darkSpyro

Quote: BahamutBreaker

LoL ... Skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East?

Thank you for that ... I needed a good laugh today.

A video game franchise does not need to reach the level of transcendence or longevity of Mario or Pokemon in order to be considered successful. In the same way that I do not need to break Michael Phelps' world records in order to be considered a successful swimmer.

Let's use this litmus test instead ... when you visited your local Toys R Us (or similar store for overseas) last Holiday shopping season, what franchise occupied the largest display and most prominent display, probably even occupying more than one large display area in the store? Answer?: Skylanders.
What franchise will occupy the largest display area and more than one prominent display area in the store again this Holiday season? Answer?: Skylanders.

It's quite possible that Skylanders has already "peaked" in popularity, but it's also possible that its "peak" has yet to come. Regardless, the level of popularity worldwide, and especially in the USA, is extremely high, and has been continuously for a period of at least 14-15 months now. That track record of success (and profit) has already vastly surpassed initial expectations for the Skylanders concept.

I never said it wasnt successful.
We want it to be truly great. We want it to last. Even people who dont play the games know who Pikachu or Mario are.


We know that it is extemely popular in US. We follow what goes on. You have midnight launches, release dates are broadcast in radio, tons of merchandise (tshirts, bags, etc), variant toys, roadshows in Timesquare. Tv ads.

Personally we'd like to see skylanders become a phenomenon here. We want them to make a buzz but they are not bothering to which is strange. They are alienating the fans here. The truly great franchises are known everywhere. My son cant even find a single schoolmate to talk about skylanders. Heck they even found others who play club penguin.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: Kung Fu Man

The biggest problem is still that the game is, indeed, a money pit. Series 1 Trigger Happy, Spyro and Gill Grunt are now worthless figures

Why exactly are they worthless? I prefer to use my originals to the new imposters.

You, yes. On a practical front to most people, they series 1 figures when faced with a series 2 or 3 figure have greatly diminished value. If you take away visual aesthetics of the toy itself, why would someone buy a series 1 Spryo when they know that the reposes have more options for leveling up and a new attack? From a gameplay stance, S1 Eruptor is less valuable then S2, S3, Volcanic, or even his Lightcore version as those outweigh his usefulness.

From a collector's standpoint, this can be a terrible thing. People want to believe that their investment will indeed be justified down the line and that they're not just throwing good hard money down a toilet, even if they never plan to sell them. By constantly 'remaking' the characters, it sabotages the market by replacing an existing character with a stronger, more-versatile character of usually equal rarity and price. And for a lot of people that do "catch them all" and given how that a) that character can be reused in older games they appeared in and b) they can be upgraded fairly quickly thanks to the Sky Diamond, unless you have an emotional attachment to that series 1 figure you're just going to leave it on the shelf, and even more likely once you acquire the lightcore or series 3 version of it.

Quote: SkylandCitizen

Quote: BahamutBreaker

LoL ... Skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East?

Thank you for that ... I needed a good laugh today.

A video game franchise does not need to reach the level of transcendence or longevity of Mario or Pokemon in order to be considered successful. In the same way that I do not need to break Michael Phelps' world records in order to be considered a successful swimmer.

Let's use this litmus test instead ... when you visited your local Toys R Us (or similar store for overseas) last Holiday shopping season, what franchise occupied the largest display and most prominent display, probably even occupying more than one large display area in the store? Answer?: Skylanders.
What franchise will occupy the largest display area and more than one prominent display area in the store again this Holiday season? Answer?: Skylanders.

It's quite possible that Skylanders has already "peaked" in popularity, but it's also possible that its "peak" has yet to come. Regardless, the level of popularity worldwide, and especially in the USA, is extremely high, and has been continuously for a period of at least 14-15 months now. That track record of success (and profit) has already vastly surpassed initial expectations for the Skylanders concept.

I never said it wasnt successful.
We want it to be truly great. We want it to last. Even people who dont play the games know who Pikachu or Mario are.


We know that it is extemely popular in US. We follow what goes on. You have midnight launches, release dates are broadcast in radio, tons of merchandise (tshirts, bags, etc), variant toys, roadshows in Timesquare. Tv ads.

Personally we'd like to see skylanders become a phenomenon here. We want them to make a buzz but they are not bothering to which is strange. They are alienating the fans here. The truly great franchises are known everywhere. My son cant even find a single schoolmate to talk about skylanders. Heck they even found others who play club penguin.

Not sure what to tell you ... I doubt you'd be satisfied regardless of what I say here.
Perhaps it's best to remind you that Mario and Pikachu did not become household names worldwide overnight, or even in a few years time. That level of transcendence and worldwide household saturation usually takes at least 5 years to achieve ... if it happens at all, which is incredibly rare. Skylanders, as a franchise, is just barely 2 years old right now. Its popularity is unsurpassed on the market right now, and has been consistently for over a year. That's impressive. But as we've all seen recently, that type of unpredicted exponential success inevitably leads to some hard knocks and growing pains for the developers, publishers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Give it time. We can not make an accurate assessment about the long-term viability of the Skylanders franchise for AT LEAST one more year ... and probably at least 3 more years. When November of 2016 rolls around, if we're still talking about Skylanders, then we'll know for certain that Skylanders has cemented its status among the Mario Bros. and Pokemon elite gaming franchises. Any rush to judgment before then is premature and mostly pointless.

I like Skylanders for the fact it makes my Christmas shopping more directed and it is good (and fun) way of filling up a nice tree array of presents for the big day. The biggest issue will always be cost for a reasonable parent that wants to do the Skylanders thing "right" but still is cost conscious...You end up here IMO if you are that parent:

The game. (50-75 bucks)
At least 6 more swappers (75-90 bucks)
Two adventure packs (40-50 bucks)
A handful, say 4, of other characters, due to sheer "awesomeness" as directed by your kid: (45 bucksish)

So you're looking in the ballpark of $210-260 if you want to get all the levels with adventure packs and open all areas....which most kids would want if they are into the game and the characters.

That's a tall order if, you know, you'd like to get them a variety of things as a parent.


