darkSpyro

I was with them at first, but the amount of Skylanders has gotten excessive. So has the number of variants. When it first came out, I liked the idea of having add-ons available for a game. I liked that they're shaped like cool figurines. I think 10 or 15 would've been enough, but 32, ok, fine. I'm rich, I can afford that. Four sidekicks too? They're cheap, so ok. The legendary Skylanders were a bit much, but there were only four, so fine. A Dark Spyro in addition to the regular Spyro, and I have to buy a whole new game for a system I don't even have to get it? That's ridiculous, but it's just one more thing, so fine. I didn't realize at first that only Best Buy had the Volcanic Vault, so now I have to buy a second copy of the game to get it? You're starting to lose me, but that's the end anyway. There are the glow in the dark ones too, but I couldn't find those even if I wanted them, so they didn't really make a difference.

Now there's a new game, with a few new characters. Ok, great. After a year, I'm ready for something new. But this time I'm going in with my eyes open. New characters, fine. Legendary variants of those characters? No. Not again. Granite Crusher in addition to regular Crusher? No. Lightcore versions of the Skylanders? No. Reposed versions of the original Skylanders? Absolutely not. Screw them for even suggesting it.

Companies should offer products that customers want to buy. Products that customers are happy to pay for. But they shouldn't offer products that people buy only because they feel like they have to, in order to have the full set. They shouldn't offer products that customers resent having to buy. That's the line when they start abusing their customers, instead of serving them. The website the consumerist ranked the gaming company EA as the worst company in America in 2012 for this kind of thing. I hate to see Activision raise it to a new level.

So I'm not buying all this extra stuff. And I encourage you to not buy it either. But I'm curious what the rest of you think. Personally, I'd love to see Activision lose money on warehouses full of excessive material that people refuse to buy. It'd send them a message not to do this again in the future.

If I could resist, I would. I am not a collector to where I need the variants but I do like having the ones that looks different in the game. I am probably not getting Gnarly Tree Rex nor Royal Double Trouble though because the only way to get them are to get copies of items you already have. I completely agree with you, it is ridicules but unfortunately, people are going to buy everyone because they want them.

If and when they do make a third game, there better not be any Series 3 Skylanders! Odds are there will be though...

Nobody is being forced to buy anything. If customers don't want to buy something, they won't. If they aren't happy to pay for it, they won't. The companies know exactly what the customers want. This is exactly why there are stores selling out of all the figures on release.

I kind of agree with you OP. but yeah, people are not exactly "forced" to buy them, yet some people will instinctively feel the bead to buy a LOT of them to "complete" the game.

They might advertise that you only need a skylanders of each element (plus at least one giant) to complete it, but that is false. There are accolades for collecting 40 (!) orange base skylanders.

Now I'm not sure on the number of triple packs/singles etc. But if you assume all 40 are normal skylanders in triple packs (best value) then you are looking at buying 13 packs (tree Rex comes with all games so I've taken him out)

Now buying 13 triple packs at an average cost of £22 is £286 plus the game pack. But again that's assuming all would be triple packs.

And that is to fully complete the game. (Not sure if the 40 orange base accolade is even including all variants)

To be fair, the game says you have 100% just from getting 3 Stars on everything. So everyone saying you need all the variants and everything is wrong. That's more like 117%(kudos to anyone who gets the reference I made there).

For me, I've always considered the "complete set" of Giants to only consist of 16 figures. All eight of the Giants, and all eight of the new regular sized ones. I'm in an odd group that just considers series 2 and lightcore figures to be variants. I only got Chop-Chop and Cynder because I genuinely WAS forced to.

Quote: SPARXisAWESOME

If you don wanna collect em' all..

Reveal Spoiler

DONT COLLECT THEM ALL!

See? simple! this is gonna be a piece of cake especially for collectors like us, collectors, who like cake.

GOTTA COLLECT EM ALL! SKYLANDERS!

DinoHex. I'm with you on this as well. I'm only bothered about the actually new characters, or I was up until I found that the only way to get the heroic challenges again is to buy the series 2 characters.

This is what forces you to buy all 40, if you want to play all of the game, all of what is on your disc that you've already payed for. Then you have to buy at least one of each character. (Light cores don't unlock extra HC I don't think so its only 32)

Wouldn't have been too bad if you could use series 1 to unlock challenges because at least then you'd only have to buy the new ones. But no, you are forced to re-buy your old skylanders just to play side missions.

Well I've put every S1 character on and claimed ownership. But the only S1 challange I have is for the S2 ones I own.

