Skylanders Battlecast Card Hunting Adventure

We take a fresh look of Skylanders Battlecast with the Williams family. They go hunting for cards in their local Smyth’s Toys (http://www.smythstoys.com/uk/en-gb/) and get into playing the game at home.

Opening packs, scanning cards and getting them in the collectors magic book was all a lot of fun as you can see.

More on Battlecast via the official website: https://www.skylanders.com/uk/en/video-games/skylanders-battlecast

Video supported by Activision including access to the game and cards. Thank you to Smyth’s Toys for allowing us to film in store.

What We Know: Skylanders Imaginators (And What We Don’t)

This is our comprehensive look at EVERYTHING we know about Skylanders Imaginators

Long ago when the Ancients used a mysterious power known as “Mind Magic” to create everything in Skylands. With it, they conjured into existence anything that they could imagine! However, they soon learned that in the wrong hands, it could be very dangerous, and so they sealed it away so that it could never be misused. After discovering this ancient secret, Kaos has unleashed the power of “Mind Magic” into Skylands once again – and he is using it to create an unstoppable army of Doomlanders, the likes of which have never been seen! Now it’s up to Portal Masters to create Skylanders Imaginators from their own imagination and stop Kaos and his evil Doomlanders before it is too late. And to help train them, Eon is sending the greatest mystic warriors of all time – the Senseis!

Villain to Sensei story

After the events of Skylanders® Trap Team, Eon gave these Villains a choice – either go back to a newly reformed Cloudcracker Prison or become Skylander Senseis, teaching a new generation of Imaginators their formidable battle skills as well as how to stay clear of a life of crime. They accepted the deal but first had to prove themselves by re-arranging all the books in the Academy’s library, a task which took almost two years, testing every ounce of will they had. And their knowledge of the alphabet.

Returning franchise favourites will only feature in the story.

Characters

20 Sensei New Skylanders and 10/11 Villains (who are also Senseis)

King Pen (Penguin Skylander) – Air/Brawler
Tri-Tip (Triceratops Skylander) – Earth/Smasher
Golden Queen – Earth/Sorcerer

Sensei Skylanders
All-new heroes who represent 10 powerful Battle Classes:

Knight
Sorcerer
Bowslinger
Brawler
Smasher
…and more

Sensei Skylanders help train created Imaginators by offering a range of benefits

Unlock Imaginator weapons
Increase Imaginator level caps
Provide access to special areas in the game
Unlock Secret Techniques for Imaginators of the same Battle Class

Senseis also have their own unique benefits including the extraordinary ability to unleash Sky-Chi – the ultimate Battle Class super move.

Core Skylanders

None announced

Toy Support
All previous 300+ Skylanders character toys are supported.
Traps are NOT supported
Although not officially confirmed, Vehicles should be supported by multiplayer racing
Although not officially confirmed, magic items should be supported

Creation Crystals
Physical toy that stores a single Imaginator
Creation Crystals are elementally aligned
Creation Crystals pulsate with light on the portal

No confirmation that Imaginators can be created and saved in the game without storing them in a crystal

Imaginators
Customise any of the following:
Any body part
Any body part size
Any body part colour
Powers
Abilities
Catchphrases

Collect Imaginator parts throughout the game
Common
Rare
Epic
Mythic

Part drops are randomised to support multiple playthroughs
Two players cannot create characters at the same time
Completed Imaginators are not saved in the game, they exist solely in the creation crystal

Game Modes
Long single player adventure
Local two player co-op adventure
Multiplayer kart racing

No word yet on Elemental Zones
No word yet on any other game modes, e.g. Battle
Digital vehicles are available for racing if you don’t own Supercharger Vehicles

Portal
Supports two creation crystals, two character toys or one of each.
“Fan favourite” Swap Force portal returns
Portal has no trap slot
All previous portals are supported

Starter Pack Contents
1x Sensei = King-Pen (Penguin Skylander)
1x Sensei = Golden Queen (Villain)
1x Creation Crystal
1x Portal Of Power

Dark Edition Starter Pack Contents
Three exclusive black and silver variant designs of new Senseis
Three Creation Crystals
Two-sided ultimate collector poster
Sticker sheets
…and more

Platforms

PS4
XB1
PS3
360
Wii U

No confirmation of Wii or 3DS
No pack images for PS3, 360 or Wii U
Same game on all announced platforms

Release Date
October 13 in Australia/New Zealand
October 14 in Europe
October 16 in North America

REPORT: 2016 Toys-to-Life games will challenge Disney, Lego & Skylanders

We talk to Nick Mayberry and Doug Renert of Tandem Digital who have been studying the connect and toys to life space as investors.

