All Articles: Skylanders Swap Force

CoD Ghosts and Xbox One are December 2013’s best-selling game and console

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The NPD Group has delivered their monthly report on the state of the retail game market and December 2013 was another blockbuster month. According to Joystiq, consumers spent $3.28 billion on video game products last month, an increase of two percent over December 2012. And thanks to new consoles, hardware sales were way up, totalling $1.37 billion (versus $1.07 billion last year).

And speaking of next-generation consoles, NPD is reporting that the Xbox One can lay claim to the US sales crown for December. Though Sony still holds a slight edge in total worldwide sales.

As for the games, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 pulled off a repeat atop the retail sales chart. They were followed by the usual assortment of holiday season bestsellers and you can find last month’s complete top ten after the break. (more…)

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CoD: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 march to the top of November 2013’s best-selling games chart

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With the PS4 and Xbox One now available in stores across the country, the NPD Group is ready to talk about the financial health of the video game industry with their most recent monthly report. Total sales of $2.7 billion fueled the game industry in November, an increase of seven percent over November 2012’s sales numbers. The next-generation had a lot to do with the inflated number, as hardware sales were listed at $1.3 billion for the month, a 58% increase year-over-year.

But what about the games? Well, new releases Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag marched to the top three spots. Below that is a trio of non-November releases (Madden NFL 25, Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K14) and below that is a trio of family-friendly titles (Skylanders Swap Force, Just Dance 2014, Disney Infinity). FIFA 14 rounded out the top ten.

The top ten brought with it an interesting comparison between the two next-generation consoles and there seemed to be no clear-cut winner. According to Joystiq, the PS4 versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, and FIFA 14 outsold their Xbox One counterparts. But the Xbox One can claim sales superiority with Skylanders Swap Force and Just Dance 2014 among multiplatform releases.

Finally, it was a bad month to be a platform-exclusive game as major releases like Super Mario 3D World, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Forza Motorsport 5, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds failed to crack the top ten.

You can find the complete chart of November 2013’s best-sellng games after the break. (more…)

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Grand Theft Auto V is October 2013’s best-selling game

grandtheftautov-box-largeOnce again, Grand Theft Auto V reigns supreme. The latest entry in Rockstar’s blockbuster franchise remains atop the NPD Group’s monthly tabulations of the best-selling games at retail.

It’s important to note that GTA5 didn’t pull off this repeat performance against a group of lightweights. The remaining spots in the top ten, all nine of them, were claimed by new releases. You can check out the rest of the top ten right here and, if you gambled that Pokemon X would sell more copies than Pokemon Y, it’s time to collect:

Bestselling Games in October 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Pokemon X (3DS)
3. Pokemon Y (3DS)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
7. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Skylanders Swap Force (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
9. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PC)
10. WWE 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3)

According to Joystiq, GTA5 wasn’t the only big winner last month. The entire industry had a very profitable four weeks as last month’s software sales were higher than the same period from 2012, making October 2013 the third month in a row to see year-over-year sales gains.

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New Releases: Skylanders Swap Force, Valhalla Knights 3, Zumba World Party, More

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Activision’s mega-popular Skylanders series returns to stores today with Skylanders Swap Force, its third new entry in three years. The game will be available for the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360. Naturally, a new wave of toys will also be available at your local toy store.

If you’re looking for something a little less Skylanders-y, XSEED is bringing the prison-set action RPG Valhalla Knights 3 to the Vita this Tuesday. It’ll be joined on store shelves by Majesco’s Zumba Fitness World Party (Wii U) and two additional titles from Activision: obstacle course sequel Wipeout: Create & Crash (3DS, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360) and hunting sim Cabela’s African Adventures (PSS, Wii, Xbox 360).

I tell you, the pending launch of two next-generation systems is really messing with the annual Fall gaming rush.

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Activision is bringing CoD: Ghosts, Destiny, Skylanders Swap Force to E3 2013

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Activision has unveiled their E3 2013 lineup and, unlike past years, it is not an unwieldy behemoth that seems to go forever. The biggest third-party publisher is going laser-focused for this year’s expo and focusing on three titles: Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Ghosts, Bungie’s Destiny, and the third game in their mega-popular Skylanders series, Skylanders Swap Force.

And speaking of Skylanders Swap Force, Activision also confirmed that the game will be released for the PS4 and Xbox One (because, of course it is) and that the 3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360 versions will be available on October 13.

More details on all three of these titles can be found after the break. (more…)

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Skylanders Swap Force brings customizable figures to the franchise

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Skylanders Giants is less than four months old and Activision is already ready to announce the next game in the series. Skylanders Swap Force will make its worldwide debut this weekend at the 2013 Toy Fair. Taking up residence in booth 3061, Activision will unveil Swap Force’s 16 new customizable characters at the Javits Center in New York City.

Here’s some of the new features that the kiddies can look forward to in Skylanders Swap Force:

Swap Force builds upon the success of the franchise’s signature gameplay with an all-new innovative play pattern — swapability — that gives kids more choice than ever before by letting them swap the top and bottom halves of the toys to create their own characters. The game lets Portal Masters reconfigure 16 Swap Force characters into more than 250 unique combinations. Kids can mix and match characters’ powers and moves, and then bring them to life in the game. Fans of the franchise also can play Skylanders Swap Force with their entire collection of characters from both Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders Giants, now with the added capability of jumping.

Skylanders Swap Force is in development at Vicarious Visions and will likely be released this Fall for every platform imaginable.

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