darkSpyro

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/...o-soon-cm573299



The numbers at the bottom are the Quarters of the financial calendar for 2014 and 2015 (in this case, 1/14 means January-February-March of 2014). Pretty sure the "Year 2014" completely to the right should be "Year 2015". For those who have trouble reading visual charts like these, here's what it says:

• Skylanders was the overall top best Toys-to-Life seller in 2014 and 2015.
  
• Skylanders sales were greater in 2015 compared to 2014. Skylanders did about 8% more sales.
  
• Infinity is catching up to Skylanders. Infinity did 28% more sales in 2015 compared to 2014.
  
• Skylanders sales were nearly exactly the same for the last three months of 2015 compared to 2014.
  
• Infinity sold more than Skylanders during the last three months of 2014 and 2015.
  

Quote:

However, this pivot came too late and was not executed strongly enough to neutralize these new competitors. The end effect was that Skylanders ended up flat during the all-important fourth quarter:

If the Skylanders sales were so okay what's this quote doing,then? I might not have understood it.

Well, at least this proves that things are still fine,but of course stagnation or too crazy changes will only harm in the next years. Polish and expanding on the positives rather than new and shiny, maybe?

It basically means sales were okay, they were more normal than strong which is why they're saying they fell flat.

They still made nearly 800 million, but because the sales weren't astounding it allowed competitors to CATCH UP.

I think this graphic accurately shows us what most RATIONAL toys to life fans already knew: despite increased competition in the marketplace, Skylanders is still king, but it's pretty clear that Infinity is a strong second, while the other franchises are still getting their feet wet.

While some fans might lament the idea of another franchise "catching up" to Skylanders ... I think you should see this as a positive. Here is why:

1. Competition was always inevitable. Really. It was just a matter of time.
2. Competition always does one of two things: either drives product innovation and quality improvement, OR drives retail prices down. Either is a win for the consumer.
3. The fact that a 3rd and (now) FOURTH major toys-to-life platform have been mass-produced, that tells us that either market research showed ample room for 4 major brands, or that someone's market research at Lego was flawed. Either way, again, that is a win for Skylanders and their fans.

Interesting article, but didn't offer much new news on Skylanders. Basically it brought people up to date that didn't already know what's going on. Sales are down vs it's competition. Activision tried to push the vehicles, but the writer felt that they didn't do a good enough job of it.

I personally think SC was known to be a lost cause a few years back and no amount of pushing would have helped them out against a strong Lego product, Amiibo and Infinity Star Wars. So they released a slimmed down product to tread water and bide their time for the next step in their evolution.

It's a lot like in baseball when owners know that they have to put a team out on the field even though they are obviously in rebuild mode and are going to be awful. So often a sub-par product is released with promises for a better next year or years down the road. That is when their rookies will have developed and the competition has weakened and grown old.

The article then focused on the future and said that Activision is betting on the cartoon and etc to make the series into a big toy powerhouse brand. So there is hope and it's not all doom and gloom for Activision.

What's news to me is that the writer feels that Skylanders future could be toy releases without as much focus on the game? Personally I wouldn't be buying Skylanders just to collect toys. If I were just to collect lumps of plastic, I'd collect better looking stuff like Monster High or Equestria Girls to get my fantasy female fix. I'm not really into figures or toys unless they serve a fun secondary purpose like being part of a video game.

[edit]

Oh, the article also mentioned about Battlecast card game coming in late 2016, but the writer didn't feel very positive about that at all. Basically Wizards has a stronghold in that market and getting it distributed could be next to impossible.

If I was looking for just cool figures of characters I've never seen before, I'd be looking at 3D printers or hunting for the Plasma Dragons collection I never completed :U
This is a good theory, fairyland, though it feels weird since Acti always seemed to push VV as their big guy out of the duo. Maybe they've noticed TFB has less to do overall because they don't work on the spinoffs.

