Skylanders has now made $500M in U.S. sales

Activision's Skylanders franchise has shown over the last year that kids' games can become real cash cows if done right -- and latest figures for the series make for remarkable reading. Across the entire Skylanders franchise, including the initial Spyro's Adventure and the sequel Skylanders Giants, the franchise has now made more than $500 million in U.S. retail sales (Giants accounted for $195 million of this). Activision says that the franchise has reached this milestone faster than any other kids' video game property before it. This total also includes sales of the Skylanders physical figures and accessories. The series is so popular, that the figures alone outsold other big-name toy lines like Beyblade, WWE and Star Wars in the run up to Christmas 2012.