Toys: Good idea or not?

Stormy · Jun 23, 2011 3:04 PM

I said I'd make this thread last night so the other thread could stay on topic, but it seems I forgot.

Here were the last few posts about the toys.

pancakes wrote:

Stormy wrote:
Good point, but that doesn't mean much to me seeing as I probably wouldn't use the toys individually if I were interested.
Here's how I would have done it if there absolutely had to be toys involved. The default character is Spyro. You do not have to buy this toy, or it comes with the game for free, thus, no price increase to the game. If you want to play as any other character, there are some you can unlock through normal gameplay and other special characters you can buy. Or it could be like KingLambda's idea where they just unlock accessories or something for the characters. I guess that would kind of ruin the portability of the characters, but I just really hate the idea of having to pay extra for content that I feel should just be in the game in the first place.
Anyway, I think we're getting off subject (sorry again, everybody) so I'm going to start a new thread about this in the section.
I agree. The unlockable characters should have be done Tekken style, as in you could pick them from the game menu.
I have a feeling Skylanders is going to flop in toy sales. Which is a good thing, because Activision will most likely remove the gimmick from future Spyro and Skylanders games if it isn't successful.
What irks me the most is that the content you unlock with the toys is already in the game. So when I buy a toy, I'm paying to unlock something I've already purchased.

ontels wrote:

I don't mind giving them extra money. The Spyro franchise needs it to survive at the momment.

Spash the Bandragon wrote:

While I do agree it would be better if you could play as 30 characters by just buying the game, Activision seems to be hoping for this game to be its #1 moneymaker for now, so, as we all know, that's not really about to happen. (Unless someone makes some kind of cheat device to access characters without the Portal toy, if that's even possible.)
So long as the idea of "You MUST buy a new toy to access this part of the level!" doesn't become too intrusive, and the gameplay is fun independent of which toy you're using, I don't think it's a huge problem. (Unless it causes the game to be too expensive for the casual player, come to think of it. But if it's a good game hopefully it'll be worth the price.)
Anyways, that's my two cents on the toy gimmick.

riverhippo · Jun 23, 2011 6:40 PM

Is it a good idea? In short: Yes.

Does it hit the bullseye on what I want in a Spyro video game? No.

JakBandiFan · Jun 23, 2011 8:50 PM

I never expected toys for Spyro's Kingdom. Why?

Activision messed up in Tony Hawk Ride. The skateboard was said to "not be responsive" and the game was said to be "broken".
And the game cost $129 - the extra cost came towards the...
toy skateboard.

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 23, 2011 8:59 PM

To be honest, I WAS kinda hoping Spyro's Kingdom would go back to classic after the Legend continuity instead of doing a third series, but even with the toys Skylanders still seems like a good direction to take the franchise as a whole. As I said, so long as the toys aren't intrusive to the gameplay and reward you enough for buying them, I'll accept it.

JakBandiFan · Jun 24, 2011 2:13 PM

Spash, I honestly expected neither the LOS or the Classic games to come back after Dotd but a game which takes the good aspects of both series.

Skylanders is kinda it. I can see elements from both series and resembles Ratchet & Clank but I didn't expect toys to be used.

RangerOfIthilien · Jun 25, 2011 1:57 AM

I oppose the idea of toys. I agree with what Stormy has been saying in the other thread, and think that the content that exists from the toys is content that should be in the game to begin with, and I don't like the idea of paying to unlock it, instead of beating a level or something along those lines.

I'll just repeat what I said in the other thread to sum up my opinion.

KingLambda wrote:

I agree with Stormy 100% on this one. What I meant about the hat thing is that if I pay money for a toy, it's the toy I'm buying, and it shouldn't include content that the game should already be featuring. At the very most, if it MUST have some sort of in game bonus, make it something that won't make me mad for not already being in the game for free. Stormy's other point was the other aspect of what I was saying. If I see a game for over $60, it had better be a collector's edition, not the most basic edition, because $60 is expensive enough.

JazzJackrabbit · Jun 25, 2011 2:05 AM

I think it would be better to have collectible plastic cards that use the same technology. They'd be cheaper to produce, and probably be more affordable.

RangerOfIthilien · Jun 25, 2011 2:07 AM

Hmm, that could be interesting. I would like that idea too, so long as there were already a handful of good characters in the game to begin with.

36IStillLikeSpyro36 · Jun 25, 2011 4:27 AM

like i said somewhere else (i think), people who have stuck by this game long enough to spend $60 on it (or whatever) shouldn't have to buy all these pieces of plastic just to enjoy the full experience. not that it should cost that much to begin with.

and what about the younger kids? oh, kids who already cost a lot of money with their needs (even just like food, clothes etc etc etc) are probably going to be begging parents constantly for these things. and i just think people's minds shouldn't be distracted by this, and be more prioritized in this economy.

oooh, and don't even get me started on the emphasis on material worth. if i said all the things i wanted to in this post, i'd still be writing it as you're reading it right now.

but basically, this is a very underhanded move of them that i'm very, very mad about. actually, much of gaming is underhanded these days, what with all this additional content you can buy. when i buy a game, give me the game, dammit!

on a related note, i just lost the game.

edit:

riverhippo wrote:

My opinion: If you're not interested in this game and not going to buy it, don't complain how much it's costing you.

actually, i was trying to be nice in this section for once and think of you guys, the people who really are going to buy this thing. if you really want this, you should be able to get it for a better price than what it's at.

Stormy · Jun 25, 2011 4:38 AM

I don't think it's really "underhanded" of them; some people are still able to afford stuff like this in the recession, and those who can't simply won't buy extra toys or the game at all and will probably never think about it again.

That said, while the toys are definitely making me not want to buy this, I have to say this is a good idea for Activision and will probably make them a ton of money.

riverhippo · Jun 25, 2011 3:47 PM

Nintendo has scraped so much money out of Pokemon, but I don't any belly-aching from it's fans.

My opinion: If you're not interested in this game and not going to buy it, don't complain how much it's costing you.

Stormy · Jun 25, 2011 4:08 PM

Makes sense, although for some, the price is a major factor in not wanting to buy it.

RangerOfIthilien · Jun 25, 2011 4:14 PM

riverhippo wrote:

Nintendo has scraped so much money out of Pokemon, but I don't any belly-aching from it's fans.
My opinion: If you're not interested in this game and not going to buy it, don't complain how much it's costing you.

One big difference there. Pokemon doesn't require you to buy a Pokemon toy to have that Pokemon in your party.

I do think this game sounds interesting, and I would really like to give it a try, but like Stormy said, the price is a big factor for me.

Spash the Bandragon · Jun 25, 2011 6:33 PM

Actually, I think a big factor in whether or not buying the toys is worth it will be just how much extra stuff each toy gives you. I mean, by the 15th toy I doubt any kid would really be getting much bonus content that they don't already have unlocked. That's why I'm only buying toys I really really like- that is, only one or two more since Spyro and Trigger Happy come with the game.

So basically, I think the toys are an okay idea, but any suggestion that you need to buy all 30 to "get the most out of the game" seems a bit ridiculous to me.

RangerOfIthilien · Jun 25, 2011 6:42 PM

Wouldn't you prefer to not have to buy the toys at all though? Wouldn't it be better if you could play as whoever you wanted to with the game alone? I think the toys are a great idea, for merchandise sake, I just oppose the fact that they are necessary to unlock content. I would rather be able to play as those characters regardless, and if I really want a figure of the character, then buy that figure for the sole sake of having as a toy. And yes those two come with the game, but the game is more expensive because of it.

Aura24 · Jun 25, 2011 7:41 PM

You can buy the toys you want to play as, but Activision recommends you buy them all.

ontels · Jun 25, 2011 8:23 PM

I have never seen or heard of them rcommending that you buy them all. Ofcourse they want you to but they know most people wont and thats cool to.

Mr. John · Jun 25, 2011 8:30 PM

Buying all 30 toys? Think I would just be happy, with two like Spyro, and Trigger Happy.

JazzJackrabbit · Jun 25, 2011 9:25 PM

I'm going to wait until all of them are revealed before I decide which ones I want. I actually think Crash is one of the unrevealed characters.

Mr. John · Jun 26, 2011 1:46 AM

Crash Bandicoot and Spyro The Dragon in another game together that would be awesomeness overload.

#1 Jun 23, 2011 3:04 PM

Toys: Good idea or not?

#2 Jun 23, 2011 6:40 PM

Re: Toys: Good idea or not?

#3 Jun 23, 2011 8:50 PM

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#4 Jun 23, 2011 8:59 PM

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#5 Jun 24, 2011 2:13 PM

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#6 Jun 25, 2011 1:57 AM

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#7 Jun 25, 2011 2:05 AM

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#8 Jun 25, 2011 2:07 AM

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#9 Jun 25, 2011 4:27 AM

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#10 Jun 25, 2011 4:38 AM

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#11 Jun 25, 2011 3:47 PM

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#12 Jun 25, 2011 4:08 PM

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#13 Jun 25, 2011 4:14 PM

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#14 Jun 25, 2011 6:33 PM

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#15 Jun 25, 2011 6:42 PM

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#16 Jun 25, 2011 7:41 PM

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#17 Jun 25, 2011 8:23 PM

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#18 Jun 25, 2011 8:30 PM

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#19 Jun 25, 2011 9:25 PM

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#20 Jun 26, 2011 1:46 AM

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