darkSpyro

Skylanders has undergone price increases since its first release. Skylanders singles are currently retailing for $9.99 and Disney Infinity singles will retail for $12.99. Will Activision raise prices to be more in line with Disney Infinity? Activision may not match them, but raise the base price $1-2 for singles. And, that means all others (Lightcore, packs, etc) would have to be increased too.

Probably not. Activision will start cheaper than Disney to beat them out of the water.

Knowing Activision, they prolly will raise prices, however I think that they should remain the same if they don't want to completely kill out their franchise next year... if there are two characters at the same price on the shelf, one Skylander and one famous DISNEY character, most parents and kids would pick the Disney figure they watch in their movies and have seen adventuring in one, or more movies they frequently watch at home. This would be a grave mistake on Activision's part to raise prices more than they already have, however I think based on their history, it will happen. Say adios to Skylanders after another year or two, Disney Infinity is coming!!

I have a feeling that they'll both survive.

yah bet ur arse they will raise the prices...

Quote: Matteomax

I have a feeling that they'll both survive.

You are right MatteoMax, I think they will both survive, I just think the thunder from Skylanders will rapidly dissipate immensely once they have competition, and from Disney none the less! Don't get me wrong, I love Skylanders, and have spent a small fortune on them, but I also love Disney and I can see how they will make Skylanders the afterthought when it comes to the concept TFB created... they will always be what started this toy-into-game craze, and that's what's most important when it comes to the history behind gaming

We have a topic for infinity in VIDEO GAMES

If anything prices will stay the same or go down. If you pre-order infinity at TRU you get to choose a FREE figure! (A $12.99 value!)

If they did this with Skylanders I would be really exited!

I think since Infinity's figures are already more expensive than Skylanders (they are 12.99$ each, 29.99$ for triple), they will probably stay the same price. I do think that they might do the pre order and get a figure free like they are doing with Infinity at Gamestop and TRU though.

It's a bit sketchy and looking at how infinity's gameplay is set up similar but in a way, but not as much meat to the title. After some research on it, seems Infinity at most on the game disc will have 3 game worlds and approx 6 hour gameplay on each (probably far less for an experienced gamer) and other worlds like cars for its first expansion to add more play, etc.

Swap force on the other hand will probably have more characters to collect than infinity will get out in time. Both however will overflow the market on release on their waves. Infinity might have a wave or two prior to Swap force though. I see acti possibly making the normal and lightcore figures of swap force 11.99 since the regulars sold better and lightcores seem to well...take up more shelf space. Giants are rather comfortable at 15 so they might not see an increase too much along with triple packs. The swapable figures though could be something in between that. Prices for the most part for skylanders I don't see going too far ahead simply to compete for others to actually play the third game, or else losing out to the competition.

It's doubtful Giants will be reposed, or at least I'd hope they wouldn't repose them for at least another installment. The Swap Force characters are the main deal now anyways. However, I must say, I feel like Swap Force would probably retail at either 12.99 or 13.99 due to their nature as two parts.

I don't see the price increasing for Giants. The price for them will be discounted similar to SSA figures so they can be sold off. When Giants came out, the price increased. Swap Force could have the same thing happen. And, with DI raising the base price, Activision may want to get in on the action. I just wonder what is the price point where people aren't as willing to buy as many figures. $7.99 was a great price. $9.99 wasn't too bad either. $12.99 is definitely pushing it. I could see spending that much if the figures were more compelling (original Disney, Star Wars), but not for the ones they're releasing.

Personally:

Disney Infinity is a bit more expensive in terms of figures. While I don't see that driving the price down, I can see an increase in sales for Skylanders comparatively a cheaper toy especially if the mommy bloggers pick up on it like they seem to have with Skylanders. This to me could potentially drive UP the price for Skylanders if some stores see the flying off the shelves; TRU has already tested the waters for $1 more per each figure and as GM pointed out a few times, the other major retailers have followed suit usually right after.

HOWEVER...I think what we should do is flock to TRU and buy them out of the stuff they have for $7.49 for this sale- if they see how much MORE they can sell at a lower price, we could hopefully send the message that they need to charge cheaper in order for more people to buy. This has actually worked irl a few times now particularly with consoles:

3DS released at a high price>hardly any sales> Price cut >huge increase in sales.
Vita released at high price with no gaems lol >hardly any sales> Price cut with a few new popular titles >huge increase in sales.

