Skylanders Update 3/29/2012

Well, quite a bit went down this week.  We'll get started with some highlights from Nintendo and then check out the Skylanders updates including some insight on the Blue Bash release this weekend.


Nintendo 3DS Birthday

First off, let me say, Happy Birthday 3DS!  March, 27th, 2012 marked the 1 Year Anniversary of the North American launch of the Nintendo 3DS.

If you haven't been to Mii Plaza lately you might want to check that out...

You just might get a Special Mii in the form of....Reggie from Nintendo!
Pretty cool in my opinion and I hope this is a trend they will continue.

Nintendo Week

If you read the blog, you might have noticed I was pretty said when Alison was cut/left the show a few weeks ago.  Dark Gary filled in great, but when I watched the show tonight Gary signed off...then Dark Gary disappeared.

I really enjoyed the show, and I know it helped move products.

I have commented before I thought they might continue it with a first-hand fan base...I think it would be cool to see them send scripts or agendas to someone like NintendoFanGirl who can use YouTube to say alternate a co-host every week.  There are a lot of die-hard Nintendo fans, myself included, and this would be an inexpensive option that might even expand the out reach of the show.  It is worth considering, all Nintendo would be out is the time to prepare the agenda etc and email it out...If they went a step further sending new releases or sponsored games out it would likely suffice as payment to the grassroots movement.

I hope that Nintendo will continue the show in some form...I think my idea would work, but in all honesty, anything is better than nothing.

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure Gameplay Update

I'll cover this before getting into anything else.  As of last night I finished recording the time goals for Chapters 1-22, which netted me 100% Completion.  Note that you can get the 100% without having any of the 3-Star Ranks wrapped up on Chapters 23-26.

I plan to start editing those videos ASAP and should have some uploaded soon.

I also have Dragon's Peak headed this way from TRU.  I ordered it when they had them in stock online and I should get it Monday, April 2nd.  As soon as I get it, I will record the unboxing and then the blind playthrough.  I have heard it is pretty tough, so I am looking forward to that.

Weekly Skylander Hunt

Well, this was an odd week...Sunday I just missed getting Dragon's Peak at TRU and there were no Lightning Rods or Zooks to be found.

Tonight was no different.  My expectation of TRU having Dragon's Peak stocked to the brim at all times during these 30 days doesn't look to be panning out.  Maybe some stores do, but mine does not.  Very strange and yet another blunder on the part of Activision and Toys'R'Us.

I did finally see an Empire of Ice and Cynder single pack locally, although both were in back-rooms...creepy and unethical, yeah kind of...but it was nice to finally see them in this zip code at a retailer.

Toys'R'Us

That said, my TRU had a ton of Skylanders.  The shelves were full and that new display was spilling out with a mix of everything.  There was still a seemingly infinite supply of Legendary Trigger Happy.  If you pay more than retail for LTH I really have to question your sanity.

As I combed the racks looking for a stashed away Lightning Rod an employee I've gotten to know approached me.  He let me know that Sunday they would be releasing Blue Bash...all 12 of them.  Yeah, that is right, 12.  Come early if you want him.  I know I will be passing this expedition up.  I'd like to have Blue Bash just from the collection purpose side of things, but in all honesty, despite inflicting massive damage with his box-stock attacks, I'm just not a big fan.  I still haven't upgraded him, but Terrafin, Dino-Rang, and Prism Break just all suit me better.  Plus, I've got Legendary Bash in the mix as well.

If I'm ever there and he is on the shelf, you bet I'll take him.  If they are going to get 12 every other Sunday, I doubt it.  Now say he had told me they had 100 or something like that, then yes, I'd try my luck.  I have better things to do than stand outside a store and deal with people looking to grab something to put on ebay to fund their other vices.  I'd say we'd be lucky if 2 of them go to people who actually play the game or just want him for display.

I am wondering if all TRUs got 12, and if there will be any subsequent shipments.  I've said it before, but numbers on the Silver, Gold, and now Blue would be very nice for collectors and setting values.

