darkSpyro

Okay, since this topic also appears to be about Activision making money, then I'll say this:

If traps cannot be used in Skylanders 5, I can honestly see a grand majority of people turning away from the game and possibly the whole series just because they spent just as much money on traps as they did characters. And that would mean they wouldn't make as much money on the franchise. And we all know they don't want that. I'm not saying they should introduce new villains and give them something exclusive to do. I'm saying that the developers, not the publishers, put the same amount of time and effort into designing these characters and their personalities as the Skylanders, so not making them playable in future games would be just a downright baffling move.

And also, to everyone saying that the villains should become Skylanders and get their own figures... that kind of defeats the purpose of trapping them in the first place.

Quote: AdamGregory03

Okay, since this topic also appears to be about Activision making money, then I'll say this:

If traps cannot be used in Skylanders 5, I can honestly see a grand majority of people turning away from the game and possibly the whole series just because they spent just as much money on traps as they did characters. And that would mean they wouldn't make as much money on the franchise. And we all know they don't want that. I'm not saying they should introduce new villains and give them something exclusive to do. I'm saying that the developers, not the publishers, put the same amount of time and effort into designing these characters and their personalities as the Skylanders, so not making them playable in future games would be just a downright baffling move.

And also, to everyone saying that the villains should become Skylanders and get their own figures... that kind of defeats the purpose of trapping them in the first place.

Excellent argument. While not all of the villains are great, many of them are well detailed and play nicely. If you couldn't use the villains in Sky 5, it would be a waste of development time and money.

Honestly, they ought to bring back some of the villains from previous games to be made as trapped villains:
Mesmeralda, Cluck, Baron Von Shellshock, and Noodles, just to name a few. Plus create new ones. Drill-X? Don't know...he's pretty big.
If they don't utilize the traps, I would have to agree with Adam. They would be signing their own death certificate to the franchise.

I am confident traps will work, the villain assets are already there. As for new trappable villains who knows? Regardless there will be some thing extra to buy other than figures.

Since they will be alternating back to Vicarious Visions for the next game, I would seriously doubt the traps will do anything. Perhaps you'll be able to lay it on the portal and still be able to play with that villain, but that would probably be about it.

Every gimmick they've had so far really hasn't had any new content in the next game. Seeing as how they're alternating between two developers now only complicates it further.

But who knows? This portal seems to have much more tech to it than previous ones, so perhaps they'll stick with the Trap Team portal for a little bit.

Based on history, if they work in the next game, I seriously doubt they'll add any new content for them.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Drek95

I absolutely agree about one thing: it's not worth talking about this, if you want to keep denying the reality.

All the characters made 'till now are playable in Trap Team and probably in the next game, and traps contain playable characters.
It doesn't matter if they have a true "utility", or if they can just be used for fun, they are all still playable, and that's a fact.

I can still use and swap my Swappers, and my Giants can still lift boulders and destroy big walls.

Nerfing villains? Why? It's your choice to use them to the point of being boring, and just spam their attacks to quickly end a level.
I personally don't find it funny, but tastes are tastes.

Agree with you on Dreamchatcher's battle, not on Pepper Jack's. One of the best battles, in my opinion.

I personally think the majority of the villains have more charisma and personality then a good portion of the Skylanders. And that kinda makes sense, since bad guys are often more charismatic than the heroes.

Trap Team got it COMPLETELY WRONG with the Elemental Gates, but that doesn't mean this won't change, in the fifth game.
Oh, and, Cores can still build turrets in the Kaos Doom Challenge's levels, so, they are not completely "useless".

Except the first part, which, as I previously stated, is a fact, the other are just personal opinions.
Just a way to show that different persons can have very different ideas.

Drek, I acknowledge that previous series characters are playable...I'm simply saying that traps aren't characters per se because of the form factor of the physical toy combined with official statements made by Activsiion. I'll meet you halfway and say they "may" provide playability for them but it will start and end there. Don't expect to be able to evolve villains or anything else. I'll also say they may only allow them in certain gameplay modes and not the main story for reasons I've already described. You can continue to hope traps will be supported just as I have had hope in many other areas of the franchise get dashed. We'll see soon enough.

My comment on nerfing is based on the fact that they've done a fairly consistent job at nerfing or undermining characters in subsequent games. To not know that is simply ignoring reality as well.

I've underestimated some of the villains, but it's mainly because there's too many to get game time with a lot of them. The fact that many of the quests are in the same or subsequent levels underscore that fact.

Up to TT I've wanted characters to continue having their unique perspectives represented in gameplay itself--and up to now it's not happened. I guess we must all submit to the "reality" that Activision's idea of supporting a character is showing up in the game and that's it. I'll adjust my rationale on the series (and decrease it's worth to me personally) accordingly. I understand that the gimmick gets focus in the game it's introduced--my hopes is to have some of that continue on in some way--even in new and fresh perspectives. That's a pipe dream now anyway since they're dumping other content that's been the series mainstay.

