darkSpyro

I was in my local Game (UK store) today, and they had all the new Infinity 2 figures on display, but not available to purchase yet. Whereas, as we all know Activision foments excitement by only revealing a bit at a time.

Which form of marketing do you prefer - getting people excited by showing them the product, or by hiding it?

skylanders is better BUT i do like DI 2.0 looks way funner than 1.0.

DS will tell you DI is better.

That's not even a thing you can question without making a flame war which someone will insist that it's not. Let's just leave it at that.

(I prefer Skylanders' though, but once again it's apples vs. oranges because DI relies on 'who is in this game' while Skylanders relies on the gimmicks themselves)

I do both so... Ya I can not choose, got it, do you?

I think the bit by bit reveal is a better marketing strategy, but I'm only guessing at that.

On the point of Infinity I saw one of their starter packs yesterday and I was really surprised at the lack of detail in the toys themselves. They looked cheap and tacky, didn't have the same intricate detail as Skylander's toys. That surprised me, although perhaps it shouldn't as their original characters were nothing to write home about.

I don't see much difference in the marketing strategy really. Both are revealing bits and pieces in regular intervals to keep the kids interested. I'm not sure why DI is giving the impression that everything is out there. It seems they announce 2 new figures once a week. And I would not be surprised at all if they announce a new playset or something.

Infinity is going to win on marketing by default. Its Disney. Their figures are characters based on established media. The characters sell themselves. Marvel and Superheroes are super hot right now between TV and Movies. Guardians of the Galaxy is breaking records based on ticket sales. Winter Soldier and Guardians have gotten all sorts of critical acclaim on just quality as movies. Disney has also been pretty upfront with figure purchases. You can pre-order each figure. It cuts down on the whole frustrating "hunting" aspect. Some parents just dont want to deal with that junk. Their kid wants X. They can see a release date, they can order it, and get it when it comes out. DONE. No wasting gas. If you get it online you might even get it with free shipping. Online shopping is far more relevant than it was years ago. Cyber Monday is a huge thing now just like Black Friday for the holiday season.

I think Activision has dropped the ball on marketing this year. Mostly in the fact there have been major events like SDCC that have been missed opportunities for huge reveals. The tablet, the 3DS version, are bigger things that should have had big events to promote them. Not randomly just dropped in a week haphazard. Instead we got something like Eon's Elite at SDCC and a promo poster with hints at two characters.

Which is a better game is a different debate.

Quote: GothamLord

Which is a better game is a different debate.

Agreed! And there's a separate thread for that. I was just looking at the marketing.

I do think Acti took a gamble on their marketing strategy, and in hindsight they wouldn't do it again. They would have been better off with a 2 character announcement every few weeks like Disney did. Although perhaps they don't feel like they can control their leaks.

I could be off on this, but I think part of the reasons that skylanders doesn't do figure preorders like Disney does is do to costs. It seems like each Disney figure has it's own sku, while Skylanders only has sku's for variants and each figure type. I don't know what the cost of using separate sku's is. It seems like having that separate sku would give Disney and retailers greater control over supply. As far as the release dates, I'm sure Disney is paying more to meet the release dates they've set then Acti is. By not announcing release dates, the dates can slide without repercussion when the factory is running behind or something of that nature.

Because Disney is actually marketing and building the brand for not just the video game, but movies and whatever else they can sell you, the video game itself has a lot less need to be successful. They don't have to win, they only have to stay relevant. Not hard for them to do at all.


Although I do think it's neat to be able to play the characters in movies, there is a part of me that doesn't like the fact that I'm indirectly building the hype for the Disney brand. For example, I avoid wearing clothing that prominently displays the brand name. If you want me to be a walking billboard, they should be paying me, not the other way around. I get that same feeling, to a much lesser degree, with DI, that the game is more about marketing the brands then it is about the game itself.

Well I do think that both the first DI and now DI2 still have had less figures per release compared to even the first Spyro's Adventure. Personally I think the investment to give each figure its own SKU is more cost effective to help retailers and the production line to avoid littering the shelves with hundreds of unwanted figures. My local TRU while still having a bunch of extra DI figures on the shelves, somehow still manages to have it rather equally mixed between the figures there. Skylanders on the other hand has the last wave clogging everything for Swap Force and about 30 Jade Fire Krakens and then dozens of the same two-three characters for the earlier games. Didnt get the first wave when it came out for Swap Force? Sucks to be you. Thats going to make some consumers mad, and in turn lose future business.

