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PSA: Skylanders Lost Islands takes to the skies on iOS
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."
Skylanders iOS versions officially announced
We've known since the beginning that the enormously popular toy/video game combo of Activision's Skylanders would come to Apple's iOS platform at some point, and now here comes the official announcement that Skylanders fans are getting not one but two different iOS games to play. Skylanders Battlegrounds will be the game that most closely matches the current console versions: It'll be a more standard RPG/action game that will even pair up with a Bluetooth "portal," to let players connect their Skylanders toys up to the in-game action, just like on the PS3, Wii and Xbox versions. The portal will be available at retail stores sometime this November for US$49.99, along with three figures, a code for the downloadable iOS game and a "Platinum Treasure Chest" with codes to redeem for lots of in-app purchases. Even if you don't buy the portal, though, you'll still be able to pick up the game for a price "between $5 and $7" (probably) and play it without figures. But of course the big draw of Skylanders is this combination of physical toys and the digital titles: Players can level up their characters in the game, and then save that progress right onto the physical figurines. And Skylanders: Lost Islands is a free-to-play take on the universe that looks a lot like your standard freemium town-building game. That one is already in beta in Canada, which means it should be available very soon here in the US (possibly within the next few weeks or so). Lost Islands should also work with the buy-it-separately Bluetooth portal, but Activision will also be kicking off its own social network soon, called Activate, that will tie together all of players' little figure data through the cloud as well. Both of these games should be out by next month, and fans of Skylanders (or, more likely, their parents) will have yet another piece of the series to buy and play.
Skylanders: Battlegrounds and Lost Islands bring the portal to iOS in November
Beyond the immense popularity of its annual war games and subscription-based MMO, a new brand is helping to grow Activision's portfolio of high-value licenses: Skylanders. Built on the foundation of collectible, physical products, the Skylanders brand has spawned a sequel that is already besting initial sales efforts of its original entry overseas.Though the franchise's first foray into the mobile space has been a success – with Skylanders: Cloud Patrol hitting over 1.5 million downloads since launching earlier this year, according to Activision Mobile VP Greg Canessa – the game lacks the same physical link to the collectible figures. Next month, Activision aims to change that strategy with Skylanders: Battlegrounds.Confirming leaks from earlier this month, Canessa told Joystiq that Skylanders: Battlegrounds is a "console-like, action-RPG" featuring the same ability to inject Skylanders characters on the fly using a new, Bluetooth-powered portal.