Quote: AdamGregory03

Drek tells it like it is.

Yeah, and so do I.

Now you have a point!

I'm absolutely not expecting anything for them to do (villain's "elemental" zones, stashes maybe even eloutions), even if I hope to have more trappable villains, as it would also provides a lot of profits for Activision's itself.

But I'm positive about them being playable, just as they are now.
And yes, they may be nerfed, just like all the previous Skylanders.
I still can't understand if this is international, or if it just happens when changing physic and game engines...


Quote: mastermc54

Quote: Drek95

Quote: mastermc54

Activision will wait until all waves are released so that their profits on these plastic traps will be maximized before announcing that traps won't be used in the next game. They don't want you to use your $6 trap which cost them maybe 75 cents at most to make in the next game when they can peddle some new $6 gimmick which will cost them 75 cents to make. It's all lost profit to them if you could just use your old traps and there was nothing to replace that void for the next go around. Activision is damn sure the franchise is on the decline with limited days ahead with the shared toys to life market with Disney Infinity and Amiibo, so they will milk the cash cow dry bigtime with the next game praying there's enough of a fan base left to squeeze out maybe one last profitable game after Skylanders 5. Face it...you guys all know that this onslaught of 60+ Trap Team items between new characters/elements, reposes, minis, elites, expansion packs, and traps isn't for the preservation for the longevity of the franchise...it's for padding the pockets of Activision while they actively seek out their next cash cow project.

Uuuuh... No?

We don't have any clue, as of now, if they will or will not be playable, but, this whole "Activision just wants to make tons of money, and doesn't care if we are or we are not happy or satisfied, MUHAHAHAHAHAHA" thing is not funny anymore, and it's starting to get a bit annoying.

Activision is a publisher, ok?
TfB and V.V. (in a minor part also Beenox) are the developers and designers of the main console series.
The Traptanium Gate only idea was probably Activision's fault, but, I think they learned from their mistakes, and won't repeat a thing like this again.

You guys have to start realizing that Activision as a publisher OBVIOUSLY wants to make money, but also cares about his old and possible new customers.

I don't think they will create another 6$ gimmick, if it isn't worth it.

And I also don't think they will stop at the fifth game, if the series keeps these quality standards.

People can make mistakes, and Activision IS made of people.

You seem to be defending Activision quite a bit for this being a speculation thread, so we all know where you stand on this little "debate" you're having with forum members. If you care to be balanced, look at Activision's history of franchises and start talking about how they crashed and burned Guitar/Band Hero into the ground after milking all the profits they could out of it. How does Activision care about it's old and possibly new customers of that franchise? They are a profit-driven company...not your warm and fuzzy friend that will indefinitely give you a quality Skylanders product year after year. You're obviously getting pissy with the money grubbing comments about Activision "not being funny anymore," so put on your big boy pants and start looking at the past history of Activision as a company in this discussion.

Yes, I am starting to find that thing ridiculous.

Don't worry, I know about Activision's past mistakes, mostly because a lot of people here tend to remind them to all the users, when they see the occasion, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have learnt from them.

I just think about TfB and V.V.
So far, they have never really disappointed me.

Other than that, I'm as clueless as you, regarding traps implementation in future games, I just exposed my opinion, and backed it up with some motivations.

Quote: AdamGregory03

And also, to everyone saying that the villains should become Skylanders and get their own figures... that kind of defeats the purpose of trapping them in the first place.

More specifically, villains should be more than 2 or 3 move characters. I want full upgrade capabilities and path selection like skylanders. And of course, who doesn't want a pose of some of the cooler villains? I'd be ok with support for traps and characters posed in "an all new adventure" that provides the latest gimmick. I'll always take more over less...but for me it's always been about a balance of the toys and the content - a balance I have not seen since .... ever.

Food for thought...TT had 12x as many villains as SF. If the battles were as nice and thought out as SF we would have 12 games as one. I will say that there are still more variety and quality boss battles in TT than in SF even despite some of the lower quality villain boss efforts. Sadly, more boss battles lesson the experience of the good ones because there are so many. I'm still mixed on the ultimate outcome.

All my humble opinions, and we all have 'em. It will be interesting to see how and what they support. I'm sure we'll be shocked in many areas.

Drek: Nerfing happens simply because someone's not checking notes with the other development team, and the fact that they have to recalcuate their perception of "balance". It's clear to me that VV's perception of balance is far more difficulty than TfB, which promotes very much friendly (ie a total joke) difficulty in most cases. We clearly have a pattern for TfB since they've done three games, and I've unjustly convicted VV with only one effort. We'll see. And for the record, I always have a point...it may take me longer to get there, and it may not be well received, but I do have 'em from time to time.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: AdamGregory03

And also, to everyone saying that the villains should become Skylanders and get their own figures... that kind of defeats the purpose of trapping them in the first place.