You don't have to buy all of them. Stop complaining, we'd all love to hear why you're mad.

@SkylandersEG

you only need 3 to complete the game and you can use your old ones from ssa.... so WHATTA IS DA PROBLEMO HERE!!1.. you don't need everything skylanders to have fun... just saying.

Quote: Markster91

If I could resist, I would. I am not a collector to where I need the variants but I do like having the ones that looks different in the game. I am probably not getting Gnarly Tree Rex nor Royal Double Trouble though because the only way to get them are to get copies of items you already have. I completely agree with you, it is ridicules but unfortunately, people are going to buy everyone because they want them.

If and when they do make a third game, there better not be any Series 3 Skylanders! Odds are there will be though...

You could always do what I do - I buy the pack and then resell all the stuff I don't want.

As for the ability to finish the game with the Portal Owners pack (later discussion, not in this quote) that is true but...

...there is an XBox achievement (and I presume matching PS3 trophy) for opening the 3 elemental gates in level 1. The trouble is that this breaks XBox rules by requiring extra items to be purchased if the user bought the Portal Owners pack. The elements match the figs in the Starter Pack, not Portal Owners pack + S:SA.

@SkylandersEG

but if you are gonna collect them all this time it is a total of 16 only to be collected, no variant included.. 8 giants and 8 new skylanders.

I don't fault Activision for making the variants. They're a company out to make money and, if people are willing to buy them, then why should they make them? This is no different than any line of toys with multiple characters and variants of those characters. As has been stated before, you aren't forced to buy anything/everything. My boys have nearly all the S1, including some variants. They don't have Dark Spyro since it was only in the DS pack and we weren't about to buy that just to get one figure.

Interestingly enough, my boys don't want all the new ones. They want the 8 giants, 8 new skylanders and the new legendaries. They could care less about the lightcores or S2. Collectors will drop the cash to get all of them, but the vast majority of parents won't.

Activision found a good way to rob our banks, and it worked! And my family is completely broke...so I had to sell my Wii and my 3DS just to get it -.- And I was not even able to get very much with that.

If the series 2 Skylanders were a ploy to get easy money, than Activision needs to re-think their strategy. It costs the same amount to make new factory molds of old characters that it does to make new characters. They are not expecting everyone to buy everything, they're trying to give new-comers a way to access 90 percent of the content on the disk they bought. They couldn't predict how retailers would react, stores could just completely pull series one from the shelves, then without series 2 you would be stuck with only 16 characters.

The extra challenges are little treat for the ones who do buy them, just like all the original challenges are only available to those who bought the first game. Those old challenges do still work for series 2 after all.

orcface- What EG is upset about with the Challenges is that you need to buy Series Two to max out new characters, not the old ones.

See, Pokemon doesn't cost 8-10 bucks a pop like Skylanders. So unless you're a hardcore collector, rich or have too much time on your hands, you shouldn't even bother getting them all. The game can only be played and be "fun" so many times.

I think everyone is missing the point of the reposes. They're not there just to frustrate collector's or even to squeeze out another few bucks from you all. The MAIN point of the reposes is to help out the players who didn't buy the original game. Thats why we have a Starter Pack and a Portal Owner's Pack. Not everyone bought into the fad during the first one so they're trying to accomodate as many people as possible. And really, who here is going to die without playing all the S1 heroic challenges? If the game had online battle mode I could understand, but so far all we can do is battle your friends in the living room.

Yeah, since the old characters wont be sold anymore, people who started playing the game late now have the chance to buy the first figures. But for myself i have all the series 1 figures and i'm very content with them. I wont be buying all the new series 2 poses, i will buy a few of the ones i like, but thats it.

Quote: Tupelo

Yeah, since the old characters wont be sold anymore, people who started playing the game late now have the chance to buy the first figures. But for myself i have all the series 1 figures and i'm very content with them. I wont be buying all the new series 2 poses, i will buy a few of the ones i like, but thats it.

Yeah, I didn't want a certain few the first time around, namely Sonic Boom, Prism Break, Flamey, and Stealth Elf

Don't automatically assume that because you can't buy them all that you can't enjoy the game. That is not the way Toys for Bobs wanted to make the game. If you're a completionist like me, i feel your pain. But you'll get over it eventually. Just shut up, buy the starters pack and enjoy the game. You can access all level areas with the series one complete set anyways.

I didn't buy into all of the variants for the first game, but im not a collector either. I did gave all of the main characters as well as the four expansion levels and showed 100% complete when i was done. Thats good enough for me! I bought the pack yesterday and have a total of 14 new characters to work with for now. That will keep me busy until some more are readily available.

