With $500 million in sales, is Skylanders the new Pokemon?

Publisher Activision revealed in a release that its mega hit kids game franchise Skylanders has made $500 million in sales in the U.S. alone. That's half a billion dollars ... in one country. Of course, that immense figure includes the games as well as the action figures and accessory packs. According to Activision, Skylanders reached the sales milestone faster than any kids' game to date.

Better yet, the Skylanders figures outsold super popular lines of kids toys including Beyblade, WWE action figures and Star Wars, according to NPD Group data from January through November 2012. And of that $500 million in sales, franchise sequel Skylanders Giants (along with its updated toy and accessory lines) generated $195 million in the U.S. in 2012.

So, it's safe to say that Skylanders is a big, freakin' deal. At this point, it's easy to liken Skylanders in the U.S. to the Pokemon craze of the late '90s and early '00s--but wait, that's still going on. Pokemon fans have already gone bonkers over the latest versions announced just days ago. Will Skylanders have the same staying power as Pokemon? That's tough to say, considering the wide range of age brackets that the latter reaches. Then again, there will always be kids.

[Image Credit: One of Swords]

Are you or your kids digging Skylanders these days? Does the franchise have the lasting power that Pokemon has? Sound off in the comments. Add Comment.