More specifically, villains should be more than 2 or 3 move characters. I want full upgrade capabilities and path selection like skylanders. And of course, who doesn't want a pose of some of the cooler villains? I'd be ok with support for traps and characters posed in "an all new adventure" that provides the latest gimmick. I'll always take more over less...but for me it's always been about a balance of the toys and the content - a balance I have not seen since .... ever.

Food for thought...TT had 12x as many villains as SF. If the battles were as nice and thought out as SF we would have 12 games as one. I will say that there are still more variety and quality boss battles in TT than in SF even despite some of the lower quality villain boss efforts. Sadly, more boss battles lesson the experience of the good ones because there are so many. I'm still mixed on the ultimate outcome.

All my humble opinions, and we all have 'em. It will be interesting to see how and what they support. I'm sure we'll be shocked in many areas.

Drek: Nerfing happens simply because someone's not checking notes with the other development team, and the fact that they have to recalcuate their perception of "balance". It's clear to me that VV's perception of balance is far more difficulty than TfB, which promotes very much friendly (ie a total joke) difficulty in most cases. We clearly have a pattern for TfB since they've done three games, and I've unjustly convicted VV with only one effort. We'll see. And for the record, I always have a point...it may take me longer to get there, and it may not be well received, but I do have 'em from time to time.

I personally want villains to remain "limited".
So, they will still be different from the Skylanders, in more than one way.
That's what I want.

I do think Doom Raiders should get more love.
And Pain-Yatta. Because, I see him as the Magic one... More or less...

You are right, Ghost.
You are one of the most reasonable critics, here, and I really enjoy our discussions about our different points of view.
Sorry if I seemed rude, at one point. Didn't want to.

As we already agreed to say, in the past, V.V and TfB really need to sit dow and decide a combact style/physic engine/damage counter for all the Skylanders' games from now on.

1. People will NOT quit if the traps don't work. Don't kid yourself. People also didn't spend as much on traps as they did characters. Even if you bought a full set of traps at FULL value, that's less than $40, adding a second set is around $85 (with NO sales), and that's about 5 Trap Masters (not on sale). People will complain that they don't work, they will be irritated, but on October whatever, 2015, they will still be in line outside of TRU to get the latest and greatest.

2. I know the traps are pretty muich the same types of chips as characters, but I'm not sure if it's the exact same, and what the info limitation is - i.e. could they create new villains and use old traps?

3. Don't expect them to move forward. In fact, I expect a HARD reset with THIS upcoming entry that let's you use the old characters, but is designed from head to toe with new tech in mind, with the next entry (2016) dropping compatibility for the current line of figures. We've already been warned.
- Unreall

Quote: Unreallystic

1. People will NOT quit if the traps don't work. Don't kid yourself. People also didn't spend as much on traps as they did characters. Even if you bought a full set of traps at FULL value, that's less than $40, adding a second set is around $85 (with NO sales), and that's about 5 Trap Masters (not on sale). People will complain that they don't work, they will be irritated, but on October whatever, 2015, they will still be in line outside of TRU to get the latest and greatest.

2. I know the traps are pretty muich the same types of chips as characters, but I'm not sure if it's the exact same, and what the info limitation is - i.e. could they create new villains and use old traps?

3. Don't expect them to move forward. In fact, I expect a HARD reset with THIS upcoming entry that let's you use the old characters, but is designed from head to toe with new tech in mind, with the next entry (2016) dropping compatibility for the current line of figures. We've already been warned.
- Unreall

1. I expect all sorts of outcomes, ranging from people actually quitting if there's no support to people that don't care. Being categorical is a sure fire way to be 100% wrong. What will the net/net be when the dust settles? Let's find out come Oct 2015. I've "quit" the series twice now, and I'm still back for more. The cutting edge for me is not including what I consider to be a needed set of features, which doesn't include traps (the topic in question).

2. They could absolutely use the mantra of requiring traps in the future when defeating villains. There's no technical obstacle...only their desire in moving the platform forward or not.

3. I do think we'll be both pleasantly surprised and horrified at the same time. A change in how the game works has to change...despite TT being a fun game, the whole chapter concept with find and seek objectives is 100% burn out city for me. I can 100% state regardless of gimmick I will not buy the same "type of game" again. Also if there's features I want in #2 not in this one, I'm still out. Change is good...unless it's not.

The way I would integrate the traps would be as add-ons for the Doom Raiders that would have turned and become Skylanders themselves. Each villain from TT would add a specific skill to the Doom Raider of the same element, which would be sold as figures with a slot to put the traps. That would add a replay value to TT since you'd need to use the villain vault to get the villains, and give a better reason to have multiple traps.

If I were Activision, and I were interested in maximum profits, I would make traps work with the new game. They're selling an ounce of plastic for $6. No paint job, very little packaging. If traps don't work, it'll be because VV don't want to worry about balancing the game around villains, the traps don't support the inclusion of new villains, or something about the game itself is so different that it's just not feasible. It's not going to be anything to do with Activision and profit-mongering. If I were Activision I would be doing everything in my power to see if VV could somehow continue to support traps.

