darkSpyro

I love Skylanders nearly as much as my kids. I have all of the "widely" available characters and I think it is a disgrace on the part of Activision not releasing them all at the same. As a result, you have people on ebay (which seems to be the only place to get "hard-to-find" characters) preying on those parents whose kid's are desperate to play one of the rare characters. I mean isn't Activision making a bundle from this game..... so why on earth should I have to pay 3 or 4 times as much for one character when Activision releases a limited amount.

Two other things................Firstly, is there anywhere on the internet that lists a release schedule for the remaining unreleased characters? Secondly, if you go onto Walmart.com, they have listings for a number of unreleased characters such as Warnado. In the description, it not only states that this character is only for Wii but that it will ship on 12/04..........This has to be wrong but I was curious if anyone had an opinion on this.

What do you mean about the limited? Are you talking about the Silver ones? Because if so, I find it prety normal to find these on eBay... it's a collector thing. They change nothing to the gameplay, they are just there for the collection purpose.

And from now, the @rare@ character are not limited, they are just popular, so harder to find because everyone wants them.

Releasing in waves is a fairly standard tactic in the toy industry. It prevents clutter and lengthens interest in the Skylander brand as opposed to blowing it all out in a single shot. Products that sell decently over a long period of time generally outsell products that sell fantastically well in a short period of time.

You love Skylanders as much as you love your kids!?Hahahaha!!!!

I think hes saying he loves the game as much as his kids do

And besides the silver characters, none are really "rare." Some stores have exclusives but besides that you should be able to find any character at any store. Go to Target/Walmart/Toys'R'Us and you should be (theoretically) able to buy them all in one trip!

And if all the characters came out at once I would have bought them all already, leveled them up, and be burnt out on the game. Since they staggered it I'm on here posting about how bad I want the rest of them! Definitely keeps you interested for longer.

To be honest, on this occasion, I have to admit I feel as though it would have been more beneficial for them to release them at the same time.

Many people will buy the game as soon as it comes out, and then by the time they release new figures, would have moved on to something new. Only people who really, really enjoy the game will bother to wait it out.

Whereas, if they were released all at the same time, many people would buy them at the same time, or buy the ones they couldn't afford later. Already, as much as I love the game, I'm considering waiting for some of the newer ones to lower in price before I buy them.

From a money making perspective you could be correct.

Personally I'm just selfishly happy with it because it forces me to slow down my OCDness a bit I would be begging on the street if all the figures came out at once hehe

"WILL WORK FOR SKYLANDER FIGURINES!"

I think that yes, people will move out, but they will come back to the game with a new wave later

Releasing in waves is better than anything else. It keeps you interested and on your toes.

think a little, shorty.

It must also be pointed out that the retailers have a big say in what the toy companies are able to ship. They generally don't want to devote too much of their shelf space to one thing at a time.

releasing over time is fine... what bothers me is that Activision will not give you any release dates, are they coming before Christmas? next summer? it couldn't hurt to tell us something.

I am also fine with it being staggered. There's just no reason for there to be so much confusion about the release dates.

Quote: DarkMalefor1

You love Skylanders as much as you love your kids!?Hahahaha!!!!

I literally LOL'd when I read that! Well done.

I agree with the rest - I don't think it's a bad idea, but it sure would be nice to have some more information. My guess is that we'll get something new before Christmas, but not the entire set. In my opinion it makes it easier to get them all and besides, the hunt is part of the fun!

^ I admit that the hunt for toys is kinda fun but honestly we would have to keep hunting even if there were release dates. A lot of stores still have problems stocking sonic boom, stealth elf, zap and many more...

Quote: YaggleberryFinn

Quote: DarkMalefor1

You love Skylanders as much as you love your kids!?Hahahaha!!!!

I literally LOL'd when I read that! Well done.

I agree with the rest - I don't think it's a bad idea, but it sure would be nice to have some more information. My guess is that we'll get something new before Christmas, but not the entire set. In my opinion it makes it easier to get them all and besides, the hunt is part of the fun!

That's my main problem with it too.

