EXPERIENCE BRITISH GRAND PRIX LIVE ON IMAX

Say cheerio to a turbocharged viewing on July 5 when F1® on Apple TV live in IMAX comes to the home of British Motor racing. The Silverstone Circuit hosted the very first F1® Grand Prix in 1950, making it the birthplace of Formula 1®, so it’s only fair that you experience it with another original. IMAX, home to the world’s most immersive cinema experiences, will take you from your seat and onto the track, with sound you can feel. CLICK HERE to find an IMAX theater near you showing live coverage of the British Grand Prix on July 5.

SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS race onto store shelves TODAY!

Skylanders® fans with a need for speed should look no further -- a brand new version of the popular video game franchise arrived at stored today that provides online multiplayer and racing gameplay for the first time. Available at major North American retailers nationwide beginning Sunday, September 20, 2015,  Skylanders SuperChargers takes kids on a wild ride as they drive the mountainous terrains, dive the deep sea environments and fly the big blue skies of Skylands like never before with amazingly detailed vehicles, many of which feature moving parts that will play in the real world and come to life in the game via the Portal of Power®. While this is a new addition the franchise that needs the purchase of a Starter Pack parents will be pleased to know that Skylanders SuperChargers is forward compatible with all 300+ unique toys from all previous games – Skylanders® SWAP Force^™, Skylanders® Giants, Skylanders® Spyro’s Adventure and Skylanders® Trap Team. 

Developed by Vicarious Visions, Skylanders SuperChargers expands upon the franchise’s signature gameplay to introduce vehicles-to-life -- an entirely new way for fans to experience the magic of Skylands. The trailblazing innovation of Skylanders SuperChargers is realized when players take the helm of powerful, tricked-out land, sea and sky vehicles that are playable in both the physical and digital worlds in a high octane action-adventure videogame. Skylanders SuperChargers offers a rich story-driven gameplay experience filled with vehicle-based and on-foot adventures, combat, puzzles, mini games, activities and platforming, set within a variety of all-new compelling environments. The game features a brand-new class of heroes that is distinct with fresh moves, powerful attacks and all-new weapons.  SuperChargers also have special in-game abilities that help Portal Masters fight Kaos.  Twenty new SuperChargers character toys and 20 new vehicle toys will be available.  Right out of the box, the game also features an all-new Racing Mode that blends high-octane, supercharged racing with combat, accentuated by power-ups, boosts, hazards and more.

 

Players can also purchase Racing Action Packs that unlock additional content. A total of three Racing Action Packs, one for each terrain, will be available for $34.99 MSRP and each will include three special toys -- a SuperCharger, vehicle and villain trophy which unlocks two exclusive racing tracks for the game. The first of the three packs, the Skylanders SuperChargers Sea Racing Action Pack, will be available at launch.

 “Remember when you were a kid and pretended that your toy cars came to life, zooming around your living room on the most epic racetracks of your imagination?” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing in a press release provided to A Geek Daddy. “Well, we are about to bring that fantasy one step closer to life with Skylanders SuperChargers. We are reimagining toys-to-life by bringing race cars to life, along with helicopters, motorcycles, jet planes and submarines, as you race through Skylands and compete against other players for the first time. Our fans are going to love playing this game. I know I do.”

To celebrate the arrival of Skylanders SuperChargers and the addition of racing to the franchise, Skylanders became the official partner of racing champion Max Chilton for the season finale of Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. Chilton, a 24-year-old former Formula 1 driver and fan of the Skylanders franchise, blazed the tracks of Laguna Seca in a Skylanders-themed race car on September 12-13. “SuperCharged” Chilton shattered Tony Kaanan's 1997 track record in the qualifying race, broke the race lap record set by Helio Castroneves in 1996 and ended the season on the Indy Lights podium for Carlin. Skylanders also “SuperCharged” Enea Bastianini from the Gresini Racing Team to take the win at the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini GP in Italy, his first career victory in the Moto 3 World Championship.  Bastianini will take to the track again in his Skylanders SuperChargers-branded race suit at the Aragon Grand Prix in Spain on September 25-27. 

Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Pack will include two new Skylanders characters, a first-of-its-kind Skylanders vehicle, a newly designed Portal of Power® and the full AAA game. Skylanders SuperChargers will be available for the PlayStation^® 3 and PlayStation^® 4 computer entertainment systems, Xbox 360^™ and Xbox One^™ video game and entertainment systems from Microsoft, and Nintendo’s Wii U^™ system for $74.99 MSRP.  As a bonus for Nintendo purchasers, that console's game packs some extra star power as it includes two of Nintendo’s iconic characters reimagined as Skylanders -- Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and Hammer Slam Bowser -- available exclusively in Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Packs for the Wii U system, and in
Skylanders® SuperChargers Racing Starter Packs for the Wii system and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.

Skylanders SuperChargers Dark Edition Starter Packs also will be available in North America on September 20 for $99.99 MSRP. All Dark Edition Starter Packs will include Dark Spitfire, Dark Hot Streak and the highly sought after Kaos Trophy which is the only way to unlock special gameplay content, plus a two-sided ultimate collector poster. The Dark versions of the Turbo Charge Donkey Kong and his vehicle, Barrel Blaster, will be available in the Wii U Dark Edition Starter Pack; Dark Hammer Slam Bowser and his vehicle, Dark Clown Cruiser, will be available in the Wii Dark Edition Starter Pack.

Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, a complementary racing experience, will be available on September 20 for Nintendo’s Wii™ system for $74.99 MSRP and the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system for $64.99 MSRP. The addition of Donkey Kong and Bowser as guest stars in the new game, along with their specially created vehicles, will be available exclusively in Skylanders SuperChargers and Skylanders SuperChargers Racing Starter Packs for the Nintendo platforms. The SuperCharged characters not only work in Skylanders SuperChargers, but will also work with select amiibo-compatible Nintendo games with a simple twist of the character’s base. 

Fans of the Skylanders franchise can also choose to purchase the Digital Portal Owner’s Pack, available on September 21 for $49.99 MSRP for connected consoles, and use the Portal of Power they already own to play Skylanders SuperChargers. The download of the Digital Portal Owner’s Pack provides a great way for returning players to enjoy Skylanders SuperChargers on the platform of their choice. On October 25, the full Skylanders SuperChargers game will also be available on select iOS devices including iPad®, and for the first time ever iPhone® and iPod touch®.  Skylanders SuperChargers will also be available on Apple TV® this fall.

SKYLANDERS SUPERCHARGERS brings Racing & Online Multiplayer to the video game franchise

For the first time in Skylanders history, Activision will bring the online multiplayer experience to the popular kids video game franchise.   The company announced at GamesCom 2015 that its upcoming Skylanders SuperChargers game will allow fans to play the game with friends and family across the globe via online multiplayer on their favorite gaming console.  Skylanders Superchargers will be available on September 20 in North America and September 25 in Europe for Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's WiiU. 

Skylanders SuperChargers expands upon the franchise's signature gameplay to introduce a brand-new pattern of play.  For the first time ever, players can explore and navigate the mountainous terrains, deep sea environments and big blue skies of Skylands by going behind the wheel of tricked-out land, sea, and sky vehicles - bringing them from the physical world into the digital world in a high octane action-adventure video game.  Skylanders SuperChargers offers a diverse and dynamic story-driven gameplay experience, filled with vehicle-based and on-foot adventures featuring combat, puzzles, mini games, and activities -- all set within a variety of new compelling environments.  The new game has 20 land, sea, and sky vehicles that can be played with digitally and physically.  There is also a new class of heroes -- 20 SuperCharger toys that feature all new powerful attacks, moves, upgrades and personalities.  Plus here's some great news for long time players and the parents who have paid out money over the years to buy figures for these video games - in addition to all of the new features and figures being added the new game also supports all 300+ Skylander toys from previous games.

The upcoming Skylanders SuperChargers game will feature an all-new Racing Mode, playable in Land, Sea and Sky environments, features supercharged racing combat, layering in even more depth and excitement to the game’s online multiplayer component.  The high-octane mode is further amplified with all-new time trials, which include three-lap races that take friendly competition up a notch as players battle for the best time score on the leaderboard.  All Skylanders SuperChargers Starter Packs will come loaded with six dynamic race tracks – two each for Land, Sea and Sky. With hidden routes, power-ups, and diverse locations, Racing Mode offers completely new ways to enjoy the game. Whether played in offline split-screen or online multiplayer, gamers can choose the best route to finish a race, trying to avoid attacks along the way as they navigate through dynamic environments. Voice-chat is available with friends for an added layer of excitement. 

