Landmark Creative Collaboration between Activision and Nintendo
Offers Fans New Skylanders that Also Work as amiibo Figures - Available
in all Nintendo Starter Packs
Fans Attending E3 2015 will be First to Get Hands-On with the New
Skylanders and their Vehicles!
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Today Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), and Nintendo announced during
Nintendo's Digital Event at E3 2015 an unprecedented collaboration
designed to deliver to fans an amazing gameplay experience never before
seen. Skylanders® is packing some major star power with the
introduction of two of Nintendo's iconic characters -- Donkey Kong and
Bowser -- as guest stars in Skylanders SuperChargers. The
characters will be available exclusively in Skylanders
SuperChargers Starter Packs for the Wii U, Wii and Nintendo 3DS
family of systems, available now for pre-order. E3 2015 attendees will
be the first to get their hands on the characters and their specially
created vehicles.
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Developed by Vicarious Visions, Skylanders SuperChargers
introduces Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser, which usher
in a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the Skylanders
franchise. These new characters will be exclusive to the Nintendo
platforms. As the pioneers of the toys-to-life category, Skylanders
is innovating yet again by infusing magic into the Turbo Charge Donkey
Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser figures, enabling them to be playable in
both Skylanders SuperChargers and select amiibo compatible
games with a simple twist of the characters' bases.
"Activision Blizzard has always cherished our collaboration with
Nintendo, and we are grateful for decades of partnership," said Bobby
Kotick, Chief Executive Officer of Activision Blizzard. "Since we made
the first toys-to-life game, some of our most dedicated players have
been Nintendo fans around the world. Skylanders is delighted to welcome
beloved guest stars Donkey Kong and Bowser into its magical world."
The goal with this creative collaboration is to honor the personalities
and heritage of Donkey Kong and Bowser that fans have come to love from
previous games, while creating a fresh look and feel for the guest stars
in Skylands. For example, Turbo Charge Donkey Kong's powers and attacks
include barrel throws and exploding bongos and other classic Donkey Kong
powers that pay homage to the lore of the character, as well as exciting
new moves for the iconic character. Hammer Slam Bowser's powers range
from commanding Koopas, summoning Warp Pipes as well as fierce
fire-breathing attacks.
"Activision's Skylanders games have been very popular on Nintendo
platforms, and we hope this collaboration will delight fans of the
franchise," said Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo Co., Ltd. "We
believe this unique approach will help expand the entire category and
make it appealing to even more players."
The trailblazing vehicles-to-life innovation of Skylanders
SuperChargers is realized when players take the helm of
powerful, tricked-out land, sea and sky vehicles.
Skylanders SuperChargers is a high octane action-adventure
videogame where fans have the freedom to speed across Skylands' roads in
vehicular combat, race down roaring rapids and engage in aerial
dogfights as they barrel roll through enemy swarms.
Skylanders SuperChargers gameplay is revved up on Nintendo
platforms, as Portal Masters can also pilot and steer Turbo Charge
Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser's custom designed, never-before-seen
vehicles, Barrel Blaster and Clown Cruiser. The special Skylanders guest
stars and vehicles will be playable, cooperatively or alone, in Skylanders
SuperChargers on the following Nintendo platforms: Wii U, Wii and
the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. Both characters and vehicles are
playable in Skylanders SuperChargers across all three Nintendo
systems.
In Skylanders SuperChargers, the evil Kaos has unleashed
The Darkness to take control of Skylands. Fortunately, a special team of
Skylanders known as the SuperChargers has been assembled to pilot an
incredible fleet of vehicles with the power to travel through the
destruction - over land, sea, and sky! But with Skylands on the verge of
collapse, the Skylanders have reached out across all dimensions to call
for reinforcements. Answering the call is the most unexpected duo -
Donkey Kong and Bowser! Using their own elite vehicles to magically
travel between worlds, they have joined the epic battle against Kaos and
The Darkness!
Skylanders is bringing another trailblazing innovation with the
launch of Skylanders SuperChargers on September 20, 2015
in North America. The new game supports all 300+ Skylanders toys
from previous games, enabling all Skylanders characters to pilot land,
sea or sky-based vehicles. The vehicles are playable in-game and many
feature moving parts, making them also fun to play with in the physical
world. Players will also have the ability to customize all vehicles
in-game with super cool modifications and upgradeable weapons.
For the ultimate gameplay experience, players can pair a SuperCharger
Skylander with its signature vehicle to create a SuperCharged
combination, unlocking exclusive mods that rev up the performance of the
vehicle and abilities of the character. Players can also have fun seeing
Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser pilot any of the 20
SuperCharger vehicles available in the new game.
Fans can pre-order Skylanders SuperChargers at select
retail destinations worldwide. The Skylanders Wii U Starter Pack's
suggested retail price is $74.99 and includes Turbo Charge Donkey Kong
and his signature vehicle, Barrel Blaster. The Skylanders Wii and 3DS
Starter Packs' suggested retail prices are $74.99 and $64.99,
respectively, and include Hammer Slam Bowser and his signature vehicle,
Clown Cruiser. All three Skylanders SuperChargers Starter
Packs for Nintendo platforms also include Super Shot Stealth Elf, newly
designed Portal of Power®+ and the full AAA game*.
About the Skylanders®
Franchise
The award-winning, $3 billionSkylanders franchise has sold
through more than 250 million action figures1 since
pioneering the toys-to-life category in 2011 with the debut of Skylanders®
Spyro's Adventure. The game originated a play pattern that
seamlessly bridged physical and virtual worlds across multiple
platforms. In 2012, Skylanders® Giants further evolved the genre
and added LightCore® characters to the
collection of interaction figures. Skylanders® SWAP Force™,
which launched in 2013, introduced an all new play pattern -
swapability. In 2014, Skylanders® Trap Team
reversed the magic of bringing toys to life by allowing players pull
characters out of the digital world into the physical world and became
the number 1 kids' console game globally1. The game was also
the first console game to simultaneously bring the entire AAA experience
to tablets.
About Activision Publishing
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing,
Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive
entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world.
More information about Activision and its products can be found on the
company's website, www.activision.com
or by following @Activision.
About Nintendo
The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment,
Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware
and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home
consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families
of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo
Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.3
billion video games and more than 680 million hardware units globally,
including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo 3DS XL™,
as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS,
Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™,
Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™, and Wii systems.
It has also created industry icons that have become well-known household
names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™,
Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned
subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as
headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For
more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.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 dates of Skylanders
SuperChargers, 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.
©2015 Activision Publishing, Inc., SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS,
SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM, SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS,
SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, LIGHTCORE, PORTAL OF POWER and ACTIVISION are
trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
¹²The NPD Group, GfK Chart-track, Activision Blizzard
internal estimates, including toys and accessories
+ The newly designed Portal of Power will not be available in the
Nintendo 3DS versions.
* Gameplay content, functionality, and features will differ for Nintendo
3DS and Wii versions
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150616005598/en/
For Activision
Activision
Kerstine Johnson, 310-255-2508
kjohnson@activision.com
or
PMK•BNC
Michele
Wyman, 310-854-3264
michele.wyman@pmkbnc.com
or
For
Nintendo of America
Golin
Rich George, 415-318-4342
rgeorge@golin.com
Source: Activision Publishing, Inc.
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