From the Press Release
Behold, Portal Masters! Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is pleased to announce that Skylanders Trap Team is officially available at major retailers nationwide on Xbox 360 and Xbox One video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 computer entertainment systems, Nintendo's Wii system, Nintendo's Wii U system, and a completely unique adventure is also available on the Nintendo 3DS hand-held system. The launch of Skylanders Trap Team also ushers in the complete console gaming experience on Tablet*, introducing a Starter Pack that supports iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablets.
"The Skylanders franchise was built on a foundation of creativity and innovation," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "And with Skylanders Trap Team, we're taking that tradition of innovation to new heights. For the last three years we've allowed kids to bring their toys to life in a video game, and this year, we're letting them reach into the game, and pull characters out into the physical world by letting players trap and play as the villains. Skylanders Trap Team is also the first console game to simultaneously bring the entire AAA experience to tablet devices. Overall, we think Skylanders Trap Team represents our most magical innovation yet. But most importantly, it's just a great game."
The latest installment of the franchise that pioneered the Toys-to-Life genre is already poised to become one of the top family games this holiday season. Toys"R"Us® recently named Skylanders Trap Team as one of the "Fabulous 15" on the company's 2014 Holiday Hot Toy List, while Target named Skylanders Trap Team to their Top Toys for the Holidays List. In addition, the game was featured in Toy Insider's Hot 20 Holiday Toys of 2014, which highlights the most sought-after and anticipated items of the holiday season.
Skylanders continues to lead and evolve the category with Skylanders Trap Team by letting fans seek out and defeat the most wanted villains in all of Skylands, pull them out of the game and into living rooms by capturing them in magical Traps. Once they've defeated the villains, players will be able to place a Trap into the new Traptanium Portal™ to capture them. Players can then send villains back into the game where they can play as them to fight for good, reversing the magic. They will also be able to hear the villains inside the Traps, an innovation that truly brings life to toys.
"Since it launched four years ago, the Skylanders brand has continued to captivate young fans around the world who eagerly crowd our stores every time a new collectible character is introduced," said Richard Barry, Executive Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys"R"Us, Inc. "In preparation for the debut of Skylanders Trap Team, which truly reinvents the franchise's signature gameplay, our teams across the globe have worked year-long to ensure Toys"R"Us is THE destination for Portal Masters ready to experience all the fun the new game - and our exclusive Legendary Skylanders toys - have to offer."
Portal Masters everywhere can get into the Skylanders Trap Team spirit by taking advantage of exclusive Skylanders products at retailers nationwide:
- Get Legendary at Toys"R"Us - Toys"R"Us stores in North America and online at Toysrus.com will be the only places fans will find the limited edition Legendary Series of Skylanders toys at launch. The Legendary Series features alternative versions of new Trap Master characters and packs, such as Jawbreaker, Déjà Vu and the Nightmare Express Adventure Pack, all of which feature in-game stat boosts.
- Meet the Minis at Walmart - Skylanders fans can visit participating Walmart stores or go to Walmart.com to participate in the 'Meet the Minis' program to unlock special content featuring the fully playable and upgradeable Minis, including Gill Runt, Stealth Elf, Weeruptor, Pet Vac and Small Fry via the official Skylanders Collection Vault™ app. Walmart will also be the only place fans can find the Skylanders Minis Buddy Pack, featuring Tidal Wave Gill Grunt and Gill Runt.
- NITRO Trap Masters at Target - U.S. Target stores nationwide and Target.com will once again be the only place where fans can get their hands on the Skylanders NITRO series of toys, which features the powerful Trap Master NITRO Krypt King.
- Portals for Punch Pop Fizz at GameStop - During the first week of launch, fans that bring in a Portal of Power® from any Skylanders game can trade it in to receive a free Punch Pop Fizz character, a bright red version of the fan-favorite Skylander.
- Three Skylanders for Two at Best Buy - Players that purchase any two Skylanders Trap Team game products at Best Buy will receive a free Volcanic Eruptor character, who's unique appearance is visible in-game. This promotion is available only at Best Buy.
Skylanders Trap Team introduces heroes known as Trap Masters that wield powerful Traptanium™ weapons used to defeat Skylands' most notorious villains including Kaos, as well as brand new Core Skylanders characters and reposed fan-favorite Skylanders characters. The game also features a variety of elementally aligned Traps with unique and interesting designs. In addition, Skylanders Trap Team welcomes Skylanders Minis, 16 small but powerful Skylanders now fully playable, who join the battle against Skylands' most nefarious villains. Coming to Skylanders fans worldwide on November 1, Eon's Elite collectors' toys feature never-before-seen decoration with a distinct, metallic finish and a golden base that sets them apart from other Skylanders toys.
Skylanders Trap Team is compatible with more than 175 unique toys from all previous games -- Skylanders SWAP Force™, Skylanders Giants™ and Skylanders Spyro's Adventure® -- every character also will be able to defeat and trap villains using Traptanium Traps, providing fans more ways to enjoy their collections.
To celebrate the launch of Skylanders Trap Team, Activision hid a "villain" inside a seemingly normal Skylanders Trap Team demo kiosk. Starting October 6 at 10 a.m. PDT, watch what happened here on the official YouTube channel: www.YouTube.com/SkylandersGame.