Skylanders franchise reaches $500 million in sales

Activision has another money-maker, just in case that "Call of Duty" thing stops working for them. Skylanders has surpassed half a billion dollars of sales.

11

Activision has another money-maker, just in case that "Call of Duty" thing stops working for them. The publisher has announced that one of its other tentpole franchises has surpassed half a billion dollars of sales in the US. Including sales of accessory packs and figures, the two Skylanders games have generated over $500 million. According to Activision, that means Skylanders makes more money than Star Wars toys.

It should be unsurprising that Skylanders has been such a money-maker for Activision, given that the game retails for over $70, and additional Skylanders figures can go for $35. (And you thought Call of Duty DLC was expensive?)

Of course, given the franchise's success, don't expect the monolithic publisher to slow down its expansion of Skylanders any time soon. The franchise is now licensed to more than 120 licensees worldwide, so you can expect branded plushies, party goods, board games, bed and bath products, and more.

"We believe that Skylanders is one of the most innovative and exciting toy properties to hit the market and are thrilled to continue our strong support of the brand," Toys R Us' Richard Barry said in a press release. So, how much do you want to bet that there will be yet another Skylanders game this year?

Andrew Yoon was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

From The Chatty
  • reply
    January 11, 2013 8:15 AM

    Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Skylanders franchise reaches $500 million in sales.

    Activision has another money-maker, just in case that "Call of Duty" thing stops working for them. Skylanders has surpassed half a billion dollars of sales.

    • reply
      January 11, 2013 9:54 AM

      Better this than another COD. Even though its the same publisher.

    • reply
      January 11, 2013 9:57 AM

      I've never even heard of this before now.

      • reply
        January 11, 2013 9:58 AM

        I'm surprised because it's fucking everywhere, but it is mainly a children's game so I can see why you missed it.

        But walk in to any B&M store and it's all over the place.

        • reply
          January 11, 2013 10:38 AM

          I think I did see some stupid display for this in the Wii section at Target. I guess that was it.

          • reply
            January 11, 2013 10:42 AM

            You're probably just throwing around adjectives without having a real opinion, but that display is actually amazing. The fact that you can take the different figures off the shelf and put them on the portal to get an overview of what that character does without ever taking it out of the package is pretty goddamn brilliant.

            It also means that weirdo collectors could actually play with all of the figures without ever removing them from the box, which would be weird

      • reply
        January 11, 2013 10:43 AM

        I only heard about it because of hte giant bomb, but it sounds genius with the toys that go with it.

    • reply
      January 11, 2013 9:58 AM

      well no shit there's over 100 characters to buy. you really cant finish the game with only a few characters

      • reply
        January 11, 2013 10:16 AM

        That's not true at all. You can finish the game with a single character. Sure there are side secrets and stuff that you can't access without certain element types, and having more characters makes the game easier (lol) but you can play through the entire story with just one dude.

        • reply
          January 11, 2013 10:28 AM

          I did say finish the game

          • reply
            January 11, 2013 10:37 AM

            I... don't understand what you mean. I just said you CAN finish the game with even a single character.

            • reply
              January 11, 2013 10:49 AM

              like you mentioned there's lots of areas that only open up with characters of specific elements. the starter pack only has 3 characters from 3 out of 8 elements. there's whole sections that cant be unlocked otherwise. I cant think of another game that does that

              • reply
                January 11, 2013 10:54 AM

                But you can still complete the whole game and just not go to those side sections. Those locked sections aren't important or anything. Think of them as small DLC areas.

                But yeah, if you want to experience everything the game has to offer, you have to buy more figures. In fact if you want to experience everything you need to buy every one because they are part of "everything"!

                It's such a genius concept

    • reply
      January 11, 2013 10:15 AM

      I'm surprised there isn't a pokemon clone/ripoff of this idea

      • reply
        January 11, 2013 10:18 AM

        if there were, i would be destitute, as my child would be like WANT

    • reply
      January 11, 2013 10:20 PM

      I've never even heard of this game and it's made that much loot?

    • reply
      January 12, 2013 6:47 PM

      This game desperately needs online co-op. I refuse to invest in this game until my son can play with his friends online. Considering how much this game costs the absence of online multiplayer is unacceptable.

Hello, Meet Lola