VisitScotland, the Highland Council and Activision Publishing
Partner on the First Ever ‘Virtual' Twinning of a Real World Destination
with a Video Game World
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
VisitScotland, The Highland Council and Activision Publishing, Inc., a
wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI),
today announced that the Isle of Skye in Scotland has ‘virtually' twinned1
with Skylands, the home of upcoming game, Skylanders SWAP Force™.
The stunning Scottish Highlands have been brought together with the
virtual islands of Skylands, to celebrate the month of SWAPtober and the
launch of Skylanders SWAP Force™. The virtual twinning
marks the first time a video game world has twinned with a real
destination. Skylanders SWAP Force is available now at
retail stores in North America and will be available in Australia on
October 16 and Europe on October 18.
Isle of Skye ‘virtually' twins with Skylands from Skylanders SWAP Force (Photo: Business Wire)
Located off the west coast of Scotland, the Isle of Skye boasts stunning
mountain scenery, sea lochs and wildlife and attracts visitors from all
over the world.
VisitScotland's Alan Mackenzie, who is based at VisitScotland's
Information Centre in Portree, said: "The Isle of Skye is renowned for
its stunning landscapes, which possess an almost ethereal quality, and
its abundance of wildlife, making it the perfect place to virtually twin
with Skylands, home to Skylanders SWAP Force. We're
thrilled to be teaming up with the SkylandersTM
franchise for this unique partnership, which will help raise the profile
of this beautiful part of the world, encouraging families to enjoy a
real-life adventure on the Isle of Skye — nowhere else on Earth comes
close!"
To commemorate the virtual twinning, Activision and VisitScotland
brought the virtual world of Skylands to the stunning Scottish Highlands
through:
-
An inaugural visit to the Isle of Skye by Wash Buckler, one of the new Skylanders
SWAP Force characters; Wash Buckler toured some of the
island's most famous landmarks and visited the children at Portree
Primary School.
-
A SWAP takeover of the Isle of Skye website www.skye.co.uk,
where Skylanders franchise fans worldwide can type SWAP on the
homepage to watch the magic unfold.
The Skylanders franchise pioneered the genre of ‘bringing toys to
life' by combining physical figures with the virtual world of video
games. Skylanders SWAP Force builds upon the success of
the franchise with its signature gameplay and collectible toy
experience, adding a dimension to the "toys to life" innovation. The
game introduces an all-new play pattern - swapability - that lets gamers
reconfigure 16 SWAP Force inter-action figures into more than 250
unique characters by swapping the top and bottom halves of the
inter-action figures*.
"We're thrilled to continue to combine physical and virtual experiences
through the Skylanders franchise, and what better way to do so
than making the Skylands the first video game world to twin with a real
destination," said Michael Sportouch, Vice President and General
Manager, Activision Publishing. "With the launch of Skylanders
SWAP Force around the corner, it was perfect timing to merge the
magical world of Skylands with the beautiful Isle of Skye. We're sure
this partnership is going to spark the imaginations of families whenever
they visit the Highlands, but fortunately they don't have to worry about
seeing any Chompies2 on Earth."
Councillor Thomas Prag, Chair, The Highland Council's Planning
Environment and Development Committee, commented, "We're thrilled to
welcome the Skylanders characters to the Highlands. This is an unusual
project, as we can't sign an actual deed of twinning due to the
limitations getting paper work to the Skylands. However, we were
delighted to see Wash Buckler visiting the Isle of Skye, and hope his
visit encourages many more people to look for adventure in the
Highlands."
About Skylanders SWAP Force
Skylanders SWAP Force is delivering a whole new world of
innovation and introduces the groundbreaking new feature — swapability.
The pioneers of the toys-to-life genre are presenting kids and gamers
with unprecedented levels of choice in how they explore Skylands and
battle Kaos by swapping the top and bottom halves of the inter-action
figures to transform 16 SWAP ForceTM characters
into more than 250 unique combinations.
Set in a richly detailed next generation world, Skylanders SWAP
Force takes kids on an all-new adventure with 32 brand new
heroic characters that each offer unique powers and personalities. The
game also features new abilities — such as flying, climbing, and
teleporting — which can be used in special areas of Skylands.
Additionally, fans can play with their entire collection of more than
100, forward-compatible toys from both Skylanders Spyro's AdventureTM
and Skylanders Giants™.
Skylanders SWAP Force is being developed by Vicarious
Visions and is set to release in North America on October
13, Australia on October 16 and Europe on October 18. Developed for the
PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and the Wii U™ and Wii™ systems from
Nintendo and Nintendo 3DS™; it is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more
information, visit www.skylanders.com.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc.
is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of
interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway,
Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, mainland China and the region of
Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found
on the company's website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in
this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations,
plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including
statements about the expected release date of Skylanders SWAP Force™,
are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number
of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision
Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those
expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release
include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the
risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report
on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The
forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information
available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the
date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision
Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may
ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of
the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard
and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which
are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially
from current expectations.
SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS,
SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks of
Activision Publishing, Inc.
1 No official deed of twinning has been signed by the
Highland Council. As the Skylands are a magical land — it makes it
difficult to get paperwork in the post.
2 Chompies are one of the most common monsters in the
Skylands, they do not exist on Earth.
*Requires purchase of all 16 SWAP Force Skylanders.
VisitScotland, Scotland's national tourism organisation, is providing
in-kind promotional support to the virtual twinning project.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131015006996/en/
For Media Inquiries:
PMK•BNC
Michele
Wyman, 310-854-3264
michele.wyman@pmkbnc.com
or
Activision
Publishing, Inc.
Dior Brown, 424-744-5864
dior.brown@activision.com
Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.
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