Also of note was that my TRU hasn't had a Lightning Rod or Zook come in since they sold, I'm guessing 12 each, on the 3/21 or 3/25 events.  He also confirmed they hadn't gotten Dragon's Peak in since I narrowly missed one on Sunday and that they didn't expect to have any for this coming weekend's Blue Bash event.

Target

Next up was Target...note I went to TRU first in hopes they'd have gotten Wave 4 Skylanders in since the weekend to fill the shelves.

Target actually had the pegs full...I was shocked, I haven't seen them have any since roughly mid-January.  It was mainly Eruptor and Drobot with a few Wrecking Balls and one Stealth Elf:

Best Buy

Now on to Best Buy.  Yep, I said it, 1ofWiisdom heading to the hell hole known as Best Buy.  I really can't stand that place.  In fact, I have only been in there 3 or 4 times during the whole Skylander craze.  I think the last time I bought something from the store was back before the iPod Nano first came out if that tells you anything.  Sadly, they didn't have anything new, but oddly enough I found a Cynder in their display case.

Wal-Mart

I then hit up Wal-Mart since so many people had claimed their Wal-Marts were stocking TONS of Skylanders, inlcuding 12 or so Lightning Rods and Zooks pretty much daily.  This store had some stock left, namely Eruptor, Drobot, the Dino-Rang Triple Pack, Pirate Seas, and Darklight Crypt which was a bit of a surprise, but nothing new:

GameStop

Last up was GameStop.  I walked in, and as with all super-cool, 20 something gamers I got the instant recognition treatment.  Turns out they just got a shipment.  Keep in mind, this store had been dry since early February.  I got to right to the edge of the stock room, as per company policy, and saw the whole stash on the counter.  They had singles of pretty much everyone but Hex and Voodood and get this, 1 of each Adventure Pack (sans Dragon's Peak).  So yeah, that Empire of Ice I'd been trying to land for a friend and just got on Amazon this past weekend...right there, 2 days before my shipment is due to arrive.  Funny how things tend to work that way isn't it?

I thanked the guy for letting me check everything out, and then spent about 20 minutes talking to the manager, who is also into Skylanders.  She told me they had Lightning Rod and Zook earlier in the week and that they sat on the shelf for 2 days before an employee bought them as fair game.  I guess their first shipment in forever came Monday or Tuesday and had the new Wave 4 singles.  Timing is everything, even when it is off.

So yeah, there you go, my night in a nut-shell.  I am basically 90% sure I am going to have to order in Lightning Rod and Zook.  Currently, GameStop.com, where I sourced my Wave 3s, and Toys'R'Us.com, where I got Dragon's Peak, have yet to add either to inventory.  That leaves me with Amazon and they seem to randomly stock.  The Wave 4s they add to inventory are done in what must be quantities under 20 (probably 12, lol) as they go fast.  There have literally been people that find them, add them to the cart, log-in, and find that they just sold out.

Of the two I am most looking forward to Lightning Rod...I'd actually like him more than Sunburn, although that may not be the popular option.  I am excited after hearing Dragon's Peak was hard though.

Hopefully I can land Lightning Rod and Zook soon and introduce them to you...I know several people on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have told me they've been lucky enough to snag them and/or the Ignitor single pack.

So on that note, happy hunting!  If you plan to go for Blue Bash you now know what I was told.  Your store could have 120 on hand, or it could be 12 like mine.  If you want him, you better get there.  No one will want to source him from the ebay pirates.

Blue Bash Pre-Order at Toys'R'Us

I had mentioned this a few times either here, or on Twitter...or maybe both, but I'll go into detail here.

Blue Bash, is a translucent variant that is essentially a collectors item.  I say that because just like the Silver and Gold Skylanders, "Blue" Bash will look just the same as a regular version, and have the same final upgrade stats as regular Bash.

*One source initially reported that Blue Bash would be "more powerful,"  but they failed to elaborate on that info which I believe was credited to Jerry Storch, the CEO of Toys'R'Us.  Since that same post also mentioned enjoying the "Darklight Crypt with Terrafin" I am just going to totally discount it.

Daphney, the old school gamer chick who has a far better track record of being accurate than most of the junk the select few activision puppets, believes that Blue Bash will come out of the box (assuming you unbox him) at Level 5.  A nice touch, but certainly not anything super awesome.  That said, the real interest here is simply another limited run Skylander.