Quote: Bifrost

If I was looking for just cool figures of characters I've never seen before, I'd be looking at 3D printers or hunting for the Plasma Dragons collection I never completed :U

About 3D printers, are they to the point yet where they can color as well? That's really the only thing that is keeping me from buying one and burning off my own custom Skylanders and other cool stuff. My painting skills are horrible and I couldn't make any thing look presentable. For example, I so want to make a Dark Splat like what the designers had originally intended but she'll look more like a melted black Inkling after I get done painting it. I wouldn't be happy with just "half" of a figure (an unpainted Dark Splat) either.

I have no idea but I heard some people do their own toys then paint whichever way they want, which is more expensive than polymer clay but tons more accurate if you know your 3D models.

Think it's a little unfair to compare those to amiibo since they don't have a Starter Pack. Curious what the hard numbers are. Still interesting to see though!

Honestly I'm surprised the Amiibo sales are so low.

Quote: 84skylanderdude

Honestly I'm surprised the Amiibo sales are so low.

I'm not. Amiibo is the 3rd major entry into the market. Which of these three do you think makes the least gross sales (by a lot): McDonalds, BurgerKing, or Wendy's?

Amiibo (in my opinion) was a somewhat careless venture to begin with. Nintendo characters had strong appeal to kids of the late 1980's and 1990's. While most modern kids can still identify Mario, I bet you'd get plenty of confused looks if you asked today's 8-year-olds about Princess Peach, Samus Aran, or Pit.

Amiibo, I think, probably has most appeal to nostalgia fans (adults), and probably the Japanese market. There are sales to be had there, for sure, and there might be room for future growth. But there's no way that Wendy's will sell stuff like McDonalds.

Their parents will tell them,though, and those are old enough to get kids into Nintendo. The problem might be that Amiibo don't do enough on its own,and while it's a cheap nice figure compared to customs and whatnot,a real fan of that character will still go for those Nendoroids or other expensive brands because quality is guaranteed and they can pose and change parts for a better look. Might be like buying a Cloud FunkoPop or the official Squeenix figure, maybe, I haven't ever looked into official figure that aren't TTL.

edit: my brain's favorite word today is 'figurine'. Figurines are more like statues,not poseable dolls,whoops.

I question how Infinity can continue to grow. It seems to me that Disney shot their wad when they released Marvel followed a year later by Star Wars. They still have some of their own franchises, but nothing with the universal appeal of those two.

Quote: stvanme

I question how Infinity can continue to grow. It seems to me that Disney shot their wad when they released Marvel followed a year later by Star Wars. They still have some of their own franchises, but nothing with the universal appeal of those two.

Yes, because Star Wars is exhausted after a single iteration. The property has been going strong for almost forty years with lord knows how many figures, toys and games, but Infinity used it all up in three playsets and a dozen figures, huh? Ditto for Marvel.

Get real.

Besides, Disney has a stable of highly marketable franchises beyond just those two, you know.

What I'm getting out of the pic is that skylanders are flattening out increase wise, and competitors are outpacing. the question is, will they tire of the other TTL franchises as well and they all start to dip? I think the answer is yes. I honestly don't think Infinity can top this year. They have a ton of franchises they can go into, but I sense TTL in general across the board may feel fatigue. I could be wrong. But it needs a shakeup.

Quote: defpally

Quote: stvanme

I question how Infinity can continue to grow. It seems to me that Disney shot their wad when they released Marvel followed a year later by Star Wars. They still have some of their own franchises, but nothing with the universal appeal of those two.

Yes, because Star Wars is exhausted after a single iteration. The property has been going strong for almost forty years with lord knows how many figures, toys and games, but Infinity used it all up in three playsets and a dozen figures, huh? Ditto for Marvel.

Get real.

Besides, Disney has a stable of highly marketable franchises beyond just those two, you know.

That's a lot of unnecessary snark, there...


But anyway, they did use up the most popular and highly marketable aspects of Marvel and Star Wars. Unless they plan to keep making playsets based on the OT, Clone Wars, Spider-man, and the Avengers.

