seems content to let resellers get all the money.

 

[sixteen-bit]

so, spyro ain't ever coming back to playstation.

=(

Maybe someone will kickstart a spiritual successor

 

[TomShoe]

so, spyro ain't ever coming back to playstation.

=(

Sounds like it. Being part of a shitty kids franchise, a fate worse than death.

 

[Akainu]

Getting people to buy toys to unlock characters in a game is still disgusting to me and isn't something praise worthy. But hey get money.

 

[shinra-bansho]

Getting people to buy toys to unlock characters in a game is still disgusting to me and isn't something praise worthy. But hey get money.

I don't really know what's inherently disgusting about a business model built around complementary purchases. Unless it's that the issue is simply with it being a product designed for children, in which case there are an abundance of products that will presumably equally disgust.

Further, NPD recently indicated that many of these toys are bought and used as... toys.

 

[KnuckaWut]

wait until Nintendo incorporates Amiibos into their next Pokemon game.

 

[SolicitorPirate]

Getting people to buy toys to unlock characters in a game is still disgusting to me and isn't something praise worthy. But hey get money.

While technically true, I think you're being a bit unfair to Skylanders. The appeal of the series is experiential; for children, the magic comes from putting the toy on the portal and seeing the character manifest ingame. The fact that your specific build of the character saves onto that specific toy adds to the magic.

Its really no different from the old Monster Rancher games; the monsters were all there on the disc, but finding the right CD for the game to read and create that rare monster you wanted was the magic of that series.

 

[NeOak]

wait until Nintendo incorporates Amiibos into their next Pokemon game.

JESUS CHRIST

 

[EulaCapra]

Wait until Amiibos become compatible with Nintendo's smartphone games.

 

[RK128]

Good on Activision, Toys for Bob, Vicarous Visions and everyone involved with Skylanders ! They wanted to make the Toys-to-Life idea with video games and it really kicked off greatly .

One thing I will always appreciate about the series is how strong it is with the figures; every single figure works across all the games in some usage in a meaningful way. You can take your Spyro from the very first game and it would still work with the new SuperCharger tittle coming this fall or take your Swap Force figure and that working with Trap Team. Even the level packs and trap things have some meaningful function across the games (the former doing something for the rest of the games while the latter is being used for upgrades to your cars I think for the new game).

This is where Disney Infinity falls flat on its face; your figures cannot be used in the main 'content' of the game (Play Sets). Sure, some select figures work within that but a large amount of them have little functioning outside of the Toy Box (which itself doesn't look impressive to me personally :l).

The new Lego game looks to copy the Skylanders ideal with every figure working across the 'core' game while the Amiibo is somewhat doing that (if Nintendo fixes the shortage issue, then that would be praised more I guess :l.).

Overall, Skylanders was a game built in mind for the concept from its very conception, and I will always condem it for that . It is one of the few cases I feel that Acitivision handles a yearly IP right; make it worthwhile for fans of its series and ensuring that the new game uses all the toys you already bought in the past .

 

[1337]

Sounds like it. Being part of a shitty kids franchise, a fate worse than death.

The games are actually quite good, especially Swap Force. Very well suited for adults.

Getting people to buy toys to unlock characters in a game is still disgusting to me and isn't something praise worthy. But hey get money.

You get all the figures you need to complete the game in the starterpack. The extra figures are just to give yourself an edge and more variation. The toys are well made and the event it is when you put them on the portal is fantastic.

Skylanders is a great franchise so far and it has shown a lot of progress over the years. It is also not resting on its laurels and trying to change things up every year. The gameplay refinement from especially Giants to SF are incredible.

 

[KnuckaWut]

Wait until Amiibos become compatible with Nintendo's smartphone games.

damn! Shots fired. But don't go there dude. I will Nintendo fanboy rage on you.

 

[ArjanN]

Sounds like it. Being part of a shitty kids franchise, a fate worse than death.

Honestly Spyro was always a kids franchise.

I'd be more sad for Toys For Bob being stuck in Bobby Kotick's salt mines for the rest of eternity now.

 

[jerry1594]

That's insane. Activision Blizzard has a monopoly on money.

 

[Triggerhappytel]

Damn!!! How is Disney Infinity doing?

I don't think we have any sales figures, but I've always had the impression that Infinity has underperformed compared to Disney's expectations. I think if it's not a big success this year Disney will probably bin it altogether.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

So if we assume an amiibo earns the same as a Skylander that puts amiibo at about $130 million (using the 10.5 million shipped figure).

Spoiler

the cards are never coming are they...I don't mean animal crossing Feng shui but the figure substitutes

Getting people to buy toys to unlock characters in a game is still disgusting to me and isn't something praise worthy. But hey get money.

I'm more at the odds that the toys are the only way to unlock certain characters. If there is a shortage (as tends to happen around Christmas) that makes for tough decisions if a kid is mad keen on playing as a certain character. Then there is the matter of retailer exclusive ones which may or may not look any different in-game.

wait until Nintendo incorporates Amiibos into their next Pokemon game.

http://www.reddit.com/r/amiibo/comments/38hwbm/nfc_character_identification_my_findings_on_the/
I personally think it is rather Farfetch'd to think oh Charizard is no 6 of the Pokemon amiibo line and Lucario is number 448 that must mean all the others are planned as Pokedex number seems like a good way to index them.