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Toys For Bob turns 25, giving away 25 rare Skylanders figures
Toys For Bob, the company behind the Skylanders series of video games, has marked its 25th anniversary, and to celebrate, the company announced via Twitter that it is giving away 25 rare Skylanders figures. To enter the sweepstakes, participants need to first follow the Skylanders Twitter account, which will tweet a call to action every day until May 24. Those seeking a chance to win have until 11:59 Pacific to retweet that day's call to action and include the hashtag #TFB25. It's not clear which Skylanders figures Toys For Bob is offering as part of the sweepstakes - the official rules don't name any particular figures, and it's unknown if the company would give away figures from Skylanders: Swap Force, since they didn't develop that particular Skylanders game. Still, some toys are better than no toys, and you don't even need to be named Bob to get them. Might not hurt your chances, though. [Image: Activision]
Nintendo turned down Skylanders exclusivity deal
Nintendo reportedly turned down a deal that would have launched Activision's highly successful toys-come-to-life series Skylanders exclusively for the Wii. A report from Polygon on the Toys for Bob franchise notes that, despite Activision's confidence in the product, it was looking for a partner to spread the risks of the venture. "[Nintendo] spent a long time looking and looking," Toys for Bob co-founder Paul Reiche said. "They were just like 'we have never seen anything like this before.' I've always wondered about the full meaning of that comment [laughs]." Nintendo opted out of making a full commitment to the project, though the two companies did enter a co-marketing agreement for the series. "Clearly, they have got properties well suited to this world," Reiche added. "Why it is that they didn't rush in here will probably haunt them for the rest of their days." Activision's Skylander series has since surpassed $2 billion in sales worldwide. The franchise has found its way to ten different platforms, including the recently launched Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Though Nintendo would later experiment with a similar game in the disappointing Pokemon Rumble, it would be Disney that would eventually invest in the genre with its Disney Infinity series, leveraging the company's multitude of popular characters. "Nintendo could have kicked Disney's ass," Reiche said. "If I was running Nintendo I would have jumped on this." [Image: Activision]
Final Skylanders Swap Force character debuting next week at Times Square
Hundreds of ravenous Skylanders fans will swarm the streets of New York next week to herald the arrival of final Swap Force series character Doom Stone during a special giveaway event at Times Square. On Wednesday, April 23, the first 500 customers who line up at Toys 'R' Us Times Square will receive a free Skylanders toy and a chance to own Doom Stone before the figure is released to the public at large. Costumed Skylanders characters will also be in attendance, giving players the chance to meet some of their questing buddies in real life. Attendees are advised not to break costumed employees in half and attach them to other Swap Force characters. They probably wouldn't appreciate that. [Image: Activision]
McDonald's offers eight exclusive Skylanders toys with Happy Meals
Starting this Friday, McDonald's will bundle exclusive Skylanders Swap Force figurines with Happy Meal purchases, in the restaurant's latest ploy to keep kids occupied while they stuff their faces with Chicken McNuggets. Featured characters include Chompy, Eruptor, Free Ranger, Freeze Blade, Magna Charge, Prism Break, Rattle Shake and Wash Buckler. Eligible purchases also include coupons giving $10 off of the multiplatform Skylanders Swap Force Starter Pack and $1 off individual character figures. The week-long promotion extends through April 4. Bear in mind, however, that Happy Meals-bundled characters are just toys, and won't summon in-game Skylanders like retail figures will. Still, if you've ever wanted a Chompy figure to display alongside your Skylanders collection, you'll want to hop in your car on Friday and order up some Happy Meals. Hint: tell the drive-thru guy that you have eight kids waiting at home for their dinner if you're trying to order a full set. He might not believe you, but he probably won't feel like you're worth an argument. [Image: Activision/McDonald's]
Skylanders series sells $2 billion worldwide
Activision announced today as part of its quarterly financial report that the Skylanders series has grossed more than $2 billion worldwide across all available platforms, as of December 31 last year. To date, Activision has sold approximately 175 million Skylanders toys, which players can collect and summon in-game as playable characters. The latest series entry, Skylanders Swap Force, debuted in October. Activision revealed in August last year that the Skylanders series passed $1.5 billion in retail sales since the franchise's launch in 2011. Over 100 million toys were sold by the end of 2012. [Image: Activision]
Final two Skylanders: Swap Force series 3 figures released
Rubble Rouser and Stink Bomb, the final two Skylanders Swap Force figurines in the third series, have been released and can be found at your local Toys R Us store in the US, Kotaku reports. You may already have a shoebox full of Swap Force characters, but these two characters are of particular interest, as they allow access to the final content in Skylanders: Swap Force. Rubble Rouser, the first earth elemental Skylanders: Swap Force character, is necessary for bypassing certain gates requiring a rocky touch. If a masked gunman is forcing you to choose between Rubble Rouser and Stink Bomb, it's worth knowing that Rubble Rouser's extra content can be accessed during co-op games – those dual-element gates can also be opened by two separate Skylanders playing together. Stink Bomb, on the other hand, is the first character able to unlock Swap Force's sneaking mini-games. If players want to fully experience absolutely everything Skylanders: Swap Force has to offer, Stink Bomb is a must-have character. Skylanders: Swap Force is the latest entry in Activision's toy-driven action platformer series, which converts real-life toys into in-game characters by use of a special portal. Swap Force is the first entry to have figurines with a top piece and bottom piece that can be combined with other Swap Force characters to create new combinations.