EDIT: I do suggest using relatives as a way to "catch em all" as well...but give them the easy snags (wave 1) and as a parent hunt down the less easy to find (later waves etc)...then it saves you a buck. This year Grandpa is buying the game and if I could go back I would have had others buy Wave 1, but got caught in the excitement when they released and grabbed up wave 1 myself before thinking out this plan of attack and suggesting easy to find characters to uncles/aunts/etc...I know it's nice whenever we get hints/tips from parent for birthdays and Christmas.

I tried reading everything, but it was a bit much.

Disney Infinity is great in name and concept only. It's execution is bad, and if you think Skylanders is a money pit, Disney is 9 times worse with 'random' power disc, getting levels to unlock 'random' things, figures that only work in toybox mode, then WAY overpriced figures (looking at the Toy Story kit). Heck when characters die,they come right back to life ()'.

I've already cut any and all funding for that DI - once I beat the Toy Story stuff, I'm just selling everything.

But I'm sticking with Skylanders. Why? Because I have a large amount of characters that each do something unique and work over multiple games. If anything - I'd wager the reason sales aren't as high as Activision would like is simply saturation. I use to buy lots off eBay to pluck through and resell what I didn't want all the time, and most of those lots, where from people who had fun, but just got bored after a while, Giants opened the game up to the 'majority' of people who are going to get into it. It's like Apple products, the majority of the people who are looking into it (not all, just majority) are people who are already on the Apple train. People who are interested in Swap Force, more than likely already have Giants.

So what's the difference? Giants was 'growth', you had a large market of people 'getting into it', so people would buy "reposes" and lightcores of existing. Now though? You must be out of your mind if you think I'm going to spend $10.99 for a repose of Chill. 11 bones for a character that was posed 3 different ways already? 11 bones for Terrafin...AGAIN? 11 bones for Chop Chop...reposed...AGAIN? Trigger HAppy? Gill grunt? It was fine and dandy the first time around, but reposes are just a rip-off to the average consumer - a rip-off that extends BEYOND on-disc content that you pay for 'again'.

Then you have to look at what's available, my TRU has done a great job in general with keeping things, and what most people consider hard to find, I get my hands on rather easily, wit that said, they JUST started getting in Wave 2 consistently. It's hard to compare performance with Giants, with how much they have out. And hell, Wave 2 is like 50% reposes.

Finally, it doesn't really matter. Even if alot of figures sit on the shelf, I'd wager the cost of a figure to Activision is less then $2. so if a figure is retailing for $10-17, that's $8-15 PURE profit as the content is already on game, and judging by the lots I use to buy, the average person buys 6-8 figures to go with what comes with their starter packs. So each unit sold is really like $100-$150 in their pocket before expenses.

They are JUST fine.
-Unreall

^ Really solid posts, Skylander Dad and Unreallystic!

My problem with DI is that the characters aren't unique enough. There isn't enough you can do to improve/change your character, and unfortunately by removing HCs from SSF, Skylanders took a step toward that direction as well.

With pulling the HCs, I've only used my SSA/SG characters once to just register them and add toward the total for accolades. Other than that there has been zero reasons to pull them out except for the token Thumpback I use to unlock the Giants chest when needed.

The whole thing about this toys to life genre is that it's success is anchored in creating a "bond" with the toy. If they continue to diminish this effect instead of creating more ways to enhance it, it'll just die as a fad genre ala Rock Band/Guitar Hero.

I think they're just fine for the moment. People have already mentioned the PS4 and Xbox whatever-its-called factor. I don't see how that could not be a factor. Certainly of the people I know that play about half of them are waiting and and only one of them ran out and got the figures while they are waiting for the game. Yeah, some people dropped Skylanders for DI (although, I've heard more than a few people that regretted this and switched back). But also, weren't Giants sales really high? Even if SF sales end up being not quite as good as Giants that doesn't necessarily mean that sales are bad, nor does this it's the franchise's death knell. There have been doomsayers predicting the series's collapse since it first became successful. It may eventually run it's course, maybe sales will lower and then level out, but all this doom and gloom is premature.


I do personally wish they'd make less figures in a set. As someone already mentioned, figure fatigue is the thing that worries me most for the future of the series. I don't even get every figure, just the new characters, and I feel like I can't sustain spending this much every year. A game a year is fine, but so many figures, even spaced out like they are (thank goodness)?

Most of what I have read here (on the negative side) feels like it is talking about an original base of players who are getting tired/fatigued, whether it be gameplay, sales tactics, fig counts, etc. And those are great points.

Let me give you my perspective. I am new to the Skylanders world and Swap Force will be my first entry into it and I (and my two young un's) are very excited to play this game for the first time come Christmas. Coming out with new characters and re-figs of old characters is not meant to be a "gotcha" to the old players (it is your own fault if are a must-have-them-all collector), but is nice for us newbies because we get a chance to grab these characters in their newest forms.

Any game that wants to grow has to find ways to continually get new buyers to the game, otherwise you're fighting against depletion which is a losing battle. Again, I understand you long-timers' perspectives, but wanted to throw in the viewpoint of a new family.

On a side note, I went into Target this Saturday and noticed several hands in the store that had Skylanders in them for purchase. I wish I could say the same for Infinity (a game I already play and love), but that wasn't the case. I have reasons for loving Infinity, the characters, the toy box, really fun play sets -- but part of what draws me to Skylanders is the effort put into creating unique characters, with different abilities, and for whom leveling up actually has meaning/value.

Quote: crocko33

Most of what I have read here (on the negative side) feels like it is talking about an original base of players who are getting tired/fatigued, whether it be gameplay, sales tactics, fig counts, etc....

Let me give you my perspective. I am new to the Skylanders world and Swap Force will be my first entry into it and I (and my two young un's) are very excited to play this game for the first time come Christmas. Coming out with new characters and re-figs of old characters is not meant to be a "gotcha" to the old players (it is your own fault if are a must-have-them-all collector), but is nice for us newbies because we get a chance to grab these characters in their newest forms.

Thank you!
This is what I was attempting to explain.

