Skylanders Swap Force came out today. Did I play it today? No. Did I get the game today? No. I am expecting to receive a review copy sometime this week. I am expecting to receive my pre-ordered copy of the GameStop exclusive Dark edition in the mail this week. I’m expecting to receive my pre-ordered Nintendo 3DS version this week as well. I’m not sure why I pre-ordered things to be mailed to my house rather than pre-ordered them so that I could pick them up and play them on release day. Not too smart on my part since the game came out on a Sunday before a Monday holiday. I also ordered every figure from all the stores online and they’ll be arriving through the week. I’ll just have to wait a little longer, is all.

Patience.

Even though I wasn’t going to get the game today and I ordered all the figures online I did want to see what the different stores had for displays. I went to a 24 hour Walmart first and looked to see if they had any Enchanted Hoot Loop figures, they weren’t out. There were a ton of boxes of toys that weren’t put out yet. The overnight staff wasn’t too diligent there.

When I was at Walmart I picked up a couple of the Adventure Packs and turned them over to discover a few new Adventure packs that are coming out in future waves. There is the Sheep Wreck Island Adventure Pack with Wind-Up, Platinum Sheep and Groove Machine and the Arkeyan Crossbow Battle Pack with Grim Creeper and Thorn Horn Camo. I don’t know when these will be released but as soon as I do I’ll let everyone know.

After Walmart I drove to Toys R Us. I was going to go just to GameStop but they weren’t opening until 9am. Toys R US was opening at 8am. I went into Toys R Us with the few other people who had lines up. There weren’t very many people gathered there and there were plenty of figures all over the store. Toys R Us definitely had the biggest and best display.

I only got a very small part of the display in the photo but it was huge and showed many Skylanders including a Legendary version of Zoo Lou. I’m not sure I like Zoo Lou as a blue figure. He looks better white. Toys R Us had two Legendary figures on hand including a Legendary Free Ranger and Legendary Lightcore Grim Creeper. Legendary Lightcore figures are the best. They look great.

My last stop was GameStop where I went to get one of their exclusive Dark Skylanders posters for Eva’s room. I also picked up a Battle Portal Display at Toys R Us that came with a Legendary Skylanders Giants poster. When I got home I put both of them up in Eva’s Room.

GameStop also has something called the Skylanders Adventure Club. That is a club that provides members with discounts (buy 6 figures and get one free) and news about Skylanders Swap Force. I didn’t actually buy any figures at GameStop but I wanted that poster and Adventure Club card. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn some information from GameStop before I learn it from anywhere else. But, since I get info from so many sources like the Press Release below, I don’t think I’ll be finding out anything early from GameStop but I may get to pre-order things early.

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE™, THE “MUST-HAVE” KIDS’ GAME OF THE YEAR, HITS STORE SHELVES TODAY

Top Selling Kids Video Game Franchise of 20131 Debuts 16 New Swappable Characters, 40 New Characters Overall, Next-Generation Graphics and the Deepest, Most Innovative Game in the Franchise to Date

Franchise that Pioneered the Toys to Life Genre Tops Hot Holidays Lists for Third Consecutive Year

Skylanders SWAP Force For Nintendo 3DS Introduces Unique Adventure

Santa Monica, CA – Oct. 13, 2013 –Portal Masters can now wield the power of choice as they defend the Cloudbreak Islands and battle the evil Kaos (and his mom) when the magic of Skylanders SWAP Force™ hits store shelves nationwide today. Available now for Nintendo Wii™, Nintendo Wii U™, Nintendo 3DS™, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system as well as day-and-date for PlayStation®4 and Xbox One, Skylanders SWAP Force introduces an all new innovative play pattern – swapability – that lets players freely interchange the top and bottom halves of 16 special characters by mixing and matching their powers and moves into more than 250 unique character combinations*, that are brought to life in the game.

The third installment in the popular franchise from Activision Publishing Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), Skylanders SWAP Force is already positioned to be one of the must-have games this holiday having been named to the 2013 Toys“R”Us® “Fabulous 15” on the company’s Holiday Toy List as well as TimeToPlayMag.com’s Most Wanted List and Toy Insider’s Hot 20 Holiday Toys of 2013 List.

“Skylanders is a brand built on one thing: magic. With each and every Skylanders title, we want to deliver new, delightful innovations to our young fans that continue to blur the lines between physical and digital play,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “With Skylanders SWAP Force, we’ve taken this genre to a whole new level by giving players the greatest power of all: choice. In a franchise known for breakthrough innovation, I have no doubt that SWAP Force is our most innovative Skylanders game yet. And we’re thrilled to share it with fans of all ages all over the world today.”

Building on the franchise’s signature gameplay and collectible toy experience, Skylanders SWAP Force pushes the boundaries of innovation and imagination with an all new play pattern – swapability – that gives kids more choice than ever before over how their SWAP ForceTM characters fight and move. Set in a richly detailed next-generation world, the game takes kids on an all-new adventure with 40 new collectible characters each with unique powers and personalities — 16 new SWAP ForceTM characters, 16 core Skylanders characters and eight new LightCore™ characters. Additionally, fans can play Skylanders SWAP Force with their entire collection of 100+ characters from Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure® and Skylanders GiantsTM.

Skylanders SWAP Force features a new next generation graphics engine** that brings the game’s detailed characters and rich environments to life like never before. The game also features new abilities – such as flying, climbing, and teleporting – which can be used throughout Skylands. Friends and family can join the fun with drop-in/drop-out cooperative play as well as experience action-packed gameplay in various Battle and Survival Modes that feature all new arenas.

Additionally, players can embark on an all new unique Skylanders SWAP Force adventure on the Nintendo 3DS that features game levels and story that are unique to this platform. The 3DS version also includes three new characters – Rattle Shake, Volcanic Eruptor, and Free Ranger – which are not found in any other Skylanders Starter Pack. All characters introduced in Skylanders SWAP Force will also be playable on Skylanders Lost IslandsTM and Skylanders BattlegroundsTM mobile games, both of which are available on iOS on October 13 and on Android on November 1.