Quote: spyroflame0487

3DS released at a high price>hardly any sales> Price cut >huge increase in sales.
Vita released at high price with no gaems lol >hardly any sales> Price cut with a few new popular titles >huge increase in sales.

I remember seeing a statistic that the bulk of PS2 consoles were sold when the price hit $200. I don't know about the PS3 or current gen, but I imagine it's probably the same.

TRU did raise its prices on the Giants, but it only stuck for exclusives or early releases. People would either do a price match or buy them somewhere else. Every store has to raise the price. Too high of a price and they start to have diminishing returns where Activision gets more for each figure but less people are buying them.

it also got online option. u think about that?

Oh I seriously hope not...

Quote: kappapopm

it also got online option. u think about that?

This is a big part of why I'm switching to Infinity next year... I was disappointed they didn't add online play to Giants, and after hearing that Swap-Force won't have online either, that had a big effect on my decision!! I'm still hoping they might change this before release and add an online multiplayer option though!!

Quote: Shroomy_Boomy

Quote: kappapopm

it also got online option. u think about that?

This is a big part of why I'm switching to Infinity next year... I was disappointed they didn't add online play to Giants, and after hearing that Swap-Force won't have online either, that had a big effect on my decision!! I'm still hoping they might change this before release and add an online multiplayer option though!!

Who knows...maybe they got rid of Universe to concentrate on that...would be nice anyway.

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

Quote: Tel Prydain

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

Explain it then.

I don't really see why prices would go up because of competition. If they were selling well at their original price, they will still sell well if Activision keeps advertising and keeping the games coming.

Quote: Tel Prydain

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

So true. I hope Activision is scared, cause maybe we can then go back to the days of 7.99 skylanders.

Quote: Tel Prydain

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

In reality, they're not going to go any lower than 9.99$ for regular Skylanders. At best, Infinity figures will have their prices cut. Not Skylanders.

Quote: henryszuch

Quote: ZapNorris

We have a topic for infinity in VIDEO GAMES

This is not about infinity, this is about skylanders, and if they will be effected by infinity.

Of course. When you have 100% market share there's nowhere go but down.

Quote: GamerDrone

Quote: Tel Prydain

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

Explain it then.

As the folk who posted after me have already said, the price is more likely to go down than up.

Basically, Skylanders has had a monopoly on the ‘physical DLC toys’ niche for two years. Over that time they’ve built a brand, they’ve had the luxury of charging whatever they’d like for the toys and they have been able to push vanity products on us, like lightcore and S2 – With S2 characters they convinced thousands of people to pay for the same on-disk DLC characters a second time, and with lightcore they convinced thousands of people to pay MORE for a crippled S2 character that lacks path-switching and wow-power moves, just because it had lights on it.
This was possible because they own the genre and there is nothing else like it.

But that’s all about to change. Infinity is coming in with its own game, its own range of figures, and it’s starting with the Disney brand (which, when it comes to family entertainment) is as big as it gets.
Have you noticed a lot of talk from Activision about how Infinity and Skaylanders are not the really same thing… Even though they are clearly kinda the same thing? That’s because Activision are terrified that Infinity could eat Skylanders’ lunch and they are already trying to create an environment where people are not comparing Skylanders and Infinity directly.
It’s not going to work, because parents are not going to compare the Activision talking points; rather most parents are just going to see that they can choose between some silly little monster or that character from that movie their kid likes.
(And actually, when people notice Infinity offers platforming gameplay, online multiplayer AND minecraft-ish free building, Activision should be worried that we’ll start questioning the value that skylanders is offering us).

Activision knows that parents will be comparing the toys in-store, and that Skylanders are likely to be at a disadvantage when a parent compares the unknown Skylanders to the iconic Disney characters. To counter this, it’s likely that Activision will try and convince people that Skylanders offer more value; both by emphasising that swap-landers offer lot of combinations, and by trying to undercut the price of the Infinity figures.
I imagine that this is also partly why there are only 16 S3 figures rather than remakes of most SSA/SG characters – people aren’t going to keep buying reposed characters when the choice is reposed version of a character you already own VS whole new Infinity character.

I fully expected the average price of Skylanders to go up due to the Swap Force figures alone. There will be 16 figures at what I expect to be in between the price of a Giant and Lightcore figure.

Quote: YOLOrenzo

I fully expected the average price of Skylanders to go up due to the Swap Force figures alone. There will be 16 figures at what I expect to be in between the price of a Giant and Lightcore figure.

