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.


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.

Once again keep in mind that I am in the US...that means what I post applies to the US.  I do not know how it goes down in other countries etc.  Although I do know several in Australia and a few in Western Europe have told me they've landed Dragon's Peak and some Wave 4...

Nonetheless, Toys'R'Us and their month long "exclusive" window to sell Dragon's Peak technically began today. I know some of you had stores that sold it on 3/21 and the fact of the matter is they shouldn't.  Think of it is Madden releasing nation wide...it almost always goes down on a Tuesday.  Any store that were to sell copies Sunday or Monday can get in some pretty serious trouble...So if you got it, your TRU is pretty negligent, lacks management that comprehends how things are supposed to be, and in all honesty the bottom line is you got very lucky.

Several of you HAD Dragon's Peak on 3/21 only to have it taken back or held when the store told you they couldn't sell (pretty big mistake, but at least they caught it).  Some of them handled it well by letting you put your name on it and promising to hold it for you on Sunday.

The rest of us just had to wait...

Well, I went in today and despite my hope that Dragon's Peak would be stocked deep on 8 pegs with boxes waiting in the back I came up empty.  I'm in a relatively small market so as opposed to thinking 250 people stormed thru purchasing Dragon's Peak, I'm just thinking they probably had like 20 of them.  When I asked an employee if they had any she seemed to think so, went over to the Skylanders section with me, and said she guesses they sold out.

Keep in mind my store enforces the 1 per customer AND they supposedly sold them on 3/21.  That means that since Wednesday they got in Dragon's Peak in a decent quantity.  That should suffice to support my theory that DP will be stocked in abundance.  I can not see TRU being dumb enough to not have mandated "X" units to satisfy demand for their exclusive window.  I mean once GameStop, Walmart, and Target all have it and are selling it for $5 less who is really going to beat down the doors at TRU to pay more?

I did see two Dragon's Peaks behind the counter with names on them...I have no idea how that works...If I could just call at opening and say "Hold me one" I would have...seems like if someone is there cash in hand, they should make the sale.

Sadly my store had NO other adventure packs, no legendary three packs, and in all honesty no triple packs (which basically made 80% of the sales circular pointless).  I had really hoped to walk in and find Wave 4 Triple Packs left over from people who opted for the Dragon's Peak AP...something just isn't adding up in that scenario.

What we did have was a lot of singles from the early characters: Drobot, Stump Smash, Prism Break, and then a few newcomers like Whirlwind and Drill Sergeant (which still ticks me off):



Also of note is the INSANE NUMBER of Legendary Trigger Happy packs in the store.  A brand new "aisle" display was stocked deep with them...it also looks like the bottom would hold triple packs or adventure packs:



So, it looks like activision literally shipped a new display unit (just picture a box covering the display and stapled to the pallet), but can not make Empire of Ice, Lightning Rod, Zook, and even the 30 Day TRU Exclusive Dragon's Peak in large enough quantities to satisfy demand...way to go guys, keep the priorities in line!

The other thing noteworthy is that I have still NEVER SEEN Empire of Ice or Cynder single packs in any of my local stores, and you all know how often I look.  I really think Empire of Ice is the toughest AP to find.

The good news is I ordered Dragon's Peak online from TRU, they have the nuttiest estimated delivery date of 3/30-4/8.  So if I can't land it locally, there is one on the way...I felt like I had to do that as insurance over yet another blunder between Activision and TRU.  I am fine paying shipping (saves me time and fuel), and more importantly I won't be left with my only option being a scalper (which means I wouldn't have it...I'll never pay more than retail for anything like this).

I'm sure about the time I get it delivered I'll walk in and find 40 Dragon's Peak APs just sitting around, but such is life.

I'm really hoping to land Lightning Rod and would just assume do it via the Triple Pack.

Hope some of ya'll had a better time than I did.

This is something I had wanted to do for a long time...the frame just held me up.

You can create this same combo for under $15:

-Skylanders Poster at Wal-Mart: $4.99
-22 3/4" x 34" Poster Frame at Target: $8.99

The poster is NOT 24"x36" like you might think, and that frame will need a mat to look right...the best thing to do is buy the correct sized frame.

The poster looks awesome and any Skylanders fan will be happy to have it on their wall.

Here is a nice shot:


Like I said, this is EASY to find, the price is right, and you *currently* don't have to deal with scalpers snatching up what little stock there is and then marking it up x% etc.

The video and picture really don't do justice to how nice the poster looks when framed!

Oh, and I threw the Chop Chop Bobble Head Stylus in for good measure!

1ofWiisdom

Blog Poll #23 asks, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Life Element Skylanders?"