They obviously can and will tap into less popular aspects of either property going forward, but they won't draw as much of a crowd as the likes of Darth Vader, Han Solo, Yoda, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-man.

Granted, Marvel still has X-men as a big name, but Disney seems reluctant to use it as long as Fox has the movie rights...

Quote:

Granted, Marvel still has X-men as a big name, but Disney seems reluctant to use it as long as Fox has the movie rights...

I dont see how the Great Big Mouse would have any trouble buying XMEN rights from Fox . Probably only a matter of time .

My predictions for the franchises next year.

Skylanders-Sales will probably stay the same, something new will be introduced that is pretty cool but not spectacular that is enough to at least keep sales constant

Infinity-Sales will drop by a lot. When they reveal what ever 4.0 is it will not be as cool as 1,2, or 3. I predict 5.0 will be the last entry into Infinity.

Amiibo-Sales will increase due to better availability and more unique figures

Dimensions-Sales will increase because parents will like e fact that you do not have to buy an additional starter pack

Quote: Muffin Man

That's a lot of unnecessary snark, there...

But anyway, they did use up the most popular and highly marketable aspects of Marvel and Star Wars. Unless they plan to keep making playsets based on the OT, Clone Wars, Spider-man, and the Avengers.

They obviously can and will tap into less popular aspects of either property going forward, but they won't draw as much of a crowd as the likes of Darth Vader, Han Solo, Yoda, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-man.

Granted, Marvel still has X-men as a big name, but Disney seems reluctant to use it as long as Fox has the movie rights...

Because it was a stupid comment that is based more in Skylanders fanboyism than reality. Star Wars used up after ONE game, really? Even if you felt they have "done it all", Star Wars has the Clone Wars, Rebels, a new movie this year (Rogue One), a new movie next year (Episode 8) and who knows how many other side stories they can tell.

Marvel has two new movies a year, including Captain America 3 (which is basically Avengers 3) and Doctor Strange this year alone. And that ice wall between Fox and Marvel seems to be thawing after Fox is seeing what being frozen out of marketing/toy tie ins is causing. There is rumor of a collaboration mutant TV show in the works.

Then don't even get started with Disney's vast catalog of their own stuff. They could always do some games that focus on their classic movies. Or their TV shows. Or their theme parks.

Claiming Infinity is "used up" is nothing more than fanboy nonsense. If you like Skylanders, that's cool - I do too, but don't offer up Disney being "out of marketable ideas" as your evidence that Skylanders will win. That's just dumb, especially when a driving game was Skylanders big new "innovation" for the year. Driving games is where franchises always go when they run out of ideas.

Quote: defpally

Quote: Muffin Man

That's a lot of unnecessary snark, there...

But anyway, they did use up the most popular and highly marketable aspects of Marvel and Star Wars. Unless they plan to keep making playsets based on the OT, Clone Wars, Spider-man, and the Avengers.

They obviously can and will tap into less popular aspects of either property going forward, but they won't draw as much of a crowd as the likes of Darth Vader, Han Solo, Yoda, Iron Man, Hulk, and Spider-man.

Granted, Marvel still has X-men as a big name, but Disney seems reluctant to use it as long as Fox has the movie rights...

Because it was a stupid comment that is based more in Skylanders fanboyism than reality. Star Wars used up after ONE game, really? Even if you felt they have "done it all", Star Wars has the Clone Wars, Rebels, a new movie this year (Rogue One), a new movie next year (Episode 8) and who knows how many other side stories they can tell.

Marvel has two new movies a year, including Captain America 3 (which is basically Avengers 3) and Doctor Strange this year alone. And that ice wall between Fox and Marvel seems to be thawing after Fox is seeing what being frozen out of marketing/toy tie ins is causing. There is rumor of a collaboration mutant TV show in the works.

Then don't even get started with Disney's vast catalog of their own stuff. They could always do some games that focus on their classic movies. Or their TV shows. Or their theme parks.

