With more than 500 million sales in the United States alone, Skylanders is one of the biggest names in the game - and now a third installment was announced. We spoke with Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, on the future of toys and games

If you are not the parent of a child of 10 years, you can not realize how Skylanders big deal. The game of the series, which comes with a series of numbers that interact with the onscreen action, has been a huge success since its launch in 2011. Activision has announced sales worth U.S. $ 500 million, on the crest of a wave of new consumer entertainment will marry traditional toys with digital platforms such as consoles and tablets. And now a third title is on the way.

Like its predecessors, Exchanges force Skylanders is an adventure game for children in a colorful fantasy world called Skylands. Again, players can buy a wide range of action figures that can be placed in the peripheral clearance plastic - Portal of Power - to unlock their digital representations in the game world This time, however, the story revolves around a special Skylanders Islands Be mysterious clouds were expelled in the human world by a powerful volcanic eruption. Thank you to the magical properties of the volcano, these warriors were a special ability - can be redeemed against the upper and lower halves together, which allows them to combine different powers.

Naturally, the game comes with 16 brand new Skylanders figurines that can be pulled and turned into two, allowing players to create their own combinations with 256 possibilities. The game's launch will be accompanied by 16 updated versions of classic Skylanders figures and 16 new figures, a total of 100. Parents may not be so in love with the idea, but it is an amazing new company Activision channel at a time when sales of traditional games retail are down.

"I remember a short time ago to meet a lot of people scratching their heads when we announced that we entered the toy market," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing Charismatic, who joined the company after a long career in advertising. "People perceive the market to be stretched, other publishers are short games for children, but we knew we had a magical idea in our hands as soon as we saw the children react to the product.".

The idea began with toys California-based developer Bob, who had worked in video games licensed child for a number of years. Activision asked the studio to create a game based around character Spyro - a cute dragon who had appeared in several PlayStation games. Toys for Bob had the idea to combine the figures and games, and electronics enthusiasts on staff has begun to lose his time with RFID, a wireless data transmission over short distances. Skylanders Figures are equipped with a chip, so that when placed on the portal, transfer their stats and skills in the game world - progress or customizations can be recorded on the face

This is the kind of thing that seems clear

after

arrival. Gambling in children fundamental obsessions modern video games and collectible figurines. Skylanders toys sell for between ? 5 and ? 15 each - and this is above the ? 45 for the starter pack, which contains the game and the portal. This is one of those cases that beautiful 360 degree entertainment companies pines.

Not that the concept is - Hirschberg said that much of the success of the product has left extensive test work, and get things in the hands of consumers instead of relying on advertising. "Children are a very important part of our development process," he said. "We are constantly playtesting, and certainly make sure that your child approved before you leave But the way we marketed the game is different, too, with the latter, in particular, we invest heavily in the show -. 100,000 we square feet of retail and more than 20,000 kiosks. "

Packaging

is also essential. While other manufacturers are charging their toy boxes figurines with QR codes and augmented reality features, Activision has designed his paintings with figures near the bottom - which means that children can put on a demonstration portal the store and see the spring in figures of life in the TV screen. Hirschberg, that's life:. "We believe that the more you can get people to interact with him and play with him once more children experience the magic moment of his toy comes to life in the game are really thrilled."

Characters Force

new swap has progressed through a similar period of intensive care testing and refinement. "It's funny, this idea began with the idea that

all

parts of a character are interchangeable - limbs, head and so on," says Hirschberg. "But we found that actually slowed the game plan too, when we tested it with the kids, there is a kind of visceral immediacy to hit the toy on the portal and see that appear in the game, and puzzles where you build in the real world is too complex and time and blowing the game flow.

Hirschberg said he appreciates the concerns, but emphasizes a point made in the program of Radio 4: The collection is not mandatory. "You can finish the game and defeat the evil with toys in the starter pack," he said. "We did not want the end of the game to force people to buy more toys .... But we wanted to reward people who have build their collection with more places to explore and discover in the digital world. "

In many ways it is an extension of the "freemium" and "in-app purchase" business models that have been in games for smartphones and tablets. In this case, the most popular titles are free or cost less than € 1, but players are able to pay extra to go faster or have access to additional content. This is a concept that should include more strongly in the new era of console gaming. Skylanders is actually a Trojan horse of a new era when buying a video game in a store is only the beginning of the shopping "trip." It is one of the editors must navigate carefully to avoid alienating customers.


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