These "toys with brains" can come to life inside the game in connection with multiple gaming platforms, as well as on handheld gaming devices, mobile devices and on the web, remembering achievements and level-ups wherever they go. This marks a wholesale change in the interaction between toys and video games, opening up new possibilities and revenue streams for both industries.

Activision brought its gaming expertise together with top Hollywood creative talent to bring Skylanders Spyro's Adventure to life.  The game and technology was developed by Activision's Novato, California studio, Toys for Bob, led by creative director and studio head, Paul Reiche. The adventure driven story was penned by two of the Academy Award nominated writers of the original Toy Story movie, Alek Sokolow and Joel Cohen. The result is a line of highly collectible characters, an engaging story, and an immersive interactive entertainment experience.

Skylanders Spyro's Adventure adds yet another imaginative dimension to kids' social play with the beta launch of Skylanders Spyro's Universe, a vast virtual world for kids to engage with Skylanders characters and their fellow players. Activision today pulled back the curtain on this dramatic expansion of the franchise, further bolstering the variety and value of one of the most innovative and platform-inclusive digital playgrounds ever devised.

"We conceived Skylanders as a unique, multi-platform experience from the beginning, simultaneously grand in scope yet incredibly easy for kids to embrace," said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. "You can play with friends in the real world or on consoles, Nintendo 3DS, Mac or PC, and now on the web in Skylanders Spyro's Universe. If there's a screen where kids play, we want the Skylanders to come to life there. This also further enhances the play options of every Skylander character."

Found online at universe.skylanders.com, Skylanders Spyro's Universe is a fantasy realm of floating islands designed to encourage world-building, exploration and friendly competition. Kids can craft and customize their own Skylands, play mini-games like Sheep Shot, Sky Defense and Castle Assault, rendezvous with friends and investigate Skylands far and wide, or manage their toy collection and earn achievements. Players who already own the game or figures can input the code supplied with each interaction figure, or use the Portal of Power™ to bring them to life inside the universe. Those who don't can join the fun simply by creating a free online account. Eon, the helpful Skylanders guide, will provide new visitors with a digital starter kit and an array of new adventures to discover over time.

There are many unique and innovative elements to this experience, including:

• Each Character Has its Own Unique Powers — In addition to the highly collectible design and personalities of the toys themselves, each character has different powers and abilities, opening different experiences inside the game. Players can drop in and out of each level with as many different characters as they like, making each players experience unique.
• Toys With Brains — Each toy/character remembers the player's shared experiences. Achievements and leveled up capabilities earned in the game are embedded inside the toy and travel with the toy. Wherever the toy goes, its experiences go with it.
• Portal of Power — The Portal of Power serves as the gateway between our world and the amazing world of the characters in Skylanders Spyro's Adventure.
• Play With Friends — By placing two characters on the Portal of Power at once, players can team up together for cooperative play, or face off in player versus player battle arenas utilizing their leveled up characters.
• Diverse Experiences on Diverse Devices — While the toys can be used with gaming consoles to play the disc based game, completely different gaming experiences await them on the mobile app and inside the Web World, each of which were designed specifically for those platforms. The result is a remarkable number of different gaming experiences in one game.

To support the launch of the game, Toys "R" Us will join forces with Activision for a global marketing partnership in which stores across the globe will feature several Skylanders Spyro's Adventure exclusives this fall.

Each of these heroes is a protector of an amazing, mysterious world, but they have been ejected from their world by the sinister Portal Master known as Kaos and now they are frozen in our world as toys. Only the players of Skylanders Spyro's Adventure can get them back into their world, by embarking on a fantastical journey where they will explore mythical lands, battle menacing, outlandish creatures, collect treasures, and solve challenging puzzles as a part of the quest to save their world.