Claiming Infinity is "used up" is nothing more than fanboy nonsense. If you like Skylanders, that's cool - I do too, but don't offer up Disney being "out of marketable ideas" as your evidence that Skylanders will win. That's just dumb, especially when a driving game was Skylanders big new "innovation" for the year. Driving games is where franchises always go when they run out of ideas.

Oh theyre totally ad more STar Wars and Marvel character down the line, along with play-sets but the next game likely cant bring in something as BIG as Star Wars and expect the same sales like this time around.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

Oh theyre totally ad more STar Wars and Marvel character down the line, along with play-sets but the next game likely cant bring in something as BIG as Star Wars and expect the same sales like this time around.

There may not be a next game this year. Reports are that they intend to just roll with playsets and figures this year now that the platform has reached maturity and the tool set is flexible enough to allow it with digital updates. I've read that there will possibly be a Peter Pan playset late summer (and others to follow) instead of a new game. Dimensions is taking a similar route. I think they have discovered that requiring users to buy yearly Starter packs is going to cause much faster burn out. Come this Fall, Skylanders might be the only franchise requiring fans to drop another $75-100 for a new Starter. Parents will notice that.

Quote: defpally

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

Oh theyre totally ad more STar Wars and Marvel character down the line, along with play-sets but the next game likely cant bring in something as BIG as Star Wars and expect the same sales like this time around.

There may not be a next game this year. Reports are that they intend to just roll with playsets and figures this year now that the platform has reached maturity and the tool set is flexible enough to allow it with digital updates. I've read that there will possibly be a Peter Pan playset late summer (and others to follow) instead of a new game. Dimensions is taking a similar route. I think they have discovered that requiring users to buy yearly Starter packs is going to cause much faster burn out. Come this Fall, Skylanders might be the only franchise requiring fans to drop another $75-100 for a new Starter. Parents will notice that.

That's what I hear as well. I'm all for that to be honest. I'd rather just keep DI 3.0 and expand on here.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

That's what I hear as well. I'm all for that to be honest. I'd rather just keep DI 3.0 and expand on here.

That's the benefit of making your game a flexible toolkit with adventures in "modules" rather than tightly tied into a particular narrative. They can also farm out playsets to developers to create independently, while keeping the core team focused on the engine and toolkit updates.

Skylanders is designed and created up front, every single level and character is part of the game the day they ship and they would have a rough time expanding. It's a shame Activision didn't learn from other's examples. Having an larger open world hub (that even allows for player to interact (like in Destiny), then launch into adventures in groups would have been fantastic. It's a shame VV's turn at the wheel was wasted, they are more technically adept at making this happen. I expect TfB's turn this year will be another figure focused gimmick. It would be awesome if VV was turned into the core engine team, then TfB could focus on what they do best - the content, characters and figures. But that isn't Activision's style - they will burn this candle the exact same way until it is gone, both teams doing their own thing and making their own games to maximize profit over longevity.

Quote: Dark fhoenix

Quote:

Granted, Marvel still has X-men as a big name, but Disney seems reluctant to use it as long as Fox has the movie rights...

I dont see how the Great Big Mouse would have any trouble buying XMEN rights from Fox . Probably only a matter of time .

It took Marvel putting a stranglehold on anything Fantastic Four (no merchandising, killing off the comic, etc.) and FOX making an absolute disaster of a movie for FOX/Disney to come to an agreement to bring Marvel's first family home. The X-Men franchise has been quite popular and profitable for FOX (in fact, the rumors are that Disney actually negotiated the F4 rights away from FOX using the TV live-action X-Men rights) - basically, FOX won't let them go until FOX is ready to let them go.

Interesting point, defpally.
I have wondered why the Skylanders franchise hasn't reached a point where its two main development teams don't just work together, which each team focusing mostly on the skills/talents that they do best. I'm sure there are some creative egos involved, but considering the cash on the line, one would think those development crews would see the (money-green colored) benefits of working together, rather than separately.

