Parents Prepare: Kids Are Crazy for ‘Skylanders Giants’

Parents, if you haven't heard of the movement by now, prepare for a ton of excitement about the Skylanders. In just one short year, Activision's game series went from an unknown newcomer with little-tested novelty to one of the top 10 best-selling brands for kids nationwide.

Its part-toy, part-video game gameplay struck a chord with a wide demographic of youngsters (and collectible-crazy adults). And now, with Skylanders: Giants hitting stores nationwide this Sunday — including new character figures and a line of "Giant" Skylanders — both Activision and prominent toy retailers are forecasting the game to be one of the hottest items for the holidays.
 
"One of the things that I think makes Skylanders really successful is that the story itself is captivating to kids, because the kids have an essential role in the story," says Eric Hirsch, CEO of Activision. "They're not a passive onlooker. They're the Portal Master."
 
Mashable spent quality time with the game and spoke with Hirsch and Troy Peterson, Activision's VP and divisional merchandising manager for electronics and entertainment at Toys"R"Us. We got the inside scoop on how the Skylanders franchise hits all the right notes with kids, and what the company is doing to best longstanding game franchises (Pokemon, anyone?) in the race to the Christmas tree.
 

The Story of Skylanders

 
The development of the Skylanders franchise is something of a rebirth — it remolded the decades-old Spyro the Dragon series, which had grown tired in the face of many acquisitions and was left without a game since 2008. Activision bought rights to the franchise from Vivendi Universal Games and merged its old recognition power with Skylanders, a series developed by Activision subsidiary Toys for Bob. The result: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, a "Spyro Game" that took advantage of the titular dragon's reputation but also introduced a new world for him to live in — with more personalities.
 
"He makes an appearance as a part of the ensemble cast with the Skylanders," says Hirsch. "There's an affection with the Spyro character that's advantageous to launching a new intellectual property."
 
Hirsch says that tinkering with the first Skylanders installment ultimately turned into a year-long overhaul. But the series' UI system, which revolved around Toys for Bob's proprietary "Portal of Power," shouldered some of the burden.

In short, it would be misleading to say that Skylanders is only a video game. The game's mechanics rely on the Portal of Power, a seamless docking system that connects to a video game console, to "port" Skylanders figurines (embedded with RFID chips) into the game. For example, in order to run amuck and shoot fireballs with Spyro, the figurine needs to be touching the Portal of Power. Take him off the dock, and he leaves the game, too.
 
"I think the Skylanders franchise is built with a healthy dose of magic," Hirsch says. "When the toy comes to life within the game, we call it the 'magic moment.'"
 
By October 2011, Activision was able to release the game with a starter pack of three figurines for all platforms, including the 3DS, and release 29 more characters over the course of the year. The impact was huge. Activision's Q2 earnings report indicated that Skylanders, when factoring in sales of figurines and accessory packs (where players ported new levels and items into the game via the Portal of Power), was the top best-selling console and handheld game, as well as the top dog of action figure sales.
 
"It's amazing how fast we went from the challenge, being how to launch a new concept and intellectual property successfully, to how to keep it fresh and keep people coming back for more," Hirsch says, "If you look at the top 10 games of last year, only Skylanders was not an existing franchise. Now, we're looking to expand the world with meaningful innovation to people who are just excited with the new game."
 

Gameplay

 
In terms of innovation, Skylanders: Giants doesn't really mess with the formula that caused a hit for its predecessor. Players make their way through various colorful and exotic levels, picking up treasure for power-ups and collecting special artifacts peppered strategically throughout different zones. Players can still switch characters on the fly as they're moving through levels — a feature quite stunning in its seamlessness. Pick up one character from the Portal of Power and the action immediately stops; put a new character on, and the loading is so fast that you're back in the fray with ease.
 
Instead, the game is an additive experience to the first installment, introducing an entirely new class of Skylander: the Giants. There is one giant present in each of the eight elemental classes found within the game, and they are much more powerful (albeit slower) than the regular-sized characters. Giants are necessary to perform special tasks, such as crushing through walls and diving into platforms. There is also a new "Arena" feature in the game, which gives players a way to level-grind their Skylanders with interesting challenges, and opens up an opportunity for two players to go head-to-head.
 
