SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For the first time, Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), brings Skylanders®, the world’s leading Toys-to-Life™ video game franchise¹, to Comic-Con International: San Diego. Starting Thursday, July 24, fans descending upon San Diego Comic-Con will be among the first in the world to get a look into the Skylanders universe, including new toys, and hands-on Skylanders Trap Team gameplay, with more news to come. Attendees will be the first consumers to check out the new Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition Starter Pack toys and will be able to pre-order the Starter Pack at the Skylanders booth (#303). North American fans who can’t wait for the convention to start can pre-order the Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition Starter Pack beginning today at major retailers while supplies last.
This press release has an accompanying Smart Marketing Page providing further details about the organization, products and services introduced below. You can access the Smart Marketing Page via the following link: http://smp.newshq.businesswire.com/pages/skylanders-goes-dark-comic-con
The Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition is a true collector’s starter pack that includes the special Ultimate Kaos Trap, which allows Portal Masters to trap and play as Kaos when the game launches in North America on October 5. The Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition Starter Pack features the Ultimate Kaos Trap, a special, larger-sized Trap to capture Skylands’ #1 villain. It will also include two Traps; exclusive black and silver variant designs of new characters Snap Shot, Wildfire and Food Fight; a two-sided ultimate collector poster; sticker sheets and trading cards. The Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition Starter Pack will be available on Xbox 360™ games and entertainment system from Microsoft; Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft; PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system; PlayStation® 4 and Nintendo’s Wii™ and Wii U™ systems for a suggested retail price of $99.
“In just 33 months, the Skylanders franchise has grown into a pop-culture phenomenon,” said Josh Taub, senior vice president of product management at Activision Publishing, Inc. “What better way to honor our fans, many of whom attend San Diego Comic-Con, than to give them new ways to experience the game firsthand? With the Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition, #0 issue of the official Skylanders comic and additional surprises to come, we have more to offer fans than ever before.”
San Diego Comic-Con attendees can check out Skylanders at the following activations:
- Skylanders Panel (Room 7AB): “Skylanders: The Creative Process of Bringing Toys to Life” panel on Thursday, July 24th from 6-7 p.m., moderated by Geoff Keighley, will offer insights into one of the world’s most beloved Toys-to-Life video game franchises, as well as a major announcement about new Skylanders characters. Speakers include: comic book writer Ron Marz (Green Lantern, DC vs. Marvel), famed voice of Kaos Richard Horvitz (Billy and Mandy, Invader Zim), and Toys for Bob’s Director of Toy and Character Development, I-Wei Huang. New updates to the Skylanders franchise will be revealed, and fans will leave with Skylanders giveaways, while supplies last.
- Skylanders Costume Contest (Room 7AB): Activision will award more than $5,000 in cash prizes and rare toys to the best Skylanders costumes at the panel on Thursday.
- Skylanders Show Floor (Booth #303): Fans can check out new Skylanders Trap Team toys, pose with Skylanders’ #1 villain Kaos and costume characters, and receive giveaways while supplies last.
- Skylanders Comic Book, IDW Publishing (Booth #2643): Leading comic book publisher IDW will debut the first-ever Skylanders comic-book series. Issue #0 – debuting at Comic-Con – will feature an introductory 16-page story that serves as a prequel to this year’s Skylanders Trap Team. Limited copies of a variant cover of the comic book will be available for purchase exclusively for attendees.
- First Public Hands-on Opportunities (Various Locations): Fans can be the first consumers in the world to play the upcoming Skylanders Trap Team at several locations and receive special giveaways while supplies last: Skylanders Trap Team First-to-Play Tour kicking off in the Interactive Zone at Petco Park’s Lexus Premier Lot (no SDCC badge required); the Nintendo Gaming Lounge in the San Diego Ballroom, Marriott Marquis & Marina (no SDCC badge required); and the Xbox Lounge in the Manchester Grand Hyatt at 1 Market Place (SDCC badge required). While at the Xbox Lounge, fans can win a collectible Skylanders-themed Xbox One.
- Rubie’s Costumes (Booth #3649): Skylanders fans can get a sneak peek at the new Skylanders Halloween costumes available this fall at Rubie’s booth.
- Mad Libs Pop-Up Shop (Booth #4612): Attendees can get their hands on the popular Skylanders UniverseTM Mad Libs, featuring more than 20 original stories, available for purchase at the Mad Libs Pop-Up Shop.
- Special Kids Day Activities – Sunday, July 27 (Various Locations): Kids who play the game at the Skylanders Trap Team First-to-Play Tour in the Interactive Zone will receive special giveaways, while supplies last. Fans can also stop by the Penguin Publishing booth to pick up their limited edition Skylanders activity poster, while supplies last. Kids will also get a peek into the Skylanders comic book at IDW’s Kids Comics Panel on Sunday at 10 a.m. (Room 4).
About Skylanders Trap Team
Launching in October, Skylanders Trap Team brings a ground-breaking innovation to the Skylanders franchise by reversing the magic of its signature Toys-To-Life play pattern to let kids bring life-to-toys for the first time. 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.
About the Skylanders® Franchise
The award-winning, $2 billion Skylanders 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. 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 SWAP Force launched in October 2013 and introduced an all-new play pattern – swapability. The Skylanders franchise was the top selling kids’ videogame of 20132, and is now one of the top 20 videogame franchises of all time3. Skylanders Trap Team, the newest installment due out in North America on October 5, 2014, reverses the magic of bringing toys to life – incredibly letting kids pull characters out of the digital world into the physical world. For more information, please visit: www.skylanders.com and Activision.com/presscenter.
About Activision Publishing
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), today 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 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 SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO’S ADVENTURE, SKYLANDERS UNIVERSE, LIGHTCORE, TOYS TO LIFE and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
1 Based on revenue, according to The NPD Group, GfK Chart-Track and Activision Blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories (life to date, as of June 30, 2014)
2 Based on revenue, according to The NPD Group, Gfk Chart-Track and Activision Blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories.
3 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