I started with Spyro’s Adventure, but only after Giants was already well out. I picked up the starter pack for $20 and was hooked. And much like yourself, the reposes never came across as a “got-you” or cash grab, but as a neat way for me to get the older characters I’d missed.
As such, when I see series 3 figures, I’m not upset – I just see them as a neat way for new players to get the “best of the best” from the previous games.

im readdy to give up on skylanders swap force. this swapping is starting to hurting my hand. like i want to upgrade the favorite bunch of figures, and i have to swap every time there is a chest and enemies to beat to get gold to upgrade the fastest. also with no multiplayer its getting pretty fast stale and replay value is like nothing. also to much figures to buy. i think im gonna sell my swap force so i at least get some money back before its to late. then im skipping the next skylanders game. i heard ps4 is getting little big planet3, i played the two first games on the ps3 for years, alot of replay value and didnt cost me anything after i bought the game. the skylanders figures have saturated the marked already no doubt about it. the honeymoon is over guys...

Quote: crocko33

Most of what I have read here (on the negative side) feels like it is talking about an original base of players who are getting tired/fatigued, whether it be gameplay, sales tactics, fig counts, etc. And those are great points.

Let me give you my perspective. I am new to the Skylanders world and Swap Force will be my first entry into it and I (and my two young un's) are very excited to play this game for the first time come Christmas. Coming out with new characters and re-figs of old characters is not meant to be a "gotcha" to the old players (it is your own fault if are a must-have-them-all collector), but is nice for us newbies because we get a chance to grab these characters in their newest forms.

Any game that wants to grow has to find ways to continually get new buyers to the game, otherwise you're fighting against depletion which is a losing battle. Again, I understand you long-timers' perspectives, but wanted to throw in the viewpoint of a new family.

On a side note, I went into Target this Saturday and noticed several hands in the store that had Skylanders in them for purchase. I wish I could say the same for Infinity (a game I already play and love), but that wasn't the case. I have reasons for loving Infinity, the characters, the toy box, really fun play sets -- but part of what draws me to Skylanders is the effort put into creating unique characters, with different abilities, and for whom leveling up actually has meaning/value.

Totally understood and agreed. Basically the fight you will eventually have if you have the "chase them all" attitude is coming to that sudden realization that you can't keep it up indefinitely. It's disheartening to have achievements in the game related to the OCD requirement of "getting them all" as well.

Quote: Kung Fu Man

You, yes. On a practical front to most people, they series 1 figures when faced with a series 2 or 3 figure have greatly diminished value. If you take away visual aesthetics of the toy itself, why would someone buy a series 1 Spryo when they know that the reposes have more options for leveling up and a new attack? From a gameplay stance, S1 Eruptor is less valuable then S2, S3, Volcanic, or even his Lightcore version as those outweigh his usefulness.

I think it ironic that you use Eruptor as the example, because S3 Eruptor is actually a downgrade to S2 Eruptor, but that’s neither here nor there.

I get that it’s desirable to be able to switch paths and have an extra skill, but you can only be on one path at any given time, and the wow-pow is rarely a deal-breaker.
Quote: Kung Fu Man

From a collector's standpoint, this can be a terrible thing. People want to believe that their investment will indeed be justified down the line and that they're not just throwing good hard money down a toilet, even if they never plan to sell them.

That’s just hyperbole. A ‘collector’ is just thrilled to have something to collect – and a newer version invalidates the older figure in no way. The old figure is still exactly as good as when you brought it (actually, moreso, since old figures get their level cap lifted too).

Quote: GhostRoaster

Totally understood and agreed. Basically the fight you will eventually have if you have the "chase them all" attitude is coming to that sudden realization that you can't keep it up indefinitely. It's disheartening to have achievements in the game related to the OCD requirement of "getting them all" as well.

I see this thought about the achievements a lot, and I understand it (I too want to unlock All The Things). But I think that people are looking at it around the wrong way…
People are looking at it as achievements that require figures.
However I look at it as them giving reason to the older figures.

I mean, it’s a subtle difference, but I think it’s a significant one. The first is compelling you to get more figures, the second is merely an acknowledgment of your investments.

Also, as I said previously, collecting all of a toy line isn't what's expected here. Like you would normally only get the four or so transformers you like, not every last figure in the line.
Skylanders is like that - designed so that you and your hand-picked team have a good time... the portal master stuff is there to give the odd few who overblow it something to do.

Quote: Zylek

With pulling the HCs, I've only used my SSA/SG characters once to just register them and add toward the total for accolades. Other than that there has been zero reasons to pull them out except for the token Thumpback I use to unlock the Giants chest when needed.

That’s a funny comment to me, because surely there’s zero reason to pull out any specific character. I mean, the reason that you would pick any character is that you enjoy them and their skill sets. Pick Star Slinger or pick Double Trouble – both are fun characters that you can use to fill the ‘magic’ role, and which you use is up to personal preference.
The only reason that you don’t pick the older character is that your tired of them (probably after grinding out HCs), which is something newer players won’t struggle with.

I like that there is less grinding in Swap Force – that a bonus mission confers the bonus to your whole pack. Now your choice is about who you want to use, not about who needs to grind through the same handful of levels next.

Instead you have skill attack and speed attack – the fun of which is you can keep replaying it to try and top your old score (or the score of your friends), and you can do so with any character.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: crocko33

Most of what I have read here (on the negative side) feels like it is talking about an original base of players who are getting tired/fatigued, whether it be gameplay, sales tactics, fig counts, etc....

Let me give you my perspective. I am new to the Skylanders world and Swap Force will be my first entry into it and I (and my two young un's) are very excited to play this game for the first time come Christmas. Coming out with new characters and re-figs of old characters is not meant to be a "gotcha" to the old players (it is your own fault if are a must-have-them-all collector), but is nice for us newbies because we get a chance to grab these characters in their newest forms.

Thank you!
This is what I was attempting to explain.

I started with Spyro’s Adventure, but only after Giants was already well out. I picked up the starter pack for $20 and was hooked. And much like yourself, the reposes never came across as a “got-you” or cash grab, but as a neat way for me to get the older characters I’d missed.
As such, when I see series 3 figures, I’m not upset – I just see them as a neat way for new players to get the “best of the best” from the previous games.

I agree. It's also true that some people, probably the little kids, will like to see their favourite back again. Some people that feel like they want to catch them all may not like that, but the company has to balance that with making popular characters available to new players. You don't really have to own all of them. For my part I do like to get all the new characters and just get rereleases that I like. But Swap Force is only 8 figures away from being double the size of SSA. If I got a vote, I'd like to see more like this:

40 figures a set
-8 "special" new characters (like Giants and Swappers)
-16 new core characters
-16 old characters

Also eight lightcores (if they must) but mixed among those 32 core characters, and not in addition to them. I like the lightcores, and I'm sure little kids like them, but do we need two of the same character in the SAME SET? No, not really. I was glad they at least partially did this with Wham Shell, Warnado, etc with this new set.