I spoke to Doug Renert, co-founding partner of Tandem Captial, asking him what their report had uncovered in this space?

“Technology is driving a new set of toy experiences and companies are taking advantage of this. Also, there are new ways to monetise in the toy space. Finally there are new methods of distribution taking play from the app to the toy space. This all bodes well for start-ups and new comers to the market.”

Nick Mayberry, director of content at Tandem, expanded on this picture through the year. “We hear about connected toys often around the holiday season, what happened in 2015 is that consumer interest as measure by Google Trends extended beyond the holiday season. Tech becomes a fundamental of play rather than a gimmick.”

“In our research we discovered that the toys to life category was underfunded compared to other categories. An opportunity for big large scale businesses to grow from that into cross-media rather than just connected toys.”

“As long as newcomers can be creative in developing intellectual properties and stories and how to acquire their audiences. One reason some may think it’s ‘game over’ is that when a company like Disney enters the market with its intellectual property and cross media domination it can be daunted for other to enter. But that’s what start-ups are all about, creating new and inventive ways to develop intellectual properties.”

Of course this was a feature of Activision launching Skylanders very much attached to the Spyro brand and character. Since those early years it has eclipsed the diminutive dragon but it seemed an important connection to begin with.

“We put Anki in the robotics category because of the car’s artificial intelligence that learns the tracks. Sphero is another company in this space, who have a strong relationship with Disney and links to BB-8.”

“A nimble start-up is going to have to prove their business model before they get access to that capital, while larger companies have more resources. The winners at the end of the day will have amassed the capital to build out big brands one way or another.”

“Some of it depends on innovation. Having started with a single figure that opened an iPad game, but now we are seeing the ‘brains’ be put into the figures themselves that then impacts on the game. The games are also becoming more complex with in-app purchases. Add-ons are also happening on the toys themselves where buying additions will open up new possibilities in the virtual world.

Summing up Renert reiterated the opportunities here. “I don’t see this slowing down I see it picking up. I don’t think there will be 20 winners. The business for the small handful of winners will continue to grow.”

F1 & Top Gear Stars Redesign Skylanders for Make a Wish Charity

We have a close look at the Make a Wish Skylanders Superchargers celebrity re-designs made my Top Gear ‘The Stig’ and F1’s Max Chilton.

To see all the auctions, click here: http://makeawish.vonality.com/, while links to the auctions for the vehicles that Ben Collins and Max Chilton designed can be found below:
· Ben Collins: http://makeawish.vonality.com/collins
· Max Chilton: http://makeawish.vonality.com/chilton

Activision has just announced that it is it has teaming up with sports stars and entertainment personalities to design seven customized Skylanders SuperChargers toys for a charity auction. The chosen charity is Make-A-Wish, the world’s largest wish-granting organization, who will auction off the models to the highest bidder. The proceeds will support the many wishes that Make-A-Wish grants to children with life-threatening medical conditions around the world each year.

Top billing for the redesigns are Ben Collins, formerly The Stig from Top Gear and former Formula 1 driver Max Chilton. In addition French TV presenter Joan Faggianelli, kite-surfing champion Gisela Pulido and YouTubers St3pny and TheKing77 have each designed a toy for the project.

Skylanders Superchargers Wave 4

The latest wave of Skylanders Superchargers hit store shelves soon and we’ve got a close look at what’s coming.

Check out single packs for:
Hot Streak,
Soda Skimmer,
Astroblast,
Sun Runner,
Roller Brawl and Tomb Buggy.

Check out what each of the figures look like, in and out of their packs along with some in game shots and their Supercharged Combos.

Skylanders Advent Countdown Competition w/ £400 of Prizes

Each day of December until Christmas we are giving away a Skylanders Superchargers character or vehicle.

Then on December 25th win the Skylanders Supercharges Starter Pack for a console of your choice.

Watch the video and perform one of the following to enter:

– Tweet “XXX is the best Xmas Skylander because… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ye-eCjXxxbw #FGTVComp” Replacing XXX with a character name.
– Comment on the Video in YouTube stating which Skylanders character is your favourite for Christmas.
– Comment on Facebook stating which Skylanders character is your favourite for Christmas, tagging Family Gamer TV Facebook page.
– Subscribe to FamilyGamerTV

The competition starts on 1st December 2015 (the “Start Date”) and closes on 25th December 2015. Winners to be announced via Twitter (@FamilyGamerTV ).

Terms and Conditions:
http://www.familygamer.tv/2015/12/skylanders-superchargers-comp/