It just makes sense to let the teams focus on what they do best. Clearly the technical aspects have been best served by VV, the game took the largest leaps in Swap Force and Superchargers - transition to a much better engine that shines on nextgen consoles and this year with online stuff and keeping the game up to date and running well with patches. TfB really excels at content/character/figure design. But, Activision wants a new game to sell every year. They don't think about next year or the year after, they want numbers on their bottom line right now.

And UncleBob, yes Marvel turned the screws on Fox by cutting toy tie ins and by killing Wolverine and ending the Fantastic Four. But Fox did it to themselves by making a terrible FF movie. X-Men is still viable for them because they are still making good X-Men movies. And likewise, it took a bad Spider-man movie to drive Sony to the table. Personally, I could care less if the first family ever makes it into the Marvel universe - they already have Hank Pym to handle the smartest guy in the room duties. What matters to me is I want Doctor Doom to be done right in the MCU. Thanos is the big bad right now, but after him? I can very much see at the end of Infinity Wars Part 2 having a post trailer credits scene that zooms in on a castle in Latveria where a green cloaked man is pulling a freshly forged mask out and slowly lifting it to his face, laughing in a very ominous, deep manner.

Activision confirmed that SC performed weaker than expected -

http://www.businesswire.com/ne...arter-Full-Year

"Activision Publishing’s casual titles, namely Q3 release Skylanders® SuperChargers and Q4 release Guitar Hero® Live, performed weaker than expected, we believe largely due to greater competition in the toys to life genre and due to the casual audience’s shift to mobile devices."

"Activision Publishing expects a new Skylanders game to launch in 2016 along with Skylanders Academy, a new TV series celebrating the beloved kids franchise."

if weaker sales was due in part to competition, it's because the competition actually tells their customers when they can expect new product. Oh, and when new product is released, it's released at all stores on the release dates given.

When Skylanders products release, it's whatever store gets it and some stores never even see certain waves when it comes to Skylanders. All of my Walmarts haven't even gotten wave 4 yet, same with Best Buy. When it came to wave 3, only vehicles were spotted at my local Walmarts, not the characters. Two of my Walmarts only carry Skylanders starter packs, not the figures anymore.

Now that's only my area, but even then, my point stands. Wave 4 has been out a couple of weeks now and guess what, Best Buys and Walmarts still haven't seen them. Has Target? Yet when it comes to the competition, all stores get the new releases on their day of release.

I think Activision is just afraid to say they're screwing up with the brand, because they don't even know how to properly release Skylanders, despite being first out of the gate.

They need to make sure ALL stores get product, and they need to give solid release dates and meet those dates. If not, sales are only going to decline further, while brands that have their heads on straight in terms of making sure product is available and good communication is evident, will succeed.

Quote: GameMaster78

if weaker sales was due in part to competition, it's because the competition actually tells their customers when they can expect new product. Oh, and when new product is released, it's released at all stores on the release dates given.

When Skylanders products release, it's whatever store gets it and some stores never even see certain waves when it comes to Skylanders. All of my Walmarts haven't even gotten wave 4 yet, same with Best Buy. When it came to wave 3, only vehicles were spotted at my local Walmarts, not the characters. Two of my Walmarts only carry Skylanders starter packs, not the figures anymore.

Now that's only my area, but even then, my point stands. Wave 4 has been out a couple of weeks now and guess what, Best Buys and Walmarts still haven't seen them. Has Target? Yet when it comes to the competition, all stores get the new releases on their day of release.

I think Activision is just afraid to say they're screwing up with the brand, because they don't even know how to properly release Skylanders, despite being first out of the gate.

They need to make sure ALL stores get product, and they need to give solid release dates and meet those dates. If not, sales are only going to decline further, while brands that have their heads on straight in terms of making sure product is available and good communication is evident, will succeed.

