SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Holiday shoppers be on the lookout: Skylanders® Imaginators — the toys-to-life videogame where players can bring their imaginations to life by creating their own Skylanders — has been crowned a “must-have” gift for kids this season. The innovative kids’ videogame franchise is ushering in the holidays with new Sensei toys and an unbelievable offer on Skylanders Imaginators Starter Packs. The game has been named to the Toys“R”Us® 2016 Hot Holiday Toy List, Amazon’s 2016 Holiday Toys List, the Toy Insider’s Hot 20 Holiday Toys List, and Parents magazine’s “2016 Best Toys.”
Portal Masters can kick-off their Skylanders®-filled holiday on Thanksgiving Day when Eruptor, a fan-favorite Skylander, takes his place amongst the skyscrapers of New York City in the 90th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade®! Portal Masters can also catch Eruptor, along with Spyro and Stealth Elf, in “Skylanders™ Academy” available now on Netflix.
“Kids are going to have so much fun playing Skylanders Imaginators,” said Ariana Gentry, 10-year-old winner of Toys“R”Us 2016 President of Play competition. “I love to make things my own, and the game is such an awesome way to think of new ideas and be as creative as I can be!”
Starting on Black Friday, parents will be able to get their hands on Skylanders Imaginators Starter Packs for the suggested price of $39.99 each and Skylanders Sensei toys for the suggested price of $9.99 each, for a limited time at major retailers nationwide.
Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), is also releasing a special holiday Skylander Sensei toy — Jingle Bell Chompy Mage. Available at participating retailers starting November 25, 2016, Jingle Bell Chompy Mage is a specially designed toy that appears in the game outfitted in a holiday-inspired wardrobe. He joins the lineup of Sensei Skylanders new to Skylanders Imaginators and is ready to teach the Skylanders some new fighting techniques and a classic Chompy holiday tradition — the White Chompy gift exchange! After all, ‘tis the season to be Chompy!
“Skylanders Imaginators is THE game that kids are clamoring for this holiday. Kids have been asking for years to create their own Skylanders, and now with latest innovation of the game they have the power right at their fingertips,” said Laurie Schacht, Chief Toy Officer of Toy Insider. “On top of that, Skylanders has parents covered on all their holiday needs. From amazing Black Friday deals to the arrival of Jingle Bell Chompy Mage, the variety of Skylanders-themed holiday offerings available for Skylanders fans is perfect for anyone on your list!”
Tech-savvy holiday shoppers will impress those on their “nice list” by downloading Skylanders™ Creator, the new free mobile app that offers Portal Masters a one-of-a-kind experience to create Imaginator characters on-the-go! Skylanders Creator lets users design Imaginators from scratch directly from the app. Skylanders Imaginators players also can magically transfer their created characters from the console game to the app using innovate audio technology.
In the app, there are a variety of ways for parents to find the ultimate gift with the purchase of a fully-playable 3D printed Skylanders Imaginators figure for the suggested price of $49.99, an Imaginator T-shirt for the suggested retail price of $24.99 or an Imaginator Card for the suggested retail price of $14.99 — all items are customized to match the Skylanders Imaginator characters created by players. Quantities for the 3D printed characters will be limited, making them true collectors’ items. Availability of products varies by territory.
Portal Masters are encouraged to get into the creation spirit now by participating in the Skylanders #CreatorContest. Fans who share their Skylanders Imaginator creations on social media using the dedicated hashtag and provide a link on skylanders.com/creatorcontest have a chance to win a 3D printed Skylander Imaginator. November 21-27 marks the last week to enter the contest. Check out official rules here: skylanders.com/creatorcontest.
Existing Skylanders fans will also have something to cheer about this holiday with the return of the Skylanders Portal Owners Pack. The Portal Owners Pack at the suggested retail price of $25 is a great value and the perfect gift idea for players who already have portals from previous Skylanders games — Skylanders® SuperChargers, Skylanders® Trap Team, Skylanders® SWAP Force™ or Skylanders® Giants. The Portal Owners Pack provides fans with infinite possibilities to create with the Skylanders Imaginators Portal Owners Pack:
- Skylanders® Imaginators Video Game
- 1 Imaginite Creation Crystal — Fire Creation Crystal
- 1 Sticker Sheet
- Collection Poster featuring the complete set of Skylanders Imaginators Figures
The Portal Owners Pack will be available exclusively to Wal-Mart shoppers for a limited time during the retailer’s Black Friday event, which starts at 6 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving, November 24 (price valid through Friday).
Additionally, Skylanders fans can participate in Skylanders Day at all GameStop locations nationwide on Saturday, December 17, and Sunday, December 18. Skylanders Day offers great deals and special promotions on select Skylanders Imaginators and Skylanders SuperChargers products, including the GameStop exclusive debut of the Skylanders Sensei Mystical Bad JuJu figure.
Skylanders Imaginators is available on all major gaming consoles including 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. The game supports all 300+ Skylanders from previous games. For more information, visit Skylanders.com.
Skylanders™ Academy, the new animated comedy-adventure show inspired by the award-winning Skylanders franchise, debuted on Netflix on October 28. Jam-packed with humor and heart, Skylanders Academy offers epic action for kids of all ages. This Netflix original series Season 1 debuted with 13 episodes in 190 countries, with a second season planned for late 2017.
About the Skylanders® Franchise
The award-winning, $3 billion Skylanders® franchise has sold through more than 250 million toys1 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 globally1. Skylanders® SuperChargers launched in 2015 and expanded upon the franchise’s signature gameplay to introduce vehicles-to-life for the first time. On Oct. 16, Skylanders Imaginators captured kids’ imaginations like never before with the ability to create your own Skylander.
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 and is a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.
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 features, products and promotions of Skylanders Imaginators, including those related to Black Friday, Skylanders Day, new figures and associated gameplay, and the Skylanders Imaginators Portal Owners Pack, and statements with respect to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Skylanders #CreatorContest 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.
©2016 Activision Publishing, Inc., SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS IMAGINATORS, SKYLANDERS CREATOR, SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS, SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM, SKYLANDERS SPYRO’S ADVENTURE, SKYLANDERS GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SWAP FORCE, LIGHTCORE, PORTAL OF POWER and ACTIVISION are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc.
¹The NPD Group, GfK Chart-track, Activision Blizzard internal estimates, including toys and accessories
© 2016 Activision Blizzard Studios, LLC. SKYLANDERS ACADEMY is a trademark of Activision Publishing, Inc.
