Among the many classic games released for the PlayStation 1 back in the day there was one game in particular that found great success: Spyro the Dragon.  Created by Insomniac Games, Spyro just clicked with gamers due to the colorful graphics and the fun platforming that playing as a purple dragon offered. Spyro’s popularity was so big that he in a way became an unofficial mascot for the PS1 alongside the always entertaining Crash Bandicoot.  Insomniac Games cranked out a few Spyro games during the PS1 era before selling the IP to Sierra Entertainment who were later absorbed by Activision.  Activision has released a few Spyro games in recent years but they appear to be rebooting the franchise in a way that I think Spyro fans may die on the inside a little bit.



About a week ago Activision teased of a big announcement that was going to be revealed at an unlikely event: the New York Toy Fair.  A yearly event in the toy industry, Toy Fair is usually devoid of breaking video game news outside of product reveals like those from NECA or DC Direct.  But apparently Activision has something up its sleeve which they touted as “an innovative new universe with broad appeal”.  Obviously most of us were puzzled as to what Activision would announce but now a few tidbits have arisen that point to the reveal possibly involving Spyro.



The Superannuation Twitter profile has found a series of recent domain registrations and trademarks filed by Activision that includes SpyroAdventure.com, SkyLandersWorld.com and SkyLandersGame.com.  The thought amongst many is that Activision could very well be launching a new Spyro game this year that could also include a series of toys built with some sort of internet functionality i.e. you can plug them into your computer via a USB chord and unlock stuff.  The world of Spyro would make for a pretty good toy line considering the art style was always a high point for the series, but Spyro may not look the same the next time we see him based on what has been uncovered.



The studio reportedly in charged with bringing Spyro back this gen is Toys for Bob, a somewhat unknown company within the Activision stable that focuses on games for kids.  A few hardcore Spyro fans have done some digging and have found the image seen below on the website for current Toys for Bob employee Laurie Ann Franks.



Once but a small and cute dragon, Spyro has either grown up or has been redesigned to mirror the designs of dragons found in movies like Dragonheart i.e. big and not too overly cute.  I’m not a hardcore Spyro fan and am not immediately offended by this reboot as much as I was with Ridge Racer Unbounded, but things still seem a bit off with what Activision has planned.  Maybe the new Spyro game will be perfect for kids, but if Activision is making the game to be marketed heavily with a new toy line that is required to buy for the “complete” Spyro experience or something along those lines, then I think that just seems wrong on various levels.



We’ll find out what Activision has planned and whether or not Spyro is indeed getting rebooted next week when the New York Toy Fair kicks off.