Skylanders

[troutman]

My boys got Skylanders for Wii and 3DS for Xmas. They are having a blast with it.

It seems every store in Calgary is sold out of extra Skylander characters. What is the situation?

Are they planning further expansions?

[troutman]

http://www.ztgd.com/articles/17949/the-sky-is-limited/

Currently, Skylanders are sold out in many areas. You can probably still find the starter packs, but if you are looking for figures to round out your elemental needs, you’re probably out of luck for now.

Between Christmas and the turning of the new year, something happened to the supply. After calls to many retailers in a few different areas of the country, and reports from readers, figure packs (in any configuration) seem to be completely depleted from store shelves. Sure, demand is most certainly up. Those gamers, both young and old, looking to build a collection after receiving the game for a gift are on the hunt. Unfortunately, this poses an interesting question for those that want to play the game, “Do I play now, leading to backtracking later, or simply wait until I have one character of each element?” Choice about whether to purchase more figures has been removed from the equation, replaced by a far less appealing one.

We’ve reached out to Activision to gain some understanding of what’s going on with the supply and when stores might be restocked and, as of publishing, haven’t received a response. If Skylanders is to be a model for future game development for young audiences, this issue needs to be addressed. Supply must be constant through the product’s life cycle.

[troutman]

Tiffany Posted January 8, 2012 at 11:41 AM
If you really want to know why Skylanders’ figures are out of stock, simply look at Amazon. People are remarketing these figures between $15 to $37. My local Kmart had a guy come in and bought all the stock they had out. Dissappointed, I simply whated to buy a figure for son as a reward for good behavior and excellent report cards. So I believe the shortage will continue as the vultures swipe up the stock as they come in. This is worse than Cabbage Patch shortage of 1984.

[Raekwon]

Yeah look on ebay also. Its sad

[troutman]

https://www.facebook.com/notes/skyla...37414406283722

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure FAQs

As everyone is noticing, Skylanders is very popular at the moment. We know many of our fans are having a difficult time finding the Skylanders they want at their local stores. The team at Activision is doing everything we can to keep them in stock. We appreciate your support and patience. We hope the following helps to answer your questions.

Q: When are Cynder and Whirlwind being released?
A: Starting in mid-January, new Skylanders are being released across the world, including Cynder and Whirlwind.

Q: When will the Skylanders I want be available in my country?/Where can I buy hard to find Skylanders?
A: More Skylanders will be making their way to retailer shelves across the world. With that said, not all Skylanders are available yet. Keep checking in with your local retailers to find the latest Skylanders.

Q: Are some characters only available at specific stores?
A: Yes, some Skylanders are only available at specific retail chains.

Q: Will there be a Skylanders sequel?
A: Activision has not yet announced plans to release a sequel.

[Hack&Lube]

Yeah, it's Cabbage Patch Kids/Tickle Me Elmo scalpers ruining it for everybody. You need the toys to play the game?

[Rathji]

Is this like the thing where you enter the code from the toy to unlock features in the game? like Neopets?

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Yeah, it's Cabbage Patch Kids/Tickle Me Elmo scalpers ruining it for everybody. You need the toys to play the game?

Some areas are locked unless you have a character of the right type.

[onetwo_threefour]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Is this like the thing where you enter the code from the toy to unlock features in the game? like Neopets?

Not quite, you put the figure on this little pedestal dealy that comes with the game and it detects the character (some sort of inductive magnetic reader or something) and lets you use it in the game.

Seemed like a neat idea, but I'm kind of glad I didn't pick it up for the kids with all this BS. Also wasn't sure if it could be a 2 player game, which would cause fights if it couldn't be. Got Lego Harry Potter, the New Zelda, and some other game for the video game kid and a pile of Transformers for the younger one.

[chemgear]

Kinda like a physical "key" for downloadable content (DLC) from what I understand. At least it is probably transferable afterwards unlike usual DLC.

Smart marketing idea actually aimed at kids. Kinda evil, but certainly seems to be working well. I'll bet it'll kick off a lot of sequels/copy cat games.

[troutman]

It is a two player game also, cooperative and battles.

I think the main attraction of the figures is that they save what level and stats they have, so players can take the figures to a friends house, and join into the friend's game powered-up. I suppose there is a collectable element too.

There was a similar game before called Funkeys.

http://fr.ubfunkeys.com/

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by troutman

I think the main attraction of the figures is that they save what level and stats they have, so players can take the figures to a friends house, and join into the friend's game powered-up.

Hmmm, I didn't know that - neat.

It reminds me a bit of the transition from CCG's to "Clix" system for some reason.

[Saint Troy]

My little guy has gone nuts for these things. I like the lava lamp like portal....

[troutman]

Originally Posted by fotze

Had to return the first pedestal since you had to hover the figures 2 inches above the thing for it to work. He'd still rather play slapshot for the millionth time though.

We have that problem with the DS portal, but the Wii portal works fine. However, the Wii portal drained new batteries in one day.

[troutman]

http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/pos...ros-adventure/

Activision has announced Skylanders Giants, the next game in the Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure series. Activision and developer Toys for Bob will release brand new figures for gamers to collect, and they're, well, giant.

"Skylanders Giants builds upon the breakthrough fundamentals of the first game-merging the physical and virtual realms with an innovative line of cross-platform toy figures that have "brains," which players everywhere can magically bring to life in the world of Skylands," said Activision.

Eight new giant characters will be released and they'll all be more than twice the size of normal Skylanders figures, both out of the box and in the game. They'll also have lights built in and they'll illuminate when they're placed near the Portal of Power. The good news is that you won't have to buy a new Portal of Power for them to work, and all of the characters from Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure will work in Skylanders Giants.

[Yeah_Baby]

I have no idea what a Skylander is. And you know what? I'm okay with this.

[chemgear]

Not really my thing but here is the GT video review of Giants for you guys:

http://www.gametrailers.com/reviews/...-giants-review

[Coys1882]

Been thinking of getting this for my six year boy for Christmas. Seems pretty popular.

[BEANZ]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

Been thinking of getting this for my six year boy for Christmas. Seems pretty popular.

We gave our sone this game last year when he was 6. Honestly him and his four year old sister had a great time playing this game. We are pretty strict and limit the kids TV/video game time to half hour or less combined. But this is a fun choice for them.

Dooo it!

[ma-skis.com]

my kid is asking for this for christmas... I'm concerned about the collecting new figures to open other areas, will this be a a giant money pit for me if we go this route?