This week on FGTV we sit down with Eric Hirshberg, Activision CEO, and talk about how Skylanders fits into their portfolio of games. The conversation ranged from intrigue about the new game to an endearing anecdote about his son’s poem to the future of videogame retail.
The Skylanders poem is what stuck in my mind from the conversation. While it would be easy to see this as a marketing tool, the genuine child-like nature of the piece written by Hirshberg’s five-year-old convinced me otherwise. Have a read and judge for yourself:
Even though I’m little (by J. Hirshberg, 5 years old)
If I were a Skylander I would be strong
My powers would be that I could freeze all the bad guys
I throw hail down on them.
I could skate on land without being on ice.
I could belch giant ice blocks that slide into them.
I would also have a laser so I could split my ice into little pieces;
that would splatter all over the bad guys.
If I were a Skylander my name would be Ice Breaker
And even though I’m little I’m huge.
Perhaps the biggest testament to this was the fact that my kids have now started penning their own short stories (watch-out, Penguin!) and poems, although when I asked them apparently they weren’t “ready” to be published yet.
Following on from my Skylanders Giants interview with Paul Rieche (Founder of Toys for Bob) where he explained their approach to retail, I asked Hirshberg whether Skylanders’ physical-toy nature might help stores like Game and GameStation in the UK, that are currently struggling to keep their heads above water and shelves full of merchandise.
He suggested that the strong response from sellers to Skylanders was “because there’s an indispensable role for the retailer in the process… our best marketing tool is demonstration, so we focused our launch efforts giving people opportunities to experience this hands-on.”
I’m a big fan for videogame expertise in stores — being able to talk to someone about a game and hold the box are key parts of the decision-making process. I, for one, hope that however digital videogame distribution becomes there is always a place for a physical store. It was good to hear that Skylanders Giants may well play a part in securing that future.
Skylanders figures and expansion packs are available from $9.99 on Amazon.