I would say that the Swap Force characters are going to be the same as the Lightcore and Infinity = $12.99

The Swap capability would be equal to Disney Infinity characters.
Choose between a favorite disney character or a Swap Force character?

Tel -- very good post and talking points. They've had the luxury of being somewhat lazy rehashing these characters on us and so far we've been lapping it up. I do know there is growing contention on this fact, and their next move could be a doozy if they mis-step.

For the age group Skylanders supposedly serve (and I question that, because I see a lot of older gamers playing this)...your point on familiarity could be a deciding factor. For the older gamers that buy this, buying new innovation/characters is a benefit, not a liability. Also, to others point...those who are already in the franchise may continue due to the investment...however if Activision decides to not carry certain features by crippling content for a previous iteration of a character you will get a revolt...some may leave to Infinity...and some may just leave the genre for cheaper $60 games and the DLC will look a lot better. The toy collecting aspect is being ignored for the fact that it has nothing to do with the interaction aspect, but it is definitely adding to everyone's bottom line.

Infinity has some cool features...but whereas skylanders builds on one mythos with some admittedly weak linkings among the landers...Infinity is basically selling a PLATFORM for MANY GAMES of which you pay for THE GAMES YOU WANT on the PLATFORM. Skylanders seems to be an individual release, with some hardware you need to play it. The one strength of skylanders is the ability to use our characters ACROSS GAMES, which is not allowed on the Infinity platform. In my eyes, apples and oranges...just a different approach...but that won't stop everyone from making judgements.

I saw the death of the arcade and laserdisk games even though the technology was cool because there wasn't enough there to keep us long term. Jury is still out on this chapter, but I'm getting some of those same vibes here.

Quote: GamerDrone

Skylanders has undergone price increases since its first release. Skylanders singles are currently retailing for $9.99 and Disney Infinity singles will retail for $12.99. Will Activision raise prices to be more in line with Disney Infinity? Activision may not match them, but raise the base price $1-2 for singles. And, that means all others (Lightcore, packs, etc) would have to be increased too.

It is very, very rare in a capitalist economy that healthy competition drives prices UP.

It's possible, I suppose, but it's improbable; it defies logic.

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I predict that Disney Infinity is going to be a huge flop.
Copycatting hot toys is nothing new, but it's very rare for the copycat to actually surpass or even live-up to its predecessor. Now, granted, the Disney branding will give the Infinity system a better chance than most copycats ... but I still expect a flop. Unless the SwapForce game is utter garbage, I do not anticipate loyal fans of the Skylanders franchise jumping ship for Infinity. I also do not think that most middle-class and working-class families can afford to be buying up characters for two unique gaming collections like Skylanders and Infinity. People will choose one or the other, in most cases, and I think the deck is stacked against Disney on this one. Time will tell.

I don't think Infinity will flop, but I bet they won't QUITE be able to reproduce the magic we've had with Skylanders. If they provide huge value on reuse of the toys aspect, then Eon will be sweating a bit in Skylands.

Also keep in mind that not everyone jumped onto Skylanders, but are huge disney fans...the toy collectors and Disney diehards will be all over infinity...and that alone may ensure its success. Brand recognition etc does count and will help. I am interested to see an actual Disney movie and concurrent Infinity tie in...that would be cool I think.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

I also do not think that most middle-class and working-class families can afford to be buying up characters for two unique gaming collections like Skylanders and Infinity. People will choose one or the other, in most cases, and I think the deck is stacked against Disney on this one. Time will tell.

This is my main reason I won't be getting into Infinity. I would consider myself a huge Disney fan but because I simply cannot afford to get into both, I'm continuing with the one I already started. Since the prices on Infinity are looking higher than the current price of Skylanders (which like I said, I think will go back down to the SSA price), why pay more for a game that I don't even know if I'll like or not?

I'm betting if anything they'll want to compete with Infinity, hopefully that means loads of huge sales week before it comes out, hoping the kids spend all their money and can't afford Infinity. These are the Beings of Avarice we're talking about.

Quote: wayiswho

Quote: BahamutBreaker

I also do not think that most middle-class and working-class families can afford to be buying up characters for two unique gaming collections like Skylanders and Infinity. People will choose one or the other, in most cases, and I think the deck is stacked against Disney on this one. Time will tell.

This is my main reason I won't be getting into Infinity. I would consider myself a huge Disney fan but because I simply cannot afford to get into both, I'm continuing with the one I already started. Since the prices on Infinity are looking higher than the current price of Skylanders (which like I said, I think will go back down to the SSA price), why pay more for a game that I don't even know if I'll like or not?

