darkSpyro

My buddy @remixed_skylanders from Instagram just posted this

And @portalpowertv

Is there an ETA / official launch for this?

Quote: TakeYourLemons

Is there an ETA / official launch for this?

Not that I'm aware of

Where was this found?

Quote: skyfan124

Where was this found?

One is from Austin Texas, but I am not sure about the other

Quote: skyfan124

Where was this found?

Umm.. Target. It kinda says so on the packaging...

Since Nitro's are, and always have been, exclusive to Target, it was implied in the question that skyfan meant in what city/state.

Hmmm...what do you make of this?

You think this means it's now out all over the US or do you think this was some kind of mistake?

This is supposed to come out January 10.

to be honest i dont think it look that good.

I really like the Nitro color scheme and I think it goes well with the idea of racing. So, is the January 10th date when they are going to be in an advertisement? Is it register-locked?

DPCI number?

Quote: Taronyx

DPCI number?

207-03-0209

Quote: 84skylanderdude

This is supposed to come out January 10.

Thanks for the info. May I ask where it came from?

Quote: Chompy-King257

Quote: 84skylanderdude

This is supposed to come out January 10.

Thanks for the info. May I ask where it came from?

Backroom of a Target store. Someone probably got it in and took advantage.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

Quote: Chompy-King257

Quote: 84skylanderdude

This is supposed to come out January 10.

Thanks for the info. May I ask where it came from?

Backroom of a Target store. Someone probably got it in and took advantage.

Ah. Got it.

Just found one at my target in Springfield Illinois. A whole peg of them!

So, are these not register-locked?

I would say no, but will probably be soon.

Got mine today

Nope not register locked. Bought it with no problems.

Just a heads up, although Target has a 50% off deal on Super Chargers vehicles, it did not take the discount off the Nitro Soda Skimmer. I was able to get my discount applied manually at Guest Services afterwards.

im i allowed to use the hover hand on the boxes?...

What is the DPCI for the Skimmer?

It was posted like six messages up... Quote: ZapNorris

Quote: Taronyx

DPCI number?

207-03-0209

My local target has 5...

Got Soda Skimmer and Roller Brawl today. Target wasn't in ample supply of Skimmer and from what TRU told me over the phone, they only got 12 Roller Brawls.

That still worries me about this franchise. You want to meet demand and inform your customers they are out. If you don't, customers' kids might flock to other brands because they can, you know, actually find product.

In any case, I'm on Instagram now. Davidbk1126. I'll throw up some Skylanders pics from time to time, should I get anything new, or post more collection stuff that people normally can't get.

Quote: GameMaster78

Got Soda Skimmer and Roller Brawl today. Target wasn't in ample supply of Skimmer and from what TRU told me over the phone, they only got 12 Roller Brawls.

That still worries me about this franchise. You want to meet demand and inform your customers they are out. If you don't, customers' kids might flock to other brands because they can, you know, actually find product.

In any case, I'm on Instagram now. Davidbk1126. I'll throw up some Skylanders pics from time to time, should I get anything new, or post more collection stuff that people normally can't get.

Well, you got your figs. Crisis averted.

My Target doesn't have this in yet, but they said they are fully expecting it sometime this week. Can I assume that it's going to be January 10th, like you guys are saying?

Quote: TakeYourLemons

Quote: GameMaster78

Got Soda Skimmer and Roller Brawl today. Target wasn't in ample supply of Skimmer and from what TRU told me over the phone, they only got 12 Roller Brawls.

That still worries me about this franchise. You want to meet demand and inform your customers they are out. If you don't, customers' kids might flock to other brands because they can, you know, actually find product.

In any case, I'm on Instagram now. Davidbk1126. I'll throw up some Skylanders pics from time to time, should I get anything new, or post more collection stuff that people normally can't get.

Well, you got your figs. Crisis averted.

Haha, no sir. Crisis not averted. I told everyone, this isn't about when I get the figures, it's about the way the figures are not only being released, but now apparently in very small numbers.

