News
Is the Toy to Video Game Genre Dying?
Cordova, TN; June 19, in the year of our Lord 2017--Family
Friendly Gaming, the industry leader in covering the family
friendly video games is asking the video game industry an
important question. Is the Toy to Video Game Genre dying? What
is going on there? Right after E3 2017 there was no new
Skylanders announced. There was no new Lego Dimensions
announced. Disney Infinity is dead. Ubisoft announced Starlink
Battle for Atlas. Which we initially thought would save the toy
to video game genre. Then we realized Starlink Battle for Atlas
is not coming out until Fall 2018. As long as Starlink Battle
for Atlas does not get delayed or canceled. That means no new
toy to video games have been announced for this year. It is
possible to hear about a third year for Lego Dimensions later.
It is strange that Skylanders has made so many billions of
dollars and there was no news from Activision about any new
Skylanders coming. Will Activision release more for Skylanders
Imaginators? I went over the financials from Activison and
Skylanders is listed as increasing revenues and saving them from
a worse decrease as a company. So why not do more Skylanders? Is
Skylanders dying like Disney Infinity? What about Lego
Dimensions? Will Lego Dimensions die off after the last wave
planned for this year? I do not have answers to these questions.
I know a lot of families feel these toy to video games are cool,
and over-priced. We find them on sale in our area quite
routinely. Price is definitely costing these franchises some
money. Will Activision follow Sony in lowering the price of
products? I certainly hope so.
The more I thought about it, the more concerned I became.
Families really enjoyed Disney Infinity. Families enjoy Lego
Dimensions. Families enjoy Skylanders. None of those franchises
are perfect. There is certainly no reason to scrap them now
though. Maybe the toy to video game genre is facing a little
downturn. Maybe the entire video game industry is facing a
downturn. I do not know for certain. I do know dissatisfaction
has been climbing among games and families in terms of video
games. There are some people who want to tear the entire system
down. I have heard from a lot of families that find the toy to
video games way too expensive. I know there have been complaints
about toy to video games being glitchy and not reliable. Maybe a
lot of factors are building up and creating the perfect storm at
the opportune time.
I do not know the future. I do know there is not much for fans
of the toy to video game genre to look forward to this year.
Maybe there is a Skylanders VR game in development. Maybe there
is a Lego Dimensions VR game in development. Maybe company
executives think they can make more money by ignoring families.
Maybe these company executives are listening to worldly gaming
media outlets. This might be the time to look for sales and
purchase Lego Dimensions, Skylanders, and Disney Infinity
characters/packs that you have wanted to purchase. I am sure you
can find a good use for your money somewhere outside of video
games if these companies will not provide for you.
God bless,
Paul Bury
Family Friendly Gaming