We're looking for new writers to join us!

E3 2011: Skylanders Spyro’s Adventures brings cross platform (console) play

by: Jeremy -
More On: Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure
Activision has announced what is being billed as the first ever cross-platform gameplay experience in the form of Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and PC platforms.

Featuring Spyro, every gamer’s favorite little, purple dragon, Skylanders allows player to collect more than 30 different characters, all of which can be controlled in the game from any of the platforms listed above. Character traits and powers earned on one platform will transfer to another, regardless of when and where you play. This sounds like a pretty interesting idea and I look forward to hearing more about the game at this week’s E3. The game will be on display at the event this week at Activision’s booth.

You can view the announcement trailer for the game below and read the full press release on the next page.



ACTIVISION ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER CROSS-PLATFORM GAMEPLAY EXPERIENCE FOR SKYLANDERS SPYRO'S ADVENTURE™ AT ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO (E3)

New Adventure Game Allows Players to Bring Your Toys to Life™ Across Consoles, Windows PC, Web, Handheld and Mobile Devices

Santa Monica, CA - June 6, 2011 - Activision Publishing, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) revealed today that Skylanders Spyro's Adventure, an entertainment breakthrough for the video game and toy industries, will deliver the first-ever cross-platform gameplay experience across the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, Wii™, Nintendo 3DS™, a variety of mobile devices, Windows PC and the web. Using the game's Portal of Power™, players will bring their Skylanders interaction figures to life inside the game on any platform. During console and handheld gameplay, each Skylander remembers skill advancements and level-ups, allowing players to take their leveled-up Skylanders to play on any of the other platforms. The company will showcase the game at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition, which takes place June 7-9 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, in the South Hall, booth #647.

"Imagine a kid taking his Skylanders toy and bringing it to life on his Xbox 360 one day, then bringing it to life on his friend's PS3 the next day, then bringing it to life inside his 3DS and playing it in the back of his parents' car the next day, then bringing it to life on the web the day after that, all the while, building his character's strength and powers across all of those platforms," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "It brings the physical and virtual worlds of play together in a whole new way."

When Activision hit the drawing board for Skylanders Spyro's Adventure, the blockbuster publisher turned to top Hollywood creative talent to create an engaging story-driven narrative. The game, toys and technology were developed by Novato-based developer Toys for Bob and the adventure-filled story was penned by two of the Academy Award-nominated writers of the original Toy Story movie, Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen. The resulting franchise will offer families a line of highly collectible characters, an inviting story, and an immersive interactive entertainment experience when the game launches later this year.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure lets kids take on the role of a powerful Portal Master who can control over 30 different characters, including the beloved purple dragon Spyro. Each of these heroes is a protector of Skylands, an amazing mysterious world which has been taken over by a sinister Portal Master known as Kaos; a powerful enemy that has frozen the Skylanders as toys and banished them to Earth. Only the players of Skylanders Spyro's Adventure can help return these heroes back to their world by embarking on an adventurous journey where they will explore mythical lands, battle menacing, outlandish creatures, collect treasures, and solve challenging puzzles as a part of a quest to save Skylands.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more information, visit www.skylandersgame.com


About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.



Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com.


Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Publishing generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "could," "would," "might," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "estimate," future," "plan," "positioned," "potential," "project," "remain," "scheduled," "set to," "subject to," "upcoming" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Publishing's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Publishing's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms, declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Publishing's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware (including peripherals) and related software, industry competition including from used games and other forms of entertainment, litigation risks and associated costs, rapid changes in technology, industry standards, business models including online and used games, and consumer preferences, including interest in specific genres such as music, first-person action and massively multiplayer online games, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, licensees, licensors, vendors, and third-party developers, including the ability to attract, retain and develop key personnel and developers that can create high quality "hit" titles, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates and tax rates, and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities and potential challenges associated with geographic expansion, and the other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

# # #