GamesBeat: When you say that you believed some of the audience was there, do you have a breakdown of what’s tablet and what’s console and so on? Was it clear that there was a lot of audience left on the table?
Taub: We don’t report sales by platform. But you have kids. You see them. They go from screen to screen and device to device. They have a device of choice, typically, but kids just want their content where they want it and when they want it. We want to give them the opportunity to experience it on another platform that they want to experience it on. We’re seeing our audience ask for that.
GamesBeat: I wonder if tablets have a larger audience of women. Do you find a demographic difference there?
Taub: We see it being pretty close as far as the demographic on the tablet. But from a console to tablet experience, as we go through the cycle, my assumption — though it’s yet to be proven — is that a larger audience of women is going toward the tablet as opposed to the console as their entry point in this generation. That may change over time, but usually this early set is around delivering that first 20 million boxes to the core.
GamesBeat: And you guys want everybody, right? You’re not willing to concede this to be just a male-oriented game.
Taub: No, no. We make incredibly strong aspirational women characters. We find satisfaction in the game equally high among boys and girls. We find girls playing all different characters, and likewise with boys. It’s about the humor and the gameplay and the adventure and making sure the characters are aspirational. We see a meaningful audience of girls in our business and we want to continue to make that an important part of the way we develop our games.
GamesBeat: I’m playing some very fun games this season, like Alien: Isolation, but I’m surprised to see Trap Team have such high Metacritic ratings compared to some of the other big releases this season. When you get to something that’s the third or fourth release in a series, critics aren’t necessarily very kind to it.
Taub: There’s some truth to that. I think that what we have is two triple-A studios working on this franchise year in and year out who are producing top quality games. The fact that they’re kids’ games, or that they’re predominantly played by kids, is just a part of the story. In this year’s game, when you look at the innovation in traps, the number of unique characters created, the environments created, the balance of gameplay, the musical scoring for each of the villains, the storytelling around good versus evil, and the amount of gameplay — the differentiation of characters classes gives you replayability that’s so significant. I think the most critical reviewers look at it and realize that we’re not just settling for putting out an annualized OK game. They reward us for that with honest reviews.
GamesBeat: Skylanders also faces competition on a variety of fronts now. You used to be all by yourselves.
Taub: That gives the reviewers an even greater perspective on how much quality we’re delivering.
GamesBeat: Does this tablet team have any past expertise on the platform? Are you finding that the investment in tablets is going to be as big as any other platform?
Taub: If we want to take a look as we get through the next product life cycle — these guys are expert. They’ve developed a number of console games and mobile games over the last 20 years. They’re a phenomenal studio. They have great technical prowess and respect for the first parties. They’re forging new ground against this entire category. A ton of respect comes with that.
GamesBeat: Is there a sense in the entire company that you want to do better on mobile and tablet?
Taub: I spend my time, energy, and effort against Skylanders. The company has talked about its stance over time and we’ll continue to evolve that stance. But for this, this is focused on providing our Skylanders fans a place to play where they want to be in the best way possible.
GamesBeat: In what ways would you say this is already a success on tablet?
Taub: Critically it’s a phenomenal success. Seeing a 90 average and a couple of 100-point scores is a tremendous affirmation of what the team delivered. When you sit down with our first-party partners on that side, they’re blown away by what we accomplished.
Then we’re going into the holiday. We’ll have a great holiday on the platform. Apple has featured the game two weeks in a row on their editorial list. It’s being called out all over the world. It’s been received at a level that highlights how innovative it is.
GamesBeat: The traps seem to work great across all the platforms. Nothing’s different about how traps work on tablet, right?
Taub: No. We’re able to deliver that transition from digital to physical on the tablet. The traps have been great. The villains are compelling and funny and diverse. When I come home, my nine-year-old says, “I found Broccoli Guy! He’s awesome!” Every time he plays he comes back with a different one. It’s a nice mechanic and a fun way to experience the game.