Best of the Rest: Danny's picks of 2013
Team Joystiq is barging into 2014 with a celebration of last year's best games. Keep reading throughout the week to see our assembly of ingenious indies and triple-A triumphs. Dragon's Crown Dragon's Crown is the best thing to happen to the beat-'em-up genre since Castle Crashers. Taking its inspiration from Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons games, Dragon's Crown forges its own identity with satisfying combat, a lengthy quest, and a bottomless well of character customization options. The sheer amount of loot players accrue in Dragon's Crown keeps the experience fresh and compelling even after you've hacked your way through hundreds of owlbears. The game offers a broad selection of playable characters, all of which play very differently and require varying degrees of expertise to master. Online multiplayer is a joy as a result, mixing the game's varied cast for some gloriously chaotic battles. It's worth noting that Dragon's Crown has seen a number of significant improvements since its initial release, as patches have consistently addressed player feedback while adding major gameplay features. The newest patch, for instance, gives hardcore players the option of skipping the game's introductory chapters, making character leveling more efficient than ever before. Oh, and it also adds a 10,000-floor dungeon. If you love beat-'em-ups, Dragon's Crown will keep you satisfied for months.
Skylanders Collection Vault tracks your toys, shares with friends
Activision has a free Skylanders Collection Vault iOS app that allows Skylanders fans to manage their collection of figurines and share and compare with their friends, browse images and videos from the Skylanders universe and also unlock certain special content. You can also make wish lists for the figurines you're missing and share with friends or family members who may be looking for a subtle hint for holiday gift ideas. The app does not support iPhone 3GS, iPod3 or older devices, and is compatible with Skylanders, Skylanders Giants and the latest entry in the series, Skylanders: Swap Force. In our review of Swap Force, we called the game "fun from start to finish" and said it "outclasses its predecessors in depth and breadth of content."
Skylanders: Swap Force swaps next-gen release date, out tomorrow
Skylanders: Swap Force will launch tomorrow on PS4 and Xbox One. The Activision-published action game was initially expected to arrive at each console's launch, November 15 for PS4 and November 22 for Xbox One, respectively. We were impressed with the current-generation version of the game, as our review noted that the game's "main quest is straightforward but challenging on the higher difficulty levels, and its optional content will keep older fans hunting for secrets long after the credits roll." It's a safe bet that the toy-wrangling game will operate similarly on PS4 and Xbox One.
Report: Toys R Us' Black Friday deals cut into current-gen bundles
Toys R Us is apparently joining GameStop in bringing a new $200 250GB PS3 bundle to its Black Friday deals, going by scans of a flyer posted at BFAds.net. Like GameStop, the US retailer's bundle includes Batman: Arkham Origins and five-star offering The Last of Us. On the Xbox 360 front, there's a 4GB system with Kinect that's also priced at $200. That bundles in Kinect Sports Season Two, Kinect Adventures, and an additional freebie in the form of Halo 3. Hopping over to the land of Nintendo, the new Skylanders Swap Force 8GB Wii U bundle (which incidentally features Nintendo Land) is going for $260 - that's a chunky $40 saving. There's also a Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon blue 3DS bundle that's down $20 to $150. It's not just about battles between platform holders, though. Starter packs for Skylanders Swap Force and Disney Infinity are at each other's plastic throats too, both priced $37.49. Then, just to remind us of the extensive current-gen library, Toys R Us is reprising its Buy 1 Get 1 for $1 deal from last year. That deal comprises 150 games as wide ranging as Saints Row 3, Sonic Generations, Halo Wars, Batman: Arkham City, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. If your eye is stuck on this fall's big name games, the retailer also has Buy 1 Get 40 percent off on all the video games. Take that, wallets!
