Actvision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshbergwas talking to the public today during Activisions earnings call. During which he mentions a few things, one major thing is that Skylanders has passed by all of their expectations secondly Activision considers Skylanders to be a new IP rather then a title in the Spyro franchise.

So Eric says that the idea of creating a video game toy, allowing children to play with their toys in a whole new way was innovative. Activision wasn't sure how children would react. But “Of the the 30 plus characters, some are already very hard to find and we've already seen Skylanders characters sell for as much as $70 on eBay. Finally, after only a few weeks in the market, literally all of our major retail partners across all territories have already placed re-orders.” Eric then states that not only is the game selling well but the critics loved it and it recieved favourable reviews. He backed up the idea that Skylanders is a success by confirming that the title and its toys have made the top holiday buys lists of many retailers and media outlets including both Toys R Us Holiday Hot Toy List and the Toy Insider Hot 20 List.

In fact Activision is going to put a ton of muscle behind this new franchise “We'll also be supporting the game with our largest marketing campaign ever for a new property, which includes a heavy TV campaign in the US and Europe, an extensive mall and home tour to generate hands-on trial, as well as a 2 minute 3D trailer in theaters which runs in front of a number of holiday movies including Puss In Boots, Happy Feet 2, and The Muppets,”

Eric thinks that the amount of entertainment and value the children get out of Skylanders and its toys is a huge selling feature. “For $69.99, a kid gets three toys, the Portal of Power, a videogame with a 30 level single-player mode, co-op game play, and endless hours in battle mode. It also comes with a vast connected webworld at no extra charge, as well as a poster and trading cards. When you consider that three average toys with no interactive capabilities whatsoever and an average new videogame would cost you more than the Skylanders starter pack, I think it's fair to say that this is an exciting value proposition for the holidays,”

“like any new IP, Skylanders will take time to reach its full potential.”Activision has stated that the toy market in the US is even larger than the videogame market. Eric indicated that Activision sees Skylanders as a way into the highly lucrative toy market a place where game companies have often entered. In fact the most successful game company on earth started with cards and toys. Skylanders could end up growing into a huge toy franchise which is also a video game. I wouldn't put it past Activision to sign a television or film deal either, this franchise could have massive potential.

A question that has to be asked is if Skylanders isn't considered an entry in the Spyro franchise, will Spyro continue to be a part of the properties future releases? Or will Spyro go in a different direction only being used to help promote Skylanders launch? What do you think about the future aspects of Skylanders? Does Activision have a good chance of conquering the toys industry? Is it smart for them to be trying?

kids always like the strangest toys.

good for them I suppose. I have no interest for it, but then again, i am no fan of Justin Bieber either.

I wonder if Activision will be milking this IP as well...

first of all... no

and secondly, kids don't care about graphics, they just want something cute

and thirdly, you could probably toss them a ball of strings and they'd get the same type of entertainment out of it (okay, I'm joking here)

I wonder if there will be a FIFA 13 next year?

It will do great this Holiday. The marketing push behind the game is pretty intense.

According to the adults that own the game, they have had lots of fun playing. But I'll agree with you, it's safer to assume without playing.