This one is really a mirror of the Air Element Poll.  We just had Zook released this week (3-21-2012) and Camo is still to come.

That said, just use your resources online to research their upgrade paths, or abstain from voting.

The poll will run 7 days and close 3/30/2012 at 11:59 PM.

Blog Poll #22 asks, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Air Element Skylanders?"

This one will be a little tougher given Lightning Rod just hit a few days ago and we still do not have Warnado (the one I am looking most forward to) available.

That said, just look online for info on the upgrade paths to make your decision, or just abstain from voting.

This poll will run 7 days and close 3/30/2012 at 11:59 PM CST.

So, another night and another hunt for Skylanders.

I didn't even deem it worth to take pics as most of you know what my bare Skylander shelves look like at this point.

Let me first say that my local TRU must have not gotten jack in...

They had about 5 Drobots strung out across the display area and that was it.

I asked one associate I know if they had Empire of Ice yesterday and he said no, but they HAD the new one.  He didn't seem to think there were any "new" ones as in Lightning Rod or Zook.

So that means that my local TRU not only had Dragon's Peak, but sold it.  Does this mean they will not have this Sunday when it is suppose to "release?" Great question...How about Lightning Rod or Zook?  Who knows.

I find it hard to believe that they had Dragon's Peak and sold all of them with the 1 per customer limit.  I have said for quite some time that I think it should be easy to get Dragon's Peak given that TRU will have the 30 day window and should have mandated "X" quantity from Activision to cash-in on it.

However, I tend to forget we are dealing with Activision and Toys'R'Us here...I've probably given them too much credit.

Just as I anticipated 4 always full racks of Dragon's Peak I could easily see it being done with this initial batch and maybe 2-3 more small shipments over the next 30 days.  It would be on par for this less than dynamic duo.

As bad as TRU missed the mark yesterday, I still think the blame should be up top with Activision.  They are the ones responsible for producing and importing the Skylanders....If you are told months in advance to get ready for "x" release date and you promote it, you really haven't done much wrong...

When Nintendo releases a new game we know a date.  People that want it really bad pre-order it to ensure they get a copy.  The rest of us head in on the release date and pick one up.  The game has to be HUGE to sell out.  And even if that happens, a truck comes later in the week with the next round.  Within another 3-5 days you will have not only landed your new game, but found it in stock everywhere it is sold.

Nintendo doesn't just send 4 copies of the newest Mario game and EA Sports doesn't randomly ship Madden to different stores.  And when they say 3/21, the game is out 3/21.

I'm not sure how Activision continues to make these catastrophic blunders.

I once thought it was to keep hype up as they drug out the release of all 37 Skylanders.  Now, I just think they have no clue how to manage things.  Like I've said before, when you go to ebay and pay $75 for Lightning Rod, all Activision sees from that gouging is the initial retail price.  They aren't making $66 over their usual profit margin off the $9.99.

That means they really aren't cashing in on the hype.

I assure you, they could have sent 100 of each Wave 4 Skylander to every TRU and sold them all...even the small markets would go quickly.  Do you honestly think that having the initial "big day" sales event and leaving a stock of 15 for the coming days is bad?  No!  If it is on the shelf, it can sell.

If it is backlogged overseas and you can't get it to market you have failed.  This isn't like they rushed these to the table.  The game has been out since October.  Sure some are just getting into it, but if you are like me, you enjoyed the game, but find the current state of things a bit annoying.

Go online and read about the 3/21 debacle.  What should have been people hanging out with other die hards and enjoying playing with the new Skylanders turned into more people questioning why "nothing new" was sent to their store, or in other cases (and this would be on TRU) why they had Dragon's Peak taken away and the store 20 miles to the north sold it to customers.

Between Activision's inability to produce enough Skylanders to satisfy demand and Toys'R'Us being radically inconsistent from store to store, you have the perfect storm.

I will say it again, I really enjoy Skylanders.  The game is actually really good.  However, I do not enjoy being strung around with misinformation and lead by puppet strings...I would like Lightning Rod and Dragon's Peak, I'll give you the $35 to purchase them.  I won't give up all my free time and burn gallons of gas going on a wild goose chase just to find I've been beaten out by scalpers.

There can still be the hype and hysteria over the "collectible" Skylanders...but do not drag the basic characters into the mix.

I haven't mentioned in this post that I have still never seen a Cynder or Empire of Ice in my local area...and they've been out for months.  Am I going to suffer the same fate with Dragon's Peak and Lightning Rod?  Keep in mind that I had to order my Wave 3 stuff in from GameStop.

This is just piss poor management on Activision's part and I am not the only one growing tired of it.  Their inability to perform the most basic functions of being in business really start to suck the joy out of playing the game, or having the desire to purchase more characters etc.

