Amidst all the information that came out of the earnings call this week, there was this slightly overlooked snippet from Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg:
In just two days at New York Toy Fair, we’ll be announcing a big, broad appeal, new entertainment franchise. It’s an all-new gaming universe that brings together the worlds of toys, video games and online play in a way that I believe to be unprecedented. This new universe has tested incredibly well and has generated tremendous support from our retail partners and is expected to launch in the back half of this year.
Well, two days have passed, and now we know what he was talking about. Activision just announced Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure. I got a peek at it a few weeks ago internally and it’s pretty cool… assuming you’re the target audience.
In case the name’s not familiar, Spyro is a purple dragon who starred in eight games from 1998 to 2008 (not counting spin-offs). Knowing that Activision acquired the IP as part of the Vivendi merger, I’ve gotten some…intense emails from his fans asking when he would return. The answer is “later this year,” but it’s in a form I haven’t seen before.
That turtle is FREAKING OUT
So, breaking it down:
1. The toys are “interaction figures.”
Hey, that’s Eric Hirschberg’s line, not mine. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure comes with a “Portal of Power” that plugs into your console via USB as well as three character figures (Spyro among them). Place the figure on the portal, and the character appears on screen, instantly — you’re off on a character-based action/adventure. If you come to a part of the game that requires a character’s specific skill? Swap one physical figure for another and the playable character in the game switches too. Put a second character on there and you’ve got two for multiplayer, either co-op or competitive. The price for the game, portal, and three figures is $69.99.
2. The toys have brains.
Activision is dubbing Skylander figures “toys with brains” — your character data is saved to the figures themselves, and they level up as you play. So if you’re heading over to a friend’s house to play, bring your character with you. When you put your personal figure on the Portal, the game recognizes your progress. Also, I don’t think the story data saves to the character, just the character level-up data — so if you bring your powered-up Spyro over to a friend’s house and you’ve gotten through more of the game story than they have, you aren’t messing up their progress.
Perilous Pastures -- one of the many sights to see in Skylanders
3. It’s not just a console game.
You can take the characters into a mobile device (which was listed seperately from “handheld gaming devices” so I take that to mean “smartphone”) and online to “Web World” and do different things with them. I don’t know exactly what the other functionality is, but I’m told it’s not the same thing as what you’ll be doing in the console game. By the way, no specific consoles were mentioned in the press release or visible in that video, but the press release said “multiple console platforms” and it was demonstrated on the Wii. They might be waiting for ink to dry.
4. Kids like collecting stuff.
For me, it was Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars. For Skylanders, it’s extra characters. You can complete Skylanders with just the figures that come with the game, but a total of 32 will be released. Since different characters have different skills, you’ll be able to access secret areas and whatnot, or simply clear sections much easier than you did before using a character with a more appropriate power. Toys R Us is partnering with Activision on this launch and will do some exclusive stuff to support it this fall.
Eruptor in toy form, on the Portal of Power
Eruptor in the game
5. Bob has had many toys.
Skylanders has been stealthily developed for over a year now by Northern California-based Toys For Bob, though the name of the studio really is a coincidence. They handled several family-oriented games for Activision over the years, including the Madagascar games and Tony Hawk’s Downhill Jam for Wii. And while you might remember their PlayStation game Pandemonium, older strategy gamers will remember them as creator of the legendary Star Control.
Also — at least last time I was up their way — their offices are in a cool, coverted airplane hanger, directly above the 2K Marin team. That’s quite a building: Spyro the dragon above, BioShock 2 below.
6. It’s written by guys with Hollywood cred.
Alek Sokolow and Joel Cohen wrote the game’s story; they have been working together as a team for years, and were nominated for an Oscar for their work on the original Toy Story. Incidentally, Cohen also wrote the story for Midway’s cartoony air combat game, Freaky Flyers, in 2003.
7. It’s not going to stop you from hitting Prestige.
I don’t expect hardcore gamers to care so much about this since it’s aimed at younger gamers (this game is not yet rated by the ESRB, but none of the Spyro titles have ever been rated stronger than E10+), but think back to your 10-year-old self. An object from the real world gets placed on a glowing portal and appears in virtual space. Your toys come to life, on your command. OMG THIS IS MAGIC.
I’m really intrigued by this one on a technical level as well as the toy-game cultural level. I can definitely understand the appeal and I’m eager to see what kids think of it.
More info as I get it, but that’s the main info, and I just spotted some additional coverage at Joystiq with photos of the figures. Whattya think?
