Skylanders - The Story So Far

Skylanders was launched in October 2011m and has become a billion dollar franchise. It is the most successful toy to use Augmented Reality, where toys can come alive. Activision recently revealed that, since launch, the Skylanders series has grossed more than 2 billion dollars worldwide, with an estimated 175 million individual toy sales. The latest edition of the franchise, Skylanders: Swap Force, launched last October, and has already proved to be a strong addition to the franchise. But before looking too much into that, lets look back at the history of this very successful franchise.

The series so far

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure

Spyro's Adventure Wii Video Game

This is where the skylanders adventure started back in October 2011, and a revolution in toys and video games was born. As of June 3rd 2012, the game had been the top-selling console and handheld video game worldwide for the year. As well as reported sales of over 30 milion Skylanders toys, and sales had exceeded $500m by the end of the year. 

'The Skylanders adventure stars here! The evil tyrant KAOS is threatening to destroy Skylands. Only you can bring the Skylanders to life - unlocking their special powers and abilities - by placing them on the portal of power!'
                        
                                   ~ http://www.skylanders.com/uk/en/video-games/skylanders-spyros-adventure

Skylanders Giants

Giants Wii Video Game

Skylanders: Giants was released in October 2012 and was a direct sequel to the first game. It features larger Skylander 'Giant' characters along with new game-play mechanics. This was the final Skylanders game to be owned by Vivendi before Activision became an independent company in July 2013. This game introduced over 40 new toy figures, with the original games characters being forward compatible. Although, there are also new versions of these characters called 'Series 2' which has more powerful attributes than the originals. A new series of figures called 'Light Core' were also introduced, which glowed when put on the portal of power. By the end of 2012, the Skylander franchise had become the first kids' video game to cross the $1b mark in just 15 months of retail.

'Thousands of years ago, the Giant Skylanders fought epic battles in Skylands, but were banished to Earth. With a new threat looming, it's time to bring them back to join forces with the Skylanders to defeat KAOS. Only you can put them on the Portal of Power™ to unleash their strength in the ultimate battle to save Skylands!'

~ http://www.skylanders.com/uk/en/video-games/skylanders-giants

Skylanders Swap Force 

Swap Force Wii Video Game

The latest edition to the franchise was released in October 2013, developed by Vicarious Vision, and published by Activision. A new ability for the character in this version was to be able to jump, and the game boasted a new range of swappable figures. It also saw a new Portal of Power, which is only sold as a starter pack. This was added due to the new technology required for the Swap-Force characters to work properly. The 16 new characters have top and bottom halves that can be separated from each other, and recombined with the halves from other characters; allowing a large range of possible combinations.

'Embark on an exciting new adventure with the Skylanders and the SWAP Force. For generations, the SWAP Force protected the volcano that replenishes Skylands’ magic. That is until an epic battle caught them in an eruption that blasted them apart, sent them to Earth and gave them the ability to swap powers. Only you can mix and match their tops and bottoms, put them on the new Portal of Power™ and save Skylands.'

~http://www.skylanders.com/uk/en/video-games/skylanders-swap-force

Now, with the next installment on the horizon, the Skylander franchise has made $2bn in revenue at retail to date. I will make sure to keep you updated on any future developments on this hugely successful toy range.

Never Grow Up,

The Peddler