Make Skylanders....ship them to your retailers...let the retailers sell them...keep your retailers stocked.  How is that complicated?  The excuse paraded around on their facebook of "Skylanders is very popular at the moment, we can't keep up" doesn't cut it.  I'll let you apply it to Wave 3, but you HAD TO KNOW that when you produced Wave 4.  And some stores didn't even get stock on Wave 4 which is more baffling.

It just blows my mind that there could be something so popular and the company has had 3+ months to adjust and has completely failed...especially when there is money on the line!  The people turning to ebay and paying 2-10x retail aren't going to do that and then 3 weeks later pick up their 3rd Zook locally.  The black market, as much as I hate it, does nothing for activision...they are loosing a ton of money and are still unable to adjust accordingly.

I'll say it again, but DO NOT BUY FROM SCALPERS!  As soon as you quit paying those ridiculous prices, the sooner they will quit raiding the shelves.  If they could sell Zook for $9.99 like TRU they wouldn't make any money and thus they will quit scalping.

The sad thing in that scenario is the scalpers understand the basic fundamentals and a giant company like Activision is either genuinely oblivious to it, or just lacks the leadership and intellect at the top to increase production.

Well, I will quit rambling.  I know I'm not the only one who has to feel this way and is growing tired of the circus of blunders.

In case you cared for the rest of the update, here it is:

Target had...NOTHING.

GameStop had...NOTHING.

Wal-Mart had...NOTHING.

Are you seeing the pattern here?

Well, I'm going to call it a night.  I might replay the T-Bone levels to prepare for recording the time goals.  Like I've said, Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure is a great game.  I'll gladly pay to enjoy new Skylanders and adventure packs, but I won't jump thru hoops to do it...that isn't asking for much.

Well, tomorrow is the big day...or when you cut the puppet-strings, I suppose your fate is in your own hands there.

We all know that Toys'R'Us and Activision/Toys for Bob teamed up for several exclusives and now, thanks in part to TRU holding back stock for the last few weeks, they are advertising a massive Skylanders event.

I earlier speculated that we would see Lightning Rod and Zook in single pack form, and that seems to be correct.  Someone in Austrailia, where it is already well into the 3/21 day posted up what they found at a local store (not Toys'R'Us), note the $14.95 price tag as well:



It looks like Ignitor will be hitting the shelves as well, much ahead of the speculated release date...don't be surprised if the Triple Pack isn't out for a long time though.

A few sources I check online have said that everything they have will be single packs...which I had earlier suggested as a likely outcome since that maximizes the money.  One poster on darkspyro, who has a cousin that works at TRU, said that there would be roughly 10 Lightning Rods and 10 Zooks at each store.

Yeah, way to really ramp up that production folks....

Most stores are saying that it will be a ticket event and you can get 1 ITEM.  That basically means if you want Lightning Rod and Zook you better have another person with you or one heck of a disguise.  Some stores have 2 Per Customer, others have something entirely different.  My local store is 1 Per Customer.

I can not confirm if each store will only have 10 Skylanders ,but if that is the case you had better be in line early if that is your goal.

If all of this sounds like too much hype and you can't help but feel like you are on the end of a puppet string of a poorly run corporation that just can't seem to crank out enough of their product to satisfy demand, you might just sit this one out.

There is now also mixed feedback on Dragon's Peak.

Some have been told by TRU managers (remember, it is a TRU Exclusive for 30 Days) it will be sold 3/25, while others have heard it will be out tomorrow.  One solid source, said some stores have them and some don't...those that do will put them out.

Blue Bash, who was speculated to be released April 8th, has now been moved up to April 1st, which I have to say is fitting.

I have got a horrible sore throat, and it is forecast to be cold and raining in the morning.  Oh, did I ever mention I have a job?  You know that thing people do for around 8 hours every day to earn money and purchase food/shelter to survive?  Yeah, that might kind of be an issue too.

With so much mixed information, I'm not sure if I'll mess with it.  If I felt better, I would try to get away...if there is a line out the door you can kiss my *** Nothing is worth standing outside a store to go in and buy...nothing!

I probably have different standards than most people, but I abide by them.

So, I honestly think you will see:

-Lightning Rod Single Pack
-Zook Single Pack

I think you have a chance to see:

-Ignitor Single Pack
-Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack

I do not think you will see the Lightning Rod, Zook, Cynder Triple Pack...which is honestly what I may hold out for just to say a few dollars.

If you do not see Dragon's Peak at your store, try March 25th.

I would expect Blue Bash on April Fools Day or April 8th, but personally I'd bank on April Fools Day.

