Wired magazine has a humorous article on the power of the Sklyanders franchise. Skylanders is a kid’s computer game with add-on extras. You purchase a real-world figure and place it on a USB reader (sorry, “Portal of Power”) to add the player to your copy of the game. Different players have different skills and powers, so to complete all the quests you need to invest in an army of figures.
Wired list the stages of Skylanders addiction. I’ve added the patterns that enable the stages to succeed.
- Try it, you’ll like it – kids get to feel ownership before they’ve bought the additional figures.
- One more can’t hurt – then they pester parents for add-on sets of characters because they aspire to be better players.
- I can quit anytime – there’s an urge to complete the full set.
- It doesn’t control me! I control it! Limited edition figures are hard to find, even on ebay. This makes them collectable and increases their perceived value.
- Don’t look at me! There’s a new set of figures coming soon – you want them already…