Skylanders Imaginators: Official Press Release

[1ofWiisdom]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KIDS CREATE THEIR ULTIMATE SKYLANDERS IN
SKYLANDERS IMAGINATORS

The Only Way to Bring a Gigantic Flaming Chipmunk-Headed Tornado Twisting Dino-Legged Turtle-Shelled Bowslinger with a Robot Voice and a Jet Pack to Life!

Fans to Submit their Skylander Designs for Chance to have
Creations Featured in Game at Launch!

Santa Monica, Calif. - June 1, 2016 - Since the launch of Skylanders®, kids around the world have sent Toys For Bob, the pioneers of the toys-to-life category, hand-drawn Skylanders with one special request - please bring my Skylander to life.This October, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) will make that wish a reality. For the first time, Skylanders® Imaginators will empower Portal Masters to unleash their imaginations by giving them the freedom to create their own Skylander.

"Since we launched the very first Skylanders game, we have received countless letters and drawings from kids all over the world sharing their vision for their own Skylanders. No matter how in touch with our 'inner kids' we might think we are as adults, nothing comes close to the endless creativity that springs from the mind of an inspired kid," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, Inc. "We've turned this year's game into the ultimate blank canvas for kids' imaginations so they can create and play their own Skylanders."

Skylanders Imaginators gives players immense possibilities -- including appearance, powers, abilities, names, catchphrases, musical themes and much more -- to create the wildest Skylanders imaginable. The amazing depth of the creation system could allow for more than a googol distinctive characters.

With the evil Kaos on a new quest to take over Skylands, it's up to Portal Masters everywhere to create their own Skylanders - known as Imaginators - using the new elementally-aligned toy type called the Creation Crystal. Creation Crystals allow players to transport their Imaginators to consoles at anytime, anywhere!
Skylanders Imaginators introduces Skylanders Senseis, all-new heroes who represent 10 powerful Battle Classes such as Knight, Sorcerer, Bowslinger, Brawler and more. Skylanders Senseis help train created Imaginators by offering a range of benefits including unlocking super-cool Imaginator weapons, providing access to special areas in the game, as well as bestowing Secret Techniques across the Battle Classes. Senseis also have their own unique benefits including the extraordinary ability to unleash Sky-Chi - the ultimate Battle Class super move. There are a total of 31 Senseis, which include some fan-favorite villains who have been reformed and now fight for good!

"Skylanders consistently delivers on innovative gameplay experiences. With customization a dominant trend in the consumer market, the fact that Skylanders Imaginators will allow kids to bring their own creations to life is a game changer and one our customers will enjoy," said Richard Barry, Global Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys"R"Us, Inc. "We are proud to continue to serve as a marquee Skylanders destination, and look forward to fans' excitement when the new Skylanders Imaginators game arrives this holiday season."

To celebrate imaginations coming to life, Activision is kicking off the
"Skylanders Art-to-Life Contest." Starting today, Portal Masters are invited to submit drawings of their own created Skylanders for a chance to have their characters represented in the Skylanders Imaginators game at launch! To participate, fans simply draw their imagined Skylander and submit it via Instagram or Twitter with the dedicated hashtag#SkylandersArtContest, or to us directly at SkylandersCommunity@Activision.com.

The judging panel will include Toys For Bob who will determine a grand prize winner. For more information, including rules, visit: Skylanders.com/SkylanderArtContest.

Starting today, fans can pre-order Skylanders Imaginators Starter Packs which include two new Skylanders characters, a Creation Crystal, Portal of Power®and the full AAA game. Skylanders Imaginators will be available on Xbox 360™ and Xbox One™video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 and PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment systems and Nintendo's Wii U™ system.

Developed by Toys For Bob, Skylanders Imaginators supports all 300+ Skylanders toys from previous games. The game will be available on October 16 in North America for the suggested retail price of $74.99. For more information, fans can check out the debut of the Skylanders Snapchat channel or watch the story unfold here and here.

About the Skylanders® Franchise
The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys(1) 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 to pull characters out of the digital world into the physical world and became the number 1 kids' console game globally(1). Skylanders® SuperChargers launched on September 20, 2015 and expanded upon the franchise's signature gameplay to introduce vehicles-to-life for the first time.

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.

[Orion's Islands]

Lol...my son already has an idea for a.guy!
I gotta say, this idea sounds like allotta' fun!
As hooks go, its my favorite since Swap Force!

[Omenix]

Ive still got some questions. Do we need a new crystal every time we want to make a Skylander or can we save multiples to each crystal? How do the elements affect the creation of the character? Will there be bothe bipedal quadrepedal characters to make? Can we delete characters off of crystals if we want to? Other thsn the special batyle ability mentioned, what's unique about senseis? Assuming 3 per element equals 30, what's the 31st character going to be? How are attacks and upgrades handled on creating our own characters?

Don't get me wrong, I'm very excited about playing this game and making my own characters, I'm just a little confused tbh. On another note, I'm surprised dark efition has already been announced, but I can't wait for Dark Wolfgang! I'm really hoping to get Dream Catcher and Chompy Mage, my 2 favourite villains, but I wonder if all the villains are doom raiders who's the villain for magic?

[1ofWiisdom]

[1ofWiisdom]

[Omenix]

Thanks for all that info! From what I can see in Wolfgang's figure the villains have new abilities (he appears to be an archer). I hadn't previously heard of reposed figures (haven't gotten round to watching your vids yet so may be there), but I'll assume they also have new abilities. With returning characters I'm hoping they're different to the Superchargers, so say we already have Eruptor with new abilities it may be fun to see them redo Flameslinger.
Honestly the most exciting prospect of this game so far is the villains as figures, with my own Skylanders being close behind. I think it was on Coin OP TV that I saw the available selections and it appears that the variations are in a wide variety with so many different options in regards to body type etc. If the Senseis provide new abilities for ones own Skylander that provides nice incentive to buy them but not absolute necessity, nice balance imo. I like that the dark edition includes 3 crystals and 3 senseis, imo it makes a good complete kit for starting the game. 3 opportunities to create your own characters and 3 ready made characters just seems like a really nice balance to me and makes it truly feel like a premium version of the game, which I feel previous dark editions were lacking (example being dark SSSE but no dark Stealth Stinger and vice versa with night shadow).

[1ofWiisdom]

Yep, Dark will provide great bang for the buck this time around!

$75 + $15 (3rd Figure) + $20 (2 More Creation Crystals) = $110. Poster will be better and all characters should have stat boosts.

[Orion's Islands]

[Orion's Islands]

I dont expect it but I do see a fun and unique opportunity here.
Once your unique Skylander has been stored on a crystal, how fun would it be to have your own figure made!!!!
A gift to the Uber fan! I wouldnt mind paying money for an actual figure. I think they could charge $100 easily for one. Again, i dont expect it but it could be done relatively easily. I can allready see people making their own figures, witbout a doubt.

[1ofWiisdom]