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From the moment Bobby Kotick, Activision CEO, bemoaned the poor sales of Wii U, you knew Skylanders had a problem.
The record-breaking kids IP that introduced the world to ‘toys-to-life’ was finding it harder and harder to find where the kids were playing. Wii and DS sales had fallen down; Nintendo platforms were no longer the holy grail for children’s games. Activision continued to diversify its platforms, yet increasingly kids gravitated towards tablets and smartphones – platforms that aren’t capable of the fullyfledged toys-to-life Skylanders experience.
Well, actually, they are.
One of the big Activision announcements at Gamescom this week is that the upcoming Skylanders: Trap Team will be coming to iOS and Android, and it’s the full game. All 175 toys will work with the title, gamers can still ‘trap’ villains and take them out of the game, and the full Trap Team adventure is playable.
Best of all, it looks incredible. Granted, it doesn’t quite match the graphics of the PS4 or Xbox One SKUs, but it is pretty much identical to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions.
HOW IT WORKS
The mobile SKU of Trap Team comes with a giant portal for connecting with the titular figures. In the portal’s base is a controller that can be used instead of the touch screen. The title is also playable without the portal, with two digital characters included.
The app is free-to-download, but fan can only access part of the game if they do not acquire the Starter Pack from physical retailers. The pack includes two characters, two traps and the controller/portal combo.
The SKU launches alongside the console versions of the game on October 10th 2014.