Since wave 4 of Trap Team, all stores in my city, be it Target, Walmart, and even Best Buy have been keeping their Skylanders sections very bare. I don't know if it's the stores themselves, in which case sales are slacking compared to the healthy stocked Infinity and Dimensions sections, or if it's Activision playing it safe, in which case sales are slacking compared to the healthy stocked Infinity and Dimensions sections.

It never used to be like this, and as I said in other posts, it hurts consumer trust as no one knows when new product will be out and how easy it will be to find, so add miscommunication to the mix.

Sure, I got these two figures, and I'll end up with Birthday Pop Fizz, too. Who else will, though? When will parents know to go to a store cause these are out? Will they be too late because some don't keep up with the joneses, because they don't know about sites like this, where we help each other by state when something was released?

So many questions have to be asked and factored into this franchise, and that worries me, not me getting the figures.

Parents, for the most part, couldn't give a rat's butt if they don't get some variant that doesn't come out in large numbers. These average parents you reference aren't casually buying Skylanders AND collecting them all. It's either or. If a parent isn't regularly checking stores for new releases and here, they probably could care less if Big Birthday Pop Fizz comes and goes without them finding him.

Besides, these are just the first shipments, stores only got in a case or so of the Legendary Sky Pack at first, and look at them now. TRU does not do exclusives in small numbers. And Target had Nitros for months after they came out, I can still get a Nitro Head Rush or a Nitro Stealth Stinger easily. They just don't Fedex the lion's share of the figures since it costs more.

And lastly, TakeYourLemons is right - your tone greatly changes once you find your figures. You may not do it consciously, but people who have been around here for a while can tell the difference between Gamemaster after a successful vs. an unsuccessful hunt. Hey, I get it - it is frustrating at times.

GM, I've no such proof that ANYTHING in SC has been produced in small numbers, short of Sky Action Pack. Come back to me at the end of January for the latest motley group.

Well trust me Lemons, I want to be wrong, and I want to have jumped the gun and there will be plenty of Birthday Pop Fizz, N-Soda, and L-Roller. But everyone here knows how the developers treat later waves of Skylanders. I can count the number of times I saw characters like Echo in stores, or Spotlight and Blackout in Trap Team, or Scratch in Swap Force. The later waves, if not jumped on asap, could cost you your *** in terms of buying all figures. Now I'm taking parents in mind who are looking for said new figures for their kids.

So naturally, when I see one lone box of Roller Brawls hitting TRU, I get visions of how they do later waves in past games. Heck, some waves we never even got *cough* yawn traps.

That's why I'm naturally worried. Money can't be spent, if parents who have busy schedules aren't informed like we are. Not everyone knows DS exists to help them know when to start looking.

Quote: defpally

And lastly, TakeYourLemons is right - your tone greatly changes once you find your figures.

It's so true. I remember when GM78 was going to stop buying Skylanders if Activision seriously *dared* to make us wait until SWAP Force to get Lightcore Hex to complete our Giants collections. :D :D :D

Anyone still need Lightcore Hex? :D

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: defpally

And lastly, TakeYourLemons is right - your tone greatly changes once you find your figures.

It's so true. I remember when GM78 was going to stop buying Skylanders if Activision seriously *dared* to make us wait until SWAP Force to get Lightcore Hex to complete our Giants collections.

Anyone still need Lightcore Hex?

0.99 each at my local TRU. They have cases of her still.

GM: It's a bit too early to be worried....like I said--give it 2 weeks or so to ease in...THEN we'll talk.

TRU is never and has never had one of their exclusive Skylanders be rare, particularly now. Nitros have always been easy to get, Stealth Stinger is a shelf warmer. And remember Love Potion Pop Fizz? I'm sure you do because I'm greeted by a wall of them at TRU every time I go.

Wave 4 is a completely different thing. It is a very late cycle wave, that is almost always immediately followed up by Wave 5. It isn't hard to get as long as you don't wait until June to attempt to get it.

