darkSpyro

So I don't think it's any secret that Skylanders has gone on to be one of the most successful video game franchises of this century. And of course, like anything successful, there's going to be people who try to catch a ride on that train. And yes, I know Skylanders isn't the first toys to life video game, but it's the first one in which the toys to life mechanic is the main focus and not just some cheap add-on that barely enhances the experience - in other words, it's the first one to get it right. And okay, while Disney Infinity is not a bad game by any means, and I can't say much about LEGO Dimensions as it's not even out yet, I feel like they don't get why Skylanders was so successful in the first place.

I'm not saying Skylanders is a perfect game series. After all, there have been a lot of duds (cough)Trap Team's ****ty design choices(cough), but people tend to forget that there's actually a lot of effort put into these games. That's not to say there's no effort whatsoever put into Infinity and Dimensions, there clearly is, but comparing these games, Skylanders seems the least exploitative of them. And yes I'm aware they pretty much just used Spyro and Cynder to help get the first game off shelves, and now we got DK and Bowser as Nintendo exclusives, but those are like, what, four characters compared to the hundred plus Skylanders exclusive characters?

Here, let me put it this way: Think about the feel, and ONLY the feel, of Disney Infinity. Only think about how the toy box functions. Now, remove every aspect of Disney in the game, and I mean EVERY aspect. The characters, the objects, the settings, and replace them all with original characters. Do you think that Infinity would have sold as well or be as critically acclaimed without the likes of Sulley, Mr. Incredible, and Jack Sparrow? Or if they didn't exploit the heck out of Marvel and Star Wars in future games? Now think about LEGO Dimensions. It looks just like any other modern LEGO video game except you need actual minifigures in order to play the game. And then there's also the fact that the story is as fan fiction-y as they get. Granted, I always wanted to see Shaggy and Scooby-Doo challenge Homer Simpson to an eating contest, but would that really be worth paying a hundred bucks to see?

Skylanders, on the other hand, comes up with brand new characters every installment - save for the fifty incarnations of Gill Grunt. Which would you be more interested in, Luke Skywalker in Disney Infinity, or a character you've never seen before in Skylanders? Chances are you said the latter because, well, we've seen Luke before and we already know who he is, what he can do, and what his motivations are. But you don't get that with an original character. And that character may or may not live up to your expectations, but at the very least you were interested in it.

And that's my biggest concern with other toys to life games: They're mainly just gigantic crossovers who are banking on their audience being total fans of the series they're bringing together. And a lot of them have been turning out to be nothing more than cheap money-grubbing gimmicks, like Angry Birds Telepods and other ones made specifically for mobile devices. At the end of the day, Disney only has so many franchises under their belt, and LEGO Dimensions' access to series is somewhat limited. That's why I feel that Skylanders will continue to live on while Infinity and Dimensions may not. Not because Skylanders is a better game, because a good game being "better" than another good game is strictly opinion based, but because of what they have to offer.

And before you bring up amiibo, sure, I could talk about that, but I'd rather not beat a dead horse.

I understand your side, but I don't think Skylanders will be the only "survivor" of the genre. Yes, probably DI and LD won't be the same thing without the famous characters, but this does not means that the games are simple cash-grabs. The games have their qualities, they're just using already known characters to have a guarantee of sales.

It's very hard to sold something like this without a basis. Think on a Toys-to-Life game without ANY basis. Skylanders doesn't count, because, even with the majority of the characters being new, good part of the marketing was towards Spyro. The other games, even with few Spyro participation, already have the first game as a basis. So, no one of this genre already tried a completely new thing.

What I saying is that, these games with already know characters only sold because of these characters. DI won't sell without Disney/Marvel/Star Wars characters, LD won't sell without their characters, Amiibo won't sell without Nintendo characters and SL won't sell without Spyro. The games have qualities, but the business only have prospered because of these characters.

Quote: Crash10

I understand your side, but I don't think Skylanders will be the only "survivor" of the genre. Yes, probably DI and LD won't be the same thing without the famous characters, but this does not means that the games are simple cash-grabs. The games have their qualities, they're just using already known characters to have a guarantee of sales.

It's very hard to sold something like this without a basis. Think on a Toys-to-Life game without ANY basis. Skylanders doesn't count, because, even with the majority of the characters being new, good part of the marketing was towards Spyro. The other games, even with few Spyro participation, already have the first game as a basis. So, no one of this genre already tried a completely new thing.

What I saying is that, these games with already know characters only sold because of these characters. DI won't sell without Disney/Marvel/Star Wars characters, LD won't sell without their characters, Amiibo won't sell without Nintendo characters and SL won't sell without Spyro. The games have qualities, but the business only have prospered because of these characters.

Me, and everyone I know, knew literally nothing about spyro, and by that I mean didn't even know he existed. Everyone I know bough the game anyway, because if the great concept, not because of pyro, because we had no clue who he even was. I only found out Spyro had games before this when I came on here.