Nintendo announces holiday discounts, new Wii U bundles
Just in time for Saint Nick to wedge himself down the world's chimneys, Nintendo has revealed a swath of discounts designed to tempt holiday shoppers toward the House That Mario Built. Nintendo Land, the pack-in game attached to most launch-era Wii U consoles, has been reduced in price from $60 to $30. Wii Fit U on the other hand, receives no discount, but is now available as a free trial. Visit the Wii U eShop and you'll see the game (which is otherwise priced at $20) available for gratis download. Once you've pulled down the software, you then have one month to test the game and potentially shed some of that unsightly holiday weight. In the realm of the new, Nintendo has also revealed Wii Remote Plus controllers which feature either Mario or Luigi themes, and come equipped with $40 price tags. These new controllers are available now. Two bundles have also been revealed. The first features a $300 price tag and includes a Wii U Deluxe console alongside both New Super Mario Bros. U and its New Super Luigi U expansion. A Skylanders Swap Force bundle is slated to debut on November 15 at that same $300 price tag, only this one contains "a white Wii U Basic Set, a Skylanders Swap Force starter pack that includes three Skylanders figures, a Portal of Power, trading cards, Skylanders sticker sheets, a collector poster and a Nintendo Land game disc." If neither of these packages convince you to buy a Wii U, there's also the previously revealed Wind Waker HD bundle, which includes a Legend of Zelda-themed Wii U Deluxe, as well as Wind Waker HD and a download voucher for Hyrule Historia, an in-depth examination of the franchise's lore.
Skylanders Swap Force Wii U bundle assembling in November
Nintendo has another Wii U bundle slated to arrive in November: a Skylanders Swap Force pack. Priced at $299, the bundle includes a white Wii U basic system with 8 GB of storage space, a copy of Nintendo Land and a Skylanders Swap Force starter pack. Nintendo Land was recently dropped in price to $30 in addition to being replaced in Nintendo's Wii U Deluxe set with New Super Mario Bros. U and New Super Luigi U, another $299 bundle. The Skylanders Swap Force starter pack includes a copy of the game, three Skylanders figures, a "portal of power" dock and collectible stickers, trading cards and a poster. A stand-alone starter pack can currently be purchased for $130 on Amazon. The Skylanders Swap Force Wii U holiday bundle will be available on November 15.
GTA 5 extends (hit and) run as UK No. 1
Considering we're knee-deep in silly season, it's surprisingly quiet in the UK charts this week. Grand Theft Auto 5 makes it two weeks in a row and three in all as the country's best-seller, despite a 31 percent drop in sales from last week. Meanwhile FIFA 14 holds on to second place, and below those two it's practically an unchanged top ten. Still, there are some nuggets of interest to unearth. The biggest mover and shaker is Skylanders: Swap Force, the third major outing in the ridicu-lucrative toy-based series. While it doesn't move and shake enough to displace the top two, it debuts in third place ahead of Pokemon X, Y and Beyond: Two Souls. UK sales compiler Chart Track offers a couple of interesting stats on Swap Force, the first that it sold 35 percent less than previous entry Giants. As for the second, have a guess which of the game's gajillion platforms earned the most sales. If you said the Wii - with 37 percent for the record - give yourself a pat on the back and at least one sprinkled donut. Move outside the top ten and you immediately find Sonic: Lost World, just missing out in 11th. That's a combination of the significantly different Wii U and 3DS games, and a peek at the individual formats chart shows the console game in 15th and its handheld sibling in 28th. The blue blur's new adventure doesn't roll into North America until next week on October 29.
Skylanders Swap Force review: Swappin', not stoppin'
Skylanders is a tough sell for adults. No matter what sort of gameplay lies beneath the surface, it's difficult to reconcile the fact that playing Skylanders means you're playing with children's toys. If you have a healthy inner child (or, at the very least, no sense of shame), you'll discover that the Skylanders series is secretly a total blast. Similar in premise to Gauntlet Legends and the Diablo series, the Skylanders games are lightweight, action-heavy dungeon crawlers that offer a surprising degree of depth, with gameplay bolstered by expansive skill trees and stat-boosting loot. Skylanders: Swap Force continues that tradition, and if you can stand a few funny looks when your friends see you playing with figurines with ridiculous names like "Grim Creeper" and "Stealth Elf," you'll discover that this is the best Skylanders to date.