I'm not sure about limiting the range of "special" characters to 8... it worked for the giants, but with the Swappers more is better - because it number of combinations multiply with each edition.

Everyone WHY IS THE WII VERSION SO BAD!? D: sometimes i play it day and night and it didnt freeze for a single time on my Wii... got it since the release! and yes it has less stuff but also the price isnt lower for just a reason...

I'm glad that you are enjoying it, Kevin - and that you seem to understand that the cheaper version for the weaker console might not be able to have everything the other versions have.

The previous games were made specifically for the Wii and ported to 360/PS3 later, so will owners are used to having the 'best' version. Now that Swap Force doesn't have Wii as the lead platform, I think some Wii owners are just feeling left out.

It might be upsetting for those players, but the Wii is end-of-life. They aren't being made any more, and soon you won't be able to buy them. Like it or not, the Wii is obsolete and future games aren't likely to support it.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Quote: SkylandCitizen

Quote: BahamutBreaker

LoL ... Skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East?

Thank you for that ... I needed a good laugh today.

A video game franchise does not need to reach the level of transcendence or longevity of Mario or Pokemon in order to be considered successful. In the same way that I do not need to break Michael Phelps' world records in order to be considered a successful swimmer.

Let's use this litmus test instead ... when you visited your local Toys R Us (or similar store for overseas) last Holiday shopping season, what franchise occupied the largest display and most prominent display, probably even occupying more than one large display area in the store? Answer?: Skylanders.
What franchise will occupy the largest display area and more than one prominent display area in the store again this Holiday season? Answer?: Skylanders.

It's quite possible that Skylanders has already "peaked" in popularity, but it's also possible that its "peak" has yet to come. Regardless, the level of popularity worldwide, and especially in the USA, is extremely high, and has been continuously for a period of at least 14-15 months now. That track record of success (and profit) has already vastly surpassed initial expectations for the Skylanders concept.

I never said it wasnt successful.
We want it to be truly great. We want it to last. Even people who dont play the games know who Pikachu or Mario are.


We know that it is extemely popular in US. We follow what goes on. You have midnight launches, release dates are broadcast in radio, tons of merchandise (tshirts, bags, etc), variant toys, roadshows in Timesquare. Tv ads.

Personally we'd like to see skylanders become a phenomenon here. We want them to make a buzz but they are not bothering to which is strange. They are alienating the fans here. The truly great franchises are known everywhere. My son cant even find a single schoolmate to talk about skylanders. Heck they even found others who play club penguin.

Not sure what to tell you ... I doubt you'd be satisfied regardless of what I say here.
Perhaps it's best to remind you that Mario and Pikachu did not become household names worldwide overnight, or even in a few years time. That level of transcendence and worldwide household saturation usually takes at least 5 years to achieve ... if it happens at all, which is incredibly rare. Skylanders, as a franchise, is just barely 2 years old right now. Its popularity is unsurpassed on the market right now, and has been consistently for over a year. That's impressive. But as we've all seen recently, that type of unpredicted exponential success inevitably leads to some hard knocks and growing pains for the developers, publishers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Give it time. We can not make an accurate assessment about the long-term viability of the Skylanders franchise for AT LEAST one more year ... and probably at least 3 more years. When November of 2016 rolls around, if we're still talking about Skylanders, then we'll know for certain that Skylanders has cemented its status among the Mario Bros. and Pokemon elite gaming franchises. Any rush to judgment before then is premature and mostly pointless.

I tottaly agrre. Give it another few years, and if it can stand the test of time and prove to not be a fad it will be accepted as a big league game franchise.

Quote: Tel Prydain

Quote: Zylek

With pulling the HCs, I've only used my SSA/SG characters once to just register them and add toward the total for accolades. Other than that there has been zero reasons to pull them out except for the token Thumpback I use to unlock the Giants chest when needed.

That’s a funny comment to me, because surely there’s zero reason to pull out any specific character. I mean, the reason that you would pick any character is that you enjoy them and their skill sets. Pick Star Slinger or pick Double Trouble – both are fun characters that you can use to fill the ‘magic’ role, and which you use is up to personal preference.
The only reason that you don’t pick the older character is that your tired of them (probably after grinding out HCs), which is something newer players won’t struggle with.

I like that there is less grinding in Swap Force – that a bonus mission confers the bonus to your whole pack. Now your choice is about who you want to use, not about who needs to grind through the same handful of levels next.

Instead you have skill attack and speed attack – the fun of which is you can keep replaying it to try and top your old score (or the score of your friends), and you can do so with any character.

I lol"d at "star slinger"

Quote: BahamutBreaker

LoL ... Skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East?

Thank you for that ... I needed a good laugh today.

A video game franchise does not need to reach the level of transcendence or longevity of Mario or Pokemon in order to be considered successful. In the same way that I do not need to break Michael Phelps' world records in order to be considered a successful swimmer.

Let's use this litmus test instead ... when you visited your local Toys R Us (or similar store for overseas) last Holiday shopping season, what franchise occupied the largest display and most prominent display, probably even occupying more than one large display area in the store? Answer?: Skylanders.
What franchise will occupy the largest display area and more than one prominent display area in the store again this Holiday season? Answer?: Skylanders.

It's quite possible that Skylanders has already "peaked" in popularity, but it's also possible that its "peak" has yet to come. Regardless, the level of popularity worldwide, and especially in the USA, is extremely high, and has been continuously for a period of at least 14-15 months now. That track record of success (and profit) has already vastly surpassed initial expectations for the Skylanders concept.

There is only 1 reason for Skylanders to occupy the most space : The game is all about collecting skylanders, skylanders has tons of toys to collect, I see that as a reason why it takes up so much of a display area, its not the success on the game that determines whether or not it gets bigger space, its the amount of things associated with the game.
An example is Pokémon, X and Y, one of the most popular games in the world, yet it only has maybe a row of copies in my local EB games and Big W, Mario is also another exceptional example, it might have a stand for the games, but not too big, yet skylanders takes up about 1/2 a wall.