Like you said though, they dont need to be #1. They just have to stay relevant. Given its Disney, I dont seen that being a issue. They arent going anywhere for a long time. Movies and TV shows are going to continue for years to come. Even if Disney tomorrow, went crazy and decided to never make another movie, they have a vault of stuff over the last 70 some years to keep them making money just recycling things for decades.

i'm not sure if it is just the case in Australia, but in SSA and Giants the figures were able to be pre-ordered, and then just simply ordered from EBgames. Swap Force you couldn't. And it seems now that they are able to be ordered again.

DI stock seems to be have been consistent since the game's release, if i wanted to start the first game from scratch, i can walk into my local k-mart or target and buy every figure available for the game right off the shelf. I want skylanders? forget about it. when i was there yesterday i saw there was a choice of 2 different swappers, 1 triple pack and 3 or 4 different cores, so something is really wrong with how the stuff is distributed or organised or something.

DI1 had 29 figures and DI2 has 30 figures so far. So it's really about the same. Technically, DI has more unique characters through 2 releases, but Skylanders has more when you count the variants, reposes, lightcores etc. I have no idea which sku 'method' is more cost effective.

I do agree that figure availability is better for DI, however, there are still some figures that are hard to find in store. I haven't seen Mrs. Incredible for weeks, and she's one of the few I need to complete the collection. (I'm not all that eager to complete it though, so I'm only buying on sale and those seem to be rare for DI). As well, I think the Skylander availability is somewhat by design. As we've all seen, the harder it is to find, the longer you have to wait, the more people seem to want it. Besides, parents going into the store to buy a hot dog will buy a Zoo Lou instead. And then Acti/TRU can make a killing bringing back Dino Rang. Honestly, a big part of the fun of Skylanders was the hunt for figures. That fun greatly diminished once I found this site and had the heads up on when and where figures were going to be released.

I guess I see the merits of both methods of releasing figures. DI take the straight forward no nonsense approach while Skylanders gambles and can both frustrate and build excitement with the customer.

When I went with numbers I was counting all the variants, reposes, etc on Skylanders. That quickly jacks the numbers up into twice as much as DI fairly easily. Even if you could the Crystal variants for DI that TRU had. Now as I look at the 30 some Jade Fire Krakens on the shelves in my local TRU, I think the individual SKUs are a better idea. Even if the concept costs more per figure, I cant help but wonder about all the production material, labor costs, shipping costs, etc that went into each of those figures that is never going to get sold. Sure its all speculation, as neither Disney nor Activision is ever going to give all those numbers out publicly. Still though in comparison as Min8or said just above. A brand new player to DI can nearly get a full set on a visit between a local store or two. The store can in turn show exactly what was purchased in their system and reorder those specific figures. Now the shelf is back to being evenly stocked for the next person. A new Skylander player, even if its just the most recent game release.... welcome to a new kind of personal hell. You want older game figures? Heaven help you.

The hunting aspect kinda got old around the end of Giants for me. Gas isnt cheap around here. I have two vehicles to fill up between me and my wife. Even with decent gas mileage on them, it started to get a bit frustrating. The site here helped a lot towards the end. It also certainly made Swap Force easy. It also didnt hurt that I didnt wait on any figures. When they came out I got them, right then and there. Knowing I can likely wait a couple weeks, and still go pick something up is a nice feeling. If I cant find it in the store, I can probably order it off Amazon, or even Disney's online store without much hassle.

Interestingly enough, I believe Jade Fire Kraken does have it's own sku, as to do all the non-chase variants. I'm not sure we can blame the extra volume of those figures on the skus...seems more like TRU is to blame for that. I mostly look at TRU, but TRU is the only store that has an over abundance of anything. Again though, as you've said, we're only guessing.

And I understand about the hunt. Each situation is different. I am divorced and get my kids every other weekend and Wednesday nights. During the spring of 2013, our Wednesday night routine was to go out to dinner, then pick a store and go hunting. The hunt was huge for them, as they never knew what might have been released. It usually involved running into the store (them, not me) to the Skylanders section. I'll never forget the look of joy and disbelief on my daughters face (after running to the Skylanders section in Best Buy) with the Ninjini in her hand, finally after waiting so long. Those moments are priceless. The gas wasn't a concern because we were already out and about anyway, and I was spending a fortune on gas elsewhere already.

For Swap Force, there was no mystery. We went when we knew something is released. if something was released when I didn't have my kids with me, I had to decide on whether I wanted to go get it without them or wait and risk it being sold out already. That is not nearly as fun.