That really is weird, I have to say. Stock is great where I live. They have every wave currently out for SSC.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Interesting point, defpally.
I have wondered why the Skylanders franchise hasn't reached a point where its two main development teams don't just work together, which each team focusing mostly on the skills/talents that they do best. I'm sure there are some creative egos involved, but considering the cash on the line, one would think those development crews would see the (money-green colored) benefits of working together, rather than separately.

I would rather they go this route, take two years to revamp, and come back with something entirely new. a one off gimmick will not net anything more than anemic results. And while i love the franchise, I could also use the break--mentally and financially.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Interesting point, defpally.
I have wondered why the Skylanders franchise hasn't reached a point where its two main development teams don't just work together, which each team focusing mostly on the skills/talents that they do best. I'm sure there are some creative egos involved, but considering the cash on the line, one would think those development crews would see the (money-green colored) benefits of working together, rather than separately.

Creative egos because of the greatly varying styles and probably Acti is trying to make them do a lot on their own. VV does all the spinoffs,for example,so they'd probably grow some attachment to their own style and their own way of doing this. Extremely poisonous way of making creative teams interact,but Acti shuts down dev teams like there's no tomorrow, they probably think they're mostly expendable.

Quote:

Skylanders SuperChargers underperform and fell short of Activision’s expectations.

yes, thats what activision said... it looks like my decision on not to buy ssc had a impact, and its good to see 'vote with your wallets' work.

You're a single person,stop thinking so highly of yourself and your choice to skip the game. You could've hated it with the passion of a thousand suns,but if it was just you,it wouldn't have mattered a thing.

i was the first to say, this new ssc is gonna blow... i saved my money a lot of others didnt(they should have listen to me), but we all did come to the same conclusion in the end, ssc is no good. the results we can see and even activision admitted it. so my 'vote with my wallet' decision worked pretty good i would say.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i was the first to say, this new ssc is gonna blow... i saved my money a lot of others didnt(they should have listen to me), but we all did come to the same conclusion in the end, ssc is no good. the results we can see and even activision admitted it. so my 'vote with my wallet' decision worked pretty good i would say.

You're right. We're sorry we failed you. If we were as smart as you, we would have seen the disaster of a game YOU predicted.


It's not like the game got good to even great reviews from people who played it. We should listen to YOUR opinion Moneybone, despite NOT playing the game.

You were not the first one, I'll tell you that much. Plenty of people jumped ship during the announcement, you got in pretty late to that. Nor we got to the same conclusion; while you just repeat yourself we got to discussing the good points it had and didn't use and how it opens big room for improvement.

Also, missing the goal doesn't mean incredible failure and oh my god the fans were predicting the future... It means missing the goal. Hyperboles aren't going to make you right.

The game was fine, the downturn is more from people wearing out on the franchise in general. Besides, CountMoneyBones big problem with Skylanders now is that they *gasp* patch the game because when he goes back to play it in 20 years he might not be able to update it or something. Oh and like 99% of the games that come out these days have the exact same "issue".

Need I remind people that some people (like you know, the target audience, young boys) like the driving? My kids like it a lot, and I do too. It isn't that I think the game shouldn't go back to a more on foot adventure, but I happen to enjoy this year's game quite a bit. My issue with Skylanders that is pushing me out is their complete lack of communication with the fans, still doing this random shipping/no release date crap despite the competition showing it can be done, and most importantly my son that is into them is aging out of the franchise. It's too expensive to keep up if he isn't really into it.

Look, it's not that vehicles aren't a good idea to make kids interested in the game.
Is just that you can't expect them to work just because they are vehicles.

Even my young cousins, who are perfectly inside the target group and happen to like racing games a lot were rather disappointed when they found out what this year's gimmick would have been.
They said "why would I want to drive vehicles in a game where I'm supposed to play as my Skylanders"?

If they wanted to use vehicles they would have bought the Wii version.

That's the point.
Kids nowadays like open-world sandboxes as well and honestly that would have worked a million times better with this series.

Yup. As several said above, I think the general consensus among established Skylanders fans is that the SuperChargers game is mediocre, especially when compared to the previous 4 titles. It is NOT a terrible game; it's just OK, and we have been conditioned to expect better than "just OK".