How much content is actually missing from the Wii version? I knew about the freezing problem but someone found a fix that other said worked fine. Is it really as bad as people say?

Well NEW_SpyroLUVA it havent froze for a single time on my Wii and i play it really much there are some elemental gates and minigames missing but its not that much, also the graphics are looking fine in my opinion

Out of curiosity, what minigames are missing?

I heard something with a dog in a snow world and the thing that you can search for tresures

Quote: Tel Prydain

I'm glad that you are enjoying it, Kevin - and that you seem to understand that the cheaper version for the weaker console might not be able to have everything the other versions have.

The previous games were made specifically for the Wii and ported to 360/PS3 later, so will owners are used to having the 'best' version. Now that Swap Force doesn't have Wii as the lead platform, I think some Wii owners are just feeling left out.

It might be upsetting for those players, but the Wii is end-of-life. They aren't being made any more, and soon you won't be able to buy them. Like it or not, the Wii is obsolete and future games aren't likely to support it.

That gives them no excuse to have a glitch-riddled game for the Wii with graphical weirdness that makes Giants and SSA look like they're the ones in the Beenox engine(Kaos' final boss form with red eyes,the laziest lightning/shading I have seen in the series,etc etc.). While it's alright to focus on the next-gen,it's lazier than all of SF already is to lack all the polish the other ones have - at least make the players that stayed on the Wii feel like they're not being forced to change.
(inb4 kills thread with the post for the 3rd time since the game came out)

...and getting rid of that stone mini game was a big mistake.

Quote: Bifrost

Quote: Tel Prydain

I'm glad that you are enjoying it, Kevin - and that you seem to understand that the cheaper version for the weaker console might not be able to have everything the other versions have.

The previous games were made specifically for the Wii and ported to 360/PS3 later, so will owners are used to having the 'best' version. Now that Swap Force doesn't have Wii as the lead platform, I think some Wii owners are just feeling left out.

It might be upsetting for those players, but the Wii is end-of-life. They aren't being made any more, and soon you won't be able to buy them. Like it or not, the Wii is obsolete and future games aren't likely to support it.

That gives them no excuse to have a glitch-riddled game for the Wii with graphical weirdness that makes Giants and SSA look like they're the ones in the Beenox engine(Kaos' final boss form with red eyes,the laziest lightning/shading I have seen in the series,etc etc.). While it's alright to focus on the next-gen,it's lazier than all of SF already is to lack all the polish the other ones have - at least make the players that stayed on the Wii feel like they're not being forced to change.
(inb4 kills thread with the post for the 3rd time since the game came out)

Actually it sort of does (no offense meant).

The first two games were built FOR the Wii, using the Wii's engine. It showed its age BAD when played on my 360. They decided to move on and build the game from the ground up with the 'current' consoles in mind. As such, none of the code was optimized for the Wii. The graphical engine wasn't optimized for the Wii. The game is just a bit much for the Wii, it's honestly comparable to the CoD series or Madden, where the Wii version is a bastardized version of what the 'mainstream' consoles are. And while the Wii has a large install base, it's user base is actually smaller compared to the STILL selling 360, recently spiked PS3, and the incoming PS4 and XBOne. At this point, one could argue the Wii is two generations old - so it's kind of lucky have receieved a port.

It would also be different if it was done on the original engine that was upscaled to meet the stronger consoles, but its an all new engine they are working in, that they want to future proof abit for the next couple of iterations. It sucks for Wii owners - it really does, but the cost to make the game essentially 'twice' would be too much.
- Unreall

Speaking as someone who's involved themselves in game design and had their guts in many a game's tummy...I can actually say they could have avoided cutting useful content by instead cutting superfluous material instead. We have all the trials and bonus missions accessible directly from the pause menu. Cutting out all the unneeded banter informing you of those options and instead slimming down Woodburrow would have had the end result of room available for other material. Downgrading the textures would have also assisted heavily here: the Wii does not display in 1080p but only 720p, so smaller textures = smaller game = faster load times & more room to avoid cutting content. And that in itself could have been done with a batch process.

Long story short, the Wii version didn't need to lose anything.

Quote: Unreallystic

Actually it sort of does (no offense meant).

The first two games were built FOR the Wii, using the Wii's engine. It showed its age BAD when played on my 360. They decided to move on and build the game from the ground up with the 'current' consoles in mind. As such, none of the code was optimized for the Wii. The graphical engine wasn't optimized for the Wii. The game is just a bit much for the Wii, it's honestly comparable to the CoD series or Madden, where the Wii version is a bastardized version of what the 'mainstream' consoles are. And while the Wii has a large install base, it's user base is actually smaller compared to the STILL selling 360, recently spiked PS3, and the incoming PS4 and XBOne. At this point, one could argue the Wii is two generations old - so it's kind of lucky have receieved a port.

It would also be different if it was done on the original engine that was upscaled to meet the stronger consoles, but its an all new engine they are working in, that they want to future proof abit for the next couple of iterations. It sucks for Wii owners - it really does, but the cost to make the game essentially 'twice' would be too much.
- Unreall

No it still doesn't.
There's a difference between a console not being able to handle the new engine and visibly being lazy. Aura posted the other day a Wii/Next-gen comparison,and some of the footage shown,when compared to the previous games,makes it obvious they didn't polish it at all,or even like it was thrown in without ever testing(well Swap Force as a whole didn't seem to have had enough playtesting really). You can't use 'the console it's too old' to justify a bad port,even if there are less people using it. That is lazy and a sorry excuse to not caring enough about it - if they wanted to much to let Wii have its last Skylander game,at least pretending they took more time to port it than the time taken to draw the Upgrade pictures would make it okay.
Then again,no matter the console,Swap Force isn't okay at all in my book.I'll take Giants any day over this mess of a game.

Quote: newkill

Quote: Bouncepad

Yet Activision gave the Wii owners the single most garbage port possible, with game-killing freezes, graphics worse that SSA, tons of missing content, etc.

Quite an exageration...

Sorry, but it was true. I bought my son this game on his Wii, and it was utter garbage compared to the first 2.
Buggy, loading issues, and characters rarely work on the portal.

And no, just because I hate this series, I am not lying. My son likes it so I bought it, and just happened to observe the epic failure this port was.

