VisitScotland, the Highland Council and
Activision Publishing Partner on the First Ever ‘Virtual’ Twinning
of a Real World Destination with a Video Game World
VisitScotland, The Highland Council and Activision Publishing,
Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that the Isle of Skye in Scotland
has ‘virtually’ twinned1 with Skylands, the home of upcoming game,
Skylanders SWAP Force™. The stunning Scottish Highlands have
been brought together with the virtual islands of Skylands, to
celebrate the month of SWAPtober and the launch of Skylanders
SWAP Force™. The virtual twinning marks the first time a video
game world has twinned with a real destination. Skylanders SWAP
Force is available now at retail stores in North America and
will be available in Australia on October 16 and Europe on October
18.
Isle of Skye ‘virtually’ twins with
Skylands from Skylanders SWAP Force (Photo: Business Wire)
Located off the west coast of Scotland, the Isle of Skye boasts
stunning mountain scenery, sea lochs and wildlife and attracts
visitors from all over the world.
VisitScotland’s Alan Mackenzie, who is based at VisitScotland's
Information Centre in Portree, said: “The Isle of Skye is renowned
for its stunning landscapes, which possess an almost ethereal
quality, and its abundance of wildlife, making it the perfect place
to virtually twin with Skylands, home to Skylanders SWAP
Force. We’re thrilled to be teaming up with the SkylandersTM
franchise for this unique partnership, which will help raise the
profile of this beautiful part of the world, encouraging families
to enjoy a real-life adventure on the Isle of Skye – nowhere else
on Earth comes close!”
To commemorate the virtual twinning, Activision and
VisitScotland brought the virtual world of Skylands to the stunning
Scottish Highlands through:
- An inaugural visit to the Isle of Skye
by Wash Buckler, one of the new Skylanders SWAP Force
characters; Wash Buckler toured some of the island’s most famous
landmarks and visited the children at Portree Primary School.
- A SWAP takeover of the Isle of Skye
website www.skye.co.uk, where Skylanders franchise fans worldwide
can type SWAP on the homepage to watch the magic unfold.
The Skylanders franchise pioneered the genre of ‘bringing toys
to life’ by combining physical figures with the virtual world of
video games. Skylanders SWAP Force builds upon the success
of the franchise with its signature gameplay and collectible toy
experience, adding a dimension to the “toys to life” innovation.
The game introduces an all-new play pattern - swapability - that
lets gamers reconfigure 16 SWAP Force inter-action figures into
more than 250 unique characters by swapping the top and bottom
halves of the inter-action figures*.
“We’re thrilled to continue to combine physical and virtual
experiences through the Skylanders franchise, and what better way
to do so than making the Skylands the first video game world to
twin with a real destination,” said Michael Sportouch, Vice
President and General Manager, Activision Publishing. “With the
launch of Skylanders SWAP Force around the corner, it was
perfect timing to merge the magical world of Skylands with the
beautiful Isle of Skye. We’re sure this partnership is going to
spark the imaginations of families whenever they visit the
Highlands, but fortunately they don’t have to worry about seeing
any Chompies2 on Earth.”
Councillor Thomas Prag, Chair, The Highland Council’s Planning
Environment and Development Committee, commented, “We’re thrilled
to welcome the Skylanders characters to the Highlands. This is an
unusual project, as we can’t sign an actual deed of twinning due to
the limitations getting paper work to the Skylands. However, we
were delighted to see Wash Buckler visiting the Isle of Skye, and
hope his visit encourages many more people to look for adventure in
the Highlands.”
About Skylanders SWAP
Force
Skylanders SWAP Force is delivering a whole new world of
innovation and introduces the groundbreaking new feature —
swapability. The pioneers of the toys-to-life genre are presenting
kids and gamers with unprecedented levels of choice in how they
explore Skylands and battle Kaos by swapping the top and bottom
halves of the inter-action figures to transform 16 SWAP
ForceTM characters into more than 250 unique combinations.
Set in a richly detailed next generation world, Skylanders
SWAP Force takes kids on an all-new adventure with 32 brand new
heroic characters that each offer unique powers and personalities.
The game also features new abilities – such as flying, climbing,
and teleporting – which can be used in special areas of Skylands.
Additionally, fans can play with their entire collection of more
than 100, forward-compatible toys from both Skylanders Spyro’s
AdventureTM and Skylanders Giants™.
Skylanders SWAP Force is being developed by Vicarious
Visions and is set to release in North America on October 13,
Australia on October 16 and Europe on October 18. Developed for the
PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and the Wii U™ and Wii™ systems from
Nintendo and Nintendo 3DS™; it is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more
information, visit www.skylanders.com.
About Activision Publishing,
Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision
Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and
distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil,
Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia,
mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about
Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website,
www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements:
Information in this press release that involves Activision
Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies
regarding the future, including statements about the expected
release date of Skylanders SWAP Force™, are forward-looking
statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s
actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in
the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include
unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the
risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual
report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form
10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon
information available to Activision Publishing and Activision
Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision
Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect.
These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of
Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to
risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond
its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from
current expectations.
SKYLANDERS, SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE, SWAP FORCE, SKYLANDERS
GIANTS, SKYLANDERS SPYRO’S ADVENTURE, and ACTIVISION are trademarks
of Activision Publishing, Inc.
1 No official deed of twinning has been signed by the Highland
Council. As the Skylands are a magical land – it makes it difficult
to get paperwork in the post.
2 Chompies are one of the most common monsters in the Skylands,
they do not exist on Earth.
*Requires purchase of all 16 SWAP Force Skylanders.
VisitScotland, Scotland’s national tourism organisation, is
providing in-kind promotional support to the virtual twinning
project.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:
http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20131015006996/en/
For Media Inquiries:PMK•BNCMichele
Wyman, 310-854-3264michele.wyman@pmkbnc.comorActivision Publishing,
Inc.Dior Brown, 424-744-5864dior.brown@activision.com
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