Because the game is accessible for kids, the most seasoned gamer looking for a challenge should look elsewhere. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun for adults. While there's very little critical thinking needed to get through the first few levels, Skylanders does get relatively tougher in later levels. Bulking up characters is necessary, and it's not enough to just button-mash A to get through hoards of enemies. The gameplay is often entertaining and full of smart dialogue, though there can be some wacky camera angles due to the direction of the Skylander in any given world. But overall, the game presents a fun and interesting storyline that doesn't overcomplicate itself.

 
The characters take the game to the next level. With more than 40 different personalities and play styles to choose from, Skylanders is bursting with options. Trigger Happy, a manic and speedy tech element, shoots enemies with gold coins and screams, "Mine! Mine! Mine!" at dropped loot. Terrafin is a land shark that prefers close-range enemies and hums to himself as he swims underground. And muscly-looking god character Lightning Rod rains down electric bolts on enemies

In addition to the giants, there are also new regular Skylanders to offer variety from the original set. One notable new face is Pop Fizz, a magic element that hurls different potions at enemies and drinks them himself to become a much larger, stronger monster.
 
The three Skylanders that come with the starter pack — returning dark dragon Cynder, new air-elemental hawk Jet Vac and lumbering life giant Tree Rex — are all unique in their play-style and provide enough variety for a base set. However, with only three out of eight elementals represented, the game's mechanics just beg you to pick up new characters.  It can be disheartening to stumble upon a special area that requires an alternate element for access. Furthermore, the player can preview new characters every time he finds a "Soul Gem," which grants new powers to a certain Skylander upon discovery. These temptations can cause even the most frugal gamer to purchase new Skylanders.
 
On that note, this game is not for the penny-pinching completionist. Acquiring just the second series characters alone, not including separate accessory packs and new levels, brings the peripheral cost alone to more than $300.

You can port Skylanders from the first game into the second, with their levels and skills intact. But the first generation characters do not trigger Skylanders' "Heroic Quest," which can boost the levels of all of your Skylanders. The level cap stays at 10 as opposed to the new Skylanders' 15, and the character does not have access to any new powers within the game. While it seems like a large cost, it's best to add on to the basic set with missing elements over time, rather than all at once, or bite the bullet and write it off as a collector's investment.
 
Make no mistake: The game is fun and becomes even more rich with one Skylander to represent each element. It's an investment, but there's enough material and personality within the game to make it feel worthwhile.
 

In the Stores

 
Looking to snag your own copy of Sklyanders: Giants? Activision has partnered with Toys"R"Us to get kids and parents excited about the game.
 
Because kids are still out of the age demographic primed for digital marketing, the Toys"R"Us partnership is a real-life way to encourage kids to interact with the Portal of Power. You'll fine an in-store demo event this weekend at Toys"R"Us Times Square, complete with play kiosks. Add that to early store opening on premiere day and individual in-store boutiques, and the kids' retailer is betting big on Skylanders this holiday season.
 
"We know the kids and their families will get really excited for Skylanders: Giants this fall," Peterson says. "We want to put a lot of emphasis behind it and put a whole campaign together.
 
Of course, the linchpin of this sales point is interactivity. Kids are able to pull various Skylanders, which are individually packaged and priced anywhere from $10 to $20, off of the shelves and onto the Portal of Power for a demo play before purchase. This allows a child to test each Skylander for him or herself — and start building an educated list of characters for the Christmas tree.
 
"This really isn't just in the U.S., either," Peterson adds. "This is premiering worldwide — we are really the global partner with Activision, because we've worked so closely with them to launch Skylanders: Spyros Adventure and this year with Giants."
 
Toys"R"Us is committed to keeping Skylanders at the forefront of kids' minds, complete with merchandising deals (puzzles, Halloween costumes and t-shirts, among other goodies) and limited edition figures that will last long after the holidays.
 
"Last year, we were the number-one retailer of Skylanders," Peterson says. "This year, we want to be number-one again."
 

The Verdict

 
Skylanders is a smart game with a smart strategy — one that's promising to keep the game on bestseller lists with its continual purchase opportunities and burgeoning list of upgrades. But, more than being smart business, it's actually a fun game. It's easy to see why kids could go nuts for the franchise, and that alone is enough for success.
 
If you have a kid between the ages of 6 and 12, or if you're young at heart, it's a good idea to get your hands on this game — or add it to your Christmas list.