My only real disappointment with this version is this is the first Skylanders game where, at launch, you couldn't not 100% each level due to them holding back on 'sneak' characters.
Every other version, if you didn't have 'all' the skylanders you could at least complete the game.

I know it's not a big complaint, however, it was a tad bit disheartening to find this out.

Quote: [url=http://forum.darkspyro.net/spyro/viewposts.php?topic=93115&post=4773345

Long story short, the Wii version didn't need to lose anything.

So basically, it wasn't worth their time to retrofit the content and the easier thing was to abandon the content that would require investment from their perspective?

Quote: WarHammer

I know it's not a big complaint, however, it was a tad bit disheartening to find this out.

Disappointment...let it be your friend.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: [url=http://forum.darkspyro.net/spyro/viewposts.php?topic=93115&post=4773345

Long story short, the Wii version didn't need to lose anything.

So basically, it wasn't worth their time to retrofit the content and the easier thing was to abandon the content that would require investment from their perspective?

Quote: WarHammer

I know it's not a big complaint, however, it was a tad bit disheartening to find this out.

Disappointment...let it be your friend.

Considering the first games, you could at least access the needed level right from the start. The fun was adding character and leveling them up. To find out that they purposely withheld a need 'swap' ability is my only complaint.

I'm in no way disappointed in the game as a whole, however they changed from a strategy that worked, to this withholding characters needed to 100% levels. Again, the game as a whole it great, the decision to hold a need swap ability is well...disappointing.


All this does is rev up the 'scalpers' that will go out and buy every 'stink bomb' they can get their hands on and put them up on Ebay!

Quote:

skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East....

if the land of pokemon dont like it, then it actually sort of does. no offense meant to the nay sayers or fan of skylanders.

They should tap into the Chinese market... that's what used to keep WoW afloat. And, while there are lots of pirated Skylanders figures, no one's really pirated the RFIDs, so they could actually thrive.
That being said, I hope they realize, in order to make a best-selling game, they need to focus on quality, and appealing not just to children but all levels of gamers.

Quote: Doomslicer

They should tap into the Chinese market... that's what used to keep WoW afloat. And, while there are lots of pirated Skylanders figures, no one's really pirated the RFIDs, so they could actually thrive.
That being said, I hope they realize, in order to make a best-selling game, they need to focus on quality, and appealing not just to children but all levels of gamers.

I have to tip my hat on this though - the higher difficulties for Swap seem to be much higher than they were on Giants. Giants and Spyro were both a BREEZE, minus like one or two scenarios, on the other hand Swap has some legitimately 'more taxing' areas (hard to say hard). You should take damage when you fall off something on normal on up though.
- Unreall

Quote: tobby

Quote:

skylanders is doomed because of their marketing strategies in the far East....

if the land of pokemon dont like it, then it actually sort of does. no offense meant to the nay sayers or fan of skylanders.

No, it actually sort of doesn't. No offense. Some people in this thread seem to believe that a product must have global appeal and global distribution to be successful and/or sustainable. That's so illogical that it's comical; I'd laugh, but it seems like some of you actually seriously believe this. Nothing I can do except shake my head at y'all, I guess.

Quote: Doomslicer

They should tap into the Chinese market... that's what used to keep WoW afloat. And, while there are lots of pirated Skylanders figures, no one's really pirated the RFIDs, so they could actually thrive.
That being said, I hope they realize, in order to make a best-selling game, they need to focus on quality, and appealing not just to children but all levels of gamers.

I don't think some of y'all realize the economic impact of the Skylanders franchise. Western society is muddling through its worst protracted economic depression within the past century, and yet Skylanders has raked in BILLIONS of dollars in sales since its inception 2 years ago. Think about that. Skylanders is a phenomenon, and it has already cemented itself as more than just a fad. With that fame and notoriety comes increased (often unrealistic) expectations from consumers ... and that's what we're seeing in this thread (and a bunch of other threads, too).
Back on point though, in retort to Doomslicer's statement, it's very obvious that Vicarious Visions invested energy and resources into making Swap Force appealing for both children and adult gamers. Their leads developers went on record in numerous pre-release interviews stating that creating a game with appeal for numerous age groups was a priority. That's an enormous challenge, and I believe they were fairly successful.

Your know-it-all attitude won't get you any closer to being right,Bahamut. If successful global sales aren't going to change anything,provide us with reasons,don't treat others like they're dumb since that gives one every reason in the world to keep arguing.
And the problem with not selling globally is that the west will sooner or later give up on Skylanders for the next fad,because Swap Force has shown we're losing the attatchment to the newer figures - in a few games we might as well only buy Starter Packs if we're not collectors. Japan and the like usually seem to grab into a franchise and never let it go,though(Pokémon,Skullgirls(though it's only one game),obscure games in general) even after the fad is over;though that's just my two cents and I'm only using logic to think of a reason for it to work.

I must've missed the part about unrealistic expectations for the franchise.

In my mind, continued investment will be warranted by the content they bring. If a sub-10 hour adventure is all I can net from an investment of $1k or more for all of the figures, it's time to scale it back--or get on the collector's bandwagon.

I'm saddened that my son said the other day I could sell the previous 100+ collection as he only wants to play with the new guys. I'm sure Activision marketing is high-fiving themselves over that one. I'll make acquisition difficult this time for him so my son knows the value of what he has in the collection.

Quote: Bifrost

Your know-it-all attitude won't get you any closer to being right,Bahamut. If successful global sales aren't going to change anything,provide us with reasons,don't treat others like they're dumb since that gives one every reason in the world to keep arguing.
And the problem with not selling globally is that the west will sooner or later give up on Skylanders for the next fad,because Swap Force has shown we're losing the attatchment to the newer figures - in a few games we might as well only buy Starter Packs if we're not collectors. Japan and the like usually seem to grab into a franchise and never let it go,though(Pokémon,Skullgirls(though it's only one game),obscure games in general) even after the fad is over;though that's just my two cents and I'm only using logic to think of a reason for it to work.

My attitude is irrelevant. I'm "right" because I'm right. I never said that expanding the distribution of Skylanders to new, previously untapped markets was a bad idea. It might be a bad idea; it might be a great idea. My point is (and I'm pretty sure I already spelled this out previously), that having massive globally-saturated popularity is not, in ANY way, required for a brand/franchise to be successful, profitable, or sustainable long-term. This was in response to a few people whining/stating in this thread that the Skylanders franchise is "in trouble" or "doomed" ... which is utterly ridiculous.