I agree with this completely. It has been hard enough for me to keep up with Skylanders as it is there is no way I could even think about affording both. My family and I are huge fans of everything Disney but I feel they entered the ring to late for me to jump.

Activision will probably take a wait and see approach with pricing. Infinity will be out in August so Activision will be able to see how the figures sell at $12.99 and how popular the game is and if Skylander's Giants and figure sales are hurt at all.

If Infinity sells well at the higher prices and Giants games and Figure sales are not hurt that badly, I think Activision will raise prices on their figures because they will think there is room for two games on the market and the higher price point doesn't hurt Infinity.

If Infinity sells well and Giants games and Figure sales drop a lot then maybe Activision will keep prices the same or even lower them to make sure they can compete with Infinity.

If Infinity sells poorly then Activision will probably keep prices the same thinking that the high price point hurt Disney.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: GamerDrone

Quote: Tel Prydain

This thread shows as profound misunderstanding of how competition normally effects prices accourding to basic economic theory.

Explain it then.

As the folk who posted after me have already said, the price is more likely to go down than up.

Basically, Skylanders has had a monopoly on the ‘physical DLC toys’ niche for two years. Over that time they’ve built a brand, they’ve had the luxury of charging whatever they’d like for the toys and they have been able to push vanity products on us, like lightcore and S2 – With S2 characters they convinced thousands of people to pay for the same on-disk DLC characters a second time, and with lightcore they convinced thousands of people to pay MORE for a crippled S2 character that lacks path-switching and wow-power moves, just because it had lights on it.
This was possible because they own the genre and there is nothing else like it.

But that’s all about to change. Infinity is coming in with its own game, its own range of figures, and it’s starting with the Disney brand (which, when it comes to family entertainment) is as big as it gets.
Have you noticed a lot of talk from Activision about how Infinity and Skaylanders are not the really same thing… Even though they are clearly kinda the same thing? That’s because Activision are terrified that Infinity could eat Skylanders’ lunch and they are already trying to create an environment where people are not comparing Skylanders and Infinity directly.
It’s not going to work, because parents are not going to compare the Activision talking points; rather most parents are just going to see that they can choose between some silly little monster or that character from that movie their kid likes.
(And actually, when people notice Infinity offers platforming gameplay, online multiplayer AND minecraft-ish free building, Activision should be worried that we’ll start questioning the value that skylanders is offering us).

Activision knows that parents will be comparing the toys in-store, and that Skylanders are likely to be at a disadvantage when a parent compares the unknown Skylanders to the iconic Disney characters. To counter this, it’s likely that Activision will try and convince people that Skylanders offer more value; both by emphasising that swap-landers offer lot of combinations, and by trying to undercut the price of the Infinity figures.
I imagine that this is also partly why there are only 16 S3 figures rather than remakes of most SSA/SG characters – people aren’t going to keep buying reposed characters when the choice is reposed version of a character you already own VS whole new Infinity character.

The primary thing you left out of your analysis, though, is player base and cross compatibility. While parents new to the genre will likely choose Infinity over Skylanders (provided pricing remains similar), Activision has hundreds of thousands of existing fans of the Skylander's franchise who have the promise of being able to use their existing figures in the new game releases.

In addition, while brand recognition may get Infinity started, it really is up to quality of gameplay to get the kids hooked on it enough to bug their parents for more figures. Skylanders isn't just about the characters, the gameplay is an important feature and is what causes the fanbase to want to continue playing and buying more characters.

If Infinity is anything like the recently released Disney Universe game, it isn't going to get very far. My kids have played Universe a few times and it apparently didn't spark their interest much. It goes to show that brand recognition is only a small part of a success.

My guess is that prices will remain about the same as they are now or maybe increased slighly to be equivalent to the Infinity price structure. If they loose ground to Infinity, then prices will drop. Not much different than a console war.

Quote: GhostRoaster

skylanders builds on one mythos with some admittedly weak linkings among the landers...Infinity is basically selling a PLATFORM for MANY GAMES of which you pay for THE GAMES YOU WANT on the PLATFORM. Skylanders seems to be an individual release, with some hardware you need to play it. The one strength of skylanders is the ability to use our characters ACROSS GAMES, which is not allowed on the Infinity platform. In my eyes, apples and oranges...just a different approach...but that won't stop everyone from making judgements.

