By William Arthur Carter
The Skylanders franchise is largely dormant in 2022, but it could be the key to finding a place in a Nintendo-dominated market.
With Microsoft's acquisition of industry titan Activision-Blizzard, the laundry list of games, franchises, and characters that now fall under the Xbox umbrella is vast and diverse. From rhythm games like Guitar Hero to universally acclaimed AAA offerings like Call of Duty, Activision's properties will soon be at the mercy of Microsoft's management. This is an exciting thought for so many series that haven't found success in recent years, with Skylanders being one of them.
Furthermore, fans of Spyro, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Prototype have had their hopes renewed at the possibility of new entries in their beloved franchises, once that ownership shifts. The assets that Microsoft will acquire have had a significant impact on so many. Recent years may have proven that battle royale games and online shooters are all the rage, but there was a time when the toys-to-life genre was atop the video game mountain. Nintendo's Amiibo collectibles continue to line the shelves of stores across the globe, but the genre's beginnings were firmly with Skylanders franchise. Xbox would do well to recapture the magic.
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Skylanders' Contribution to the Life (and Death) of Toys to Life
Skylanders was the first game to gain mainstream attention for its approach to toy-like physical accessories for games. It boasts a device that's used to have a real-world action pop up on the screen as a playable character. It's a format that lends itself beautifully to consumer tendencies, as scooping up the multitude of available characters is a temptation that many would struggle to pass up. Nintendo jumped on the bandwagon not long after with a line of collectibles of its own, and Amiibo are still going strong in 2022 though its success is far from what it used to be.
Around the mid-2010s, franchises of all different varieties were taking on the toys-to-life genre from Lego to Disney. One by one, though, they seemed to drop like flies, until only a handful remained. The death of toys-to-life was quick and somewhat painless, and the genre's dwindling popularity rendered it largely redundant as other, more up-and-coming titles became the flavor of the future. However, while the characters that inhabited Lego Dimensions and Disney Infinity were pre-existing, the Skylanders roster was wholly made up of new and beloved characters from other game series. This allows them to be used for titles outside the toys-to-life genre, as the gameplay quirks that each playable character presents are still fantastic, all these years later.
Taking Amiibo's Toys-To-Life Crown
The physical releases that the toys-to-life genre depended upon were simply a gimmick, and any impact they had on the game itself was very minimal, as the character roster, and game design could just as easily have been pre-programmed. Remove any plastic toys, and Skylanders is still a platformer that can wield so much fun for so many players. It appears, then, that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision-Blizzard will give Xbox a litany of characters that are ripe for a reinvention.
Nintendo is the most obvious player in the toys-to-life game, but Amiibo's lack of a big-budget game that utilizes them is glaringly obvious. For Wii U, Amiibo were conceived not as an essential piece of a video game release, but as a collectible that hardcore fans could find enjoyment and bonus content in. In 2022, Microsoft has a few potential opportunities with Skylanders that could do well to give Amiibo something to fear. By using Skylanders not as a game but as collectible supplements, Microsoft could get a foothold in the Nintendo-dominated market.
Microsoft left no stone unturned when it purchased Activision-Blizzard in January, and knowing the potential of the acquired franchises was likely an important factor in its decision to acquire the company. After all, Microsoft's lofty reputation could be damaged should it mishandle Activision-Blizzard's presence in the industry, so plans will surely be in place in regard to how the future slate of games will shake out. Call of Duty and World of Warcraft will be on the minds of many, but the fate of Skylanders could be a significant step in taking the fight to Nintendo, bringing the Xbox product to younger or more casual audiences.
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