I think villains /traps should be useable in sky 5 , but I don't think they should add new villains to trap, I think it'd make the game too similar and the new story/gimic would get lost too much stuff.

I definayely don't want fully playable villains. It'd definayely take too much attention away from the skylanders. Same for fully upgradable attacks for villains too, if they actually put effort into programming a lot of villain attacks and upgrade paths and stats etc it just wouldn't be worth it . Especially with everyone's already owning traps it's not like it would make them a lot of money.


Even though they didn't explain how traps work I think they are exclusive to villains that were in the cloud cracker explosion, as why a Kaos trap was formed. And I think this'd be the story they'd go with to phase out traps .

I think they should change the villain use a little though just to make it feel a bit newer.. Maybe instead of the constant allowable use of a villain at 30 second intervals or whatever , They increase the timer to a couple of minutes but only allow you one use per level. Manly because constantly switching kinda ruins the battle for me .

I agree that if villains are in the 5th game, they should have a reduced effectiveness or smaller role. Perhaps make a mode that's separate from the main game where you can still play as the villains you collected in Trap Team. Some kind of PVP or arena challenge mode.

Agree.

Just keep the villains as they are.
Timed, strategic and fun "assistants".

Less work to do, more time to spend on the actual game.

Don't want villain figures.
It would ruin their uniqueness and the "hero only" concept.

Villain figures as a whole would kill the concept but I wouldn't mind if they made at least the Doom Raiders or most popular ones as magic items or even Trap molds. A bit like Series 2 where the skylander reflects their upgrades,but in this case they reflect their new role even if they're still there just for support.

Plus Activision's making a crap load of money from Destiny & Call of Duty. $11 billion just on COD to date.
Let's hope they (VV) does a better job on number 5. I hope they use the traps. As for a new gimmick, if they do...fine. If not, that's fine as well.
I'll probably get it one way, or another, because you don't have to really learn the game like most other video games.
I have plenty of other games, but I play Skylanders because it doesn't frustrate me as much when I play it as oppose to other games.
All I have to say to VV is good luck & hope you create an awesome game that will keep us Portal Masters highly interested.

My problem with villains as they were implemented in Trap Team is that they are "get out of jail free" cards. Their utility should be different ... otherwise all future games is about villains--our "cheat".

Yeah I find using villains is cheating a bit too. and really I think the addition of them is why they dropped verse mode from trap team as it would've been incredibly hard to balance gameplay.

My opinion, if not for #5 then for #6, TFB & VV ought to sit down & have a meeting. Take aspects from each game (feats of strength(SG), bonus missions (SF), capture & trap villains (STT), etc.) and put them in one game. This may, or may not, even be cool for the last game. But sooner or later, the Skylanders will one day have to face The Darkness.
Plus who knows how many villains were incarcerated in Cloudcracker Prison. If you notice, not only by the sheer power but the bounty as well, there's a large gap between Golden Queen (4000) & Kaos (10K). There may be villains far more powerful than the Doom Raiders, maybe even Kaos. Who knows how many servants The Darkness has.
All I got to say is that I hope they end TT as the last boss battle with Kaos. He may come close to winning, but his ego & overconfidence always bring him down. I would like to see the main villain win & the Skylanders fight back to free Skylands from the main villain...perfect for The Darkness to step in.
Kaos is become a repose in his self, like Gill Grunt. How many times can you defeat him before you actually lose interest in defeating him?

I actually suspect the traps are the subtle way of preparing Skylander collectors for the eventual phasing out of so many physical figures in place of virtual ones like the villains in S4. Big retailers cannot continue to keep adding pegs for what will soon be 5 years worth of odds and ends of leftover and new Skylanders product to keep on shelves. Toys r us still has pegs filled with SSA, Giants, And Swap Force figs and starter packs. Throw in 2, now going on 3 years worth of Infinity figs and what will be 2 years of Amiibos by this fall and we are talking a lot of electronics aisle peg real estate they need to justify to the retailer to keep making more and more space for. I actually see the traps as Activision's way out of this mess. I mean you don't see Star Wars figs from 5 years ago still on pegs at stores do you? If they slowly transition away from figures and retire them and transition to traps or use something like the power discs in Infinity they will still be able to continue the "collectible" craze but shrink the size and overall cost to produce them down to a more manageable size if the franchise is to continue for years to come. We will see soon enough what is on the horizon as E3 is not that far away when you think about it, but if I were to make any predictions, I'd say you can actually expect to see MORE traps and less figures in Skylanders 5.

They will never abandon figures.

They might reduce them, but not completely remove them.
Many fans have kids, and they also want to play with the physical toys.

It's "Toys to Life" not "Discs to Life".

