Skylanders Trap Team on Wii Will, Surprisingly, Come With a Free Download Code for the Wii U Version

Well, let's be honest: the Wii one will probably come cheaper than the Wii U one. Then you might be able to sell the Wii copy.

Most Skylanders revenue is generated by the toys so they can afford this promotion, its actually quite smart anyway you cut it.

My hat off to Activision, I would have expected them to try and cash in with some sort of discount coupon but to give it away for FREE speaks volumes about their support of the Big N and Skylanders fans (the bulk of which play on the original Wii). While not perfect by a long shot, I have to respect Activision's overall support for Nintendo and the Wii U which has been pretty solid so far (especially compared to the crap EA & UbiSoft pull).

I'm hoping this opens the possibility for the Wii U version of Skylanders Spyro's Adventure (only released in Japan) to finally make an English language release. My son and I love our Wii version but the HD visuals and off-TV play would get me to double dip on the game. Hey Activision, please make this happen.

EA & Activision clearing up their image recently. Free The Sims 2 and now Skylanders. You could buy Wii version cheap, sell the game, and register the Wii U code.

Perhaps to grab sales of those in doubt of buying Wii U (as they might wait and end not buying the game).
Other possibility is amiibo. Supposing it makes a huge success and current Wii owners upgrades, Activision will enter the wave too, but having to buy the same game again (to use NFC) might turn people off, so garanteeing they will have the game might be a good strategy to not lose ground to other figurine franchises.

@Tsurii897 its because you need the figurines that its not a problem give the other version free.
This is aimed at current Wii owners that might upgrade later. They wouldn't buy the other version anyway, so its a gift that wont hurt them and might please buyers. Besides what I said above.

It's not strange. They want Wii owners to upgrade to Wii U as much as Nintendo does. They won't be able to support the Wii forever, and the next logical step is Wii U.

I think I would be more interested if the Wii U version came with a free download code for the 3DS version, pretty sure it is the same portal for both systems. Not that I would buy it but I would be more interested. I am already doing Disney Infinity and Amiibo when that happens.

There are two types of Skylanders enthusiasts: casual and collector.
The casual buys only what is necessary and maybe a favorite or two.
The collector buys EVERYTHING. Theoretically, a Wii U owner could buy the big set for a Wii owning friend or family member. They get the code for themselves and proceed to buy all the figurines they want.
From what I've seen, the starters come with one good figure and a mediocre one.
As figures contain additional maps and content, it actually makes sense for both parties.
The bonus for Activision? The know nothing Wii owners that don't know what Wii U is won't cost them anything extra. The code only costs them a sale IF it's redeemed. It's not like Activision's paying anything for the codes.

Nice way to simultaneously encourage and profit off of Wii owners "upgrading" to Wii U's, which is clearly the expectation here. For Skylanders players like me and my kids, this is a very good deal. I still play games on the Wii, and this would allow us to play the same game with our characters on different consoles and different tvs but at one price. I like it.

I am not into Skylanders, but if this has people upgrading, then this is a great thing. Much better than having a completed game doing nothing but waiting for the userbase to increase somehow.

I would guess Activision think a lot of kids may get a Wii U for Chrismas, but they want to sell them their game at release. Plus if they move to the Wii U, they want them to keep playing the game so they keep buying the figures.

They should just give the game away as they will more then make up for it in figures alone. If anybody has a code to sell I might be game for it. I might also just buy the Wii version get the code then sell it back to Gamestop. I'm sure I could get like 25$ back for it so I'd only pay 25$ for it. This is strange indeed!

So I could spend less to get two copies of the game? Sold.

I'd personally have more respect for Activision if they supported the Wii U with GOOD games.
Or hadn't killed off multiple 10-30 year old games companies, some just by acquiring them..
12 studios under their umbrella. 12 studios disbanded on top of that (good-bye Sierra, Neversoft and the Blast Furnace).
Seriously guys?
Skylanders, a subpar Goldeneye 'sequel', lacklustre Spiderman movie games, 50$ (!!) Angry Birds, the WORST Transformers games (no War for Cybertron, just some crappy tie-in games), and Call of Duty. Which, sadly enough, could be the best of the bunch.
No Destiny. No CoD this year. No Legend of Korra.
Yeah, Skylanders is really convincing me of their support.
Ubisoft DID delay Rayman Legends, but it still made it out.
There was also Splinter Cell and ACIV. Child of Light made it too.
NOW. Now is the time for us to judge who truly supports the Wii U. Now that both the XB1 and PS4 are approaching 1 year on the market, NOW we see who's really going to support the Wii U.
People talk about quality control like 3rd parties will flood back in once sales pickup. And here's a secret: they WON'T.

