Spyro gets new life in toy/game crossover
Activision may have just come up with a way to make money hand over fist by reviving an old property: Spyro. At least, they better hope it does, particularly after kicking 500+ employees to the curb. There’s nothing especially engaging about the actual game they are showcasing at this year’s International Toy Fair in New York. Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure looks like a run-of-the-mill platformer for the Wii, reminiscent of Kameo: Elements of Power for the Xbox 360. Multiple in-game characters offer up different strengths and weaknesses as you travel around trying to save the blah blah blah.
Where Skylanders differs though is that it requires something more than just a console, disc and controller to play. Gamers, quite likely the younger subset, connect a special ‘Portal’ platform and choose the character they want to play with by placing a Skylanders “inter-action” figure inside of it. Any experience that is earned or special powers unlocked are stored in the colorfully sculpted toys and can be swapped out on the fly to change the game experience. They can be taken anywhere with the player and used as guests on friends’ portals either in co-op modes or player versus player matches.
Activision is banking on the Pokemon effect to bring home the bacon. Players can collect 32 toys, including a newly designed Spyro, in total to add to their arsenal. Jerry Storch, Chairman and CEO of Toys R Us (who are getting exclusivity at the moment) believes “this product line is among the most exciting and unique offerings that will be seen at Toy Fair this year”.
I’ll admit, the little figures are pretty cool looking creatures even if they aren’t intended for my particular age demographic. That said, what are you really getting for your money here? We can assume the game itself, just the disc mind you, is going to run the average $50 most Wii titles sell for. Taking it a step further, it’s likely you can’t play unless you have the Portal attachment and one figure, likely Spyro. So that 50 bucks is going to need another 15-20 tacked on, minimum, for the whole package.
Then there’s the extra characters, because there’s no way any self respecting 10 year old is going to want just one character to play with. So instead of simply unlocking characters as you progress or even getting them through downloadable content, you have to purchase a glorified memory chip (that’s bound to get lost) to get to that next level. On one hand, this is marketing brilliance. On the other, it’s highway robbery, especially if the playable creatures already exist in the game, but require the toy to unlock. Best guess, each new figure is going to cost in the $10 range. Doing what little math I retained from high school, that equates to over $380 in order to have the whole set.
Of course this is all speculation that won’t be confirmed until the fall, but this would have to be one helluva platformer to invest the kind of cash that would net you an entire console. Activision also promises additional ways to play spanning multiple platforms, including mobile and hinting at a 3DS title still in development, I’m just not sure that’s enough.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure is due in stores Fall, 2011