In B4 anyone says " ACTIVISION WILL DO ANYTHING"

Quote: Nibelilt

To be fair, the game says you have 100% just from getting 3 Stars on everything. So everyone saying you need all the variants and everything is wrong. That's more like 117%(kudos to anyone who gets the reference I made there).

Tell me!

Psst,psst,PSST.

Quote: Ryanator20x6

Quote: Nibelilt

To be fair, the game says you have 100% just from getting 3 Stars on everything. So everyone saying you need all the variants and everything is wrong. That's more like 117%(kudos to anyone who gets the reference I made there).

Tell me!

pretty sure thats the completion percentage from either Spyro 2 or YotD.

See slow clap *slow clap*

for serious! if you are complaining about prices and products, NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO BUY.
i got the game because i wanted it, and i got the figures cause i wanted them, want is not need. just quit it, stop complaining. dont buy and go away. play a free game.

This guy needs to stuff his mushroom.

Uh, just dont buy them, so I can. Thanks for complaining though. Falls on mostly deaf ears.

The topic creator. Also I meant it as in stuffed mushroom. Y'know, the food?

Lol. It's a game. Some get into the collection aspect (and I get that, really), but it's still a game. So long as I can "complete" it, I'm happy. To each his own I suppose. If you just want to complete it, buy the characters that are required, if you want to collect everything, you are screwed on this one!

Warning LONG Rant Ahead!!!


I Agree with the OP, the series 2 Skylanders seem like a money spin, and a slap in the face, after buying the 32 Originals + Dark Spyro + Legendary's the total spend on the game is quite a lot (considering where I live 29.99 for a triple pack and 12.99 for a single is average). Me and my little one made a fun thing of it and it became more about the fun of finding that the actual finding, each week we'd do our little weekly skylander hunt and sometimes we'd be successful some times not.

With the New Series two the old ones are now worthless, not just worthless but completely worthless! in the first game each skylander came with an element and a heroic challenge. the element could help you by opening elemental gates in the game giving you a bit more and the heroic challenge made things easier and your skylanders stronger while also adding just a little bit more to the game. now with Giants your Series 1 skylanders (even when owned) are nothing more than a visitor, as in you get no bonuses, no heroic Challenges nothing, but Series 2 Skylanders come with their element and Heroic Challenge.

this mean if I buy just the new one (7 Giants and 8 New Characters plus legendary) my Series One Stealth Elf will be Stronger than my Legendary Series 2 Stealth elf simply because of the fact I'd have to buy another 32 Skylander to unlock the same heroic challenges to complete them to boost the stat's to the same amount as my Series 1 skylander. to add insult to this Series 2 Stealth elf works fine in Spyro's Adventure just as Series one Stealth Elf (thought I must admit I haven't got any Series 2 yet to test just going on information) proving it can be done.

In essence this mean's the best thing to do is not buy *any* Series one Skylanders but get cheap copy of game disc of eBay of Spryo's Adventure, then buy all 45 Series two Skylander's, plus a Giants Starter Pack, play through first game do all heroics then take ownerships in Giants to get the extra Heroic Challenges.

The Series 1 should be made exactly like Series 2 now and Series two should be made count like legendary Characters, in game look different maybe and extra upgrade path available only in Giants but regardless of what Stealth Elf put on portal, Stealth Elf Series 1, Series 2 should unlock Heroic Challenge in either game. but as Game has been made RTM and as Wii can not get updates to game its too late.

I can honest say I probably won't be reviving my weekly skylander hunt with my little one because of this and to be honest if I hadn't got her the legendary giant for a present properly wouldn't buy any new ones at all, I cleared the game with just 2 Skylanders, use another 6 just to open gates on a second run through and am now going through with a giant to get the missing bonuses so you only need 1 skylander not even 3, not even a giant, it does seem like this game has fallen victim to the same fate as COD: Modern Warfare, Game was so good publishers didn't know how big the game would get and decided to do it again but try to milk it for more and went completely nuts while doing so, and in my opinion ruined the essence of the game, at least with skylanders the story survive this time. Now if I only I could remember who makes Call Of Duty again???

Sorry for the rant but I feel Cheated, this things are marketed at kids, knowing kids will want all of them they cheapened last year's models to uselessness just like that without a second thought, and if this is what happened this year what next? what if next year they try the same trick making the (in my local Currency) 869.21EUR worth of skylander's (and that just basic no legendary or variations) worthless too?