Not only will regular folks be out trying to get in early, but the scalpers have probably already called in relatives they haven't spoken to in 12 years.  A Lightning Rod is currently on ebay for about $75.  What a joke.

The more I type, the better Paper Mario is starting to sound...

So, with that now you know what you might can expect?  Confused?  You should be...it is part of the hype/hysteria that prompts people to pay $75 for something that retails for $10.  The only way you'll know if you can get Dragon's Peak, or just stare at Wave 2 Skylanders you've had for months is to go to TRU.

Here is some incentive, if you get lucky locally you don't have to consider this:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/yoitzken/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

If I go I'll let you know what I find locally...Feel free to chime in with your general area and what you got, or what you just missed out on adding to the collection.

I think if the sore throat wasn't an issue I'd be a bit more optimistic about driving to TRU and filming people standing in a winding line, outside in the rain...and you better believe that would go up on YouTube.

I can't help but feel there are very few of us that are actual players, or just really dedicated to our kids that are getting in on this stuff...I feel like it is primarily people looking to buy cheap and flip high.  I've said it time after time, the only way to stop them is to not buy what they've got.  DO NOT PAY MORE THAN RETAIL FOR ANY SKYLANDER, OR ANYTHING AT THAT RATE.

Well, I'm going to go enjoy a game that had a one time purchase price and let's me control the characters....

Hope everyone gets what they are after tomorrow!

Blog Poll #21 asked, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Water Element Skylanders?"

Here are the results:

Blog Poll #20 asked,  "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Earth Element Skylanders?"

Here are the results:

Blog Poll #19 asked,  "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Undead Element Skylanders?"

Here are the results:

Blog Poll #19 asked, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for Tech Element Skylanders?"

Here are the results:

Blog Poll #17 was simple enough, it asked, "What Would You Like to See Next?" and of course pertains to what I will record next.

In an effort to "tidy-up" the blog, I am going to be deleting most "minor" polls from the sidebar...I'll keep up some of the bigger, more interesting ones (ie Fav Skylander, Fav Legendary etc), but stuff like the Upgrade Paths will go, but they will have the Poll Results copied to the results post.

For example, let's take a look at the results for Blog Poll #17:


Granted sometimes a long title, or large vote count will skew things, but oh well.

Let's start from the top down.  I gave you 10 Titles to choose from and we had over 100 votes, which means we should get a very nice sampling.

1. Mario Kart Wii 40 Votes, 36%
2. The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword (Blind) 17 Votes, 15%
3. Paper Mario (Blind) 12 Votes, 11%
4. Mario Strikers Charged 11 Votes, 10%
5. Kirby's Epic Yarn 8 Votes, 7%
6. Nerf-N-Strike 7 Votes, 6%
7. Super Mario World 6 Votes, 5%
8. Wii Sports Resort Swordplay 5 Votes, 4%
9. Super Mario All Stars 2 Votes, 1%
10. Wii Sports Resort Island Flyover 1 Vote, 0%

A'Coming...

I like that, I'm publishing...that practically makes it legit, no?
Oh well, I digress.

I just wanted to take the time to say I am working on some tweaks to the blog.

I plan to do several things:

1). Update the Older Skylander Posts (the big ones anyway) to reflect current info.

And more importantly...

2). Add the "in-game" stats to some of the posts, and yes that means I will be going thru and manually doing all of it.  I really wish there was a "Table" feature in blogger as this would make things so easy.  This will be a far better representation given how the cars tend to be pretty aloof from any real pertinence to the game itself.

This will help you see the Skylanders from top to bottom and if I get the time I'll do it by each stat (which again, this would all be a resort, copy, and paste from the same spreadsheet if the table feature existed).

3). I might finally clear out some of the older blogs...I'll likely keep the early ones and those of high interest, but stuff like upgrade paths will hit the can.  Fear not, I'll take screen caps and add them to the respective results posts.

I've really been wanting to record, but to be honest I haven't had time and I can't breathe very well...I guess the whole "loosing your voice" is phase 1 (hopefully of 2).  I am still at the T-Bone levels waiting to wrap up times goals.

I think I will make the blog changes a priority (targeting early-to-mid next week), and then go from there.  I've wanted to do that for a LONG time and since it doesn't involve talking I'll try to crank it out.

Oh and it is now 7 days until the impending 3/21 date at TRU...The ebay pirates are probably calling in ringers to fill up on the loot.

Anyway, it is 4 AM and I'm beat...although I'm sure I won't be able to sleep...that whole breathing thing turns out to kind of be important in that process, who knew?

Thanks to those of you who have already voted in the new polls...I haven't posted the links on YouTube, just Twitter and Facebook.  I'm also aware of the whole Wham-Shell not being out issue, just abstain, or read about the upgrades and see what you think you'd like.