Hopefully, this moderate disappointment among fans will be reflected in sales volume for SuperChargers ... and based on most of what we have seen and heard in the last month or so, that is exactly what happened. Sales volume has been lukewarm, and I think that accurately reflects the majority opinion (that SuperChargers is mediocre).

That said, I think all the doomsday/Armageddon talk is garbage. The Skylanders franchise is a BIG part of Activision's strategic planning. Unless they have the "next big thing" waiting in the wings (and it would have to be REALLY big to overshadow the success to-date for Skylanders), Activision will (in my opinion) put the pressure (and resources, hopefully) on the developers to produce higher-quality future titles, which need to be much more satisfying and immersive.

Perhaps I am being too optimistic? I don't think so; but maybe. Just offering a different point-of-view amid all this doom and gloom chatter.

I loved SSC, and I know Drek loved it, besides the flaws he's stated. I remember Bifrost saying it (From my memory) was the 2nd best behind Giants, despite, once again, its obvious flaws.


IMHO SSC is so close to being what a Skylanders game should be, but its intense focus on vehicles hinders it so much. If we could get a game combined with SF's amazing gameplay, content and cast, TT's amazing cast and SSC's story with creativity from all games along then it would undoubtedly be the best in the series.


Throw in open world-esqe levels to really seal the deal and you got the best Skylanders game ever.

It went down after I was done with it. Behind TT and Giants, in front of SSA and SF. My impression of it changed a LOT after I went back after the binge playthrough and noticed there's nothing left, which got even more in my nerves since I had just shelved my X360 thinking I only needed my WiiU for the Skylander fix(now my room is a mess of wires because I had to fit both of them here for replaying the others).

They have a chance to make up. Make a game that doesn't have a forced gimmick, a more toys to life feature that will blow our minds.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i was the first to say, this new ssc is gonna blow... i saved my money a lot of others didnt(they should have listen to me), but we all did come to the same conclusion in the end, ssc is no good. the results we can see and even activision admitted it. so my 'vote with my wallet' decision worked pretty good i would say.

To be honest, I knew you were going to say something like this. So it's no big surprise for me that you would gloat high and mighty about the turn of events on a game that you never played and kept claiming endlessly that it would fail for the past few year.

Honestly, I don't think they should have a new gimmick. Maybe just make it a compilation of previous gimmicks and only focus on new characters?

...Wishful thinking, I know, but whatevs.

It would be nice to have a regular Skylanders game with no new gimmicks.

Quote: Aura24

They have a chance to make up. Make a game that doesn't have a forced gimmick, a more toys to life feature that will blow our minds.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i was the first to say, this new ssc is gonna blow... i saved my money a lot of others didnt(they should have listen to me), but we all did come to the same conclusion in the end, ssc is no good. the results we can see and even activision admitted it. so my 'vote with my wallet' decision worked pretty good i would say.

To be honest, I knew you were going to say something like this. So it's no big surprise for me that you would gloat high and mighty about the turn of events on a game that you never played and kept claiming endlessly that it would fail for the past few year.

you dont know nothing, maybe you should get off your high horse and stop assuming stuff. i have played the game and that i have even said before.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

Quote: Aura24

They have a chance to make up. Make a game that doesn't have a forced gimmick, a more toys to life feature that will blow our minds.

Quote: CountMoneyBone

i was the first to say, this new ssc is gonna blow... i saved my money a lot of others didnt(they should have listen to me), but we all did come to the same conclusion in the end, ssc is no good. the results we can see and even activision admitted it. so my 'vote with my wallet' decision worked pretty good i would say.

To be honest, I knew you were going to say something like this. So it's no big surprise for me that you would gloat high and mighty about the turn of events on a game that you never played and kept claiming endlessly that it would fail for the past few year.

you dont know nothing, maybe you should get off your high horse and stop assuming stuff. i have played the game and that i have even said before.

