Last night, Disney announced its own take on the Skylanders "toys to life" concept: Disney Infinity. It hasn't taken long for Skylanders publisher Activision to react to the news, with John Coyne, Vice President of Consumer Marketing, telling Forbes:
We are thrilled by the incredible success that the Skylanders franchise has had in such a short period of time. We are also flattered that one of the leading family entertainment companies is joining our toys to life category. We continue to focus on delivering innovative and immersive entertainment experiences to kids around the world and are pouring more creativity into our games. As a result we are well positioned to continue leading the category.
That's quite a graceful reply, but if you read between the lines, them's fightin' words. Activision is basically saying "Welcome to the party, Disney - but we're the market leader".
Should be a pretty interesting battle between these two brands - hopefully the consumer is the one who will ultimately benefit.
[source forbes.com]
Comments 28
Clever marketing response by Activision, but really, what a stupid question to put to them by the Forbes dude. That response was so predictable a journalist should have been able to write the answer before even asking the question.
Nothing against Activision, but it would be kind of ironic if Disney bought them too.
still can't believe Nintendo hasn't done this with Pokemon yet... It seems like a natural fit, if not a license to print money.
I'm sorry Activision, but I believe Disney Infiniy will crush you in the collectible toy games!
From what I've seen the Disney game doesn't look as good as Skylanders... the best game will win.
Mmm... lesssee... a relatively small software company with no instantly recognizable characters or franchises versus one of the world's biggest entertainment empires with some of the stongest brands in the industry and unlimited access to all the media. Tough call?
And i repeat myself but Nintendo should already have announced something similar involving Pokemon and some of their other franchises
To be honest, I think a large amount of the fans are getting tired of Skylanders. Play-wise, Giants didn't change much from the first game, and a lot of people are whining with impatience for the figure releases. I think that Infinity can strike well, honestly, and if it does reach its complete potential it will crush Skylanders which is just a pretty dungeon crawler. It also has Ralph in it. Skylanders does not have a Ralph.
Screw Activision. They were good in the Atari days but now they represent the worst of the gaming industry. They run every franchise into the ground with their yearly (sometimes more) releases. I look forward to Disney killing their garbage Skylanders franchise.
Activision please make Spyro games. And only Spyro no Skylanders. Maybe a few like Gill Grunt< Trigger Happy, and Tree Rex can stick around but PLEASE make a SPyro game with classic gameplay, classic characters (BRING BACK RED AND SPARX), and just a true Spyro game. Also, Crash Bandicoot. Nuff said. P.S. Disney Infinity looks so much better. No offense. Maybe because of better gameplay, more recognizable icons, I dunno. It just looks so much better.
Wouldn't say Disney have pulled up any trees in the video game industry lately either have they? Anyway, any news about how much it'll cost in the UK? The key issue as always.
@Daveh30
Could you imagine?! Hey pokemaniacs! Want to catch em all? Well now you have to buy a figure to do that. With over 600 Pokemon, that'll run mom and dad 6000 dollars! If they love you, they'll do it...
Lol
It would be nice if this game would use the gamepad's NFC instead of a portal.
I hate skylanders, it put the final nail in poor spyro's coffin, not to mention its just not a good game
Something tells me that if Disney Infinity really takes off, these two different brands are going to launch themselves (and potentially the consumers) into a war. Something also tells me that if Disney does decide to pull in Star Wars and Marvel, and make everything work fluidly, they're going to crush Activision.
I also agree that Disney Infinity could beat Skylanders. It looks so much more interesting.
I think Skylanders was going to run its course and die out regwrdless, a lot of merchandise still on the shelves. Maybe 1 more game but people were tiring of it already I think.
Disney is for girls - they made some weird choices with Pirates, Incredibles and Monsters. They should have done Little Mermaid (under the sea hmm hmm hm hm) Aladin or Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White - 7 dwarves to sell.
With the way Activision handled 007, Spyro, Ect... They deserve this. Karma happens in the video game world too
As a father this truly scares me. It will be my wallet apocalypse for sure this time.
@rjejr
Disney isn't only for girls... Disney Pixar makes some of the best movies out there. I love all three Toy Stories, Monsters Inc, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, and Up. Then there's Lilo and Stich and the Pirates movies. I also can't forget about Recess and Phil of the Future.
What takes the cake (when it comes to their tv shows)? Even Stevens =D
Back to the point, I'm not a girl for loving Disney lol they cater to a wide range of audiences.
Regarding this game, I'm kind of intrigued. I actually don't know anything about it, but based off of this article, I'm guessing you can buy the toys and then have them in the game. That'll provably be the reason why I most likely won't get this. That's just not for me.
If figures cost a lot,then I'm gonna buy Skylanders Giants over Disney Infinity.
Actually, it's pretty clear to me that this is going to be much bigger than Skylanders based on the brand alone. Activision can't compete with them
True dat,im all for activision, but that cant be beat
Not to mention the fact that Skylanders figures look so cool.I still love my Stealth Elf figure.
If they sell actual toys that let you also use them in the game then that would actually be pretty cool, more bang for buck from the toys kids will want anyway. Hope the stick classic franchises like the Lion King in there too, Timon and Pumbaa ftw.
I'm with the others mentioning Activision ruined Spyro, I like what they did with the characters story-wise but its one of the reasons me and my friends won't touch Skylanders.
@Shworange I said the same thing about skylanders, but then i though to myself, "I would want to use the game pad if i am not near a tv" so it wouldnt really be that smart. Now if it gave u the option the use either or than that would be kool!
@rjejr I agree with Sgt_Ludby on this one, Disney is not only for girls. To be honest, I dnt even know y u even said that. Maybe the older Disney movie caters more to girls than kids in general, but Pixar and the newer Disney stuff is for all kinds of audiences!
@rjejr Disney's only for girls? Son, you're blowing smoke.
When I first heard that Disney Infinity uses the toys to life game mechanic, I immediately thought it was a Skylanders rip-off. But, apparently, the gameplay will have enough differences it make it its own, despite obviously borrowing for the toys to life mechanic. I have Giants and am enjoying it, and while I'm currently not sold on Infinity yet, if it gets good marks I'll definitely give it a go.
excellent! always love competition.
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