For better or worse, it will be a Toys'R'Us exclusive, at least initially.  The only real press release on this wasn't really crafted with clear and concise content if you know what I mean...The good news here is most stores started the "one per customer" practice which gives those of us with a life/job/school/tasks in the day that require dedication a chance to compete with low-life vermin who have nothing better to do than buy hot-ticket items, like Skylanders, and hock them on ebay to pad their own pocket-book.

I guess if it is going to be a pain to get it, it just as well have the better stats...although it would have been nice to see that with Silver/Gold Skylanders.

Skylanders actually ran a fan poll on Facebook, which I saw on Twitter.  They let fans vote for an "upcoming, special release" or something to that effect on the color.  I personally voted for blue, but at the time I thought it would be for a group of three like the Silver/Gold Skylanders.  If I had known it was just Bash (assuming it is), I would have gone with Red, it just suits him better imo.

The color looked great on the fan poll page...all of them were deep and vibrant.  The few chosen ones that Activision ships to or allows access to inside events have shown pics that are pretty much what the poll showcased.

That said, when Blue Bash went up for pre-order on Toys'R'Us.com (which I have to ask, how the heck do you know that is even going to happen?  I mean everyone of us that is into Skylanders from casual, or collector perspectives just knew to make look for him in April.  I'm in TRU all the time and SAW NO NOTICE about signing in on the morning of March 6th, 2012 to pre-order "X" quantities of Blue Bash) the color is not near as vibrant.  Maybe it is a shopped packing, or something, but I hope it does in fact look like the original figure showcased in the poll and not this dull, cloudy-day blue.

The price will be $9.99, unless activision, toys for bob, and toys'r'us decides they want to make even more off of us.

As with virtually everything in this series we have no info on quantities.

All of you know how big a fan I am of the series, but little things like, "4,200 Blue Bashes will be released , with 200 going via Pre-Sale and the remaining allocated evenly to our X number of stores" would be very much appreciated and give satisfaction to those lucky enough to land one, and a founding for those who don't to decide whether or not to risk loosing their home to buy one on ebay etc. Remember on packs of cards how you always have the odds printed on the back with "X Card 1:10, Y Card" 1:100, and then the Z Card 1:1,500" yeah, I'd love to see that, but doubt we will.

Oh, and if you wondered I believe  the online window to pre-order lasted 2-3 hours.  I found out a few hours too late...

My stance is if I don't get it at my local TRU....screw it.

I haven't used Bash much, and I've heard he upgrades great, but out of the Earth Element Skylanders he is my least favorite.  All the colors of the rainbow and upgrades in Skylands won't change that.  I'll give him a fair shot once upgraded, but overtaking Prism Break, Dino-Rang, or Terrafin seems highly unlikely...granted that is just me.  I know a lot of people prefer Bash over Dino-Rang and Prism Break.

I'll pay $9.99, but if my only option is to pay a scalper then I will keep my cash and invest in something else.

I wouldn't get all bent-out-of-shape if you can't land Blue Bash.  I would reckon that 40-50% of people that do will be scalping him...That seems to be the rate with Wave 3 Skylanders (oh and have I mentioned in this post that I STILL HAVE NOT SEEN CYNDER OR EMPIRE OF ICE LOCALLY?!).

Hopefully they will release 2 more "blue" Skylanders with the padded stats...guess that will be something exciting to monitor for...provided you have any stock to patrol :s  It will at least give me something to hunt for again...I might even avoid researching it just so I'll have that faint, glimmer of hope I might find something cool and rare, lol.

All that aside, here is a shot of what is sure to be yet another hot-ticket item:

As best I know he is to ship on April 2nd, 2012 to those who somehow knew of the pre-order.  That means TRU should have stock before then and will either be holding it back until that date, or just covering for slow transit.

Thanks to octaneblue for pointing out that your neighborhood TRU should be releasing Blue Bash on April 8th, 2012.  I think I read that, back when it came out, but honestly forgot, lol.  So if you are a fan of Bash you will definitely want to mark your calendar.

Keep your fingers crossed it is the vibrant blue we voted on and post up if you manage to snag one!