Pfft Are you serious?

Says the guy who complained about patches that fix the bugs and went on to say that people "should have listened to you" on your opinion about the game "failing".

Quote: Bifrost

It went down after I was done with it. Behind TT and Giants, in front of SSA and SF. My impression of it changed a LOT after I went back after the binge playthrough and noticed there's nothing left, which got even more in my nerves since I had just shelved my X360 thinking I only needed my WiiU for the Skylander fix(now my room is a mess of wires because I had to fit both of them here for replaying the others).

That was kinda my thought as well. first playthrough is this is a great game, but unlike previous entries, where there is a ton to do after the fact....it simply wasn't there. I'm not big on infinity from a game standpoint but there's so much STUFF to do that you feel you're getting your money's worth (even if it's not that deep, involved....)....for example I've spent 20 hours just working in the playbox and I haven't even touched the other games yet. The graphics/mechanics in Skylanders impress me a ton more, but there's a LOT LESS in it at the end of the day. And if you want me to buy figures...ya gotta motivate me with stuff to do. Infinity having a structured game inside the playbox was also an ingenious idea (for me anyway).

Well, the wallets do force them to listen. I've done my part by buying 30% less skylanders this year, mainly because my son is officially not a fan anymore. I still love/support the franchise...but they can't phone it in anymore. I've been saying that for two games, now they get the point because sales is finally telling them what I was saying 2 years ago.

Aura: Having a game gimmick free forces them to work on the game itself, which is where I think they can truly innovate while not violating the "skylanders experience". I agree.

I just want to see sky 6 be announced and then let the hype train roll.

Seriously, these past few months are rolling along smoothly!

december- nitro soda skimmer, legendary roller brawl, skymiibo dual packs, kaos trophy, another skylanders day
january- wave 4, new chase variants
february- easters, land racing pack, power blues
march- "official" release of power blues + easters at TRU, battlecast, god knows what else

we literally only need 2 more toys to be spotted in the wild/have an amazon page show up, and this whole thing is over. (i have constant nightmares that activision might pull a yawn trap on thrillipede and buzz wing tho)

constant releases. one week it was the easters, then the power blues, and i bet next week it'll be the land pack. just a prediction. there's 2 meanings really to this- activision knows this game isn't aging well and needs to step on it to end this lap (car puns) or we're getting constant new things to enjoy and it's cool.


this game was nowhere near perfect. it had it's flaws (vehicles taking up %70 of the game, nightfallgate, awful figure quality, buying 6 starter packs only to find out you only needed one, ect.) but i liked it. it gave us a view into a world of skylanders in vehicles...and most of us don't ever want to see that place again.

bring on skylanders 6. keep online. keep the fun.

Quote: HeyitsHotDog

I loved SSC, and I know Drek loved it, besides the flaws he's stated. I remember Bifrost saying it (From my memory) was the 2nd best behind Giants, despite, once again, its obvious flaws.


IMHO SSC is so close to being what a Skylanders game should be, but its intense focus on vehicles hinders it so much. If we could get a game combined with SF's amazing gameplay, content and cast, TT's amazing cast and SSC's story with creativity from all games along then it would undoubtedly be the best in the series.


Throw in open world-esqe levels to really seal the deal and you got the best Skylanders game ever.

THIS.
This soooo much.

I won't lie, I'm not a fan of SuperChargers' post-Story Mode as well but it's not really what I'm looking at in a Skylanders game.
I'm glad I got content I liked in SWAP Force and Trap Team and I have to say this year's game could have had a bit more than racing and short daily quests (which I still like)... But really, I understood each game basically needs to keep my interest only until the next title is released and I'm fine with that.

Judging the game itself the first time I played it I am absolutely satisfied with it.
Problems came later.

So yeah, if TfB and V.V. could co-develop a game after Skylanders 6 and even release it after 2 or 3 years instead of one that would be immensely appreciated.
Of course that means the sixth game will have to provide us lots of replayability but I have a feeling it will.