And Traps, well that was a one game gimmick thing. By the time Summer rolled around, no store was willing to order more cases of traps because they had walls of them (unfortunately almost all Water). It was stupid of Activision to ship them on the same SKU, as far as inventory systems were concerned they were well stocked and didn't need more. By the time the dust settled, stores didn't want more stock from last year's game.

By the way, if you are into variants, I'd be far more worried about the Power Blues than the ones right now. Those were likely intended as late cycle variants. If sales continue to be what they are, no store is going to buy into an exclusive for them. And it is going to be tough to get stores to stock them.

I'm just guessing here, with no knowledge whatsoever, but I'd say any exclusives for this game were set in stone before launch date.

Quote: UncleBob

I'm just guessing here, with no knowledge whatsoever, but I'd say any exclusives for this game were set in stone before launch date.

Well we know the Legendaries and Nitros were, at least in the US. I suspect not for many of the other later ones. Like Nightfall was a short term exclusive for Gamestop (and we know that wasn't planned prior to launch). I imagine they try to sell exclusives as early as possible, but some of the later ones stay open. Retailers aren't that fond of planning 6-9 months in advance for those things, particularly when it crosses a fiscal year. Any money they spend on an exclusive prior to launch they would want to realize in the same year on the balance sheet.

Timed exclusives (like Nightfall) tend to fall into a different category. Basically, Activision says "We have X amount of cases of this new product ready to go and won't have more until a month down the road. Who wants to chip in on the shipping cost to get the new product now, in advance of everyone else?"

I imagine if deals are inked far in advance (I know Molten Hot Dog was planned well before his release, and he did cross a fiscal yesr), the payment likely isn't. It's my guess (again, with no solid knowledge) that most exclusives aren't a retailer paying in exchange for the figure, as much as the retailer agreeing to purchase X UNITS of the figure in question along with Y UNITS of additional product within a specified time frame, combined with deals to include ad space in the weekly flyers, special sets inside of stores (like the giant displays you see at TRU or the big signs that hang in Target, or even the interactives - PRESS THE TRAP BUTTON! PRESS IT!), features search results on the dot-com side of things, and other such non-monetary comissions. Look at the increase of GameStop's exclusives and handling of the brand for Superchargers - and look at all the various ads and promo days they've had so far. That's not to say a retailer can't just moneyhat an exclusive, but adspace is probably worth more than a sack of cash to Activision.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

Quote: UncleBob

Quote: defpally

And lastly, TakeYourLemons is right - your tone greatly changes once you find your figures.

It's so true. I remember when GM78 was going to stop buying Skylanders if Activision seriously *dared* to make us wait until SWAP Force to get Lightcore Hex to complete our Giants collections.

Anyone still need Lightcore Hex?

0.99 each at my local TRU. They have cases of her still.

GM: It's a bit too early to be worried....like I said--give it 2 weeks or so to ease in...THEN we'll talk.

Alright, but let's talk later waves, and how they always seem to be the lesser stocked waves in terms of Skylanders. Doesn't anyone see what I'm getting at? People always have a hard time finding later waves when it shouldn't be like that. There should have been plenty of Echo, Spotlight, Blackout, Light Traps, Dark Traps and Scratch figures to go around. We should have gotte Yawn Traps when we never did.

And maybe I said that in the past Unc, maybe you can find that post for me, before saying for sure I said it. Even if I did, things have changed. Activision/TFB have already costed us a chance to complete our Trap Team collection without paying an arm and a leg for scalped Yawn Traps on Ebay.

I believe in the saying "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Yes, for now on, if I as a customer can't complete a collection of any TTL game, due in part to the developer making product so sparse or not release new product at all, I will do one of two things.

1: not support the product anymore
2: buy the game only and enough to see 100% of the game. In other words SC needs - technically - a land, Sky and sea vehicle and one Supercharger to access everything in the story levels. And if Adventure Packs release (sorely missed already) I'll get those

Leaning more towards the former, though. Cut and run, just like they did. Hey check this, Uncle, take a pic of my post with your cellphone. Use it for future reference. Now you can quote me.