MK8 may have struck a match and Japan seems on board.
But really?
Destiny hits. Call of Duty hits. Arkham Knight hits.
And the Wii U's single match burns out and all it is is darkness again.
Like a tunnel with the dimmest light at the end, Nintendo will stumble through the next 5 months and then.. POOF! Smash Bros fails to sell systems, Xenoblade Chronicles X is cancelled, Zelda U is delayed and the Wii U dies before it ever sees the light of day.
Am I an optimist? No and I'm not a pessimist either.
I'm a realist that can see that putting faith in 3rd parties and praising what little support they offer is just standing in a shallow grave.

conspiracy theory time:
Since digital downloads are often not covered in sales figures, maybe they want all the income on the (probably slightly cheaper) Wii versions of the game, but dont want people to actually buy the physical WiiU version to have an excuse to skip it with the next game, since the sales numbers are "so low"

Buy the Wii version, give the code to a friend or upgrade and use it yourself.

Simple.

@SahashraLA If i would get 1€ everytime i hear the 3rd party argument, id be rich by now.
And funny that you only get pessimistic when it comes to the WiiU games, but the others are considered hits by default...

You know why 3rd Party software matters so much these days ?
Compare the 1st Party content of all three partys. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have anything worthwhile when it comes to recognizable, long running franchises, even less when it comes to flagship franchises.
They are dependant on 3rd Party software. Imagine these two systems without 3rd party support...Sony would barely survive on Uncharted and maybe God of War and stuff like that, but Microsoft would be pretty much dead.
Now imagine nintendo completely without 3rd Party content...yes, youd still have games that are generally considered "best game ever" in their respective genres.
So yeah, if thats not enough, get another system and stop whining. People like you are the reason this stupid, unneccessary stigma will probably never disappear.
If everyone would think the way you do, Nintendo could just close their doors if they are anything but dominating the industry single handedly.

Can't really give away a copy as the other person would somehow need to get a portal.

@Einherjar That's one whale of a conspiracy theory. Watch x-files much?!

I guess that's pretty convenient. If you get the Wii one, you can give your Wii U download code to someone has a Wii U...

I think this is a good idea, especially for games like this where the money is in the figures rather then the software

I recently picked up Giants for super cheap. I don't know much about the series, I was pretty surprised at how fun it is. Question time though: Do they all use the same portal?

@MrGawain - "I would guess Activision think a lot of kids may get a Wii U for Chrismas, but they want to sell them their game at release. Plus if they move to the Wii U, they want them to keep playing the game so they keep buying the figures."

Thank you for being 100% correct, and the only one who was. (My apologies if copying and pasting your entire post is offensive.) Trap Team comes out Oct 5, almost 3 full months before Christmas. Activison does not want a lot of parents of Wii owning kids telling their kids Santa is bringing them a Wii U for Christmas so they have to wait for the game, that's 3 months of lost toy sales. So this makes perfect sense - buy the Wii version Oct 5th, get a free code for when YOU get the new console at Christmas.

"The hope is surely to encourage Nintendo gamers to offer one or the other as a gift to friends and family, promoting the brand even further."

This makes no sense TW. As somebody else said - you need the portal for the game. Only the NEW portal, old ones won't work. It's a x-buy promotion for Wii owners planning to get a Wii U for Christmas, you did get that part right

Amiibo is coming. Skylanders prepare!

Hope this works

perhaps EA should do this for their Wii versions of FIFA. XD

yeah i will get the wii version so i have both versions wii and wii u, this is weird

@SahashraLA
Except thats not being a realist, you have no actual evidence to back up your claims, much less anecdotal.

