Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventures was one of the more original offerings this holiday season, combining elements of toy buying with video games. The hybrid has gotten good reviews and appeared in the Toys “R” Us Holiday Hot Toy List and the Toy Insider Hot 20 List.
“While it’s still very early in the holiday selling season, the game is performing ahead of our expectations in both starter pack sales and the sale of individual toys,” said Actvision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg. “Of the the 30 plus characters, some are already very hard to find and we’ve already seen Skylanders characters sell for as much as $70 on eBay. Finally, after only a few weeks in the market, literally all of our major retail partners across all territories have already placed re-orders.”
“We’ll also be supporting the game with our largest marketing campaign ever for a new property, which includes a heavy TV campaign in the US and Europe, an extensive mall and home tour to generate hands-on trial, as well as a 2 minute 3D trailer in theaters which runs in front of a number of holiday movies including Puss In Boots, Happy Feet 2, and The Muppets,” said Hirshberg.
Activision has had numerous point-of-sale advertisements including interactive kiosks, and retailers are reciprocating with lots of shelf space. “For $69.99, a kid gets three toys, the Portal of Power, a videogame with a 30 level single-player mode, co-op game play, and endless hours in battle mode,” noted Hirshberg. “It also comes with a vast connected webworld at no extra charge, as well as a poster and trading cards. When you consider that three average toys with no interactive capabilities whatsoever and an average new videogame would cost you more than the Skylanders starter pack, I think it’s fair to say that this is an exciting value proposition for the holidays.”
This is a great beginning, though as Hirshberg noted, “like any new IP, Skylanders will take time to reach its full potential.”
Source: IndustryGamers