As soon as Dragon's Peak has been out a while (and hopefully that will be 3/21 with a deep stock at TRUs everywhere, I'll get the much anticipated "Favorite Adventure Pack Character Poll" up...that one should be super intense!

Feel free to post up anything you find, or updates you get from your store...I like to cite input from readers/followers if you haven't noticed, lol.

That's right, welcome to the non-unboxing of Legendary Trigger Happy.

I had planned to wait it out to see if I could land another and then unbox one, but with so many questions, and the odds of finding another LTH so high, I figured I'd just do a comparison, spend a little extra time on the console stats, and  call it good:




It is the "collector" side of me that won't allow myself to open the one mint-condition LTH I have.  Mind you, if the store wouldn't have started the "one per customer" I would have 2 LTHs...one to keep boxed (and play via the portal for Upgrade Path A) and then one to have loose for convenience and of course the other upgrade path.

Legendary Trigger Happy is  a Toys'R'Us exclusive...and Activision is holding true to this one, just like the Legendary Triple Pack.

You can find LTH for $9.99 at your local TRU and sometimes you might get lucky and find him on TRU.com, but I wouldn't bank on it.

Your other option is to buy from  a scalper, I don't advise it, but if you feel like you've got to have him try to find the best deal possible.

As with L-Spyro, L-Chop Chop, and L-Bash, L-Trigger Happy will appear "blue and gold" in the game, just like you see him in the packaging.  He also comes with a padded stat of +12 Armor  (TH=30/60 vs LTH=42/72).

Trigger Happy is a great all around character and in my opinion very worthy of earning "Legendary" status, plus if you are a 3DS Owner, you now have a nice "in" to adding TH to your arsenal.

Let's check out the stats:

Trigger Happy vs Legendary Trigger Happy

Card:

Strength: 40 vs 40
Agility: 60 vs 70 (+10)
Defense: 20 vs 20
Luck: 100 vs 100

Console Initial-Maximum:

Health: 200-400 vs 200-400
Speed: 50-98 vs 50-98
Armor: 30-60 vs 42-72 (+12)
Critical Hit: 50-100 vs 50-100
Elemental Power: 25-100 vs 25-100


Once again, who knows what the cards are good for, but at least we've got the console stats.  The increase for Trigger Happy comes in his weakest area, Armor.  The +12 Boost will be very nice.

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!

Well, for those of you that have been around since the beginning or mined around on YouTube you know that I am a fan of the Wii Fit series and even uploaded a complete walkthru last year.

I can't remember how many days I had on Wii Fit, but I do know this...late last week was day 1,200 of Wii Fit Plus:


Pretty cool!  I also learned something new, it took so long for the screen cap to come up, the Wii Man, or Balance Board as you probably call it, will catch a few "Zzzz's" if you don't respond quick enough.

If that wasn't cool enough, I think did this, which is pretty rare/hard to do even when you have played 1,200 days of WFP:


All in all, not a bad day. I think after that I even set a new personal best on something, might have been Bird's Eye Bullseye Advanced if I remember correctly.

A minor event, but pretty cool...assuming I'm still around my next update will probably be for an awesome record, or day 1,500...stay tuned, lol.

What day are you on in Wii Fit/Wii Fit Plus?

Well another week and another stock update.  Let me start by saying I once again traversed the streets with my 3DS on hoping for some Street Pass Tags, particularly from a yellow-shirted Mii, but came up empty once more.  I am really starting to think I'm the only person cool enough to drive around town looking for Skylanders with a 3DS on...

***
I also feel like I need to address something else as it repeatedly comes in messages to me...

I am not, nor have I ever been "sponsored" by Activision.  If that was the case I wouldn't gripe about the Weapon Master glitch like I did, complain of poor stock management/manipulating interest, and I sure wouldn't make allegations they engaged in deceptive trade practices and misrepresented their products when it comes to Whirlwind and Drill Sergeant Single Packs.

And I would hope they would ship me new Skylanders right before release.  Have you read how I still haven't seen Empire of Ice or Cynder at a local store?  That's right, I actually go out and buy these...I just got into the game right at the release and have gotten lucky tracking down Wave 3.

That said, if Activision reads this and somehow isn't scared off by my first set of points, I would gladly accept info on Giants and Skylanders just before their release date to showcase them to Skylander fans.

The chances of that happening are about as good as not getting bumped off the track in Rainbow Road...
***

Anyway, back to the issue at hand.  First up was Target...