I think if there were true release dates, it wouldn't be so bad. But right now, I can't help but feel as though this was poorly thought out. To top it all off, Activision staff apparently don't know anything about the figures (and deny the silver figure existance, according to some people I've spoken to), despite it being on their website.

Quote: forcesofwill

It must also be pointed out that the retailers have a big say in what the toy companies are able to ship. They generally don't want to devote too much of their shelf space to one thing at a time.

Agreed.

This is how collectible miniatures work- they release in waves, there are variants and rares. Been going on for decades.

Quote: Snark

Releasing in waves is a fairly standard tactic in the toy industry. It prevents clutter and lengthens interest in the Skylander brand as opposed to blowing it all out in a single shot. Products that sell decently over a long period of time generally outsell products that sell fantastically well in a short period of time.

But the fact that "Wave" 2 is so cluttered with certain stores selling it, and an actual date constantly being changed contradicts the idea of it being organized.

Quote: paddyflan

I love Skylanders nearly as much as my kids. I have all of the "widely" available characters and I think it is a disgrace on the part of Activision not releasing them all at the same. As a result, you have people on ebay (which seems to be the only place to get "hard-to-find" characters) preying on those parents whose kid's are desperate to play one of the rare characters. I mean isn't Activision making a bundle from this game..... so why on earth should I have to pay 3 or 4 times as much for one character when Activision releases a limited amount.

Two other things................Firstly, is there anywhere on the internet that lists a release schedule for the remaining unreleased characters? Secondly, if you go onto Walmart.com, they have listings for a number of unreleased characters such as Warnado. In the description, it not only states that this character is only for Wii but that it will ship on 12/04..........This has to be wrong but I was curious if anyone had an opinion on this.

The only rare characters are the silver ones and Dark Spyro but the silver ones are the same as their regular counterparts so they're not any different. There's a simple solution, don't buy the characters that you can't get in a single pack yet just because they're on eBay for 3 times as much as a regular figure. In fact there's only 1 'Limited' character at the moment and that's Ignitor. You can only get him in the 3DS version at the moment but he will be out on his own eventually. Secondly, there is no release schedule for any of the unreleased characters yet and Wal-Mart have just got it wrong; the characters are all multi-platform and region free.

First of all, let me clarify......I meant to say that I love Skylanders nearly as much as my kids DO...........give me some credit people!!!!!!!!!!lol As for my original post...........I think my frustration is based on the fact that there is no release schedule anywhere on the net and no one seems to know anything about anything when it comes to these bloody characters.

it frustrates me as well..

Quote: paddyflan

First of all, let me clarify......I meant to say that I love Skylanders nearly as much as my kids DO...........give me some credit people!!!!!!!!!!lol As for my original post...........I think my frustration is based on the fact that there is no release schedule anywhere on the net and no one seems to know anything about anything when it comes to these bloody characters.

i think the skylanders have been more popular than activision thought it would be. that is what happen i think... then wee see some figurines not released in all places and no proper dates. give it a couple of months after the new year and things will be fine...

so you are saying we have to wait a couple of months after new year to get more characters?

uneccecary. the videos are out and all the skylanders on the spyro website are open. i see no reason to wait a year

Quote: LyraDragon

so you are saying we have to wait a couple of months after new year to get more characters?

uneccecary. the videos are out and all the skylanders on the spyro website are open. i see no reason to wait a year

this is all about production run and distribution.. so we customers and stores cant do much about it... than wait. anyway next wave is at 9th december in europe i read at this forum, we will see what we get in norway...

I keep feeling like new dates are coming and leaving with no new toys out. I am starting to really doubt the 9th of Dec as a release date. :/

Well, the UK have them out now, even though we're meant to get them in the same time.

This is why I don't think it was good idea - No one knows the dates, some stores release and others do not. Kids will grow bored of the game, and move on to something new in this period of time.

Quote: RadSpyro

Well, the UK have them out now, even though we're meant to get them in the same time.

This is why I don't think it was good idea - No one knows the dates, some stores release and others do not. Kids will grow bored of the game, and move on to something new in this period of time.

with 23 figurines and 2 adventure packs out, i dont think kids will go bored that easily. only the parents that have to buy it

Quote: kappapopm

Quote: RadSpyro

Well, the UK have them out now, even though we're meant to get them in the same time.

