Skylanders Originator Toys for Bob Returns with Ground-Breaking
Innovation
Portal Masters Can Now Capture and Play as Villains; Capture and Play
as Kaos for the First Time Ever
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Skylanders® is redefining the toys-to-life
phenomenon with yet another ground-breaking innovation, Skylanders
Trap Team™. On
October 5 in North America, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned
subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), will introduce
the newest installment to the Skylanders franchise, which will
reverse the magic of bringing toys to life - incredibly letting kids
pull characters out of the digital world into the physical world.
With Skylanders Trap Team, Portal Masters seek out and
defeat the most wanted villains in all of Skylands, pulling them out of
the game and into living rooms by capturing them in magical Traps.
Players can then send villains back into the game where they play as
them to fight for good. The game will include the Traptanium PortalTM,
a new ring of magical energy that enables kids to not only bring their
Skylanders to life, but also magically capture villains using the new
Traps. Once they've defeated the villains, kids will be able to place a
Trap into the new portal to capture them. They will also be able to hear
the villains inside the Traps, an innovation that truly brings life to
toys.
This exciting new play pattern also gives players the option to switch
between playing as a Skylander hero or a villain at any time, creating
fun and unique "tag team" gameplay. In addition, fans can even take
their Traps and their Skylanders characters to their friends' houses for
fun, co-operative adventures across all console game systems.
"When we created Skylanders, we invented a new category of play
and, in the process, disrupted two industries - videogames and toys.
With each new Skylanders game, our commitment to continuous,
disruptive innovation has led to surprising and delightful new ways for
kids to play with toys and games," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of
Activision Publishing, Inc. "With Skylanders Trap Team,
we're no longer just letting kids bring their toys to life inside the
game anymore. This time, we're letting them pull their toys out
of the game as well. We are confident this installment of Skylanders
will once again redefine what's possible at the intersection of the
physical and virtual worlds."
"When Activision first introduced the Skylanders franchise in
2011, it promised to redefine play by merging the physical and digital
worlds. The company delivered on that pledge with three blockbuster
titles - all of which have been named to the annual Toys"R"Us
Holiday Hot Toy List - and is now poised to do it again with the
introduction of Skylanders Trap Team," said Richard Barry,
Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer Toys"R"Us, Inc.
"With Skylanders Trap Team, Activision is reversing the
magic of ‘toys-to-life,' allowing kids to bring characters out of the
digital world and into the physical world for the first time. We're
thrilled to continue as a marquee destination for Skylanders
products, providing a comprehensive, global marketing and merchandising
program, including our fully exclusive Legendary series of figures that
will introduce Skylanders Trap Team to our enthusiastic
customers this October."
In Skylanders Trap Team, Kaos continues his ongoing quest
to rule over Skylands. He has discovered the location of the legendary
Cloudcracker Prison -- a fortress built entirely out of the magical
substance TraptaniumTM and home to Skylands' most nefarious
baddies. In an attempt to build his own army of foes, Kaos blows up the
prison, releasing the most wanted villains and blasting shards of Traptanium
to Earth in the form of Traps. Now it's up to Portal Masters to
recapture all of the escaped villains using powerful Traptanium
Traps and defeat Kaos before it's too late! The new adventure delivers a
diverse and dynamic story-driven gameplay experience, filled with
adventure, combat, puzzles, mini-games, activities, platforming and
drop-in/drop-out co-op play -- all set within new compelling
environments.
Skylanders Trap Team introduces Skylanders heroes known as
Trap Masters, brand new Core Skylanders characters and reposed
fan-favorite Skylanders characters. The game also features a variety of
elementally aligned Traps with unique and interesting designs. With
every addition to their Trap Team collection, Portal Masters unlock
exciting gameplay possibilities within each level.
Fans can pre-order Skylanders Trap Team starting on April
23, with special offers available at select retail destinations
worldwide. Skylanders Trap Team will be available on Xbox
360™ and Xbox One™ video game and entertainment
systems from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation®
4 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo's Wii™ system,
Nintendo's Wii U™ system, and a completely unique adventure
available on the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. The game
will be available on October 5 in North America; October 2 in
Australia/New Zealand; and October 10 in Europe.
About the Skylanders®
Franchise
The award-winning, $2 billionSkylanders franchise pioneered the
toys-to-life category in 2011 with the debut of Skylanders Spyro's
Adventure®. The game originated a new play
pattern that seamlessly bridged physical and virtual worlds across
multiple platforms and became the top-selling kids' videogame of 20131
as well as one of the top 20 videogame franchises of all time2.
In October 2012, Skylanders Giants™ further evolved
the genre and added the mega-sized Giant Skylanders and LightCore®
characters to the collection of interaction figures. Skylanders
Giants was awarded the "e-Connected Toy of the Year" at the 13th
Annual Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. Skylanders SWAP Force™,
which launched in October 2013, introduced an all new play pattern -
swapability. The game was developed by Vicarious Visions and is rated
E10+ by the ESRB. On October 5, 2014, Skylanders Trap Team™
will reverse the magic of bringing toys to life by letting
players capture villains and play as them using Traps that bring life to
toys with the new Traptanium Portal.
About Activision Publishing
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, Denmark, the
Netherlands, Australia, Singapore, mainland China, Hong Kong 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 dates of Skylanders Trap Team,
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.
© 2014 Activision Publishing, Inc., SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM,
SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE,
TRAPTANIUM, TRAPTANIUM PORTAL, LIGHTCORE and ACTIVISION are trademarks
of Activision Publishing, Inc.
1 Based on revenue, according to The NPD Group, Gfk Media
Control® and Activision internal estimates, including toys
and accessories, life to date
2 According to The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Activision
Blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories. All time
since NPD and GfK Chart-track began recording data
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20140423006673/en/
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
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