In Activision’s earnings call today the company made a few bold statements, most of which were fairly accurate, but one of them stirred us up the wrong way.
Speaking about the Skylanders games, one of Activision’s chiefs stated that the California-based publisher invented the genre. Ahem, this is incorrect. By all means, take credit for ruining Spyro and locking Crash Bandicoot in the basement – that’s all on you, Activision – but toys-to-life was actually a thing before Activision started forcing families to the poorhouse with the expensive add-on toys.
Meet U.B Funkeys, the first toys-to-life video game. Granted, it’s not quite as impressive as Skylanders and the countless Amiibos, but it’s essentially the same thing. Players can unlock add-on content within the game by purchasing a toy in real life, then pairing it up with the game. It was basic, sure, but it had everything you’d expect, including expensive little figurines that are like cat-nip for kids.
So, yeah. Suck it Activision.