‘Skylanders’ swoop into Happy Meals
Activision’s video game toy franchise Skylanders is joining forces with the Golden Arches.
The publisher says it will package toys based on the series with McDonald’s Happy Meals in North America starting on Friday. Meals will include one of nine Skylanders figures and a $10 coupon for a starter pack of figures for the game Skylanders Giants.
The Skylanders series combines collectible action figures with a video game adventure. Players can place the figures on a special portal and bring them to life in the video game.
Although the toys featured in Happy Meals won’t be compatible with the video game, each Skylander will boast movable parts. Popular characters such as Spyro, Chop Chop and Drobot will be available. Also, for the first time, villain Kaos will appear in toy form.
The Skylanders franchise has been a huge hit for Activision, which also publishes the popular video game series Call of Duty. Since launching in 2011, Skylanders has raked in $1 billion and generated more than 100 million toys sold, say sales figures from NPD Group. Including toys and accessories, Skylanders is the topselling video game this year, according to NPD.
“Skylanders came at a time when the market was craving something new,” says Ashley Maidy, head of global marketing and partnerships at Activision. “Everything is going digital.” This year, Activision will introduce Skylanders SWAP Force, with action figures with detachable upper and lower bodies.
It also marks the first time Activision will face competition in the toy video game space. This summer, Disney is launching a similar title, Disney Infinity, that incorporates a video game with the iconic characters brought to life digitally.
However, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter doesn’t anticipate Infinity hurting Skylanders sales. “Much like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, they competed, but the market kept getting bigger,” he says. “I think that Disney Infinity and Skylanders will grow the market.”
Disney might not be the only one jumping into Skylanders’ space. It’s likely other video game companies will consider similar collaborations between toys and video games.
“It’s lucrative,” Pachter says. “The costs for making the toys is so low, and the margins are so high.”