The figs. are a major part of the brand (and genre) identity they aren't going anywhere. You don't see 5 year old Star Wars figs. because they keep making new ones. They only make a certain amount and go on to the next wave. Hasbro has been steadily making Star Wars figs. since 1995 and they haven't stopped. Now that Disney owns that little money brand I don't see that changing. They get a little stale on the pegs...BAM clearance. There's never a need to clearance a Skylander fig. as long as they are still playable in the current and future version. Plus when you consider that TRU and Activision keep claiming that Skylanders is also the #1 action figure line, why would they stop?

@drek95 I didn't say they will "abandon" figures completely did I? Is that what I said? I'm pretty sure I said to paraphrase my comments that they might make LESS figures and use the traps as a means to extend the amount of characters to "collect" but lessen the need for 60 plus physical figures each year. And btw NEVER say never. This is a topic of SPECULATION, and all are free to propose any idea we like and neither you or I, nor anyone else here knows for certain anything of the future of the franchise and to assume you or anyone does is foolish. Again to all of you... We shall see. Wait til e3 before assuming YOU know more than anyone else when it comes to "predictions" only TIME will tell who has the correct insight and who does not.

And btw a Kaos trap on average sells for $49.95 to $60.00 on ebay. 10x the retail value. A HIGHER profit margin and value than practically every single Skylanders FIGURE ever made formerly avail at retail Excluding extreme rares/variants and even then most of em do not fetch 10x profits. Out of all 200 plus standard figures the Kaos trap still nets more as a single item by profit ratio to cost on the secondary market than any STANDARD single Skylanders SSA,giants, Swap Force or Trap Team action figure as a general rule. So what's more popular to collect? A figure or a trap? Well? Based on verifiable FINANCIAL statistics, it appears the Kaos traps are aren't they?

@tigorus my Star Wars analogy was exactly that an analogy. The point I was trying to make by referencing Star Wars toys was In essence hat you said about Hasbro who only produces so many SW figs each year, RETIRES them and makes new ones each cycle. They do not continue to stock pegs with old editions or past leftover stock year after year. They close them out and they are GONE. If you missed out on last years figures too bad, and yes I know they are not video games but that's kind of the point isn't it? They are action figures and have be around in some form or another since 1977 which is almost 40 years now. Let's just say Skylanders lasts a decade. Do you really think they(retailers) are going to keep holding onto stock from 10 years ago just in case someone who has Skylanders 10 needs a SSA Hex or any other past editions figure to play with and doesn't want to spend a ton of money on eBay to get one? Toys get retired. That's how they gain and hold VALUE on the secondary market in the long run. Skylanders current PERCEIVED value is all hype. It a fad. A TREND. Can anyone say "Cabbage Patch Kids?" Hence why people are trying to cash in on it now. When I was 7 in 1977 none of my friends or I ever knew those Star Wars toys were going to be worth anything 30-40 years later. Neither did our parents. No one did. Time decides the true value of things not hype. I'll hold any and all rigid opinions as to the LONG TERM value of any trend or "collectible" until 10, 20, 30 years later when the dust has settled. As I've been alive long enough to have seen it BEGIN, rise, fall and rise again with the KING of collectible action figures (Star Wars) and I will no doubt be dead of old age in the 45 years or more it will take for Skylanders to reach anywhere near the status SW TOYS have in the world of action figure collecting. So what I was trying to say was that Activision cannot feasibly continue year after year to produce 60 plus figures plus variants and 3 packs and starter packs and traps and variants and whatever new gimmick they add with each new game iteration and expect retailers to keep making room for them Keep in mind that it's not just Skylanders here that retailers are having to find space for on pegs and in the aisles. it's Disney Infinity, Amiiibos and whatever NEW as of yet unknown Toys to Life game or franchise might yet to appear in the future. Something has to give and my supposition is simply that Activision quite well could make a handful of main characters with each new game like the Trap masters or giants for instance say 8-16 physical figures and relegate the core, and legacy characters etc to something more like the traps or Disney's power discs.

Quote: blackmass

@drek95 I didn't say they will "abandon" figures completely did I? Is that what I said? I'm pretty sure I said to paraphrase my comments that they might make LESS figures and use the traps as a means to extend the amount of characters to "collect" but lessen the need for 60 plus physical figures each year. And btw NEVER say never. This is a topic of SPECULATION, and all are free to propose any idea we like and neither you or I, nor anyone else here knows for certain anything of the future of the franchise and to assume you or anyone does is foolish. Again to all of you... We shall see. Wait til e3 before assuming YOU know more than anyone else when it comes to "predictions" only TIME will tell who has the correct insight and who does not.

I wasn't talking directly to you, I just wanted to express what I think is the main point of the series.
Figures.

If there is one thing I know FOR SURE is that the next game will have new Skylanders to play as, sold as figures.
Or not have any new character at all. It is a possibility. But it's either one of those two options, no questioning.

Of course you are free to have different opinions, but I strongly believe in this aspect.