Good point (and great to see a Orz quote in your sig ).
The infinity model of standalone games sharing the hardware is interesting, and could actually offer a lot more value than landers do – but it is irksome that characters from one world can’t play in another.
Having said that, they can obviously all play together in Toy Box mode, so some of that cross-game value is certainly still there.

It’s hard to predict how this is going to be perceived by ‘average’ families when it comes out – I can imagine families being used to skylanders and then getting annoyed/confused when characters can’t play together in the playset.
Or maybe the minecraft/Little Big Planet toy box will take off and overshadow the shallow arcade game sections entirely.
Quote: Rhonan

The primary thing you left out of your analysis, though, is player base and cross compatibility. While parents new to the genre will likely choose Infinity over Skylanders (provided pricing remains similar), Activision has hundreds of thousands of existing fans of the Skylander's franchise who have the promise of being able to use their existing figures in the new game releases.

I’d agree, but bear in mind that Swap Force is requiring a new portal, only offering a starter pack, adding ‘movement’ gates that lock out old figures and switching to a whole new scale for the figures. Parents may think that as long as they have to buy a new portal they may as well get the Disney one, and long-time fans might be irked that the movement styles are just a lame way to limit old characters and force them to buy new ones. Maybe.
Again, who knows how ‘average’ consumers will see this – but the new figures and portal look quite different indeed, and there is the potential that confusion around the nature of the new Skylanders might lead buyers to misunderstand the compatibility (there were people who were confused about the much simpler Giants transition – I shudder to think what grandmothers will make of Swap Force).

"Comstock has sabotaged our contraption. Yet, we are not dead. A theory: we are scattered amongst the possibility space. But my brother and I are together, and so, I am content. He is not. The business with the girl lies unresolved. But perhaps there is one who can finish it in our stead."
Quote: YOLOrenzo

I fully expected the average price of Skylanders to go up due to the Swap Force figures alone. There will be 16 figures at what I expect to be in between the price of a Giant and Lightcore figure.

Totally agree… When I’m talking about prices likely to go down, I’m talking about the S3 characters and new ‘normal’ Skylanders, not the swap-landers. I expect them to be priced about the same as Giants.

Quote: jjgames

Activision will probably take a wait and see approach with pricing. Infinity will be out in August so Activision will be able to see how the figures sell at $12.99 and how popular the game is and if Skylander's Giants and figure sales are hurt at all.

Tru fact. If Infinity flops, expect Skylander prices to go up (they are, after all, bigger now). If Infinity does ‘okay’, expect the prices to stay about the same. If Infinity is a massive hit, expect cheap starter packs and for low prices across the board.

Activision will be intently watching DI and how it does on the market. The 2 games are trying to differentiate themselves, but DI is constantly compared to Skylanders. That can't be a good thing. I don't think that DI is coming strong on the characters that will be initially available. IMO, the Incredibles are the only real compelling characters.

Activision may have planned another price increase, but with DI coming out, it may choose to maintain prices at current levels. Who knows DI could be a slow burn. Skylanders wasn't an instant hit. It took a few months before it caught on. DI may experience the same thing. As some mentioned upthread, gameplay will play a factor. If the game sucks, then DI will crash and burn regardless of it being Disney.

That's why I'm really not understanding the toy aspect of DI---you only have 4-5 to pick on a given "playset" (I read that as a paid game)...if the content of that game doesn't warrant the price being able to pick between a handful of characters isn't really going to change the experience. Actually, I think Skylanders has the exact OPPOSITE problem---their characters are expansive and diverse...rich with details and strategies on when to use each of them---but because the HC and environmental upgrades, hats etc REMOVES those obstacles...the different experiences between all of the characters aren't fully realized imo. Biggest thing they can do is to double or triple the game time on skylanders to make passive gamers compelled to get more characters as there's enough to experience with a larger audience.

Anyway, random rant...over.

*faceplam* Its confirmed SOME TOYS WILL ONLY WORK IN TOY BOX

Quote: Sleepy0429

*faceplam* Its confirmed SOME TOYS WILL ONLY WORK IN TOY BOX

I don't know much about Infinity, but it was my understanding that it included the player characters (such as Mr. Incredible, Sulley, Capt. Jack Sparrow) and upgrade items of sorts. My guess is that it is some of those upgrade items that only work in sandbox mode (or are designed to unlock certain sandbox mode features). I highly doubt that some of the player characters are only able to be used in toybox mode.

Side note: I wish they would put the 3DS game onto XBLA/PSN/Whatever. That'd give us a bit more to do.