Marketing wise I think Activision is actually kicking Disney's butt. The saving grace for Disney is the release date.

I'm looking at my pockets, and I'm going to spend...
$130 - Amazon - Marvel Start set
$35 - Target - GotG set with two power disc packages...
$13 - Walmart - Groot
$13 - Walmart - Hulk (not sure, he isn't supposed to be released until later, but they still have him listed at launch)
$13 - Walmart - Hawkeye
So that's roughly $200 that I've already spent before Skylanders...and that's with me only getting stuff that's on sale or that I or my son explicitly 'want' - I'm nto collecting this year (I still have cars that I never played with from last year, learned my lesson)

But from a hype stand point? Trap Team has managed - through the hiding of information and figures - to maintain interest and grow it. Sure there was some negative press tied to their strategy, but all in all, my son who at first cared more about playing as Ironman and Hulk, is now asking me everyday about Trap Team.

Going back to the OP, the DI figures were never detailed like Skylanders - Disney 'cartoonized' everything to create a 'seamless' look...like everything could be in the same universe.
- Unreall

I would prefer to have the complete poster image in advance to study and scheme over, but slowly leaked info and a release-day reveal is completely understandable for the purposes of building and maintaining interest. Although I'm gonna wait as long as possible for sales and such, I'm still attending the midnight release of Trap Team just to see the spectacle and wonder of it all (ok, i'll also pick up a few items).

Of course Disney/Marvel can rely on the strength of their properties to market and sell; problem is, they tend to rely too heavily on that recognition when producing the actual product. When word-of-mouth spreads regarding how disappointing the gameplay of the set pieces is, it will be interesting to see if they're willing to increase the quality of future play sets to prevent a decline in sales. TfB and Vicarious do not always procede under the same assumption of automatic interest; they have to innovate, as well as create a quality product that looks more detailed and dynamic on shelves. Not to mention, the juggernaut known as Activision is no slouch in the marketing department; they celebrate their 35th anniversary four days before Trap Team is released.

Quote: Unreallystic

Marketing wise I think Activision is actually kicking Disney's butt. The saving grace for Disney is the release date.

I'm looking at my pockets, and I'm going to spend...
$130 - Amazon - Marvel Start set
$35 - Target - GotG set with two power disc packages...
$13 - Walmart - Groot
$13 - Walmart - Hulk (not sure, he isn't supposed to be released until later, but they still have him listed at launch)
$13 - Walmart - Hawkeye
So that's roughly $200 that I've already spent before Skylanders...and that's with me only getting stuff that's on sale or that I or my son explicitly 'want' - I'm nto collecting this year (I still have cars that I never played with from last year, learned my lesson)

But from a hype stand point? Trap Team has managed - through the hiding of information and figures - to maintain interest and grow it. Sure there was some negative press tied to their strategy, but all in all, my son who at first cared more about playing as Ironman and Hulk, is now asking me everyday about Trap Team.

Going back to the OP, the DI figures were never detailed like Skylanders - Disney 'cartoonized' everything to create a 'seamless' look...like everything could be in the same universe.
- Unreall

hulk will not be day one. sorry. october 28th though, is the single release of hulk

Unreal, TRU has the DI2 singles 3 for $33. You might want to check that out.

I also got the Amazon super pack, or whatever it's called. Great deal. I'll be going to TRU tonight to see the DI setup...and possible to pick up some additional figures.

I'm taking my kids to get it tonight, Best Buy with Gamer's Club (great deal by the way) to get our starter pre-order. With the Gamer's Club the Starter is 59.99 and the figures are $11.19. Going to let them each pick out one figure and we also have Captain America on the way which was a pre-order bonus (BB shipped it). I also have Hulk pre-ordered for the 10/28 release. Other than that, we'll see what they want and those will be for Christmas.

Quote: melvimbe

Unreal, TRU has the DI2 singles 3 for $33. You might want to check that out.

I also got the Amazon super pack, or whatever it's called. Great deal. I'll be going to TRU tonight to see the DI setup...and possible to pick up some additional figures.

Yeah I ended up changing my purchases. I canceled my super order from Amazon and decided to sell all my DI1.0 stuff, then bumped into an early copy yesterday, so I still ended up dropping $100 to get it plus figures, went to TRU this morning to get 3 disc for 10 and 3 figures for 33. I might take Rocket Racoon back. I wanted Hawkeye, and my son really wanted Groot, but neither of us was hung up on the 'rodent'.
- Unreall