Quote: blackmass

@tigorus my Star Wars analogy was exactly that an analogy. The point I was trying to make by referencing Star Wars toys was In essence hat you said about Hasbro who only produces so many SW figs each year, RETIRES them and makes new ones each cycle. They do not continue to stock pegs with old editions or past leftover stock year after year. They close them out and they are GONE. If you missed out on last years figures too bad, and yes I know they are not video games but that's kind of the point isn't it? They are action figures and have be around in some form or another since 1977 which is almost 40 years now. Let's just say Skylanders lasts a decade. Do you really think they(retailers) are going to keep holding onto stock from 10 years ago just in case someone who has Skylanders 10 needs a SSA Hex or any other past editions figure to play with and doesn't want to spend a ton of money on eBay to get one? Toys get retired. That's how they gain and hold VALUE on the secondary market in the long run. Skylanders current PERCEIVED value is all hype. It a fad. A TREND. Can anyone say "Cabbage Patch Kids?" Hence why people are trying to cash in on it now. When I was 7 in 1977 none of my friends or I ever knew those Star Wars toys were going to be worth anything 30-40 years later. Neither did our parents. No one did. Time decides the true value of things not hype. I'll hold any and all rigid opinions as to the LONG TERM value of any trend or "collectible" until 10, 20, 30 years later when the dust has settled. As I've been alive long enough to have seen it BEGIN, rise, fall and rise again with the KING of collectible action figures (Star Wars) and I will no doubt be dead of old age in the 45 years or more it will take for Skylanders to reach anywhere near the status SW TOYS have in the world of action figure collecting.

I totally get your point since Skylanders is competing in the Action Fig. market as well as the video game market. That being said we can't just leave them in the Action Fig. category now can we? To be honest 10 years down the road I don't think the SSA figs will be that important if there has been a repose of those early figs. so people at least have access to the character not just a specific version. Also unlike simple Action Figs. they are also d.l.c. that go along with a video game. They have their feet in two different cash pools. Again I totally get your point but we can generalize them into just the Action Fig. market without additional consideration for both markets. As you said before though time will tell. lol in terms of value to the consumer they are worse than a new car. they lose at least 50% of their value when you open them, maybe more lol.

Quote: blackmass

I actually suspect the traps are the subtle way of preparing Skylander collectors for the eventual phasing out of so many physical figures in place of virtual ones like the villains in S4. Big retailers cannot continue to keep adding pegs for what will soon be 5 years worth of odds and ends of leftover and new Skylanders product to keep on shelves. Toys r us still has pegs filled with SSA, Giants, And Swap Force figs and starter packs. Throw in 2, now going on 3 years worth of Infinity figs and what will be 2 years of Amiibos by this fall and we are talking a lot of electronics aisle peg real estate they need to justify to the retailer to keep making more and more space for. I actually see the traps as Activision's way out of this mess. I mean you don't see Star Wars figs from 5 years ago still on pegs at stores do you? If they slowly transition away from figures and retire them and transition to traps or use something like the power discs in Infinity they will still be able to continue the "collectible" craze but shrink the size and overall cost to produce them down to a more manageable size if the franchise is to continue for years to come. We will see soon enough what is on the horizon as E3 is not that far away when you think about it, but if I were to make any predictions, I'd say you can actually expect to see MORE traps and less figures in Skylanders 5.

I agree with you completely, and think the traps are an experimental innovation that is more than just a gimmick. I think they will see the consumer response (willingness to buy traps) as a positive indicator that would support a transition, in which we will see less figures and more traps with characters in them. As you astutely point out, shelf space is at a premium, and frankly, traps are way cheaper to produce, with likely higher profit margins for the company and shareholders.

My prediction is that they will eventually release a limited number of figures, such as one for each element type (like a Trap Master, of sorts), and then they will have preloaded characters on traps, with a little picture of the character on the packaging (like with the Rebel Lob Goblin or Outlaw Brawl and Chain Traps). And, they will stop manufacturing and selling older figures. Instead, they will sell empty elemental traps, and you will be able to go on your console and buy older characters as DLC, and then saving these DLC characters to an empty trap. This strategy will prevent overstock of older, unpopular characters, thus making retailers happy.
Just my hypothesis, of course--pure speculation. Honestly I would be very sad if this happened, because I am a huge fan of the figures. It would signal the end of my collecting

@drek95 and @tigorus yeah. I think were are basically sensing the same thing though expressing it differently. Lol what I do know is that I am SICK of people using this awesome thing, this fantastic innovation in gameplay, toys and technology for " a "Status Symbol" and or a future "investment" whatever happens to " I bought them because hey looked cool, the game was fun, and I just Loved them!" As Tigorus put it "they are worse than a new car." Exactly!!! they are only worth something to the owner, to nearly everyone else it just another used car it's not a "collectible" lol

@arenne !!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU! you nailed exactly what I was trying to say!!!! That was precisely what I was trying to express as my basic concept, that these TRAPS are actually a preview of what is soon to come(like it or not) I know some people hate to think forward to a day with less or no more figures, but you can see the future too...and I think history will show that we were right or VERY close! E3 shall see!!!!!!!