I know it's really difficult for people on these forums to keep this in perspective, but it's really important to remember that the hardcore collectors and enthusiasts that populate this forum represent a TINY FRACTION of the consumers that purchase Skylanders and Skylander-related merchandise. Many here have an abnormally strong emotional attachment to their collections, as evidenced by the "Post pics and brag about your collection" thread (1200+ posts) and the "I just bought!!" thread (5400+ posts). It's not comfortable for many of us to think of our fanaticism (addiction?) as being abnormal, but from an outsider's perspective, it really is quite abnormal, or at the very least, highly unusual. Even though some of us may illogically take it as an insult, we are not the target audience for Skylanders toys. We're not.

Bifrost, you were not using logic, at all. You were speaking from emotion and reaction, which is what most fanatics do. If you were thinking logically, then you wouldn't have felt compelled to speak about my "attitude" among your reasons to rebuff what I said previously. If you were thinking logically, you wouldn't have written something like, "Japan and the like" ... which implies that the cultures of Japan and other far Eastern nations are homogenous, which is completely false.

Quote: GhostRoaster

I must've missed the part about unrealistic expectations for the franchise.

In my mind, continued investment will be warranted by the content they bring. If a sub-10 hour adventure is all I can net from an investment of $1k or more for all of the figures, it's time to scale it back--or get on the collector's bandwagon.

I'm saddened that my son said the other day I could sell the previous 100+ collection as he only wants to play with the new guys. I'm sure Activision marketing is high-fiving themselves over that one. I'll make acquisition difficult this time for him so my son knows the value of what he has in the collection.

It's safe to say that many on these forums do have unrealistic expectations for the Skylanders franchise. How could we not? It's a game/franchise that captured our imaginations and dug its claws in our "inner child" ... nobody with a soul wants to admit that his/her passion could be flawed or imperfect. But expecting perfection, or even sustained uber-excellence, is unrealistic .... that's just an unavoidable part of the human condition.

You've known it's time to scale back for a long time now, GhostRoaster. There's no shame in admitting that. But just as you begin scaling back on purchases and collecting, please understand that there is another soon-to-be fanatic/collector who is just getting started. From Activision's standpoint, they'd surely prefer that you didn't scale back on purchases, but to be honest, I'm sure they'd understand (and be OK with it) if you did scale back. They've made their money off your family, and their priority will be, and has to be, acquiring new fans and new collectors who haven't yet spent a dime on Skylanders. That fact may peeve some of us that have heavily invested in Skylanders, but that doesn't excuse us from being able to understand their marketing and business approach.

In the aftermath of the Swap Force release, I think a lot of users here need to accept that having fun with Skylanders toys is mostly our responsibility. It is not Activision's responsibility or Vicarious Vision's responsibility. Their job is to produce a product that gives us an opportunity to have fun ... not an obligation, an opportunity. Like most things in life, it is what you make of it. It should be no shock to you that your son is more intrigued by the new Swap Force characters than the characters in your older collection, GhostRoaster. He's a child. Children are whimsical and they lack perspective; that's normal. It shouldn't sadden you that he's OK with selling off some older figurines. In my opinion, you should be proud of him for sticking with them for a year .... so many children these days in our culture get cranky if they don't have something brand new to play with every week.

Yes now only if he'd make back even half his investment on selling them. Yes, I went there. You can go to ebay and see fools listing Spyro's and whatnot for big bucks, but look at the completed listings of what actually sells. When collecting anything, it's important to look at where your money is going and say "if I buy this and need to sell it, will I make my investment back?"

There are many, many lots of entire Giants sets minus lightcores and most variants going for $200. That's 40 figures going for $5 a pop, giants or otherwise. Spyro's Adventure is in the same boat. Buying these new, you would have paid far, far more than any of that. Buying from the secondary market has, increasingly, become the far cheaper route once the new game hits. And buying from them is not helping the sales of these figures.

GR, best advice? Rather than sell them, find a storage tub and put them away for safe keeping. You won't make half your investment back, and not nearly enough to put a dent in all the swap force figures.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

You've known it's time to scale back for a long time now, GhostRoaster. There's no shame in admitting that. But just as you begin scaling back on purchases and collecting, please understand that there is another soon-to-be fanatic/collector who is just getting started. From Activision's standpoint, they'd surely prefer that you didn't scale back on purchases, but to be honest, I'm sure they'd understand (and be OK with it) if you did scale back. They've made their money off your family, and their priority will be, and has to be, acquiring new fans and new collectors who haven't yet spent a dime on Skylanders. That fact may peeve some of us that have heavily invested in Skylanders, but that doesn't excuse us from being able to understand their marketing and business approach.

I'm sure they're looking to minimize turnover in customers. I've never seen company say no to money on the table if they could take it. My comment wasn't to solicit my personal conflict in my collecting approach, but rather how I can find that "happy middle ground" to both enjoy it more and at a reduced cost.

KFM: I considered any "investment" in this franchise to be expendable. I've collected comics and coins and I'm very well in tune with the ROI implicit in the purchase. As Bahamut says, time's generally not the BEST time to expend funds on stuff like this---and whether or not I'm holding the next "beanie babies" in my hands is irrelevant moving forward. I'll buy what I can afford to LOSE.

Quote: Kung Fu Man

Yes now only if he'd make back even half his investment on selling them. Yes, I went there. You can go to ebay and see fools listing Spyro's and whatnot for big bucks, but look at the completed listings of what actually sells. When collecting anything, it's important to look at where your money is going and say "if I buy this and need to sell it, will I make my investment back?"

There are many, many lots of entire Giants sets minus lightcores and most variants going for $200. That's 40 figures going for $5 a pop, giants or otherwise. Spyro's Adventure is in the same boat. Buying these new, you would have paid far, far more than any of that. Buying from the secondary market has, increasingly, become the far cheaper route once the new game hits. And buying from them is not helping the sales of these figures.

GR, best advice? Rather than sell them, find a storage tub and put them away for safe keeping. You won't make half your investment back, and not nearly enough to put a dent in all the swap force figures.