Before you see the picture let me say, I was shocked to see any on the shelf too!  Sometimes this store stocks late (ie not 8-9 AM when only ravenous ebay raiders can ransack the shelves) and I'll see something cool:

Next up was Toys'R'Us...they had NOTHING.  I mean NOTHING.  Not a single, not a triple, just the hand made signs.  My theory is that on March 21st, 2012 the Mayan Prophecy will ring true...oh wait, that is December.  Anyway, there have been reports from across the US that 3-21 will be the next stocking point for TRU.  My hypothesis is that not only will early Skylanders reappear, but I predict we will see Dragon's Peak, Lightning Rod, and Zook.

If anything is missing 10:1 it will be Triple Pack G (Cynder, Lightning Rod, and Zook).  Why do I think this?  MONEY!  If that Triple Pack is out on 3/21 people that want Lightning Rod and Zook probably wouldn't hesitate to buy it and have an extra Cynder to trade/sell/go on a different upgrade path.  Furthermore, keep in mind a ton of people still don't have Cynder.  The triple pack would cut into profits.  By just keeping singles of Cynder, Lightning Rod, and Zook they will make $30 as opposed to $25, and they clearly need the cash...

Again, that is all just me speculating, but I wouldn't be shocked.

I would, however, be shocked if Dragon's Peak wasn't in stock for the full 30 days...If you read the blog regularly you will know that TRU has a 30 Day window to be the only retailer to sell Dragon's Peak.  APs go for $19.99 everywhere but TRU.  I figure they will cash in on this big time...selling out in 2-3 days and then getting 5-6 of them in every week would be completely pointless...I am sure TRU mandated that they have "X" quantity on hand, which is why you see stores holding back stock...they'll use the launch of Dragon's Peak to put out a nice array of Skylanders.

If that isn't the case, I will simply wait till day 31 and save $5.

But hey, griping aside, Toys'R'Us did have these:

Nothing!  Well, aside from a few Starter Packs.  The tags up top were for a 3 Pack and Pirate Seas, no mention of Empire of Ice despite people telling me they had a tab for it...oh well.

So I am kind of anticipating a dull adventure next time, but I suppose 3/21-22 should be exciting.  Again, I truly believe Dragon's Peak is going to be out and out in full force.

I also recorded a video on Legendary Trigger Happy and went over the stats comparing him to Trigger Happy.  I think it'll work and hopefully the people that don't read the blog will then know I have LTH, which is another question that pops up quite frequently.

Well that is it for now.  I'll get the LTH video up soon...I also shot one of the Chop Chop stylus, but I'm not sure it is worth posting....guess I"ll sleep on it.

My voice is finally back, so if I get time I will work towards wrapping up the Time Goals this weekend.

Hope everyone is having a good week and feel free to chime in with your take on "3/21" and what your local stores have or more likely don't have.

1ofWiisdom

Well, the poll has closed and the results are in...I am debating if I shouldn't have let this one run a little longer, but I suppose it would have continued on a similar course.

Blog Poll #16 asked, "Which Version of Spyro is Your Favorite?" and allowed three options:

A). Regular Spyro (Purple with Bronze Wings)
B). Legendary Spyro (Royal Blue with Gold Wings)
C). Dark Spyro (Black with Silver Wings)

Here are the results:

1. Dark Spyro 36 Votes (42%)
2. Legendary Spyro 31 Votes (36%)
3. Regular Spyro 17 Votes (20%)

I have to say I did not expect this.  I did foresee it as a potential outcome, but deemed it unlikely.

I think I personally would have ranked them the same.  Dark Spyro just slightly above Legendary Spyro.  My logic goes by rarity and aesthetics.  While the blue and gold looks good, if there would have been a blue/silver I don't care if it was called Garden Variety Spyro I would have picked it #1.  I'm one to root for the under dog so I kind of pull for Dark Spyro.  You really don't hear much about him.  I know of very few people that play the 3DS version, so I figured Legendary Spyro would have pulled out the win.  Perhaps this is another case where a Skylander that people don't have just seems more appealing?

Nonetheless, I've got all 3 and would rank them as the poll did.

I do kind of feel for Spyro.  He was the franchise, the all star player, and in Skylanders he is just kind of an option.  Imagine a Mario game where Mario and Luigi are just playable characters along with 30 others...Nonetheless, these are all variations of him so I can't be too upset.

Dark Spyro for me looks awesome and is the most appealing.  I guess I'm not alone in that regard.

Thanks to everyone who voted...be sure to cast your vote in the upgrade path polls for Tech and Undead Element Skylanders!  Once Dragon's Peak has been out awhile (provided activision and TRU stock it all the time and don't pull more "limited stock to create higher demand tactics") I"ll get a sweet poll up on Your Favorite Adventure Pack Skylander...it will be tight  no doubt!