As a side note. Those familiar with Disney Infiinity 2.0 might similarly consider the proposed Sam and Qourra digital DL exclusive in game "figures", team up and costume change power discs as a similar market "test" by Avalanche software/ Disney interactive to see if they too can get away with making less physical figures and move to cheaper digital ones housed in discs.

Quote: blackmass

As a side note. Those familiar with Disney Infiinity 2.0 might similarly consider the proposed Sam and Qourra digital DL exclusive in game "figures", team up and costume change power discs as a similar market "test" by Avalanche software/ Disney interactive to see if they too can get away with making less physical figures and move to cheaper digital ones housed in discs.

San and Qourra are digital only?

@HeyItsHotDog according to the word on the net yes.. And it is the lamest reason ever... Read here http://kotaku.com/the-last-dis...-onl-1683899635

Quote: blackmass

@HeyItsHotDog according to the word on the net yes.. And it is the lamest reason ever... Read here http://kotaku.com/the-last-dis...-onl-1683899635

AND THEY'RE EXCLUSIVE TO MOBILE PLATFORMS? Now THAT'S a stupid move.


I kinda hope Skylanders does this, with the Lost Island alter egos/varients as extras.

blackmass: Love the comments, just don't create successive separate posts. Edit the one you have please.

Quote: blackmass

And btw a Kaos trap on average sells for $49.95 to $60.00 on ebay. 10x the retail value. A HIGHER profit margin and value than practically every single Skylanders FIGURE ever made formerly avail at retail Excluding extreme rares/variants and even then most of em do not fetch 10x profits. Out of all 200 plus standard figures the Kaos trap still nets more as a single item by profit ratio to cost on the secondary market than any STANDARD single Skylanders SSA,giants, Swap Force or Trap Team action figure as a general rule. So what's more popular to collect? A figure or a trap? Well? Based on verifiable FINANCIAL statistics, it appears the Kaos traps are aren't they?

What do you mean popular to collect? The Kaos trap costs a lot because not enough were made to meet demand. Meanwhile, every Skylanders fan probably has 4 Gill Grunts, Stealth Elfs, and Trigger Happys - if not more. I would say Gill Grunt is more popular to collect. Kaos traps would never cost more than $6 if they shipped enough to meet demand, and they will never cost more than $6 if you find one on a peg in a major retailer. Many owners of Trap Team just don't have that trap, and it's one of the main complaints on Amazon reviews about the game. Not sure what your point is, but there's no way the price of the Kaos Trap is any indication that people are happy to pay that much to collect it. I'd wager anyone paying $60 for it is pissed.

Quote: blackmass

I actually suspect the traps are the subtle way of preparing Skylander collectors for the eventual phasing out of so many physical figures in place of virtual ones like the villains in S4. Big retailers cannot continue to keep adding pegs for what will soon be 5 years worth of odds and ends of leftover and new Skylanders product to keep on shelves.

I live within 15 minutes of two Walmarts, a Target, a Best Buy, two Gamestops, and a TRU. (NJ is crazy like that) 90% of the Skylander stock at these stores is from Trap Team, and mostly just from the most recent waves. The only store whose Skylander section has expanded since Swap Force is TRU. The only one with significant amounts of older figures is TRU. I don't think major retailers are having an issue with this. They'll order the newest ones, and put them on the same pegs as usual. The only phasing out that I see taking place is phasing out of older figures. I mean I just don't see how my local Target is worried about whether they'll sell out of their stock of SAA and Giants figures if they have almost none of them on the pegs to begin with. Not sure if this is an issue in some areas of the world, but certainly not where I live.

Quote: blackmass

@drek95 and @tigorus yeah. I think were are basically sensing the same thing though expressing it differently. Lol what I do know is that I am SICK of people using this awesome thing, this fantastic innovation in gameplay, toys and technology for " a "Status Symbol" and or a future "investment" whatever happens to " I bought them because hey looked cool, the game was fun, and I just Loved them!" As Tigorus put it "they are worse than a new car." Exactly!!! they are only worth something to the owner, to nearly everyone else it just another used car it's not a "collectible" lol

Completely agree on the "Status Symbol" part.
I have personally NEVER bought anything to be part of a restricted elitary group of people, even if I often buy things that are "famous" or "popular", like Skylanders, for example.

Also, I think being 19 years old and buying them isn't going to make me any popular, among my friends...

I buy things because I like them, because I enjoy them and because I find them to be' worth the money.
And that's something EVERYONE should do.

Now, on the "investment" part.
Do you mean actual investment like "10 years from now these stupid plastic figures will be worth THOUSANDS of money, especially the purple dragon's one", or "can't wait to play as them in the next games"?

I'm part of the second category, by the way.

