14 DAY TRIAL // Some very careful examination of domain registrations conducted by Fusbile has uncovered a number of new Internet domains that are probably linked to a new upcoming Skylanders video game, which might bear the name Giants.
MarkMonitor, a brand and domain management service that is known to handle such issues for video game publisher Activision Blizzard, has registered the following addresses:
http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiants.com http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiants.dk http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiants.it http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiants.net http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiantsgame.com http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiantsgame.net http://whois.domaintools.com/theskylandersgiants.com http://whois.domaintools.com/theskylandersgiants.net http://whois.domaintools.com/skylandersgiants.fr
Of course, there’s the possibility that the new domains and the new Giants theme is only linked to some new promotion that Activision plans to run or some other initiative that only includes already launched toys and gameplay.
But it is more likely that Activision is planning to launch both a new set of Skylanders toys and new actual content for the game built around them in the coming months, with bigger models presumably offered when it comes to the real-world action figures and, maybe, more complex adventures prepared for them in the virtual space.
Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure launched in October 2011 and mixed a number of collectible interactive toys with a portal that moved their likenesses to the virtual space and a video game and was offered on the PC, the PlayStation 3, the Xbox 360 and a number of mobile devices.
The concept was meant to appeal to a younger audience and for Christmas many stores reported a shortage of the toys.
The fact that the figures are collectible means that a solid secondary market for them has sprung up and quite a few of the rarer Skylanders are fetching prices of more than 100 dollars (76.7 Euro).
Activision will be eager to deliver more content to gamers who have embraced the Skylanders concept and get as many players hooked on the virtual and real mix as possible.
The company is looking to expand its list of successful franchises beyond the dominating Call of Duty series.