I had mentioned this on Twitter a few days ago and am finally getting to make a post.

Wave 4 should be surfacing soon...how soon?  Who knows.  Activision doesn't seem to be a fan of providing concrete, or even estimated delivery dates.  All early indications suggested Easter as the likely time frame, I would assume we should still go with that, but keep your eyes open, we might be surprised.  When pre-orders for "Blue" Bash opened up today, the estimated delivery date was April 2nd, 2012...I'm shocked it wasn't April 1st (drum kick please!).

Wave 4 will consist of the Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack, Zook, Lightning Rod, and "blue" Bash.

-Dragon's Peak Adventure Pack (Chapter 26 of 26)
--This Adventure Pack will include: Dragon's Peak Location Piece, Sunburn (Fire Element), and two magic items, Sparx Dragonfly and Winged Boots


-Zook (Life Element) and 3:4 (still lack the more anticipated Camo)


-Lightning Rod (Air Element) and 3:4 (still lack Warando, the Skylander I am looking forward to the most).


-"Blue" Bash (Special, Earth Element).  This was actually a contest that Skylanders ran allowing Facebook fans to vote for their preferred "rare" release.  I voted blue, and it won.  I'm not sure I'd have picked Bash to be the feature, especially given he is already in Legendary sets, but oh well.  I am 90% sure he will be like the silver/gold Skylanders and appear "normal" in the game, not blue.


Interestingly, the figure they showcased back with the poll and in teasers looks to be a much darker, vibrant blue than the one shown in the packaging.

Dragon's Peak will be sold the first 30 days as a Toys'R'Us Exclusive.  The saving grace here is that most TRUs has started the "1 per customer" rule to help limit the impact ebay pirates have.   My advice to everyone is DO NOT PAY MORE THAN RETAIL FOR DRAGON'S PEAK OR ANY SKYLANDER .  If pepole quit paying $250 or so for something that retails for $25, the scalpers will quit raiding the shelves.  I know it is hard to hold out, but I'd rather wait a few weeks and spend fair money than shell out a ton.

Lightning Rod and Zook will both be sold in single pack form.

The real question here is when will Triple Pack G (Cynder, Lightning Rod, and Zook) hit shelves.  From my personal experience with Triple Pack F (Whirlwind, Double Trouble, and Drill Sergeant) is that it was much easier to find in person than single packs.  If you have not gotten Cynder, I would advise you to wait it out and look for the triple pack to save some cash.

It looks like early predictions that Ignitor Single Packs would hit the shelves at this time were incorrect.  I guess I would look for him in Wave 5, unless they do a late release.

Legendary Trigger Happy is also out, but is kind of in the Wave 3 bracket in my opinion.

Assuming things hold true and you can get Triple Pack H with Ignitor, Warnado, and Camo that will quite possibly be the best triple pack released.  I'm hoping we don't have to wait until June, but if you consider Wave 3 hit mid-January and we can expect Wave 4 soon, the time frame could play out that way.  All early reports suggested Wave 4 coming around Easter.  Guess we will see if any happen to trickle in before that time frame.

I am very interested in seeing how Lightning Rod plays, especially since we only have Sonic Boom and Whirlwind out now...he is a very unique character.  If I were to rank them in the order I would like them it would be: 1-Lightning Rod, 2-Sunburn, 3-Zook.
I think Sunburn will be very interesting.  The fact that he can teleport has me intrigued.

Zook seems very Boomerish to me...I like Stealth Elf a lot and Stump Smash wins the aesthetics, plus Camo just looks more promising.  That said, I'll give him a fair shot...I'm sure he will have something unique to bring to the table.

Well, that is all for now.  I am still recording time goals on Skyanders and setting up polls.  I currently don't have much of a voice, so recording isn't really an option.  Hopefully I can wrap up the time goals soon and get the videos edited and uploaded!

Also be sure to vote in the polls!

Blog Poll #19 asks, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for (insert Undead Element Skylander here)?"  This one is set-up just like it was for the Magic and Tech Element Upgrade Path Polls.  I'm running all 4 characters at the same time and you can vote for all 4 of the Undead Element Skylanders with the polls being located just below the Twitter Feed.

The poll will run 5 days, closing at 11:59 PM CST on March 12th, 2012.

Thanks for voting!  Check back for the results and next round of "Upgrade Path" poll questions!

Blog Poll #18 asks, "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for (insert Tech Element Skylander here)?"  This one is set-up just like it was for the Magic Element Upgrade Path Poll.  I'm running all 4 characters at the same time and you can vote for all 4 of the Tech Element Skylanders with the polls being located just below the Twitter Feed.