"Like a tunnel with the dimmest light at the end, Nintendo will stumble through the next 5 months and then.. POOF! Smash Bros fails to sell systems, Xenoblade Chronicles X is cancelled, Zelda U is delayed and the Wii U dies before it ever sees the light of day."

Nice crystal ball you've got, I mean how else would you know any of that? Smash is a big system seller so theres no reason to believe it won't boost Wii U sales. Zelda U is possible, I'll give you that, but when has Nintendo ever outright cancelled a game after its been announced? They don't do borderline vaporware like with FF Versus XIII or The Last Guardian.

The only reason 3rd-parties are a big deal is because when people say "no games" or "no 3rd-party support" they mean no big, AAA blockbuster support, thats it. Out of all the games out there those are the only ones that "matter", and they're a rather small piece if the overall puzzle. Most games aren't Assassin's Creed or Destiny. Heck, even Nintendo's games are more like Middle-ground games than AAA.

Success doesn't mean complete and total market saturation and selling CD numbers. For a "dying" platform its currently doing better than the Xbox is, and without most of those games. Now thats being a realist.

That's a big starter pack

So there's no reason to buy the Wii U version?

Maybe the Wii U version is exactly the same as the Wii version

This is a useless cross buy to me.

@SahashraLA Wow Xenoblade chronicles X cancelled? Zelda U doesn't come out, smash bros doesn't sell. Your comment made me laugh dude thanks, what info makes you think those things? Cause oh my god, cause i can't even explain it how i think about your comment.

This seems funny to me because I just posted about this on the game's page here. There's no reason NOT to buy the Wii Starter Pack unless you want a physical Wii U copy or a box with the Wii U label. The Wii version is slightly cheaper in the US, IIRC- and essentially gives you a bonus copy, which you don't really need but it certainly isn't a bad thing.

@DefHalan They use different Portals, the 3DS one works via Infrared.

wtf, they still make Wii games?

Should be nice if you've got a Wii U and want to bring it along to a friend's Wii-only house.

@Spoony_Tech Nope My brain is just weird like that sometimes
And to be honest, it fits so well in the overall naysaying crowd

Sure, it is a rather weird move, and its easy interpret it with malicious intent, but at the same time, you could also interpret it as an act of courteousness towards their audience:
Maybe they want to avoid retailers artificially bloating up WiiU retail prices on their game. So, to ensure that more people get their game, they let you buy the obviously cheaper one and still get the version you want.
Or it could be seen as a simple adopters pack. You can get the game now and be sure, once you upgrade to a WiiU, you can take your game with you and also upgrade it, so you dont have to play an "old" game on a new system.
For the right people, this could be enough incentive to get them to buy a WiiU afterall, since they already have a game for it. Dont want to let it go to waste

So yeah, my post was an obvious goof Just to toot in the same horn as so many others around here.
But trust me, if this article would have been about EA and its FIFA on Wii ehnanigans, only my negative view would be true

I have to say that is a very clever move.

@Retro_on_theGo My thoughts exactly! I can probably end up paying 25 for the U version this way and my kids won't have to bother switching out the game all the time. Win win for me I guess! Although we will have to get a couple of new figures as that's how it works.

@SCAR392 Perfectly said! and I'm sure they aren't giving out this code so you can give it to friends because it would be useless without the new portal.

It makes me assume this will be the last Skylanders Wii entry, and Activision want Wii owners to upgrade to a Wii U and keep strong Skylanders sales. This might help Wii U sales as much as the Wii U bundle with the exclusive figure.

Would work if you had 2 kids or 2 TVs. Play on both the original and Wii U. Or play both versions on the same Wii U.

Not strange at all.

Nintendo's been trying all kinds of ways to get kids and parent interested in switching out their Wii with a Wii U, and this is a fairly cheap means of encouragement.

This way, they can start playing on their old system, and when they get the new one, better graphics, HD output and all the new features for their game come for free.

@FJOJR - 2 tvs.

Yeah, after giving this some more thought this might be perfect for us. My kid has a Wii in his room and we have a Wii U in the living room. Plugging the portal in and out shouldnt be too much of a hsssle, and havimg the DL version on Wii U will be 1 less dfisc to deal with. So maybe we'll get the Wii version even though the Wii U gets a whole lot more use.

I wonder if there even is a Wii U version? Why would Activion bother?