Skylanders SuperChargers delivers these great play features too:

• Single player Adventure Mode
• Online & local co-operative Adventure Mode
• Local 2-player head-to-head racing in split screen
• Online competitive racing with up to 4 players

Fan who really enjou the racing experience can augment it with another racing combat game available for the Wii system and Nintendo 3DS hand-held system called Skylanders SuperChargers Racing.  All-new tracks, augmented with power-ups, boosts, hazards and more, offer up to 50 different and exciting gameplay experiences. On Nintendo 3DS, gamers can go head-to-head with competitive multiplayer via local play or online with up to four players. Iconic Nintendo character Bowser™ and his Sky vehicle, Clown Cruiser are available in the Skylanders SuperChargers Racing Starter Packs for Wii and Nintendo 3DS and can also be played on the Wii U™ system.   The Supercharged character not only works in Skylanders SuperChargers Racing, but also as amiibo in compatible Nintendo games, so players can store their saved data in both modes with a simple twist of the figure’s base. 

Skylanders SuperChargers looks to be a great addition for any kid's holiday gift list though I have a feeling it will be hard to keep it under wraps between its September release date and December because its has such darn cool features and upgrades to it.  For more information and details, visit Skylanders.com

Nickelodeon's Newest Animated Series Promotes Math, Science, Technology & Engineering Through Monster Truck Adventures

Monsters are coming to Nick TV (the Nickelodeon cable channel) during Halloween Month ( aka October) with the hour long premiere on Monday October 13th of its brand new animated series for preschoolers Blaze and the Monster Machines.  These aren't the spooky kind of monsters that hide under the bed though but rather monster trucks that will help introduce the exciting world of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) to its viewers.  Nickelodeon is promoting Blaze and the Monster Machines as the first preschool show on TV to comprehensively cover all areas of STEM in every episode.  Combining Monster Trucks with Math and Science...this Geek Daddy LIKES the idea!

The series follows the adventures of the monster truck Blaze and his eight-year-old driver AJ.  Together they explore the physics of how things move; tackle problems through scientific inquiry and mathematics; and discover the parts needed to make everyday technologies work.  Each episode is filled with MONSTER TRUCKS, physical humor, and upbeat original songs with lyrics that highlight a STEM concept such as adhesion, friction, force, trajectory, and magnetism.  Blaze and the Monster Machines is created by the head writer of Team Umizoomi, Jeff Borkin, and the supervising producer of Bubble Guppies, Ellen Martin.

In its hour long premiere, on Monday October 13 at 12:00pm (ET/PT), Blaze and AJ are introduced to a world of racing monster machines in the town of Axle City.  When Crusher, a troublemaker truck, uses his dirty tricks to try to win the championship race, Blaze does everything he can to help his friends and beat him to the finish line.  In the show's "Blaze of Glory" debut the STEM concepts of buoyancy and trajectory will be focused on.

Following the series premiere, Blaze and the Monster Machines will feature three weeks of new original 1/2 hour episodes as the show is broadcast in its scheduled time slot of week day afternoons at 12:30pm (ET/PT) on Nickelodeon.  I'm really excited to see a television show that highlights concepts such as buoyancy, friction and magnetism in a way that catches children's attention in an educational and entertaining way!  Oh and what dad wouldn't think the monster truck angle is just plain out cool!  There really is a lot of STEM concepts behind the scenes in the construction and racing of vehicles that many people don't think about so this show is taking a fun approach to hopefully getting some serious topics stuck in kids heads that will spur their imaginations, help with school work and encourage children not to be scared of pursuing careers that involve math, engineering or science.  Unfortunately because of some societal stigmas children have a tendency to want to stay away from STEM classes and careers because they consider them "geeky" but shows like Blaze and the Monster Machines demonstrate to children at an early age that geeky can be fun, interesting and cool and not something to think of in a bad way.  A Geek Daddy blog has to give a nod of approval to that!