I've always said later waves are not stocked as much than earlier waves. I think it's less of a sign of the franchise than simply "that's the way it is" and because the game is late in its cycle and Activision is desperately trying to justify their retail space on the shelves (which has to be justified every year to retailers). Have you not seen it? I've seen it 4 years straight.

Now, like I said...if in a few weeks shelves are empty AND there's no stock for these later wave fellas...we'll definitely have something. We're just too early.

Quote: GameMaster78

And maybe I said that in the past Unc, maybe you can find that post for me, before saying for sure I said it.

Thank you, Google. First result for "Darkspyro.net Gamemaster78 Lightcore Hex".

Quote: GameMaster78

Don't mistake me for one of these other people on here who keep saying they're going to be done, but never are. I always say what I mean. If they keep LC Hex out of American Skylanders fans hands until October, not only are certain people on this forum wrong about their info, but that's really shady of Activision, and I want nothing to do with shady actions like that.

Oh cool. Maybe GM helped create "Nightshade".

Ultimate fans have ultimate complaints.

Quote: TakeYourLemons

I've always said later waves are not stocked as much than earlier waves. I think it's less of a sign of the franchise than simply "that's the way it is" and because the game is late in its cycle and Activision is desperately trying to justify their retail space on the shelves (which has to be justified every year to retailers). Have you not seen it? I've seen it 4 years straight.

Now, like I said...if in a few weeks shelves are empty AND there's no stock for these later wave fellas...we'll definitely have something. We're just too early.

And the "way it is" is something we all simply we are fine with, right? Just bury our heads in the sand whole the developers and resident brand defenders say "her-dur, if you don't like it stop supporting it?"

Sorry if my bluntness is adding to an extreme amount of butthurt around here as of late, but as a paying customer to this brand I cherish the most, I'm gonna make my voice heard. I know the developers lurk here, maybe even moreso than writing a letter or email to get a generic response from the developers automated response team.

That's like sending a complaint to Nintendo to which ALL replies are always the same. "We will forward your comments and suggestions to the appropriate blah blah blah."

Later waves being so poorly stocked, and later waves not even being released is something they need to address, or the competition wins and everyone here can flock back to their beloved Spyro forums hoping for more mediocre Spyro games. Personally, I'd like to see the TTL genres be populated by Skylanders, which is why I'm complaining. The same trends show more of a lack of care, than a developer who wants to see it flourish and get into the hands of every customer that wants new figures.

This doesn't just extend to the recent release of figures, but it just adds to the issues the later waves always come with, which is the fault of the developer not making enough.

Thanks Unc, by the way. Never flat out said I was done with this franchise. It was shady of them to hold that figure from people for so long, but I know my mind while others pick apart my words. When I say - like I did above don't forget to take a pic save the page whatever - I'm done, I'll literally say "I won't support Skylanders anymore."

I made it clear as day above though. One of the two scenarios above will happen if they keep us customers - or at least - me from completing another collection (first one they denied us was Trap Team). Write it down to make sure I stick to it, because this time I'm saying it. No complete Skylanders collection due to not releasing all figures here in the U.S., I will either be done getting entire collections for every game after SC, will only buy the starter pack for each game, and just beat each game with what I own, or not buy any further games at all. Leaning more toward the latter.

Quote: GameMaster78

[...] as of late, [...]

No, not quite right...



Dude - there comes a point when you realize that some people simply cannot be pleased or just aren't worth trying to please. 4+ years of whining about who gets free stuff, who can buy stuff in stores before you, what is and isn't in the game, etc... It's sincerely time to move on man.

Well apparently it entertains you, so why stop? Look, dude, I'm me, you're you. Be an adult and feel free to pass my posts by. my posts bother you that much, but... first world problems.

I know I probably shouldn't put in my two cents, but can we just get back to the subject at hand?

According to DCPI checker, these are all over Kansas City. I got one that a guy dug out of the backroom in Overland Park, KS today. Good luck!