Frito-Lay Contest Reveals First 3 New Skylanders

The Frito-Lay Name A Skylander contest has kicked off today and it has given us a look at three new Skylanders from the upcoming sequel. Unlike the MegaBloks leak last week we can at least these as new Skylanders and not just as new characters. Their names aren’t known yet as they will be named by a lucky winner (or winners) of the Frito-Lay contest. Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think!

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MegaBloks Gives First Peek At Skylanders 4

While we’re disappointed that New York Toy Fair has come and gone without an official Skylanders 4 announcement we won’t be walking away empty handed. Action figure news site Figures.com collected all of the press materials that MegaBrands had on hand. These materials give us our first look at several unknown characters as well as a possible direction that the next game may take. While looking through the gallery keep an eye out for these unfamiliar faces:

• White knight(?) character with giant sword
• Orange warrior(?) with dual hammers
• Blue toad(?) with bow & arrow. Ally to Kaos? Possibly named Ranger

As well as these new character you’ll see several Skylanders riding karts. Will vehicle based racing be part of the next Skylanders installment? We’ll have to wait for an official announcement but in the meantime check out the gallery below and see these new characters for yourself.

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Skylanders Universe Ultimate Box Set Unboxed

Curious about the contents of the Skylanders Universe Ultimate Box Set? So were we until we stumbled across one at our local Wal-Mart. I picked it up immediately and brought it home so my personal buddy Tree Rex could help me open up. Here’s what portalmasters will find inside:

• 1 Spyro vs the Mega Monsters book
• 1 Hot Dog’s Quiz Quest activity book
• 1 Skylanders Universe Mad Libs activity book
• 1 3D Skylanders poster
• 1 pair Eruptor 3D glasses
• 1 sheet swappable stickers

While there’s nothing truly new inside the box it is a great way to get caught up on the numerous Skylanders Universe books that have been released over the past couple years. The Mask of Power series of books captures the feel of the games and the 2 activity books are sure to keep the kids entertained while you’re on the go. The stickers and poster are just icing on this collection.

The Skylanders Ultimate Box Set is available now from several retailers. While we found it for cheaper in-store ($11.87) it can be pruchased online from Walmart.com ($15.21) or from Amazon.com ($14.49).

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RT And Win A New York Toy Fair Metallic Dune Bug From @SkylandersGame!

Despite the distinct lack of Skylanders 4 information at this year’s New Toy Fair (thus squashing all of our predictions), Activision is still using this annual industry event as a cornerstone of its Skylanders marketing strategy. What isn’t different is that there’s a new exclusive variant for us to drool over: Red Metallic Dune Bug!

Since most Skylanders fans won’t be able to attend in person the official Skylanders twitter account is giving us a chance to win a metallic Dune Bug of our very own. All you need to do is RT this tweet from @SkylandersGame and you’re entered to win. It really is as simple as that! Here’s their official rules regarding the contest.

Good luck to everyone who enters as I’d lover to see a fellow portalflipper win!

Nitro Freeze Blade Set To Release In Late March @Target

It seems late March/early April will be a hot bed of Skylander releases this year. Not only do eager portalmasters have the Wave 4 Easter line to look forward to but Nitro Freeze Blade is now on the radar. Target.com has put up a preorder page for their exclusive variant figure with an estimated ship date of 3/23/14. Despite Nitro Freeze Blade’s release date being known well in advance there’s still no word on when the rest of Wave 4 will be released.

Skylanders Sales Top $2 Billion Worldwide & More End Of Year Facts

Activision issued its end of year earnings report for 2013 today and it’s no surprise that results were better than they anticipated thanks in no small part to the Skylanders franchise surpassing $2 billion in sales worldwide. Surprisingly though their report contained little information on Skylanders 4 other than confirming that it will be happening at some point this year. Here’s some other quick Skylanders facts that were released as well:

• Activision was the #1 console & handheld publisher for 2013 in North America & Europe
• Skylanders was the #3 best-selling video game franchise overall in North America & Europe
• Skylanders Giants was the #4 best-selling video game while Skylanders SWAP Force was the #6 best-selling video game in North America & Europe
• Over 175 million Skylanders toys have been sold worldwide

Here’s to a fantastic 2014 for Activision, its subsidiaries, and its investors!

Best Buy Gives First Hint At Wave 4 Skylanders

Spring has yet to be spring but major retailers across the country are beginning to turn their eyes towards Easter toy sales. Best Buy is getting geared up with a Spring Edition line of Skylanders that come in holiday packaging currently set to release in early April. Although the listings were pulled from the web site nearly as quickly as they appeared, this gives us our first look at a few of the Skylanders we can expect in the next wave. Here’s the list of the known Spring Edition figures:

• Fryno
• Springtime Trigger Happy
• Punk Shock

No word yet on if the Spring Edition packaging is exclusive to Best Buy or how this release fits with the full Wave 4 release but as we find out more we’ll pass that info along to you!

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All’s Quiet On The Skylanders 4 Front

I’m sure most of you are as anxious to hear about the next installment in the Skylanders series as I am. Currently there is nothing to report on as Activision hasn’t even confirmed that there is an announcement on it’s way. But we can make a few guesses based on how SWAP Force was revealed last year. Here’s a brief timeline of how SWAP Force info was rolled out in 2013:

• January 30th, 2013: Activision registers 4 domain names related to Skylanders, one of which is SkylandersSwapForce.com. Although not known at the time this ends up being the title for Skylanders 3.
• February 5th, 2013: Activision issues a press release officially confirming the title and gives us our first glimpse of what the game will offer. The “Weapon of Choice” teaser trailer is also released.
• February 10th, 2013: Activision reveals Skylanders SWAP Force booth at New York Toy Fair 2013 giving attendees their first hands on experience with the new figures.