Even among the most devout and fanatical collectors among us here, I highly doubt many people seriously expected to profit by collecting Skylanders that were originally bought at retail prices. One would have to be extremely naive and/or delusional to believe that. However, when one considers how much fun one's children can have with Skylanders toys (both in the video games and outside the games, as "action figures") ... if one eventually decides to sell some or all of a collection, getting somewhere between 40%-70% "back" from what one originally paid is pretty damned good. In other words, one can not view a collection of Skylanders as a profitable investment (no chance, really), but one can view the collection as entertainment that can be resold for a decent return.

The "many, many lots of entire Giants sets" on eBay that are "going for $200" are there because those Sellers are either lazy, impatient, or incompetent. Selling an entire lot/collection (generally) is the easiest way to minimize your return. Although it involves a lot of shipping and customer service, selling one's Skylanders individually is the best way to maximize one's return.

Anyway, back to the point of this thread ... the Skylanders franchise is not "in trouble", and I find the notion that some people believe it's "in trouble" to be laughable. I've already stated a plethora of reasons in my previous posts in this thread, so I'm not going to reiterate them here. But, in summary, the demand for Skylanders, both in retail stores and on the secondary market, remains very robust, especially given the weakened economic medium that we've waded through over the past 5 years. There will come a day when supply exceeds demand for Skylanders, but that day is not on the immediate horizon, at all.

Well, I know w few familys thjat are sarting with swap Forece so they are bringin in some young uns...

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Bifrost, you were not using logic, at all. You were speaking from emotion and reaction, which is what most fanatics do. If you were thinking logically, then you wouldn't have felt compelled to speak about my "attitude" among your reasons to rebuff what I said previously. If you were thinking logically, you wouldn't have written something like, "Japan and the like" ... which implies that the cultures of Japan and other far Eastern nations are homogenous, which is completely false.

Oh wow,picking up parts of the argument over the overall idea,are we? Well,assume the argument won,I don't even argue with someone that's literally judging me from what I say. I use logic to figure out that "Japan and South Korea have big attachment to stuff like Pokémon,Starcraft and Skullgirls,so they probably help keeping games alive afterthe fad's gone" and that's real logic - point A takes to conclusion B is the reasons are valid enough. If you want to be so right and superior,then so be it. Feel free to step on this in a quote because I was looking for light discussion with simple solving of issues between people and not this.

Ok, I've tried to go through most of the topic...

First of all - I live in Poland, a country in which gaming business is treated in a very poor way. When I've heard bout Skylanders, I never really tought that I will try to get them. Unluckily for me, I've bought a 3DS version and I was instantly dragged. But not by the graphic itself. It was more about the idea of figures comming back to life and the fact that there were those 32 different characters with stories and different abilities. I just had to get them all. In that time the Giants were also released, but I wanted to focus on SSA first. The first series was widely distributed in Poland, so excluding price, it wasn't so tough. I collected it in about month, also importing rare Legendaries.

And then came a shock - there was no mention in local shops about Giants at all. I had to order all the figures from abroad... And so I did... More or less, because before all set of them was released, it turned out some are really hard to get. For example Ninjini, which I had to stalk on auctions for hours, just to get it in resonable price. S2 Bash and Slam Bam, which were so overpriced on Ebay, that it was nearly impossible to get one (theyve costed equivalent of 4 figures). The same thing is with S2 Drobot now. It's practically unavailable in Europe or I'd have to pay ridiculous price for it. Color variants are so heavily overpriced, when you're not living in USA/Australia and cannot get them personally, that it's really discouraging. Even tough, I've bought all of them, except of Royal Double Trouble. That was a huge shock, that it was actually only released in USA. If someone tells me, that Activision had some plan in this strategy, then GL! It seems so random and completly out of sense... Unless they treat all the markets except of USA and Australia as unreliable.

Even tough I was more than eager to get all the Swap Force. But when they've started to put all the pre-release infos about variants, I was seriously stunned. Not to mention, that Giants were nearly impossible to get in Poland, with SSF they've suddenly jumped out with over a dozen of Color Variants. I've droped the idea of getting all the figures before they were released. I also decided, that I wont bother with another Prism Break, Eruptor, Chop Chop or Gill Grunt. I've played previous Spyro games and I like it because of it's past, yet I don't really like the idea of getting another dozen of random reposes, which don't even differ from the previous versions too much. Seriously, that's bit too farfetched.

Then I've red about Wii version problems. I was planning to buy it when it will drop on price, but now I seriously wonder about the investment. I like to complete 100% game, but when it turns out, I have to get a heavily overpriced variants and still, I would meet a lot of problems (including risk of erasing the data on the figures) I decided not to buy it. I like Nintendo and I really play their consoles, but I doubt I will buy Wii U anytime soon, since there aren't a single title that would be strong enough, to make me buy the console. Seriously, if Wii was the brand that helped Skylanders to reach the peak, they should at least treat it with proper respect. They could run with SSF on Wii during this year and deffinitely move on to Wii U with the next release.

Of course it won't last forever and they will eventually have to move on, but from mine point of view, if producer is releasing a heavily glitching game, there aren't any excuses. Mostly because it means they've focused more on promotion, rather than production. It was so loud about SSF and there was so many hype, that they could at least focus on the final product. It's like a punch in the face for fans, who contributed a lot and hoped, that they will at least receive the product of the same quality. Because honestly - I didn't expected stunning graphics on Wii. Glitches, and A LOT OF THEM, is completely different story. I don't see any strategy here. Well, only one maybe - MONEY, MONEY, MONEY.

Besides, Activision is rushing very much with releases of next waves. I assume it's because in USA Christmas time is the best way for producers to sell toys. Yet, it proves again that they don't really bother with other markets and targets so in the end, it will eventually point at them. It's quite understandable, why they want to milk as much money as they can, before the Skylanders brand will run dry. Pity, they are doing a lot to make it happen sooner than later.

For someone who'd really want to be the collector and fan, but doesn't live in USA, Activision doesn't really makes it easier... In other words, their actions might not be intentional, but even tough, because of them, the franchise is in trouble. At least at other markets than USA. Unless they wants to hold the ground only in North America.

I know we've all talked about their current "wave" strategies and how to make distribution better; had no idea their international distribution has actually gotten worse...anyone else seeing the same thing?

Also--for my knowledge--how available has Swap Force been by comparison to Giants?