Toys'R'Us hosts Skylanders: Swap Force launch event with exclusive figures
Collectors, prepare to elbow children and topple toddlers as you rush toward the video game aisle at your local Toys'R'Us. The retailer will have a series of limited-edition Skylanders figures on offer during a day-one launch event for Activision's multiplatform Skylanders: Swap Force. Toys'R'Us will stock a store-exclusive Dino-Rang variant, along with Legendary versions of Swap Force stars Free Ranger, Night Shift, Grim Creeper, and Zoo Lou starting on October 13. Select locations will host a midnight launch, while others will open early at 8 AM for the event. Die-hards who pre-order a Skylanders: Swap Force Starter Kit at Toys'R'Us will also receive a Lightcore Hex figure with purchase.
New Skylanders teased in trio of Swap Force videos
Activision touts the swappable possibilities (or "swappabilities," if you will) of its new Skylanders toy line debuting next month alongside the multiplatform action-adventure game Skylanders: Swap Force in the new trailer above. Warning: contains farts. Swappable farts. Swap Force's character-combining mechanics are further explored in today's second trailer, which can be seen after the break below. A third trailer introduces the short-fused character Countdown, who joins a recent quartet of newly announced figures. Skylanders: Swap Force will launch next month for the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and PC platforms. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will premiere later this year.
Skylanders: Swap Force GameStop pre-orders net exclusive 'Dark Edition'
GameStop is looking to entice Skylanders: Swap Force early adopters with an exclusive pre-order bonus: the Dark Edition Starter Pack. Outside of the requisite copy of the game and Portal of Power, the Dark Edition Starter Pack includes five exclusive dark variant figures: Dark Washbuckler, Dark Blast Zone, Dark Stealth Elf, Dark Spyro and Dark Lockjaw. On top of that, some sticker sheets with special codes, trading cards and a poster are included in the bundle. Skylanders: Swap Force's main hook involves hybrid figures – each figure includes a bottom and top portion that can be interchanged with other compatible toys from the new lineup of 16. Portalmasters can tame a new torrent of toys this October, on Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, PS3, 3DS, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Target offering magic cards with Skylanders Swap Force pre-order
Activision has announced that Target will be passing out magic cards with pre-orders for the upcoming Skylanders Swap Force. Portalmasters who pre-order the game at Target will get an exclusive physical trading card that grants upgrades in the game when placed on the new Portal of Power. Swap Force's marquee feature is that it uses characters with two parts that can be mixed and matched, but these specially branded trading cards will work as well. There's also an ongoing deal (at all retailers) that grants a free "Lightcore Hex" Skylanders Giants character when you pre-order a starter pack. This Giants character, like all of the other characters in the series so far, can also be used to play through Swap Force content. If you're a parent of younger children, it's also something else for you to trip over.
New hybrid figures jump into the Skylanders: Swap Force toybox
When you're tasked with previewing the latest and greatest in kid stuff, it's hard to not feel at least the slightest bit jealous. In my day, our molded lumps of China-manufactured plastics rarely interacted with technology in any meaningful way, and we liked it just fine. Even so, if you lopped a good 20 years off my current age, it would be impossible to avoid the charms of Skylanders, a series that's successfully merged the worlds of physical and digital play – all with a booster pack-style setup that's only mildly predatory on parents' wallets. As backwards compatibility quickly becomes a thing of the past, Skylanders: Swap Force offers compatibility with every figure Activision has sold since 2011, along with a slew of new features that promise to make this installment the biggest and best its pint-sized audience has seen yet.%Gallery-191171%
Skylanders: Swap Force to hit PS4 and Xbox One at launch
During an E3 demo today, Skylanders executive producer Scott Krager announced that the newest entry in the series, Swap Force, will launch "day and date" for both the XBox One and PlayStation 4 -- though the specific release date (or dates) for these consoles is still unknown. In the meantime, some good news: in keeping with the series' tradition of cross-platform compatibility, the next-gen versions of Skylanders: Swap Force will use the same figurines as the current-gen titles, due to release for 3DS, Wii, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U October 13 in the United States.