Now that we’ve taken a look at the past let’s use that and predict how and when the next game will be announced. Please note that other than the date for New York Toy Fair 2014 the following timeline is based solely on my predictions. Grain of salt not included.

• February 5th, 2014: Activision registers domain names related to Skylanders 4 in anticipation of an announcement the following week.
• February 11th, 2014: Activision to release press release and related materials confirming the title and setting of Skylanders 4. A teaser trailer will come along with this.
• February 16th, 2014: New York Toy Fair 2014 kicks off. Activision is confirmed to have a presence there according to the Exhibitor Floor Plan.

As you can see I used the date for this year’s Toy Fair and worked backwards from there based on the timing of last year’s events. Will my predictions prove bucket-like and hold water or am I just another Skylanders fan making wild guesses? The next few weeks will hold the answer to that but we’ll continue to keep our ears to the ground. As soon as we know more so will you!

Dude, Where’s My Metallic Gill Grunt Coupon?

Toys R Us won over the hearts (and wallets) of portalmasters across the country during the launch of SWAP Force due to their metallic Gill Grunt promotion. Rewards members who spent $100 or more on SWAP Force products through the end of the year would receive a coupon for a free metallic Gill Grunt of their very own. However,Toys R Us’ deadline of 1/18/14 has come and gone and most people have yet to receive their coupon leaving people asking “What do I do?”.

Your mileage and results will vary but first here is the tried and true method painstakingly compiled by BahamutBreaker:

1. Call the general help line for TRU phone support, 1-800-TOYS-R-US. Select option number “5” to speak with the “Rewards” department.
2. Explain to the agent that you are a Rewards member, calling to inquire about the Skylanders Special Edition Gill Grunt promotion.
3. Explain that you should have been in receipt of an email voucher for the Gill Grunt, and that you have not received an email (and you’ve checked your “junk mail” or “spam” folder, etc. and it’s not there, either).
4. Explain that TRU’s self-stated deadline to distribute those voucher emails, 1/18/14, has now passed, and you still have not received your email voucher.
5. Ask for the agent to verify your eligibility for the promotion by viewing your Rewards purchase history between 10-13-13 and 12-31-13. Ask them to verify your email address, too, just to be sure.
6. Once the agent has verified your eligibility for the promotion, request that s/he “opens a case” with a reference number.
7. Make sure the agent tells you the reference number and write it down. Make sure the agent makes notation on your “case” file that s/he confirmed that you are eligible for the promotion.
8. Exchange pleasantries and if there’s nothing else the agent can do for you, hang up.
9. Then, call a different TRU support number: 1-855-422-7715. This is a direct line to TRU’s “customer care” department. You can’t access this department easily from the main TRU phone support line (1-800-TOYS-R-US).
10. Provide this new agent with your “case” file’s reference number from the previous phone call.
11. Explain your situation — I haven’t received my email voucher; I should have received it no later than yesterday (1/18/14); etc., etc.
12. The agent will probably want to re-verify your Rewards membership number, your email address, your billing address, your shipping address, etc, etc.
13. At this point, the agent may (probably will) try to compensate you with an “e-gift card” credit for $12 to purchase the Special Gill Grunt at TRU.com. If that satisfies you, go for it. If not …
14. Explain to the agent that you are aware that Rewards members who actually received their vouchers were offered Free Shipping as part of the promotion. Tell him/her you want that, too.
15. At this point, if you’ve played your cards right, and your agent isn’t an idiot, the agent will go ahead and place the online order for you, for the Special Gill Grunt, with free shipping … possibly even free Express shipping.
16. Don’t hang up until you actually receive and see your email order confirmation. Double-check to ensure that the correct shipping address, etc. is on that confirmation.

Again I do want to stress that your mileage may vary with this method. Yesterday when we called for one of our Rewards accounts we were told that the reason for the delay was due to a delay with the figure shipments and they didn’t want people to go into stores looking for a product they didn’t have yet. Despite that we were still emailed the coupon the same day. When I called today for our second Rewards account I was immediately transferred to customer care and simply told that I would need to wait until the 25th.

Long post short, if you’re eligible for the Toys R Us metallic Gill Grunt figure you should give their support number a call but it looks like we might still be waiting another week for the coupon. If you’re not eligible for a free figure, ToysRUs.com does have metallic Gill Grunt in-stock and available for purchase.

Element Of The Day Bonus Fixed In Lost Islands?

For the past several weeks Lost Island players have been suffering from the Element of the Day bonus not working resulting in lost Gold, Energy, and Wishin’ Stones. However, it looks like The Fix Is In!

Players today have noticed that a patch has been applied forcing Lost Islands to restart. Normally restarting the app like this would result in the elemental bonus disappearing again but in all cases the bonus has stayed in effect! Please note that if your elemental bonus was already broken for today that it will not reset until tomorrow or if you change your device’s clock (not recommended).

While we haven’t received confirmation from @ATVIAssist that this issue has been corrected so we’ll let you know if we hear otherwise.