The poll will run 5 days, closing at 11:59 PM CST on March 12th, 2012

Blog Poll #15 "Which Upgrade Path Do You Prefer for (insert Magic Element Skylander here)?" has now wrapped up.

This was started as a request from Daphney on Twitter regarding Double Trouble, and I figured since it was going up, we just as well start this sequence for all characters.  I will be running 2 at a time (next up is Tech and Undead) and the order is determined by how you voted in the "What is Your Favorite Skylanders Element?" poll.  If you wondered, Daphney will go by your votes to pick her upgrade path for Double Trouble.

So, with that said, let's take a look at the results:

Double Trouble
-Channeler 48 Votes (64%)
-Conjuror 27 Votes (36%)

This was a pretty decisive win.  It looks like most of you prefer Double Trouble's Channeler Path.  I have not gotten him up to that point, but should soon.

Spyro
-Sheep Burner 42 Votes (67%)
-Blitz Spyro 20 Votes (32%)

This was another clear cut victory.  Those participating clearly prefer what upgrading the primary attack does over going with the secondary path.

Voodood
-Elementalist 35 Votes (72%)
-Marauder 13 Votes (27%)

Shazaam!  Huge win for Elementalist at a nearly 3:1 margin.  It also appears that Voodood is the least popular, or least owned Magic Element Skylander as this poll only accounted for 48 votes, roughly 2/3 of the top vote getter.

Wrecking Ball
-Total Tongue 33 Votes (55%)
-Ultimate Spinner 26 Votes (44%)

Now this was a race!  Wrecking Ball pulled in a few more votes than Voodood and had almost as many as Spyro, which means there are either a lot of Wrecking Ball fans, or he has been easy to obtain.  Total Tongue won out by a mere 7 votes.  I must confess, I have still used Wrecking Ball for a total of about 10 minutes.  I have heard that he upgrades well and reminds some people of Kirby, but I just haven't spent much time with him yet.  I can say that I would likely go with his Total Tongue as I feel his secondary attack was weak, just like Hex, and wouldn't care to upgrade it (unless of course the base ugprades changed my mind).

So there you go, you've picked out your favorite upgrade paths for the Magic Element Skylanders.  Interestingly, all 4 Magic Skylanders were deemed to upgrade the best via their Primary Attack's Upgrade Path.

Thanks to everyone who voted, this will now open up Blog Polls #18 and #19.

Well, tonight was a good night!  I made the rounds once more with my 3DS looking for Street Pass Tags and got....

Nothing!  Can't say I'm shocked, apparently there aren't a lot of super cool people roaming the streets with their 3DS just yet...

But, nonetheless it was still a great night.

First up was Target:

Can you see that?  Wrecking Ball, Hex, Chop Chop, Eruptor, Boomer, Legendary Trigger Happy, Zap.  A nice selection.

WAIT!  WHAT?  LEGENDARY TRIGGER HAPPY??!!

You better believe it!  I must have caught them just after an afternoon stock or something...Last week they didn't have any.  I was stoked, they had quite a few too.  I wanted one for a friend, but with the "one per customer" deal I had to take one and call it good.  As much as that is annoying, I have to say...if the policy wasn't enforced I would probably have seen a shelf with Wrecking Ball and Boomer.

I didn't expect LTH to show up here this soon...I knew of a few Canadians and 2-3 in the northeast that had him, but that was it.  Ebay, as of 2 days ago, was listing him for $200+.  I paid $9.99 and encourage you to do the same.

I was going to pick up another Pirate Seas (to have Terrafin to go with his other upgrade path), but they didn't have any.

My logic behind paying the extra $5...TRU has a not very well advertised sale that was going on where if you buy an Adventure Pack you get 2 Triple Packs...for FREE!  That is a heck of  a deal and well worth the $24.99.  Sadly, in addition to not having any Adventure Packs there were also no Triple Packs...go figure.

Nonetheless I can not complain.  Legendary Trigger Happy is now in my collection and ready to play!

I don't think I'll unbox him until I have been able to land another one or see that there will be a huge number on the market.  It is that collector side of me coming out again.  Plus, I can play him via the Portal from the confines of the mint-condition package...win-win!

I did check GameStop, but they had like 3 Starter Packs.  I was about to head into the Walmart that gets hit with petty vandals stealing Prism Break and Drobot, but opted against it.  It was windy here, but also hot....like mid 70s.  I didn't want my groceries to thaw out, lol.

But hey, all in all a great night.  Legendary Trigger Happy doesn't look like the same bold paint that the Legendary 3 Pack had, but maybe it is the packaging.  Regardless I am happy and relieved that I was able to snag him locally and will sleep easy anxiously awaiting the next round of releases!

Oh, and you might enjoy this: