Skylanders™ fans with a need for speed should look no further – Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) is bringing vehicles to life on 25th September with Skylanders SuperChargers. Available at major European retailers, Skylanders SuperChargers takes kids on a wild ride as they drive mountainous terrains, dive the deep sea environments and fly big blue skies of Skylands like never before with amazingly detailed vehicles, many of which feature moving parts that will play in the real world and come to life in the game via the Portal of Power™. Packing some major star power, the game includes two of Nintendo’s iconic characters reimagined as Skylanders – Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser – available exclusively in Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Packs for the Wii U system, and in Skylanders™ SuperChargers Racing Starter Packs for the Wii system and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.
“Remember when you were a kid and pretended that your toy cars came to life, zooming around your living room on the most epic racetracks of your imagination?” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “Well, we are about to bring that fantasy one step closer to life with Skylanders SuperChargers . We are reimagining toys-to-life by bringing race cars to life, along with helicopters, motorcycles, jet planes and submarines, as you race through Skylands and compete against other players for the first time. Our fans are going to love playing this game. I know I do.”
Developed by Vicarious Visions, Skylanders SuperChargers expands upon the franchise’s signature gameplay to introduce vehicles-to-life – an entirely new way for fans to experience the magic of Skylands. The trailblazing innovation of Skylanders SuperChargers is realized when players take the helm of powerful, tricked-out land, sea and sky vehicles that are playable in both physical and digital worlds in a high octane action-adventure videogame. Skylanders SuperChargers offers a rich story-driven gameplay experience filled with vehicle-based and on-foot adventures, combat, puzzles, mini games, activities and platforming, set within a variety of all-new compelling environments. The game features a brand-new class of heroes that is distinct with fresh moves, powerful attacks and all-new weapons. SuperChargers also have special in-game abilities that help Portal Masters fight Kaos. Twenty new SuperChargers character toys and 20 new vehicle toys will be available. Right out of the box, the game also features an all-new Racing Mode that blends high-octane, supercharged racing with combat, accentuated by power-ups, boosts, hazards and more.
Players can also purchase Racing Action Packs that unlock additional content. A total of three Racing Action Packs, one for each terrain, will be available and include three special toys – a SuperCharger, Vehicle and villain trophy which unlocks two exclusive racing tracks for the game. The first of the three packs, the Skylanders SuperChargers Sea Racing Action Pack, will be available day and date with the game, on 25th September.
To celebrate the launch of Skylanders SuperChargers and the addition of racing to the franchise, Skylanders became the official partner of racing champion, Max Chilton, for the season finale of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Chilton, a 24-year-old former Formula 1 driver and fan of the Skylanders franchise, race blazed the tracks of Laguna Seca in a Skylanders-themed car on 12th – 13th September. “SuperCharged” Chilton shattered Tony Kaanan’s 1997 track record in the qualifying race, broke the race lap record set by Helio Castroneves in 1996 and ended the season on the Indy Lights podium for Carlin. Skylanders also “SuperCharged” Enea Bastianini who won his first Moto 3 race at the San Marino GP in Italy. This was his first career victory in the Motorcycle World Championship. He takes to the tracks again in his Skylanders SuperCharger- branded suit at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain on 25th -27th September.
Skylanders SuperChargers is hitting store shelves just in time for the festive frenzy. Toys“R”Us predicts the game will be one of their fast-selling family games this Christmas and recently placed Skylanders SuperChargers on the company’s 2015 Holiday Hot Toy List.
“The Skylanders brand continues to capture our customers’ attention every year by delivering its promise to redefine play by merging the physical and digital worlds, which is why the newest addition to the franchise has been named to our annual Toys“R”Us Holiday Hot Toy List,” said Richard Barry, Executive Vice President, Global Chief Merchandising Officer, Toys“R”Us, Inc. “We are excited to support the launch of Skylanders SuperChargers and fully expect to be the global destination for fans to experience this truly innovative adventure in gameplay.”
Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack will include two new Skylanders characters, a first-of-its-kind Skylanders vehicle, a newly designed Portal of Power™ and the full AAA game. Skylanders SuperChargers will be available for the PlayStation ® 3 and PlayStation ® 4 computer entertainment systems, Xbox 360 ™ and Xbox One ™ video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, and Nintendo’s Wii U ™ system.
Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition Starter Packs also will be available in Europe on 25th September. All Dark Edition Starter Packs will include Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak and the highly sought after Kaos Trophy which is the only way to unlock special gameplay content, plus a two-sided ultimate collector poster. The Dark versions of the Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and his vehicle, Barrel Blaster, will be available in the Wii U Dark Edition Starter Pack; Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and his vehicle, Dark Clown Cruiser, will be available in the Wii Dark Edition Starter Pack.
Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, a complementary racing experience, will be available on 25th September for Nintendo’s Wii™ system and the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system. The addition of Donkey Kong and Bowser as guest stars in the new game, along with their specially created vehicles, will be available exclusively in Skylanders SuperChargers and Skylanders SuperChargers Racing Starter Packs for the Nintendo platforms. The SuperCharged characters not only work in Skylanders SuperChargers, but will also work with select amiibo-compatible Nintendo games with a simple twist of the character’s base.
Fans of the Skylanders franchise can also choose to purchase the Digital Portal Owner’s Pack, available on 25th September for connected consoles, and use the Portal of Power they already own to play Skylanders SuperChargers. The download of the Digital Portal Owner’s Pack provides a great way for returning players to enjoy Skylanders SuperChargers on the platform of their choice. On 25th October, the full Skylanders SuperChargers game will also be available on select iOS devices including iPad®, and for the first time ever iPhone® and iPod touch®. Skylanders SuperChargers will also be available on Apple TV® this autumn.
Skylanders SuperChargers is forward compatible with all 300+ unique toys from all previous games – Skylanders™ SWAP Force™, Skylanders™ Giants, Skylanders™ Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders™ Trap Team. The game will be available nationwide on 25th September.
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