Actually you're wrong,they increased the level cap up to 15 even for the series 1,and I still use my series 1 characters on Giants all of the time

Quote: Nightweb

Warning LONG Rant Ahead!!!


I Agree with the OP, the series 2 Skylanders seem like a money spin, and a slap in the face, after buying the 32 Originals + Dark Spyro + Legendary's the total spend on the game is quite a lot (considering where I live 29.99 for a triple pack and 12.99 for a single is average). Me and my little one made a fun thing of it and it became more about the fun of finding that the actual finding, each week we'd do our little weekly skylander hunt and sometimes we'd be successful some times not.

With the New Series two the old ones are now worthless, not just worthless but completely worthless! in the first game each skylander came with an element and a heroic challenge. the element could help you by opening elemental gates in the game giving you a bit more and the heroic challenge made things easier and your skylanders stronger while also adding just a little bit more to the game. now with Giants your Series 1 skylanders (even when owned) are nothing more than a visitor, as in you get no bonuses, no heroic Challenges nothing, but Series 2 Skylanders come with their element and Heroic Challenge.

this mean if I buy just the new one (7 Giants and 8 New Characters plus legendary) my Series One Stealth Elf will be Stronger than my Legendary Series 2 Stealth elf simply because of the fact I'd have to buy another 32 Skylander to unlock the same heroic challenges to complete them to boost the stat's to the same amount as my Series 1 skylander. to add insult to this Series 2 Stealth elf works fine in Spyro's Adventure just as Series one Stealth Elf (thought I must admit I haven't got any Series 2 yet to test just going on information) proving it can be done.

In essence this mean's the best thing to do is not buy *any* Series one Skylanders but get cheap copy of game disc of eBay of Spryo's Adventure, then buy all 45 Series two Skylander's, plus a Giants Starter Pack, play through first game do all heroics then take ownerships in Giants to get the extra Heroic Challenges.

The Series 1 should be made exactly like Series 2 now and Series two should be made count like legendary Characters, in game look different maybe and extra upgrade path available only in Giants but regardless of what Stealth Elf put on portal, Stealth Elf Series 1, Series 2 should unlock Heroic Challenge in either game. but as Game has been made RTM and as Wii can not get updates to game its too late.

I can honest say I probably won't be reviving my weekly skylander hunt with my little one because of this and to be honest if I hadn't got her the legendary giant for a present properly wouldn't buy any new ones at all, I cleared the game with just 2 Skylanders, use another 6 just to open gates on a second run through and am now going through with a giant to get the missing bonuses so you only need 1 skylander not even 3, not even a giant, it does seem like this game has fallen victim to the same fate as COD: Modern Warfare, Game was so good publishers didn't know how big the game would get and decided to do it again but try to milk it for more and went completely nuts while doing so, and in my opinion ruined the essence of the game, at least with skylanders the story survive this time. Now if I only I could remember who makes Call Of Duty again???

Sorry for the rant but I feel Cheated, this things are marketed at kids, knowing kids will want all of them they cheapened last year's models to uselessness just like that without a second thought, and if this is what happened this year what next? what if next year they try the same trick making the (in my local Currency) 869.21EUR worth of skylander's (and that just basic no legendary or variations) worthless too?

You sir, need to shut cho' mouth.

Admittedly yes I forgot this but it still seems that the Series 1 Skylanders are nothing more than visitors to giants, and the lvl increase also only works in Giants too :-(

Well of course it only works in Giants. SSA can't receive an update in any way. (And don't say online because Activision won't take the risks. Most kids don't have online)

Quote: WUMBOSIMPSON

You sir, need to shut cho' mouth.

Sorry for opening my mouth again but where's your point there? either agree or don't, no need for comments like that

Well, it was mostly you blaming Activision for your own choices.

Quote: WUMBOSIMPSON

Well of course it only works in Giants. SSA can't receive an update in any way. (And don't say online because Activision won't take the risks. Most kids don't have online)

yes but all the information is stored in the RFID tags in the toy's so in theory you shouldn't need to update the games as the toy's are where the data is

Quote: WUMBOSIMPSON

Well, it was mostly you blaming Activision for your own choices.

no I didn't mean or say that at all I merely said that there shouldn't be a different between Series 1 and 2, if Series 2 can get the Heroic Challenge in Giants why can't Series 1? and I also said I enjoyed the hunt and finding them and that they are not needed at all as I also said I could clear it with just 2 Skylander on hard so I was agreeing that we weren't forced to buy them but that it was a cheap shot and not giving the Heroic Challenges, nothing more as that as I can see is the only difference, like the skylander is just visiting not owned