This is why I don't think it was good idea - No one knows the dates, some stores release and others do not. Kids will grow bored of the game, and move on to something new in this period of time.

with 23 figurines and 2 adventure packs out, i dont think kids will go bored that easily. only the parents that have to buy it

Trust me, they will. I don't know about other countries, but after a month, any game is 'boring' to them in the UK.

After all, once the game is complete.... Why would they want new characters if there's nothing for them to do? The expansion levels maybe, but then you have to think about some parents - They'll argue 'Oh, you've beaten the game, I'm not wasting money on a different character when you'd already beaten it', etc. etc.

Quote: NovaNavi

Releasing in waves is better than anything else. It keeps you interested and on your toes.

think a little, shorty.

^ This. It keeps you interested and it also can make them easier to find.
In my opinion, hunting for them is the fun part.

Agreed. The only skylander I need right now is Hex and you better believe that doesn't stop me from going to every Target, Walmart, and Toys'R'Us that I find!

I do think some of the characterss are hard to find. Hex, Dino-Rang and Wrecking Ball were hard for my husband and I to find for our son. We got really lucky and found all 3 at the same walmart in one trip but that was after checking several other stores and I haven't seen any of the 3 anywhere else since we bought them a few weeks ago. I wonder if they will be easier to find as time goes on?

I don't mind the staggered releases but like others have said, I wish the release dates were provided so I knew when to start looking. My son is so excited to finish his collection and really wants the still unreleased characters.

I think it's incredibly stupid of Activision of doing this. Toys AIN'T DLC unless they weren't yet programmed into the game and can only do so via the toys.

And how is it stupid? Please tell us more.

yes tell us more...

Quote: NovaNavi

Releasing in waves is better than anything else. It keeps you interested and on your toes.

think a little, shorty.

Agreed.

To clarify, here in Oz I have not seen any store stock the second wave yet; even though many stores have re-stocked their Skylanders shelf/s since the wave was supposed to hit.

I would presume that this would be true for many other countries, as well?

So, for me, I have had the pleasure of wave 2 for a week now and only paid approx. $2-3 extra, per figurine, for that privilege - all courtesy of EBay.

Quote: StevemacQ

I think it's incredibly stupid of Activision of doing this. Toys AIN'T DLC unless they weren't yet programmed into the game and can only do so via the toys.

Not that I agree with him completely but I do understand this guy's point. When I first bought this game I was led to believe "Wow we get DLC through buying figures at a store!" Only after playing it did I realize all this information was stored on the disc already and that buying these figures are merely the "keys" to unlocking the content on the disc. The idea behind DLC is that the developers have created stuff after the disc is released that they want to offer you for a fee, not that there is stuff already on the disc you bought that they want to charge you for.

Either way, I love the game and I love the figures. But I do understand his frustration.

I actually appreciate the staggered release of the characters; it would have been far too expensive for me to have bought them all at once, so this gives me the chance to save some money.

^ This as well.
It gives people time to save enough money to get more when they're released.

Quote: dantilly

Quote: StevemacQ

I think it's incredibly stupid of Activision of doing this. Toys AIN'T DLC unless they weren't yet programmed into the game and can only do so via the toys.

Not that I agree with him completely but I do understand this guy's point. When I first bought this game I was led to believe "Wow we get DLC through buying figures at a store!" Only after playing it did I realize all this information was stored on the disc already and that buying these figures are merely the "keys" to unlocking the content on the disc. The idea behind DLC is that the developers have created stuff after the disc is released that they want to offer you for a fee, not that there is stuff already on the disc you bought that they want to charge you for.

Either way, I love the game and I love the figures. But I do understand his frustration.

this is nothing new, dlc are included already on the disc 90% of the time, when you buy a game today... at least on ps3/x360...

for me i like better paying for a thing that unlock content, and i can keep it after. instead of buying a code to type at psn store.. after 5 years you have nothing.. but i have the skylanders figurines..

My point was about Activision ironically having the inability to a huge quantity of the things they distribute.