Anyone who buys Skylanders as a long-term "investment" is bad with money. ;)

Buy them because you like them and they're fun. :D

I doubt anybody here will agree that anybody buys Skylanders as an investment. This is the 4th go around for Skylanders and everybody knows the market. Now if you wish to start a heated investment/collectibility debate for figures, go to a Nintendo Amiibo forum. Just about everybody there is a whiny crybaby about figure availability and just about every other person who collects them needs a 2nd set of figures to keep as museum pieces in pristine condition (and it matters a great deal if the packaging is from the US vs Japan or Europe even though the figures are the same...talk about high maintenance...these are toys to be played with!).

I'm happy a large part (if not ALL) of the Skylanders' fans here still buy them because they are enjoyable and they like them.

That's the point of the entire series.

Quote: Drek95

I'm happy a large part (if not ALL) of the Skylanders' fans here still buy them because they are enjoyable and they like them.

That's the point of the entire series.

Totally agreed, the game formula needs to help with the fun and reuse factor though. Took a dive in this area in Trap team.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Drek95

I'm happy a large part (if not ALL) of the Skylanders' fans here still buy them because they are enjoyable and they like them.

That's the point of the entire series.

Totally agreed, the game formula needs to help with the fun and reuse factor though. Took a dive in this area in Trap team.

Absolutely.

Trap Team almost lacks any form of replayability.
And while to me it isn't a big problem, after all, it objectively IS a miss.

You are in the minority. I know they feel that the fans are ok replaying story levels as being "replayable" but that's not enough for most. If I have to replay story levels at least pile on more objectives (other than the additional star)...and now that I'm thinking about it...

[Fantasy]
they missed a HUGE opportunity to do a Mortal Komat type challenge ladder...where you have to beat all of the villains with the same skylander without being killed etc. How awesome would THAT have been?

Quote: UncleBob

Anyone who buys Skylanders as a long-term "investment" is bad with money.

Buy them because you like them and they're fun.

Not entirely sure I agree with the first part there. I'm not so much referring to the actually cash out of an investment but more the long term value. With the future compatibility of the figures I'm getting a ton of longevity in an industry that usually wants you to start over with more $$ dropped for the new stuff. This franchise has the new stuff for the $$ but I can play with my previous "investments" if I'd like foregoing any new purchases. Now if I want to complete the current title's "gimmick" content there's a minimum investment required but that's it.

That being said, playing because you want to and have fun doing it is the main point...Otherwise WTF are you doing dropping so much $$ on crap you don't like!?!...lol.

Quote: mastermc54

I doubt anybody here will agree that anybody buys Skylanders as an investment. This is the 4th go around for Skylanders and everybody knows the market. Now if you wish to start a heated investment/collectibility debate for figures, go to a Nintendo Amiibo forum. Just about everybody there is a whiny crybaby about figure availability and just about every other person who collects them needs a 2nd set of figures to keep as museum pieces in pristine condition (and it matters a great deal if the packaging is from the US vs Japan or Europe even though the figures are the same...talk about high maintenance...these are toys to be played with!).

100% agree. If you're looking to make a lot of money on an investment, Skylanders is not the route to go. If you're lucky you could nab a bunch of Kaos traps and make enough money to go grocery shopping.

Quote:

Not entirely sure I agree with the first part there. I'm not so much referring to the actually cash out of an investment but more the long term value. With the future compatibility of the figures I'm getting a ton of longevity in an industry that usually wants you to start over with more $$ dropped for the new stuff. This franchise has the new stuff for the $$ but I can play with my previous "investments" if I'd like foregoing any new purchases. Now if I want to complete the current title's "gimmick" content there's a minimum investment required but that's it.

Yeah I think you're using the word "investment" differently from others in this conversation. Certainly you can get a lot of value for the money you invest in Skylanders if you actually use the figures you buy. However, it's a bad financial investment if your goal is to buy something that's going to make you money. It's usually the things that people don't think of to collect that end up being expensive, from what I've seen. Like old toys that became classics, where nobody ever kept them in good shape.

Quote: GhostRoaster

You are in the minority. I know they feel that the fans are ok replaying story levels as being "replayable" but that's not enough for most. If I have to replay story levels at least pile on more objectives (other than the additional star)...and now that I'm thinking about it...

[Fantasy]
they missed a HUGE opportunity to do a Mortal Komat type challenge ladder...where you have to beat all of the villains with the same skylander without being killed etc. How awesome would THAT have been?

I'm a huge fan of long and almost endless games, but unfortunately (or, in this case, luckily), I don't have that much time to spend on videogames, this year.

So, in this case, it's not a problem, for me.
But it is undoubtedly a big miss, for the game.

Oh, and that villain challenge idea is just AWESOME.

Traps will be back, they're popular and the price of them will increase.

Quote: mantez

Traps will be back, they're popular and the price of them will increase.

Skylanders: Giant Trap Team. Trap Masters will be even bigger and more expensive. Traps will be bigger and more expensive. Villains will be enormous. Drobot will still be top damage, though.

As revealed in //forum.darkspyro.net/spyro/viewposts.php?topic=118441, the Traps will be usable in the fifth game. But they won't bring the Villains back. Instead, they will be used to boost power and elemental energy in Vehicles.